In Indonesia, violence in the name of religion has occurred many times since the reformation began. The trigger is religious fundamentalism and radicalism that increases and affects intolerant actions, inter-religious conflicts and even terrorism. The Indonesian government has initiated religious moderation through the Ministry of Religion to minimise the negative impacts of excessive religious fanaticism. Christians, who are often victims of many acts of violence, should evaluate the religious practices that have been carried out so far. The mission of (...) Christian evangelism has been a scourge that triggered anti-Christian sentiments, thus giving rise to the stigma of Christianisation. One of the most energetic Christian groups with an evangelistic mission is the Pentecostal group. This article aims to propose constructing the Pentecostal mission, which is rooted in the religious life of the early church as a mission model, through the discourse of their hospitality. The thesis is that hospitality, especially embodied by the early church, expresses a moderate religious way. Therefore, this mission is very suitable to be implemented by Pentecostal groups in Indonesia, which takes a theological locus on the Pentecost narratives in Acts 2.Contribution: This article addresses early church hospitality as a discourse of Pentecostal mission, especially in Indonesia. This article considers that hospitality can be a model for doing church missions in the frame of religious moderation in Indonesia. (shrink)

This article attempts to reconstruct an early history of the Norwegian Pentecostal Mission’s work in Kenya. The Free Pentecostal Church, known as the Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya until April 2018, was born out of a 1984 merger between the Swedish Free Mission and the NPM. The Norwegians came earlier in 1955, whereas their Scandinavian counterparts arrived in 1960. The article contests that during the period under review, the first 29 years of NPM’s presence in (...) Kenya, the NPM was characterised by a fast-growing enthusiasm in establishing mission stations and local churches through evangelism and social work activities in education, medical care, orphanages, midwifery and compassionate handouts of commodities to villagers. These would be overtaken by the efforts to merge Swedish and Norwegian interests and establishments into one denomination in 1976 and the move towards nationalising the FPFK by handing over church leadership to the Kenyans by 1997. The article contests that the zeal and successes of the missionaries and local church workers in sowing the seeds of the gospel were checked by cultural and socio-economic setbacks in Kenya’s colonial context as well as the nationalisation process. The increased presence of Norwegian missionaries in Kenya during the 1960s were largely motivated by, among other factors, the channelling of Norwegian government aid monies to foreign development regions through missionary agencies and the imminent independence of the East African state. (shrink)

Branding is a strategy designed by companies to help patrons or consumers quickly identify their products or organisations and give them a reason to choose their products or organisations over other competitors. In the Old Testament, God identified the Israelites as a unique brand. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ branded the church with the power of the Holy Spirit, miracles, signs and wonders. Reading the Acts of the Apostles, the church developed a brand of being Spirit-filled, communal-living and (...) class='Hi'>mission-minded. It was out of this that early believers in Antioch were called ‘Christians’. The name ‘Christian’ therefore became a brand name for believers and followers of Jesus Christ. In view of this, one would expect that the concept of branding would be a major tool for modern-day churches. Although there are several publications on branding from the perspective of marketing and management, there is no such academic research on missional branding, hence this research. This article contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse on branding, with specific reference to the missional branding of the Church of Pentecost. (shrink)

Church leadership plays an important and irreplaceable role in the planting and the configuration of the missional congregation. The key to the formation of missional communities is their leadership. In that regard, this article explores Classical Ghanaian Pentecostal Churches’ leadership and leadership formation from a missiological perspective. This was done through an exposition on their leadership system. It was argued that Classical Ghanaian Pentecostal Churches’ leadership is based on the Fivefold Ministry. These leadership functions were therefore discussed in (...) the light of their missiological implication. The conclusion arrived at is that it is not enough to discover one’s spiritual gift or calling; these gifts should be developed and nurtured through mentoring and proper theological education, with the ultimate purpose being to participate in the Missio Dei. (shrink)

In general, early Pentecostals did not use any pulpits in their halls in order to underline their emphasis that each believer is a prophet and priest equipped by the Holy Spirit with gifts for the edification of other members of the assembly. All participated in the worship service by way of praying, prophesying, witnessing and bringing a message from God. From the 1940s, Pentecostals in their desire to be acceptable in their communities formed an alliance with evangelicals, accepted their hermeneutical (...) viewpoint and built traditional churches in accordance with the Protestant tradition. From the 1980s, the pulpit started disappearing from the front of Pentecostal churches. This is explained in terms of new alliances that Pentecostals made with neo-Pentecostalist churches and a new hermeneutical viewpoint. The hypothesis of the article is that the Pentecostal stance towards the pulpit was determined by its hermeneutical perspectives. It is described by way of a comparative literature study and applied to a specific case study, the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa. (shrink)

