Assemblies Of God Research Articles

Leadership from the extreme periphery to the mainstream? A reflection on the critical journey and how traditioning might offer a Pentecostal denomination a rediscovery of ancient paths

ABSTRACT This paper was given as a keynote at the 2022 conference of the European Pentecostal Theological Association (EPTA). Drawing on a doctoral study 1 1 Foster, “Authority and Authenticity in the Leadership of the British Assemblies of God”. that explored the leadership and organizational culture of a Pentecostal denomination – British Assemblies of God (AoG) – an ecclesiological ethnography 2 2 Principles and techniques drawn from a long-term involvement with Ward and Scharen’s, Ecclesiology and Ethnography.; see also Ward, ed. Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ethnography;Scharen, ed. Exporations in Ecclesiology and Ethnoggraphy. Healy, “Ecclesiology, Ethnography and God”.; Fiddes, “Ecclesiology and Ethnography”. approach is taken in this paper to combine resultant research insights with reflections from the author’s involvement in the leadership of a local Pentecostal church through two difficult leadership transitions and the consequent spiritual formation journey. The possible future implications for Pentecostal leaders of the adoption of Pete Scazzero’s 3 3 Scazerro, The Emotionally Healthy Leader. Emotionally Healthy Leadership (EHL) teachings in the first year of AoG’s Ministers in Training (MIT) programme are anticipated and Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich’s 4 4 Hagberg and Guelich, The Critical Journey. Critical Journey framework applied to analyze likely issues for Pentecostal leaders when rediscovering ancient paths (Jer 6:16). By casting an ethnographic gaze in the direction of a key denomination in the UK charismatic movement 5 5 Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland, led by John and Debbie Wright. that is already journeying this path and by paying attention to the thought leadership with the rising popularity of mentees of Dallas Willard. 6 6 For example, John Mark Comer’s ministry Practicing the Way and Bill and Kristi Gaultiere's ministry Soul Shepherding. Underpinning the paper is Simon Chan’s 7 7 Chan, Pentecostal Theology. notion of Pentecostal Traditioning employed both to provide foundational context and possible future trajectories. Similar to Elijah’s servant, these insights and reflections may presently seem to be nothing or we may have to look seven times before we see them as small as a man’s hand (1 Kings 18:43–44). However, this paper seeks to offer a practical-prophetic voice 8 8 A Practical-Prophetic voice focuses theological attention on the state of the concrete seen church; engages with other traditions of enquiry and their embodiments that bear upon the concrete identity of the church namely history, sociology, cultural analysis and ethnography; and offers a critical voice into the present and possible future see Healy, Church, World and the Christian Life. proposing the possibilities for bringing practices rooted in contemplative and monastic traditions from the periphery to the mainstream of Pentecostalism spiritual development and leadership.

Selective reading of 1 Corinthians 14:26–40 resulting in the marginalisation of women

The aim of this paper is to point out a hermeneutic gap in Assemblies of God – Back to God’s order of service where 1 Corinthians 14:26–32 is read, eschewing verses 33–38. It points out the Assemblies of God’s perception of women’s ordination into the ministry, where women are allowed to participate in public worship but are not allowed to take up the pastoral leadership of the local assembly. The research problem is the hermeneutic gap behind refusal to ordain women into the ministry. The selective reading of the Scriptures poses a problem for hermeneutical inclusiveness that embraces social exegesis to arrive at the conclusion that it is not unscriptural to ordain women into pastoral leadership. The conclusion gives the remedial actions of the scenario, to suggest breaking out of a shell, agency and resilience, engaging social exegesis and hermeneutics, and engaging the community through dialogue to justify the rationale for ordaining women into the pastoral ministry in the same par with men.Contribution: Situated within feminist theology, the study on women pastoral leadership is a burning issue for both classical Pentecostals and some of their evangelical counterparts. Pentecostal and charismatic studies should expand their understanding of Pauline theology regarding women’s leadership to arrive at inclusiveness and non-sexism.

