To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: African American Pentecostal churches.
Journal articles on the topic 'African American Pentecostal churches'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 journal articles for your research on the topic 'African American Pentecostal churches.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse journal articles on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Hudson, Andrew Sinclair. "Pentecostal History, Imagination, and Listening between the Lines." PNEUMA 36, no. 1 (2014): 25–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700747-03601003.
Full textAbstract:
As Pentecostals have historically lived, ministered, and led from the margins, their histories often challenge the historian. Reading the religious and social histories contemporaneous to the beginnings of many pentecostal churches and movements is often not enough to discover the complex tapestry of pentecostal voices. Not only oral but also, and particularly, aural historical elements play a key role in the recovery of the “unheard” protagonists in pentecostal histories. The example of Richard Green Spurling and the Church of God (Cleveland, TN) provides an opportunity to imaginatively reconstruct the influences of African Americans on a white Appalachian Baptist-turned-pentecostal preacher. Investigating sung moments of African American prisoners working on a local railroad could shape the religious pedigree of this classical North American pentecostal denomination. This article will explore pentecostal historiography by investigating Spurling and the sung music of African American prisoners as a case study of imaginatively rereading pentecostal histories.
2
Nel, Marius. "REMEMBERING AND COMMEMORATING THE THEOLOGICAL LEGACY OF JOHN G. LAKE IN SOUTH AFRICA AFTER A HUNDRED YEARS." Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 41, no. 3 (May 12, 2016): 147–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/400.
Full textAbstract:
John G. Lake visited South Africa in 1908 as part of a missionary team with the aim to propagate the message of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as experienced at the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission in 312 Azusa Street, Los Angeles under the leadership of William Seymour, son of African-American slaves. Lake’s missionary endeavours that ended in 1913 established the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa and eventually also the African Pentecostal churches (‘spiritual churches’, ‘Spirit-type churches’, ‘independent African Pentecostal churches’ or ‘prophet-healing churches’) constituting the majority of so-called African Independent/Initiated/Instituted (or indigenous) churches (AICs). This article calls for remembering and commemorating Lake’s theological legacy in South Africa in terms of these two groups of churches.
3
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. K. Asamoah-Gyadu. "Migration and African diaspora mission and the changing Christian landscape of the West." Pentecost Journal of Theology and Mission 1, no. 1 (July 1, 2016): 64–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.62868/pjtm.v1i1.168.
Full textAbstract:
This Essay reflects on the significance of African and African-led Pentecostal/charismatic churches in the modem West. The basic thesis is that through the establishment of African churches (that is churches made of Africans) and by African Christians forming churches in Europe ( that is churches formed by Africans but that have a predominantly white or mixed race membership), a case has been made for the reference to Christianity as a non-Western religion with Africa as one of its major hubs. Kwame Bediako argued that Christianity has now become a non-Western religion with its centers of dominance in Africa, Asia and Latin America (Bediako 1995).
4
Togarasei, Lovemore. "HISTORICISING PENTECOSTAL CHRISTIANITY IN ZIMBABWE." Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 42, no. 2 (August 22, 2016): 1–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/103.
Full textAbstract:
This paper is a first attempt to systematically present a history of Pentecostal Christianity in Zimbabwe. The paper first discusses the introduction of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in Zimbabwe before moving on to discuss some of the Pentecostal churches born out of the AFM. This is followed by a discussion of the 1980s and 1990s explosion of American type Pentecostal churches and the current Pentecostal charismatic churches that seem to be sweeping the Christian landscape in the country. The paper acknowledges the difficulty of writing a history of Pentecostalism in the country due to a lack of sources. It identifies AFM as the mother church of Pentecostal movements in Zimbabwe, but also acknowledges the existence and influence of other earlier movements. It has shown that the current picture of Zimbabwean Christianity is heavily influenced by Pentecostalism in mainline churches, African Initiated Churches (AICs) and the various Pentecostal movements.
5
Fabunmi, S. Fabunmi, and D. Ayegboyin Ayegboyin. "Nigerian immigrant Pentecostal churches and their impact on global Christianity." Pentecost Journal of Theology and Mission 1, no. 1 (July 1, 2016): 74–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.62868/pjtm.v1i1.169.