Although testimonies of divine healing figure prominently in pentecostal missions, pentecostals are frequently reluctant to subject testimonials to empirical investigation. In an age of evidence-based medicine, many people insist on medical corroboration before giving claims credence. Hence, pentecostal resistance toward medical validation comes at a price of reduced missionary impact. Investigation of healing claims reveals medically unexpected healings for which there is no obvious medical explanation, and recoveries that can be explained naturalistically or seem not to have occurred. (...) Since fraudulent cases tend to attract the most notice, they are widely perceived as normative in the absence of countervailing examples. (shrink)

The provision of social services by Pentecostal/charismatic churches in Ghana is discussed in this article. Focusing on four selected Pentecostal/charismatic churches in Ghana, it is argued that Pentecostal/charismatic churches are not only concerned with the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ but are also actively engaged in the provision of social and welfare services aimed at transforming the lives of their constituents. This development, in the author’s view, points to a paradigm shift from the well-known otherworldly (...) nature of the Pentecostal/charismatic movements and projects a rather new movement whose growing social sensitivity has implications for national development. (shrink)

Scholarship on Pentecostal potential and practice forms a significant part of the debate on religion and development, not least when the focus is on sub-Saharan Africa. Yet in this debate African Pentecostal migrant communities have scarcely been represented. The article focuses on two such communities in South Africa, arguing that they may be regarded as developmental agents in the context of racialized xenophobia, even if they do not portray themselves as such. The argument is based on ethnographic fieldwork (...) and shaped through employing the concept of transformational development that centers on restoring relationships. The article concludes that the two communities – living in a context affected by racialized xenophobia – contribute meaningfully towards restoring relationships between people and God, one's relationship with oneself, relationships within the church community as well as relationships between the church community and the neighborhood. (shrink)

This paper explores recent Pentecostal scholarship in its attempt to articulate a Pentecostal theological method. In order to appreciate the roots of the academic study of Pentecostalism more broadly this study refers to the field of intercultural theology. Intercultural theology denotes the creative dialogue that local theologies have one with another. Two very different approaches to theology are considered in particular which have engaged with the Pentecostal tradition. The conclusion suggests an integration of Pentecostal-charismatic spirituality, as (...) per the insights of Pentecostal theological method, within the process of practical theology as an intercultural and comparative empirical discipline. (shrink)

The experience and understanding of ‘church’ in the Global South differs radically from the North. This is due to differences in size, background cultures and spiritualities, different experiences of the public space, varying resources and diverse leadership models, among other aspects. However, Pentecostalism in the North is more influential in theologizing and publishing, while the texts they produce do not always resonate with Southern needs and contexts. This paper wrestles with this situation and attempts to outline some tentative aspects of (...) a Pentecostal ecclesiology from the South. (shrink)

Emerged as a movement within the evangelical wing of Protestantism in the 20th century, Pentecostal Christianity is a mystical religious movement that seeks holiness in a purely individual experience and emphasizes spiritual unity. This movement, assumed an important role in spreading Christianity to the world is claimed to be the second largest group after Roman Catholicism with its different discourse and organization structure. Its mystical aspect, especially affects churches in the northern hemisphere as well as the southern hemisphere and (...) the movement's activities are considered a harvest of new souls collected by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this situation raises the question of what is the place of the movement within the Christian unity. For this reason, it is important to examine the participation of the movement in the issues of ecumenical unity since its emergence in the North of America.This article aims to reveal the relationship between Pentecostal Christianity and the global ecumenical movement and tends to provide a way of thinking about ecumenism encouraging Pentecostal participation in the ecumenical mission. Although Pentecostal movement defined as an ecumenical spirit has shown a negative attitude towards formal ecumenical processes in the early period, it has recently changed the way of approaching regional and international ecumenical negotiations. The aim of bilateral dialogues between Pentecostals and other historical churches seems to be on developing mutual respect and understanding rather than structural unity. The next will show whether these visible associations for now will become a realistic dialogue goal that includes structural unity in the future, or to form a spiritually invisible unity that moves freely in spirit without the need for a structural unity. (shrink)