Daniel Aribo Conteh, Indigenous Limba Agency, and African Kinship Practices in the Formation of the National Pentecostal Mission, Sierra Leone

Abstract Indigenous Pentecostalism remains a marginal area of research in the Christian history of Sierra Leone. This essay explores the mission journals of the Assemblies of God (AOG) and the oral recollection of key Limba actors to ascertain whether the implicit missionary marginalization of the Reverend Daniel Aribo Conteh and his Limba churches may have accentuated this indigenous underrepresentation. By means of an intercultural history of Christianity approach, I outline the processes that led to the secession of the National Pentecostal Mission, Sierra Leone (NPM-SL) from the AOG and discuss how after conversion Conteh mobilized ethnic solidarity in the form of African kinship practices to support the missionary intuitions of the Limba churches outside AOG missionary control in colonial Freetown. The essay contends that, despite their negligible education, the Limba people’s indigeneity under Conteh’s leadership resulted in the establishment of the NPM-SL as an indigenously governed, self-supporting, and missionally oriented Pentecostal denomination in Sierra Leone.

‘The collar never comes off’: A qualitative study of clergy professionalism

Abstract In this study, we examine clergy use of verbal and nonverbal communicative behaviors of professionalism within the pastor–parishioner dyad. In doing so, we interviewed 21 clergy from disparate Christian denominations—The Episcopal Church, USA, and The Assemblies of God, and analyzed data via modified constant comparative analysis. Findings, conceptualized through Uhl-Bien’s Relational Leadership Theory (RLT), produced answers as to why clergy members employ professionalism-based behaviors, which behaviors they frequently employ, and the benefit of professionalism to the pastor–parishioner leadership dyad. Findings theoretically contribute (1) an introduction toward the development of a clergy framework of professionalism, (2) an expansion on the understanding of professionalism, (3) a mechanism of influence and control inside RLT—professionalism, and (4) demonstrates that co-construction within a leadership relationship is guided by underlying assumptions of power within the dyad. The authors conclude with pragmatic implications for all leaders.

Knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking behaviour for mental illness in a Christian community.

Christian beliefs have a role in conceptualising mental illness, which determines help-seeking behaviour and treatment choices. The topic of mental illness is controversial in many Christian circles and is often avoided because of the beliefs and teachings stemming from the Christian faith. Inadequate and inaccurate knowledge about mental illness and its causes negatively impacts the attitudes towards mental illness, the mentally ill, and ultimately help-seeking behaviour. This study aimed to explore knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking behaviour for mental illness in a Christian community. A descriptive, quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted, comprising 300 congregants from a Pentecostal Christian charismatic church - Assemblies of God in KwaZulu-Natal. A socio-demographic tool was used to capture the relevant social, demographic, and religious information. Existing self-administered questionnaires were used to collect information in four areas: Mental Health Knowledge Schedule, the Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale, Community Attitudes Towards Mentally Ill scale and the Dimensions of Religiosity Scale to determine the degree of religiosity. The population studied demonstrates high levels of mental health knowledge and a tolerant attitude towards persons who have mental illness. There is a high preference for professional treatment. The high knowledge in this Christian community is associated with a reduction in stigma and a positive attitude towards mental illness. If mental health awareness is encouraged, it helps to encourage positive help-seeking practices tolerance, and treatment outcomes. This study highlights levels of knowledge and its influence on help-seeking practices and stigma in a Christian community.