Full textAbstract:
One of the most discernible developments in World Christianity and mission study in recent years is the reverse flow of mission from the Global South to the North. A significant number of African preachers and missionaries from Latin America and Asia are taking the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to Europe and America. The majority of the ministers from Africa represent Pentecostal and Charismatic movements and it is perceptible that Nigerians and Ghanaians are major players in the planting and growth of these churches in the north Atlantic. Accordingly, scholars consistently maintain that now more than ever before, Christianity which was previously referred to as the religion of the Global North: Europe and North America, is now primarily the religion of the Global South: Africa, Asia and Latin America. As the phenomenon of African diaspora becomes progressively a noteworthy part of the general global trend caused by economic, spiritual, social and political factors, Africans are migrating from their country of birth ostensibly to "seek for greener pastures". Several issues arise from the claims above.
6
Aboagye-Mensah, R. K. Aboagye-Mensah. "A reflection on Pentecostalism and montanism from the perspective of the indigenous religion of Cybele or the great mother of the gods." Pentecost Journal of Theology and Mission 3 (December 31, 2019): 24–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.62868/pjtm.v3i1.121.
Full textAbstract:
The Church of Pentecost (CoP) has been identified as the fastest growing Christian denomination and the largest Protestant church in Ghana since 1989.1 Even though the CoP is grouped among the Classical Pentecostal Churches in Ghana, together with the Assemblies of God (AG), Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) and the Apostolic Church (AC), some scholars tend to describe it as an indigenous Ghanaian Pentecostal church for various reasons.2 For example, Asamoah-Gyadu indicates that - although it identifies with the classical Pentecostal tradition, the CoP has acquired a unique indigenous character, marking it out as different in outlook from, say, the Assemblies of God, whose American imprint after sixty years of existence in Ghana is still quite obvious.3 To some extent, some of the leaders of the CoP also seem to have similar view that the CoP is an indigenous Ghanaian church. Writing the introduction to the ‘History of The Church of Pentecost Volume 1’, Apostle D K Anan, the then chairman of the History Committee, points out that ‘The Church of Pentecost, from its inception, has been an indigenous, a do-it-yourself Church.’4 This assumption agrees with the claims of Rev. James McKeown, the first superintendent and chairman of the CoP that he wanted to plant ‘local species’ in African soil, since he believed that a British oak is more likely to struggle in Ghana.
7
Gustafson, David M. "Mary Johnson and Ida Anderson." PNEUMA 39, no. 1-2 (2017): 55–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700747-03901002.
Full textAbstract:
Mary Johnson (1884–1968) and Ida Anderson (1871–1964) are described in pentecostal historiography as the first pentecostal missionaries sent from America. Both of these Swedish-American missionaries experienced baptism of the Spirit, spoke in tongues, and were called as missionaries to Africa by God, whom they expected to speak through them to the native people. They went by faith and completed careers as missionaries to South Africa. But who were these two figures of which relatively little has been written? They were Swedish-American “Free-Free” in the tradition of August Davis and John Thompson of the Scandinavian Mission Society—the first Minnesota district of the Swedish Evangelical Free Mission, known today as the Evangelical Free Church of America. This work examines the lives of these two female missionaries, their work in South Africa, and their relationship with Swedish Evangelical Free churches in America, particularly its pentecostal stream of Free-Free (frifria).
8
Nel, Marius. "The Prosperity Message as a Syncretistic Deviation to the Gospel of Jesus." Religions 14, no. 3 (March 6, 2023): 346. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14030346.
Full textAbstract:
The prosperity message preached mainly by independent apostles and prophets in Network Christianity’s new prophetic churches with some Pentecostal leanings has become popular among many Africans. The link between the American prosperity message and its African nephew is discussed to disclose the unique African elements, such as Africa’s traditional emphasis on a holistic spirituality which includes attaining health and prosperity by pacifying evil spirits and angry ancestors. One of the reasons for the popularity of the prosperity message is that it links closely with the African enchanted worldview and the spirituality that characterizes African traditional religion. This challenges Pentecostals to consider its compatibility with the gospel of Jesus Christ, based on the discipleship of the cross and servanthood, and suggests that the neo-Pentecostal prophet and apostle have become the modern equivalent of Africa’s diviner and healer. Their message of prosperity deviates from the essence of the gospel of Christ in several respects: firstly, it entails a distorted view of God and the Bible, described in almost pantheistic terms; secondly, its anthropology and Christology view relegates Christ to a man empowered by the Spirit and elevates human beings’ union with God; lastly, its view of revelation authorizes extrabiblical revelation to the same extent as the biblical text. This paper concludes that the prosperity message represents a dangerous fallacy based on a syncretistic contextualization of the gospel to African spirituality.