Pentecostal phenomenon from history has always moved with migration. Reading Acts 1:8, Jesus linked the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the migration of his disciples and the gospel from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. Migration has become a worldwide, multi-directional phenomenon which is reshaping the Christian landscape. In this light, the article discussed Pentecostalism and migration by using two Ghanaian Classical Pentecostal churches in South Africa as a case study. The (...) article looked at their history, leadership development, transfer of missionaries from Ghana and its implications, their concept of contextualisation as well as some of their impact in South Africa. The article submits that it is time for both churches to start thinking of decolonising their foreign mission churches by helping them have autonomous status. Contribution: The article contributes to the on-going body of knowledge and research on migration with special emphasis on African classical Pentecostalism and migration. The study used Ghanaian Classical Pentecostal Churches in South Africa as a case study. (shrink)

The Lord’s Supper is not widely considered a distinguishing mark of Pentecostal spirituality, and yet the Breaking of Bread has been at the very centre of British Pentecostal worship and devotion from the very beginnings of the movement. This article examines key features of Pentecostal eucharistic spirituality through a consideration of Pentecostal writing on the sacrament as well as the songs and practices of Pentecostal eucharistic worship. It is argued that a Pentecostal spirituality of (...) the Supper rooted in meeting with the crucified and risen Christ in the Holy of Holies of the Lord’s Table encompasses the whole of the Christian life, by flowing out from the Breaking of Bread in contemplation, embodied response, cross-shaped speech, empowered mission, and holiness of life, and then drawing others back in to the Table to encounter the presence of Jesus in thanksgiving and joy. (shrink)

The day of Pentecost serves as a central integrative theme for the practices, theological concepts, and biblical narratives nurturing Pentecostal soteriology. The so-called “full gospel” provides the basic contours for ritual reflection among Pentecostals and recognizes salvation as both initial metaphor for Pentecostal theology and principal theological theme. The foundational soteriological plot of Pentecost is appropriated by Pentecostals in diverse contexts through the foundational rite of the altar call and response. A Pentecostal reading of salvation from the (...) biblical account of Pentecost and a subsequent articulation of Pentecostal soteriology cast in the image of Pentecost identifies the Pentecostal contribution to Christian soteriology as a persistent emphasis on salvation as praxis. (shrink)

The Apostolic Faith Mission of SA is the largest indigenous Pentecostal denomination in Southern Africa. The AFM followed the nationalist emphasis on apartness and by the end of the 1950s consisted of four separate churches: a White church, and three daughter churches — a Black, a Coloured and an Indian. This article attempts to outline events, persons, institutions and values that might be grouped under the heading `mission effort', along with insights and comments from personal experience.

The Pentecostal understandings of baptism in the Holy Spirit hold potential for a more substantively pneumatological understanding of spiritual formation, but there are conceptual barriers to overcome before this potential can be realized. Specifically, the emphasis of revivalism on crisis experience and individualistic piety must be set within a larger framework that is more expansively ecclesiological and eschatological. A more expansively eschatological view of Spirit baptism can provide this framework, opening breathing room for prioritizing a pneumatological vision of spiritual (...) formation in the life and mission of the church. Spirit baptism can still refer to new breakthroughs in the life of the Spirit but those experiences would be couched within a larger vision of spiritual formation. (shrink)

The idea for this article was developed in ecumenical discussion regarding the worrisome developments in some neo-Pentecostal ministries where stories of snake-eating, petrol-drinking, false prophecies and so on were being alleged. A burning question during the discussion was: what is it with the hermeneutic of experience that makes it possible for such stories to arise? Furthermore, how can this situation be remedied? The researchers set to answer this question by conducting a literature study on the subject of hermeneutics of (...) African Indigenous Churches, neo-Pentecostalism and Mission Pentecostalism. The inclusion of AICs and Mission Pentecostalism follows the scholarly consensus led by Allan Anderson in which all three together constitute African Pentecostalism. This article offers a critical reflection on the corrosive role of fundamentalist-inspired exclusivism, judgementalism and pride, which feed ignorance of the basic oneness of African Pentecostal Christianity. It concludes that abuse abounds in the divisions and maintenance of the above-mentioned fundamentalist attitudes and raises the necessity of creating awareness of belonging to one community. This community’s historical experience of the activity of the Spirit and Scripture may serve as critical input into its hermeneutic, hopefully lessening if not eradicating abuse. (shrink)

This paper makes some observations for assessing faith-based social services from a sociological perspective. More specifically, it examines internal factors like the theology of the group and external factors, the political context, for understanding a Pentecostal approach in the USA. Observations are made from the Los Angeles Dream Center, a Pentecostal ministry, which is also a model for other Dream Centers throughout the world. The central argument is twofold: Pentecostals offer a unique holistic approach to mission and (...) second, a sociological approach which takes seriously the theology of a group as well as its social context provides an optic for assessing similarities and differences among faith-based social services. (shrink)