Shame as an Ethical Category for an Integrative Diaconia in Brazil

The growing political influence of evangélico Christians in traditionally Catholic Brazil has caught the attention of social and political scientists as well as theologians. Among others, the reasons for two-thirds of the mainly Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal electorate voting for Jair Messias Bolsonaro include a moral agenda concerning human sexuality and the “traditional family,” namely the rejection of abortion under any circumstance and same-sex marriage. This conservative agenda is shared in other countries and churches and shows as “traditionalist” (Benjamin Teitelbaum), especially in Brazil, the USA under Trump, and Russia. At the same time, other, more social aspects of Christian diaconia in caring for the integrity of the body are left aside, although they are foreseen in those churches’ declarations of faith and ethical catechisms. The 2019–2022 government’s blatant failure to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the appalling rise of hunger, and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest should give rise to what I call an “evangélico sense of shame” as a consequence of the incompatibility of many of the faith convictions of that part of the electorate with Bolsonaro’s stances and actions, retrieving shame as an ethical category. To this end, I analyze biblical notions and theological reflections on shame, as well as publications of evangélico churches with a focus on the largest of its churches in Brazil, the Assemblies of God. Thus, I intend to reclaim an integral diaconia for evangélico churches.

Developing Pentecostal church planting pedagogy that responds to social need and ecological crisis

ABSTRACT Assemblies of God (AOGGB) have consistently sought to respond to a fallen humanity which left to itself faces the fire of eschatological demise. AOG has been in the process of helping its churches to recapture their vision for church planting in order to help non-Christian peoples discover a Christian faith. A theology of the inbreaking of a new heaven and a new earth, as the goal of the church’s mission, is central to a missional ecclesiology based on the Missio Dei. AOG has rebranded its college as, ‘Missio Dei Leadership and Theological College’. It is seeking to equip leaders and churches for church planting and discipleship formation. This article makes a case for the development of church planting education programmes that can equip believers to bring hope to a world in need of God’s coming new creation. The body of Christ needs to represent the coming new creation by the way it seeks to participate in the Spirit of Christ’s healing presence in the midst of a fallen and compromised cosmos.

Theology of the Baptism in the Spirit and Gifts of the Spirit in the Thought of Martyn Lloyd-Jones and His Differences, Similarities, and Contributions in Comparison to Pentecostal Interpretation

The article explores the theology of the baptism in the Spirit in the context of Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ position and the Assemblies of God Pentecostal movement. Besides including the short historical and contextual overview of the theology of the baptism in the Spirit in the Pentecostal movement and Lloyd-Jones, the article also provides insight into their primary emphases. Both sides claim that the baptism in the Spirit is an experience separate from the new birth. Assemblies of God believe it is crucial to point out that baptism in the Spirit opens up possibilities of new experiences, sanctification, and speaking in tongues. Lloyd-Jones mostly agrees with this, with the exception that baptism in the Spirit is the same as the sealing we see in the Epistle to the Ephesians, where he sees the sealing with the initial sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as the firm assurance of what we already have (sonship) and a strong experience of God’s love, which is the motivation for powerful preaching and witnessing. According to Lloyd-Jones, his interpretation of the gift of speaking in tongues does differ from the understanding of Assemblies of God. Tongues are not necessarily the initial sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and their use is not under a person’s control but under the control of the Spirit’s sovereign work. The article explains these differences and similarities and calls for dialogue and consideration of Lloyd-Jones’ thought in his contribution to the Pentecostal theology of the baptism in the Spirit.

A relação dos imigrantes haitianos evangélicos em São Paulo com o pentecostalismo

In 2010, many Haitians arrived in Brazil and the religiosity manifested by them was soon noticed. Many of them were evangelicals and little by little they were forming their Evangelical ethnic communities in differentparts of the Brazilian territory. Among these, Baptists, Adventists, Assembly of God, Rock Solid, amongothers. In São Paulo it was possible to follow some of these communities for a few years. Given this scenario, the objective of this work is to understand the relationship of Evangelical Haitian immigrants in São Paulo with “Pentecostalism”. For ourstudy, we adopted the bibliographic survey and the field experience obtained during the master's and doctoral research among Evangelical Haitians in São Paulo. As a result, we find that Pentecostal practices are common among different groups of Evangelical Haitians. We conclude that the relationship of Evangelical Haitian immigrants in São Paulo with Pentecostalism is expressive, even among those who do not recognize themselves as Pentecostals.