9
Melton, J. Gordon. "The Beginnings of African American Pentecostalism." Pneuma 45, no. 1 (June 12, 2023): 5–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700747-bja10080.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract African American response to the pentecostal movement began soon after the introduction of the Apostolic Faith to Texas, where the movement experienced its first noticeable success. It spread within the Black community of Houston following the baptism of the Holy Spirit by Holiness minister Lucy Farrow. One of its number, William Seymour, introduced it to Southern California. An early congregation in Houston became the first congregation affiliated with the Church of God in Christ, which, by the mid-1920s, became the largest pentecostal denomination in the state. Toward the end of the second decade of the century, Robert C. Lawson introduced the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World to San Antonio. The story of Black Pentecostalism’s emergence in Texas underscores the importance of African Americans to the larger pentecostal narrative even as it highlights the role of Texas in hosting the early expansion of the Apostolic Faith.
10
Smith, James B. "Role of Spiritual Intelligence in Public Policy in the African American Pentecostal Church." Journal of Pentecostal Theology 30, no. 1 (May 5, 2021): 145–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/17455251-bja10014.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Although many U.S. faith-based organizations have become partners with the government, the African American Pentecostal Church (aapc), which holds spirituality as a means of serving humanity as its theological framework, has remained a silent partner in public policy engagement. With the framework of spiritual intelligence, this qualitative case study addresses the perceptions of African American Pentecostal leaders regarding how the church’s theology may have an impact on the public policy engagement of its parishioners. Twelve African American Pentecostal Bishops were interviewed, and data were coded and analyzed to identify themes. Results revealed that participants use their spirituality to connect with public policy issues that relate to their personal experiences. Findings also indicated that the aapc is not an organized denomination, but rather a conglomeration of factions. Lack of an organized epicenter and lack of training and development of its leaders prevent this church from engaging in the public sphere. Although members embrace their responsibility to care for the needs of others, the church lacks a collective response to community issues. Findings may be used to prepare the next generation of aapc leaders to unify the church to offer spiritual solutions to public policy issues.
11
Williams, Eric Lewis. "Preaching Outside the Temple: On the Literary Witness of James Baldwin as the Word Made Public." Religions 14, no. 12 (December 16, 2023): 1547. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14121547.
Full textAbstract:
It was the late Bishop Ithiel Conrad Clemmons, former minister of the First Church of God in Christ of Brooklyn, New York, who said of the late famed novelist/essayist James Baldwin that “he was America’s inside eye on the Black Holiness and Pentecostal Churches”. Though Baldwin admitted that the culture and ethos of the African-American Pentecostal church were “highly significant and indelibly imprinted upon him”, according to Baldwin, his faith community’s “naiveté about life appalled him and drove him away”. While Baldwin left behind the church of his youth, never to return, for the remainder of his writing career, the “backslidden” minister’s literary musings continued to be informed (in both style and content) by the formative religious tradition that he left behind. Though several studies have been undertaken that examine Baldwin’s significance to various aspects of the study of African-American religion and culture, precious little has been written regarding Baldwin’s continuing engagement of the idiom of African-American preaching, the idiom which cultural critic Michael Eric Dyson has nominated as the “jewel in the crown of Black Sacred Rhetoric”. While many studies of Baldwin include the fact that Baldwin was a preacher’s son and that Baldwin himself preached for a time during his youth, the account is yet to be given of how Baldwin’s writings continued to employ the rhythms, grammar, tones, and textures of the Black sacred rhetorical tradition, especially from beyond the borders of the African-American church. This essay seeks to expose not only how Baldwin self-consciously continued to stand in the rhetorical trajectory of the African-American preaching tradition, but the attempt is also to reveal how the writer secularizes the idiom, providing the Black Holiness preacher a hearing from beyond the church. Through a focus on Baldwin as a Black sacred rhetorician, sermonizing from beyond the church, this essay participates in the nearly 100-year-old conversation instigated by the early African-American literary and cultural critic James Weldon Johnson in God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (1927), regarding the neglected significance of the sermon and the preacher in African-American literature and Black expressive cultures. Baldwin’s sermonic is here examined as a highly distinctive mode of Black public theologizing.
12
Cooper, Melinda. "The Theology of Emergency: Welfare Reform, US Foreign Aid and the Faith-Based Initiative." Theory, Culture & Society 32, no. 2 (January 27, 2014): 53–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0263276413508448.
