Tag Archives: resources

The Pneuma Review & Craig Keener

Posted on by under books, charismatic, continuationism, Holy Spirit, miracles, resources, video

Pneuma-ReviewThis week, I came across a newer online resource. It’s an online journal that particularly provides ministry resources and theological articles for Pentecostals and charismatics. It’s entitled The Pneuma Review, pneuma being the Greek word for spirit.

The Pneuma Review lays forth their mission statement in this way:

“To lead Pentecostal/charismatic believers to a greater understanding of God’s Word and assisting church leaders in equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. We also long for greater dialogue between Evangelicals about doctrine, and by way of an open forum, to promote Biblically-centered theological discussion on the gifts of the Spirit.”

I ultimately came across it when I saw a tweet about Craig Keener’s review of Strange Fire, the new release of John MacArthur, which flows in tandem with the recent conference. Continue reading →

Apostles Today? Two Brief Reasons Why

Posted on by under apostles, apostles today, books, charismatic, continuationism, Ephesians 4 ministries, gifts of the Spirit, resources, spiritual gifts

I recently posted about a new book I have begun reading, a book on the modern-day ministry of apostles authored by British church leader, David Devenish – Fathering Leaders, Motivating Mission: Restoring the Role of Apostle in Today’s Church. Remember, I am one of those guys (not the only one) who believes this role (along with all ministries spoken of in Eph 4:11-13) to be very important in seeing the people of God equipped for works of ministry and preparing them to move towards maturity. At least that’s how Paul articulates it in Eph 4.

I’ve spent plenty of time laying out why I believe this ministry (yes, ministry, not so much ‘office’ or ‘position’) is still active today, as well as what this ministry would entail today (here is the link to my detailed PDF document).

But as I was reading Devenish’s book, he brought out two points that I never really considered before as to why apostles would exist today, or post-first century. They are not major, eye-openers as to solve the debate that might exist for some Christians. Nevertheless, I thought I would share those two points below, and then encourage you to read more of my thoughts if you would like. Continue reading →

Interaction with Michael Patton

Posted on by under cessationism, charismatic, continuationism, gifts of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, pneumatology, resources, spiritual gifts

Those who follow this blog or my other co-authored blog at To Be Continued, you might remember that, back in the summer, my partner in crime, Marv, and I interacted with Michael Patton’s in depth series entitled, Why I Am Not A Charismatic.

At the time, we made a PDF document available, as Michael had previously done as well. Well, rather than the previous two PDF documents being posted – Michael’s and our’s – I am now posting one PDF document that incorporates both series into the one document. So, what you have in this new document is Michael’s part 1, followed by ours, Michael’s part 2, followed by ours, etc, etc, all the way through to the full 8-part series. I believe this will allow for a better reading flow and make it easier to follow our interaction with Michael’s series.

So, for those interested, here is the link to the one PDF document that incorporates both series into one easier to follow document: Response to Michael Patton’s “Why I’m Not Charismatic”.

God’s Empowering Presence – Resource

Posted on by under books, charismatic, commentaries, continuationism, gifts of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, pneumatology, resources, spiritual gifts

I believe very much that, for any true student of theology wanting to grow in their pnuematological understanding, especially for all continuationists, then an extremely solid resource to own is Gordon Fee’s work, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul. Fee, himself is a New Testament scholar and professor emeritus from Regents College in Vancouver, Canada. He is also an ordained minister in the Assembly of God church. You can read more of his credentials here.

Nevertheless, this book is a treatise unlike many others, standing in at just over 900 pages long. So I would say this is more a study resource, rather than a bed-time read.

What is truly unique about the book is that it analyses every single mention of the Holy Spirit and his work within the letters of Paul. Fee doesn’t start with Romans (as that is the first Pauline letter in our NT canon), but rather with 1 Thessalonians, which is considered one of Paul’s early letters. He then moves on to 2 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1 Timothy, Titus and, finally, 2 Timothy.

The last 100 pages or so deal with important theological topics on the Holy Spirit including such themes as the Spirit as eschatological fulfilment, the Spirit as God’s personal presence, the soteriological Spirit, the Spirit and the people of God, and then answering what all of this Pauline pneumatology means (which includes touching on Old Testament and intertestamental pneumatology). And, of course, there is an extended bibliography.

You can see that some of this work implements his writings from other works, like his commentary on 1 Corinthians or his work, Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God.

The only pneumatological resource that could be considered better is if an author took up the challenge of providing commentary on every verse in the New Testament that speaks of the Holy Spirit and His activity. Maybe it’s out there, or maybe it will be released one day. But I suppose that would be at least a 2-volume work weighing in at a 1500+ page length.

Resources For Complementarianism and Egalitarianism

Posted on by under books, resources, women, women in ministry

So, in somewhat of an unexpected way, my introduction post to the role of women has garnered some great interaction. More than I would have expected. I thought that, before I start looking at some particular biblical passages up for discussion, I would list both some complementarian and egalitarian works that would be worth diving into. None of these are overly scholarly, but provide solid introductory thoughts into the discussion on the role of women. I list four sources for each side:

Complementarian

Egalitarian

Obviously, this is by no means an exhaustive list. Rather this will give you an introduction into the issues at hand, biblical exegesis from both sides, and other theological resources available. Commenters, feel free to list other books and resources that you have appreciated from both sides of the discussion.

As I stated from the outset, I have egalitarian leanings, though I am not a fan of that word, for many still connect it to the feminist movement, which I am by no means a part of. So, with the status quo not necessarily being egalitarian within the church (though I believe we are headed that way more and more), I will be presenting somewhat of a defense for the case of egalitarianism. There are many more qualified to do so, such as Fee, McKnight, and Cunningham and Hamilton (and others). But my next post will specifically start by considering Genesis 1:26-28. That is quite the foundational verse to the topic at hand.

Looking forward to more interaction.