Nas Assembleias de Deus (ADs) não há racismos

The Assemblies of God - ADs, according to the 2010 Census, the largest Pentecostal churches in Brazil, therefore, in theory, the most involved with racial issues, since the Pentecostal membership is mostly poorer and more black. The ADs, however, incorporated women, but did not discuss machismo; they welcomed the poor but did not question the structures of poverty. And, finally, did they integrate blacks, but did they not challenge racism? Did they? Why should the ADs have acted differently from the military system, the economic structure, other churches and, finally, Brazilian society itself, if this has always been the model? Furthermore, in the ADs there are no black people, there are only assembly members.

New Mexico’s Moses: Reis López Tijerina and the Religious Origins of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. By Ramón A. Gutiérrez

Historian Ramón Gutiérrez tells Tijerina’s story from the point of view of a Pentecostal preaching jeremiads against a racist, imperialist, cut-throat capitalist U.S. society that left Tijerina prophesying that he was part of a long line of messiah figures who were called to continue railing against a corrupt system. Using Tijerina’s collected sermons, translated for the first time in English, Gutiérrez contends that Tijerina’s jeremiads were rooted in the Pentecostal near-obsession with the “last days” as noted in the Book of Revelation. The book contains the sermons and the translations in a massive appendix that comprises half of the book. Gutiérrez traces Tijerina’s path from working in fields with his family as they made their way through the sugar beet trail from Texas to the Midwest. Tijerina converted from Catholicism to Baptist and Pentecostalism in one of these farmworker camps. In the 1940s-50s, Tijerina sought ordination in the Pentecostal denomination, the Assemblies of God, but he was kicked out of their bible school for failing to live up to the school’s holiness standards. As Gutiérrez notes, Tijerina’s faith did not mean that he would be interested in living the kind of pious life required of Pentecostal ministers. Tijerina was an adulterous, abusive man who sexually abused his daughter and subjected his family to years of mental and emotional abuse. Tijerina’s hypocrisy hardly mattered because he was an activist who considered himself a messiah, thus reading himself back into the biblical text and shielding himself from criticism.

Rethinking the identity and economic sustainability of the Church: Case of AOG BTG in Zimbabwe

With burgeoning economic challenges that have been hard-pressing Zimbabwe for more than a decade, most Zimbabwean classical Pentecostal churches who do not strategically multiply their revenue in reciprocal correspondence with God-given resources have been disabled and forced to narrow their missionary focus towards proclamation of the gospel and neglected other dimensions of mission, such as diakonia. The partial focus on the gospel in word without corresponding deeds portrayed an exclusively Salvationist and less integral image, and defaced ecclesiastic identification when Zimbabwe is anxiously in dire need of a wholesome Church that values and attends to all areas of their lives. While extensive attention has been paid to the conceptualisation of ecclesial identity in general, and manipulative economics of some charismatic churches in Zimbabwe and Africa, research about the identity and economic sustainability of the Zimbabwean classical Pentecostal Church is sparse. Thus, this study filled the gap, taking Assemblies of God, Back to God (hereinafter referred to as AOG BTG) as a case study. Applying theonomic reciprocity theory, complemented by the concept of sustainability and engaging purposively sampled in-depth interviews, this article interfaced missionary identity with economic sustainability and recommended the adoption of contextually feasible strategies to capacitate the Church to meet the rising operating and missionary costs in the volatile Zimbabwean context.Contribution: This study reviewed the ecclesial identity, interconnected Zimbabwean classical Pentecostal ecclesiology with current economics and observed circumstantially applicable strategies to restore a blurred identity.