Full textAbstract:
This article addresses the rise of faith-based emergency relief by examining the US President’s Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS (PEPFAR), a public health intervention focused on the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that the theological turn in humanitarian aid serves to amplify ongoing dynamics in the domestic politics of sub-Saharan African states, where social services have assumed the form of chronic emergency relief and religious organizations have come to play an increasingly prominent role in the provision of such services. In the context of an ongoing public health crisis, PEPFAR has institutionalized the social authority of the Pentecostal and charismatic churches, leading to a semantic confluence between the postcolonial politics of emergency and the Pentecostal/Pauline theology of kairos or event. Far from being confined to the space of foreign aid, however, the faith-based turn in humanitarianism is in keeping with ongoing reforms in domestic social policy in the United States. While on the one hand the sustained welfare programmes of the New Deal and Great Society have been dismantled in favour of a system of emergency relief, on the other hand the federal government has intensified its moral, pedagogical and punitive interventions into the lives of the poor. The wilful transfer of welfare services to overtly religious service providers has played a decisive role in this process. The article concludes with a critical appraisal of the links between African and North American Pentecostal-evangelical churches and questions the revolutionary mission ascribed to Pauline political theology in recent political theory.
13
Young, A. Young. "The anthropology of Pentecostalism in Africa and along its transformative routes: A review essay." Pentecost Journal of Theology and Mission 2, no. 1 (August 31, 2017): 75–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.62868/pjtm.v2i1.178.
Full textAbstract:
If the turn of the twenty-first century featured the transfer of the Christian center of gravity from the Euro-American West to the global South, then a large part of the reason for the emergence of majority world Christianity can certainly be attributed to the explosiveness of churches across the African continent.' Not without reason, then, scholarship on African Pentecostalism has proliferated, and to the degree that globalization dynamics are intensifying African migration to and inter-relationship with the West, research on the African pentecostal diaspora and on transnational Pentecostalism as it concerns the African context are also beginning to appear. This essay overviews six recent books published in this second decade of the third millennium, equally divided between the sub-Saharan and West African regions.
14
Nnamani, Amuluche-Greg. "The Flow of African Spirituality into World Christianity." Mission Studies 32, no. 3 (October 15, 2015): 331–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341413.
Full textAbstract:
Much of the spirituality peculiar to African Christians bears traces of the influence of African Traditional Religions (atr). Prayer traditions like incantations, melodious choruses and appeal to spirits, typical of atr, have infiltrated the religious life of African Christians both at home and in Diaspora, amongst Christians in the mainline churches as well as in the African Independent Churches. Though the flow of African spiritual heritage into Christianity happened in the early history of Christianity, it accelerated in the lives of slaves in diaspora in the West Indies, the Americas and Europe. Today, the process continues amongst African migrants fleeing the unbearable political and economic strangulations in Africa; they migrate with their culture and spirituality and impact on Christianity worldwide. It is the intent of this paper therefore to explore how the African mystic sentiment, frenzied excitement and spirit-laden spirituality, which combine the sacred and the secular in practical life, influenced Christian worship and thought down the ages and, in recent times, contributed to the emergence of the Pentecostal and charismatic spirituality.
15
Matikiti, Robert. "Moratorium to Preserve Cultures: A Challenge to the Apostolic Faith Mission Church in Zimbabwe?" Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 43, no. 1 (July 13, 2017): 138–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/1900.
Full textAbstract:
This historical study will demonstrate that each age constructs an image of Jesus out of the cultural hopes, aspirations, biblical and doctrinal interfaces that make Christ accessible and relevant. From the earliest times, the missionaries and the church were of the opinion that Africans had no religion and culture. Any religious practice which they came across among the Africans was regarded as heathen practice which had to be eradicated. While references to other Pentecostal denominations will be made, this paper will focus on the first Pentecostal church in Zimbabwe, namely the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM). Scholars are not agreed on the origins of Pentecostalism. However, there is a general consensus among scholars that the movement originated around 1906 and was first given national and international impetus at Azusa Street in North America. William J. Seymour’s Azusa Street revival formed the most prominent and significant centre of Pentecostalism, which was predominantly black and had its leadership rooted in the African culture of the nineteenth century. Despite this cultural link, when Pentecostalism arrived in Zimbabwe from 1915 onwards, it disregarded African culture. It must be noted that in preaching the gospel message, missionaries have not been entirely without fault. This has resulted in many charging missionaries with destroying indigenous cultures and helping to exploit native populations for the benefit of the West. The main challenge is not that missionaries are changing cultures, but that they are failing to adapt the Christocentric gospel to different cultures. Often the gospel has been transported garbed in the paraphernalia of Western culture. This paper will argue that there is a need for Pentecostal churches to embrace good cultural practices in Zimbabwe.
16
Knight, Dennis Ray. "Time to Tell." James Baldwin Review 3, no. 1 (October 4, 2017): 131–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.7227/jbr.3.8.