The ongoing digital transformation (DT) in our world has not only brought change to secular systems but also to how things are done in the mission and ministry of the Christian faith. Although before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, some churches were interacting with DT, the post COVID-19 experience has shown that many more Christian organisations, especially, the African Neo-Pentecostal Churches (ANPC), have carved their niche in the digital space. With South Africa and Nigeria in view, this (...) article investigated how the ANPC interacts with DT to improve missional work and the possible implications of doing so in the last 15 years. In the process, three strategies were applied. Firstly, a literature review and some online investigations were undertaken to articulate how the ANPC have engaged with DT in the past. Secondly, as a primary source, a quantitative empirical survey was conducted through data collection from 109 Neo-Pentecostal leaders to assess the current development in the use of digital technology (DTECH) by the ANPC. Thirdly, the article applied Albert Humphrey’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) framework to analyse the implications of the interaction. The outcome showed that the strengths and opportunities of digital interaction such as the wider and easier reach of audience, online training, online giving, improved sound and light technology and advertisements among others are helpful in missional assignments. Nevertheless, some observed Weaknesses and Threats need attention. Most importantly, the lesson from the findings is that ‘techno church’ practices come with gains; however, interaction with DT is not sufficient for missional services.Contribution: Aligning with HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies’s focus and scope, this article contributed to an interdisciplinary religious aspect of research as it brought forward the interactions of African Pentecostalism, Historical Theology and Information Technology. (shrink)

Pentecostals have a gospel to proclaim and yet in the rush to share don’t often stop to reflect on the nature of the gospel. This article reflects on the ‘Full gospel’ that is proclaimed by many within classical Pentecostalism, against historical and contemporary considerations. It suggests that there are limits to who the Full gospel is good news for, particularly given the diversity within pentecostalism.

This article addresses the issue of Christian unity in relation to the Pentecostal and charismatic movements. Changing attitudes of Evangelicals and Pentecostals to ecumenism over the past century are noted, with a serious deterioration in the 1960s. Today there is a new situation. These movements have become larger and more influential, especially in the ‘global south’.These movements have contributed to a greater awareness of the Holy Spirit and have challenged the rationalistic reductionism of the Gospel opening the Churches to (...) a more holistic vision.The article closes with a series of challenges to these movements, biblical, pastoral and theological. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft Jahrgang: 25 Heft: 2 Seiten: 263-286.

In the year 2000 the artist Eduardo Kac made TV news by declaring he had ordered the « creation » of a genetically modified bunny. In 2004 the artist Steve Kurtz was detained by the FBI on the suspiscion of bioterrorism, because of the laboratory equipment he uses in installations that demistify biotechnology. The contrast between an artist-publicist who lends a showy allure to biotech and an artist-researcher who critiques its effects serves as the departure point for an examination of (...) the functions of science and art in a neoliberal society. Faced with trade secrets, the privatization of knowledge and ever-tightening control of laboratories, the artist-researcher can intervene to make public the research process and the consequences of commercializing a given discovery, particularly by using installations that allow the participant to manipulate both lab equipment and scientific concepts. But to do so, the artist must also interrupt the normal functioning of the neoliberal art world, where institutions supported by private sponsorship retain exclusive rights over fetishized products, destined to feed financial speculation. The article closes with a look at the work of Brandon Ballangee, an artist-researcher working in the field of ecology. (shrink)

In this article we examine the figure of the doctor in animated debates around public sector medicine in contemporary South Africa. The loss of health professionals from the South African public system is a key contributor to the present healthcare crisis. South African medical schools have revised curricula to engage trainee doctors with a broader set of social concerns, but the disjunctures between training, health systems failures, and a high disease burden call into question whether junior doctors are adequately prepared (...) or whether conditions of care extend beyond medical training. A concern with 'resilience' suggests a correct ethical relation to a putative obligation to provide care in a struggling system. By examining the ways in which trainee doctors are expected to 'cope' with the demands of medical practice, to adopt the correct moral posture in relation to the urgency of care, and to enact a desirable ethical relation to the broader social and political context of medical practice, we examine the picture of humanist concern that animates the subjectivities and techniques of the self called for by this training, and advocate for endurance as an alternative framework for understanding the political and ethical relations between doctors, patients and health systems. (shrink)