Pentecostal preaching and Christology: An empirical study

Preaching is an important part of congregational worship in various church traditions globally. Through the years, there has been vast literature on preaching but not much about the phenomenon as it happens specifically in the Assemblies of God (Back to God). This article sought to explore factors affecting preaching, and its Christological aspects, in Pentecostal churches of the Western Reef Region of the Assemblies of God (Back to God), South Africa. The article aimed at contributing to research in this area and suggesting improvements where necessary. This article presented a qualitative study conducted in the churches of the aforementioned region by applying the analysis of sermons and semistructured interviews with some preachers in the region. The study revealed some extent of Christ-centred preaching and a fair understanding of concepts of Pentecostalism, preaching and Christology by participants. Also, the study showed that there are various factors affecting preaching in the region, resulting in a generally unsatisfactory level of preaching and Christology not being sufficiently expressed in the preaching.Contribution: This article aimed to contribute to research in the practice of preaching in Pentecostal churches. It is hoped that this article will also contribute to improvement in preaching in the Assemblies of God (Back to God) churches.

Ethics in the Age of the Spirit: Race, Women, War, and the Assemblies of God , by Howard N. Kenyon

Ethics in the Age of the Spirit: Race, Women, War, and the Assemblies of God , by Howard N. Kenyon

Rights and Stones: Pentecostal Autoconstruction and Citizenship in Rio de Janeiro

This article discusses the growth of Pentecostal churches in favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The author pleads for a systemic inclusion of religious ideas and practices in theoretical reflections on citizenship in the urban contexts of Brazil. Concretely, scholars need to include the explosive rise of Pentecostalism in their reflections on insurgent citizenship this religious movement fuels rights discourses and supports feelings of pride and dignity in the face of structural spatial exclusion. The author highlights two important relations between favela building practices and Pentecostalism. One concerns the affinity between the bottom-up organizational and doctrinal structure of the biggest Pentecostal denomination in Brazil (the Assemblies of God) and the informal building practices of favela residents. The other concerns the elective affinity between autoconstruction in terms of Pentecostal projects of self-fashioning and self-governance and autoconstruction in terms of favela building practices.

Influence of Home Culture on Child Development in Church: The Case of Atonsu District Assemblies of God,Ghana in the Kumasi Metropolis.

This paper sought to explore how the Assemblies of God Church in the Atonsu District is employing the home culture and its value system in its child development programmes. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and descriptive survey design. Data was collected from 50 purposively selected respondents using interviews. The data gathered was analysed using thematic content analysis. The study found that for the holistic development of the child, the church largely needs resources from the home culture and its value system. The study concludes that the home culture and its value system employed in child upbringing are not in conflict with Christian virtues of child education described in the Bible and as practiced by the Assemblies of God Church. This indicates that the indigenous system of child upbringing is in harmony with Christian child development programmes of the Assemblies of God Church. The study recommends that for any effective child development, the church must take into consideration the home culture and its value systems as this can help strengthen the collaborative influence of the church on the home value systems in total child development. Keywords: Home culture, Assemblies of God Church, Collaboration and Child Development

From small country churches to explosion into megachurches: A modern Pentecostal cultural fit for the Assemblies of God in South Africa

This article examines the evolutionary journey of Assemblies of God in South Africa from small country churches into explosion of megachurches. This Pentecostal denomination is categorised as a classical Pentecostal church that evolved as a missionary church from the early twentieth century. It was officially registered in South Africa in 1917. Historically, it developed as small fellowships in small structures; however today, it has exploded into a huge denomination spread in some geographical locations as local megachurches. Through literature reviews, the objectives are to reveal the rationale behind this explosion, which are the church organisation, emphasis on education, entrepreneurship spirit, apostolic heritage and local church autonomy based on the group system. Results of this explosion are accounted to vigorous evangelism, and Bible-oriented religion such as kerygma, diakonia, koinonia and rhetorics to be culturally and contextually relevant. Assemblies of God embrace African gregarious worldviews and apostolic practices of ecclesial life. This apostolic outlook invokes the discussions on leadership principles. It also influences the church polity exercised by many African megachurches. Shifts from orthodox Pentecostal doctrines such as glossolalia, divine healing and eschatological expectations are examined. The conclusion is while the neo-Pentecostal movement replaces these doctrines by prosperity gospel, personal prophecies and motivational rhetorics instead of sound biblical hermeneutics, Assemblies of God in South Africa remain rooted in their evangelical and classical Pentecostal tradition.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research study is a historical reflection based on Church History, Missiology, Pentecostal Studies, and invokes Practical Theology by referring to strong leadership principles, which leads to church stability. It further calls for Pentecostals to carry out self-examination regarding their fundamental doctrines that are invaded and influenced retrogressively by the neo-Pentecostal movement.