Full textAbstract:
If he is known for anything other than his writings, James Baldwin is best known for his work as a civil rights activist. What is often overlooked is Baldwin’s work toward uniting two under-represented and oppressed groups: African Americans and homosexuals. With his first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, Baldwin began a career of speaking about and for homosexuals and their relationship with the institutions of African-American communities. Through its focus on a sensitive, church-going teenager, Go Tell It on the Mountain dramatizes the strain imposed upon homosexual members of African-American communities within the Pentecostal Church through its religious beliefs.
17
Mbenga, Bernard K. "The Reverend Kenneth Mosley Spooner: African-American missionary to the BaFokeng of Rustenburg district, South Africa, 1915-1937." New Contree 81 (December 30, 2018): 25. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/nc.v81i0.66.
Full textAbstract:
This article examines the missionary and educational work and impact of Kenneth Spooner, an African-American missionary among the BaFokeng African community in Rustenburg district, South Africa from 1915 to 1937. Originally from Barbados, Spooner immigrated to the USA from where he came to South Africa as an International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) missionary. Spooner’s church became very popular among the African communities of Rustenburg. His school, for example, for the first time in the region used English as a medium of teaching, unlike the much older German Lutheran Church school’s teaching medium of Setswana; in the mid-1910s in rural South Africa, a black man preaching only in English, with another black person interpreting into an African language, was a spectacle – and another of Spooner’s draw-cards. The article situates Spooner and his work in the sociopolitical context of agitation by white politicians for more and stronger racial discrimination and segregation.
18
Delgado, Dara. "The Practicality of Holiness." PNEUMA 41, no. 1 (June 13, 2019): 50–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700747-04101028.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract In the second edition of the book African American Religion: Varieties of Protest and Accommodation, Hans A. Baer and Merrill Singer explore the relationship between Black Holiness–Pentecostalism and social activism. Ultimately, the authors conclude this portion of their study by asserting that “the vast majority of African American conversionist sects [among which they include Black Holiness–Pentecostalism] remain apolitical in their posture toward the larger society.” The idea is that Black Holiness–Pentecostals tend to put more emphasis on socially approved behaviors, attitudes, work ethic, and styles of dress than on engaging in socioeconomic and political affairs. This article considers Baer and Singer’s claim that Black Holiness–Pentecostals have historically tended to be apathetic toward worldly concerns and puts that claim into conversation with the life and work of Ida Bell Robinson, founder of the Mt. Sinai Holy Church of America (1925–1946). I explore the issues of class, race, and gender in relation to holiness. Moreover, I contend that the distinct practices of early Black Holiness–Pentecostals proved critical to living a sanctified, or clean, life and also determined the ways local churches addressed and worked to remedy problems around poverty (both social and economic) in their communities.
19
Turner, William. "A Response to Clark Pinnock’s ‘Recovery of the Holy Spirit in Evangelical Theology’." Journal of Pentecostal Theology 13, no. 2 (2005): 269–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0966736905053252.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThis is a response to the paper by Clark Pinnock (JPT 13.1), in which he makes a case for the importance of pneumatology in evangelical theology. The response applauds Pinnock’s effort. It goes on to lift up areas where further development in pneumatology is needed—particularly in relation to liberation theologies and in dialogue with African-American church theologians and Pentecostal theologians.
20
Mohr, Adam. "Out of Zion Into Philadelphia and West Africa: Faith Tabernacle Congregation, 1897-1925." Pneuma 32, no. 1 (2010): 56–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/027209610x12628362887631.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractIn May 1897 Faith Tabernacle Congregation was formally established in North Philadelphia, emerging from an independent mission that shortly thereafter became the Philadelphia branch of John Alexander Dowie’s Christian Catholic Church. Faith Tabernacle probably abstained from merging with Dowie’s organization because, unlike the Christian Catholic Church, it rigorously followed the faith principle for managing church finances. Like the Christian Catholic Church, Faith Tabernacle established many similar institutions, such as a church periodical (called Sword of the Spirit), a faith home, and a missions department. After Assistant Pastor Ambrose Clark became the second presiding elder in 1917, many of these institutions began flourishing in connection with a marked increase in membership, particularly in the American Mid-Atlantic as well as in Nigeria and Ghana. Unfortunately, a schism occurred in late 1925 that resulted in Clark’s leaving Faith Tabernacle to found the First Century Gospel Church. This event halted much of Faith Tabernacle’s growth both domestically and in West Africa. Subsequently, many of the former Faith Tabernacle followers in Nigeria and Ghana founded the oldest and largest Pentecostal churches in both countries.
21
Salter, Phia S., and Glenn Adams. "Mother or Wife?" Social Psychology 43, no. 4 (January 2012): 232–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000124.