A Quarter Century of Structural Unity in the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa: A Socio Historical Analysis

The Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) of South Africa is one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Africa, with other denominational Pentecostal churches like the Full Gospel and the Assemblies of God. Since its inception in 1908, the AFM of South Africa has been divided into four main sections, namely: black, white, mixed race and Indian, for about 88 years. The church followed the divisions under apartheid in South Africa that divided people according to race, colour and ethnicity, with white people at the forefront of that division. It was only in 1996 that the AFM of South Africa decided to unite under one umbrella, with one constitution governing the structures and the members of the church. The 25 years of unity within the AFM of South Africa call for an evaluation of both the successes and the failures of this unity. Through a socio-historical analysis, it will be possible to identify the achievements of this unity on the one hand, and the loopholes on the other. The paper will show that the identified loopholes are detrimental to the unity of the church and its future. Therefore, in order to experience true unity, the church should address the challenges that compromise this unity by returning to the biblical basis of unity, dealing with structural impediments and encouraging multicultural fellowships. When the above is done, not only will the church experience true unity, but also maintain its growth that the church has experienced over the years of its existence.

The role of the faith-based organisations in tree planting in Uganda

ABSTRACT This study explored tree planting in Uganda by several faith-based organisations (FBOs). These were the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church of Uganda, the communities of Muslims, Pentecostal Assemblies of God and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Key resources for tree planting were good administrative structures from the grassroots level to funding provisions. Benefits of tree planting include: fuelwood, sawn timber, fruit production and provision of environmental services. Constraints faced by FBOs in tree planting include: lack of skills for resource mobilisation and tree planting, lack of specific environmental protection policy, restricted funds, lack of suitable indigenous tree seedlings, negative attitudes of local communities, inclement weather and inadequate tending of planted seedlings. The findings will guide decision-making by FBOs and funding agencies in enhancing tree planting for products provision, carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

MODERN UKRAINIAN PENTECOSTAL THEOLOGY: FROM HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT TO CONTENT OF RESEARCHES

The article reflects the main historical stages of the formation of Ukrainian Pentecostal theology over the past thirty years: from the “birth” of the first church schools to the defense dissertations of doctoral level. Author has presented connection between post-soviet Pentecostal dogmatic system with evangelical traditional of dispensationalism and literal hermeneutic method in study of the Bible. Obviously, that Pentecostal Churches were strongly influenced through the Baptist Bible Courses in Moscow, because many Pentecostal leaders completed them. The author demonstrated the role of Bible Seminaries founded in independent Ukraine by western missioners of leading church`s unions, like the Assembly of God and the Church of God. The article identifies two models of the Pentecostal education (“church” and “academic” approaches) that address to the different needs of church society. “Church” type of theological education tries to teach important topics connected with applied questions of church ministry. However, this approach has a weak side hidden in methodology of research. As a result, not all research papers completed by graduates of the church-oriented school are interesting for Ukrainian scientific society. For control of quality in Ukrainian theological schools, EAAA was founded. Another direction of the development of the Ukrainian pentecostal theological model thinking is the “academic model” of theological education, that today develops in cooperation with state institutions. Through the analysis of the topics of defended dissertations, the author identifies key trends in the development of the Ukrainian Pentecostal movement. Among key topics, there is introspective research of the own roots, reasons of spreading alternative church movement in USSR, and its place on the World religious map. Like prognostic conclusion of all the text, the author identified several topics that may be interesting for Western academic partners, like “theology of Maidan”, “Church peaceful strategies for East of Ukraine” and “Ecological theology in light of Chernobyl’s tragedy”.