Full textAbstract:
Inspired by “Mother or Wife” African dilemma tales, the present research utilizes a cultural psychology perspective to explore the dynamic, mutual constitution of personal relationship tendencies and cultural-ecological affordances for neoliberal subjectivity and abstracted independence. We administered a resource allocation task in Ghana and the United States to assess the prioritization of conjugal/nuclear relationships over consanguine/kin relationships along three dimensions of sociocultural variation: nation (American and Ghanaian), residence (urban and rural), and church membership (Pentecostal Charismatic and Traditional Western Mission). Results show that tendencies to prioritize nuclear over kin relationships – especially spouses over parents – were greater among participants in the first compared to the second of each pair. Discussion considers issues for a cultural psychology of cultural dynamics.
22
van Gorder, Christian. "Beyond the Rivers of Africa: The Afrocentric Pentecostalism of Mensa Otabil." Pneuma 30, no. 1 (2008): 33–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157007408x287768.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractMensa Otabil is an African Pentecostal who has developed an Afrocentric focus as a way of responding to the initiatives and interest that face today's growing African Pentecostal church. Otabil warns African Americans that questions of their relationship with Africa must be addressed. Perhaps Otabil's legacy will be his most immediate role of a motivational speaker and encourager for progress in a part of the world that has been drowned with both internal and external projections of pessimism. What is certain is that Mensa Otabil believes in a Pentecostal faith which is able to speak to Africa's social needs. His conviction is rooted in his conviction that the inherent strength of the great people of Africa is yet to be fully released.
23
Paas, Stefan. "Mission from Anywhere to Europe." Mission Studies 32, no. 1 (April 10, 2015): 4–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341377.
Full textAbstract:
World Christianity entails a multi-centric Christianity, and mission from anywhere to anywhere. Today, any place can be a mission base and a mission field at the same time. According to Andrew Walls this may lead to a new “Ephesian moment” in Christianity. To what extent this is happening can only be found out, however, by doing actual research into local encounters of different Christianities. In this article three post-War missionary movements to Europe are subjected to scrutiny: American evangelicals, who came to Europe after the Second World War; African immigrants, who started to plant churches in the 1980s; and Australian neo-Pentecostals, who have recently extended their missionary efforts to European cities. Especially, attention is paid to their views of Europe and European churches, their methods of mission, and how they are received by Europeans. This analysis forms the basis of several missiological reflections regarding mission in secularized (Western) Europe, with a view to the realization of “Ephesian moments”. It is demonstrated that the late modern missionary movement to Europe is determined to a large extent by globalizing tendencies, which threaten local expressions of Christianity. Also, some stereotypical pictures of Europe, as they are held by missionaries, are challenged. Different approaches are suggested in order to have a genuine encounter between different kinds of Christianity on the European mission field.
24
Clarke, Clifton. "Old Wine and New Wine Skins: West Indian and the New West African Pentecostal Churches in Britain and the Challenge of Renewal." Journal of Pentecostal Theology 19, no. 1 (2010): 143–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/174552510x489937.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThis article is about the black Pentecostal churches of West Indian and West African origin in the Britain. It explores the challenges and opportunities for renewal and reappropriation that confront transmigration black Pentecostal churches beyond the first and second generation. It looks at the older West Indian Pentecostal churches (New Testament Church of God) and the new West African churches (Redeemed Christian Church of God) and asks, what are the lessons of continuity and renewal that they can mutually teach each other at a time of steady decline of traditional black Pentecostalism and the rise of a new West African Pentecostal brand? It places black Pentecostal movements in Britain within the broader global Pentecostal movement and argues against fragmented identities and historiographies which mitigate against mutual learning and shared experience.
25
Anderson, Allan. "Diversity in the Definition of "Pentecostal/Charismatic" and Its Ecumenical Implications." Mission Studies 19, no. 1 (2002): 40–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157338302x00170.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractDefining the terms "Pentecostal" and "Charismatic" is a significant issue in the study of global Pentecostalism, but is not easily achieved. A clear sense of identity hinders Pentecostals from being truly ecumenical. Diversity is a primary defining issue for Pentecostal identity, although some self-definitions by Pentecostals attempt to demonstrate "distinctiveness" and create unnecessarily strained relationships with other Christians. An inclusive definition should be adopted in order to avoid both the bigotry of excluding those who do not agree with a particular understanding ofthe Scriptures and the triumphalism ofthose who boast about the growth of their own movement. Global statistics of the strength of Pentecostalism are conditioned by the authors' interpretations of their own categories. Most of the halfbillion people quoted in these statistics are not classical Pentecostals, and are predominantly Africans, Latin Americans and Asians, among whom the greatest expansion of the movement has occurred. Adopting an inclusive definition of "Pentecostal/Charismatic" will maximize the opportunities for ecumenism. Pentecostalism has contributed to nearly as many different divisions as it took the rest of the church a millennium to produce; yet Pentecostalism is both ecumenical and multicultural. If the terms are best understood as referring to those movements with an emphasis on the experience of the power ofthe Holy Spirit with accompanying manifestations of the imminent presence of God, the recognition of the unifying experiences of the Spirit has enormous potential for genuine ecumenical encounters.
26
Anderson, Allan. "New African Initiated Pentecostalism and Charismatics in South Africa." Journal of Religion in Africa 35, no. 1 (2005): 66–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1570066052995843.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThe new Pentecostal churches in South Africa, while not as numerically significant as those elsewhere in Africa, follow similar patterns. Tracing the rise of white megachurches in the 1980s and the subsequent emergence of black Charismatic churches similar to those found elsewhere in Africa, this article outlines their ambivalent relationship with the apartheid regime and the increasing disillusionment of black Pentecostals in the run-up to the 1994 elections. It traces the roles of Pentecostal and Charismatic leaders in the new South Africa and the impact of African Charismatic preachers from elsewhere, pilgrimages to other Pentecostal centres and other factors of globalization. After a survey of different Pentecostal churches, it discusses how new South African Pentecostals illustrate Coleman's dimensions of a globalized Charismatic Christianity.
27
Olofinjana, Israel Oluwole. "Pentecostal Dynamics of African Initiated Churches." International Review of Mission 108, no. 2 (November 2019): 375–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/irom.12291.
Full text
28
Gilliland, Dean S. "How “Christian” Are African Independent Churches?" Missiology: An International Review 14, no. 3 (July 1986): 259–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/009182968601400301.
Full textAbstract:
The article recognizes the impact that independent churches are having on the formation of Christianity on the African continent. Failure to recognize these churches arises from issues that are related to the historical missionary movement. A responsible theological evaluation of these churches must be done. Superficial acceptance is as intolerable as unfair condemnation. A grid for typing the wide-ranging movements is as follows: (1) Primary-evangelical Pentecostal, (2) Secondary-evangelical Pentecostal, (3) Revelational-indigenous, (4) Indigenous-eclectic. Classification of the churches into these groups utilizes African religious phenomena as well as normative Christian factors such as the role of Scripture, the place of Christ, and the sacraments.
29
Hasiholan, Anggi Maringan. "Polisentris perkembangan Pentakostalisme: Sebuah kajian retrospektif dari gereja abad kuno hingga pertengahan." KURIOS 9, no. 1 (April 3, 2023): 11. http://dx.doi.org/10.30995/kur.v9i1.592.
Full textAbstract:
Pentecostals are multiplying in quantity due to the socio-cultural context in which they grow. This development occurred in the Southern part of the world, namely Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The World South displays a unique and different Pentecostal spirituality from the 1906 Azusa Street incident. This difference provokes a search for the roots of Pentecostalism besides Azusa Street. That is why a polycentric approach is needed in tracing the history of the Pentecostal church. This study aims to examine Azusa Street retrospectively from ancient to medieval churches. The research method used is qualitative with a historical approach. The study results show that a spirituality similar to Pentecostalism has spanned from ancient to medieval church history practiced by certain groups and people. However, their influence to become the beginning of the classical Pentecostalism movement was not decisive because the praxis shown did not have a significant effect and did not shake the social life of the community where their spirituality was born. In conclusion, the differences in the praxis of Pentecostalism in Latin America, Africa, and Asia show other roots outside Azusa Street. AbstrakKaum Pentakostal berkembang dengan sangat cepat dalam kuantitas karena konteks sosial-budaya dimana mereka bertumbuh. Perkembangan ini terjadi di dunia bagian Selatan, yaitu Amerika Latin, Afrika, dan Asia. Dunia Selatan menampilkan spiritualitas Pentakostal yang unik dan berbeda dengan peristiwa Azusa Street 1906. Perbedaan ini memancing penelusuran mengenai akar-akar Pentakostalisme selain Azusa Street. Itu sebabnya, diperlukan pendekatan polisentris dalam menelusuri sejarah gereja Pentakostal. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengkaji retrospektif Azusa Street dari gereja abad kuno hingga abad pertengahan. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif dengan pendekatan sejarah. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa spiritualitas yang mirip dengan Pentakostalisme telah terbentang dari sejarah gereja abad kuno hingga pertengahan yang dipraktikkan oleh kelompok dan orang tertentu. Namun, pengaruh mereka untuk menjadi awal pergerakan Pentakostalisme klasik tidak kuat karena praksis yang ditunjukkan tidak berpengaruh besar dan tidak mengguncang kehidupan sosial masyarakat tempat spiritualitas mereka lahir. Kesimpulannya, perbedaan praksis Pentakostalisme di Amerika Latin, Afrika, dan Asia menunjukkan bahwa terdapat akar-akar lain di luar Azusa Street.
30
Kgatle, Mookgo Solomon, and Joshua Chigorimbo. "Inaugurated Eschatology within South African Pentecostalism." Journal of Pentecostal Theology 33, no. 1 (February 28, 2024): 145–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/17455251-bja10061.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Pentecostal eschatology differs from one sub-tradition of Pentecostalism to the other in a South African context. Sub-traditions such as classical Pentecostalism and the New Prophetic Churches (npc s) have been engaged in more than one form of eschatology. The differences are explored here to understand their implications for Pentecostal eschatology. The Pentecostal prophets in npc s do not exclusively focus on a futuristic eschatological approach as opposed to classical Pentecostalism. Pentecostal prophets in npc s embrace a realised eschatology of the kingdom in the here and the now. The challenge is that this approach presents some form of abuse in these churches. How do we address these abuses emanating from an overemphasised realised eschatology? How do we deal with the tensions between realised eschatology and futuristic eschatology? What could be the relevant eschatology that balances both extremes of a futuristic eschatology and realised eschatology? These questions are addressed here through an inaugurated eschatology.
31
Omenyo, Cephas. "From the Fringes to the Centre: Pentecostalization of the Mainline Churches in Ghana." Exchange 34, no. 1 (2005): 39–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1572543053506338.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractIn this article, the author deals with the unprecedented integration of charismatic features in the ethos of the mainline churches of Ghana which respond to typical African questions thus rejuvenating those churches. He describes and analyses the way the charismatic phenomenon which began in the margins has become a central element of all the mainline historic churches in Ghana. While in the past the African Independent/Instituted churches and later Pentecostal and Neo–Pentecostal churches were noted for charismatic enthusiasm, currently the phenomenon has found its way into the mainline churches thus blurring the sharp distinction between mainline churches and Pentecostals. As a result, there is a major paradigmatic shift in the spirituality, theology, practices and programs of mainline churches in Ghana. Thus the phenomenon can no longer be regarded as peripheral in the life of the older Ghanaian churches.
32
Williams Omotoye, Rotimi. "Pentecostalism and African diaspora : a case study of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), in North America." African Journal of Religion, Philosophy and Culture 1, no. 2 (December 1, 2020): 77–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.31920/2634-7644/2020/1n2a5.
Full textAbstract:
Pentecostalism as a new wave of Christianity became more pronounced in 1970's and beyond in Nigeria. Since then scholars of Religion, History, Sociology and Political Science have shown keen interest in the study of the Churches known as Pentecostals because of the impact they have made on the society. The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was established by Pastor Josiah Akindayomi in Lagos,Nigeria in 1952. After his demise, he was succeeded by Pastor Adeboye Adejare Enock. The problem of study of this research was an examination of the expansion of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to North America, Caribbean and Canada. The missionary activities of the church could be regarded as a reversed mission in the propagation of Christianity by Africans in the Diaspora. The methodology adopted was historical. The primary and secondary sources of information were also germane in the research. The findings of the research indicated that the Redeemed Christian Church of God was founded in North America by Immigrants from Nigeria. Pastor Adeboye Enock Adejare had much influence on the Church within and outside the country because of his charisma. The Church has become a place of refuge for many immigrants. They are also contributing to the economy of the United States of America. However, the members of the Church were faced with some challenges, such as security scrutiny by the security agencies. In conclusion, the RCCGNA was a denomination that had been accepted and embraced by Nigerians and African immigrants in the United States of America.
33
Omenyo, Cephas N., and Wonderful Adjei Arthur. "The Bible Says! Neo-Prophetic Hermeneutics in Africa." Studies in World Christianity 19, no. 1 (April 2013): 50–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/swc.2013.0038.
Full textAbstract:
The neo-prophetic churches, the most recent expression of Pentecostalism, currently experiencing stupendous growth, do more contextual or inculturation hermeneutics than did earlier Pentecostal movements. They have, as their pillars, African biblical hermeneutics (shaped by elements in the African context) and global Pentecostal hermeneutical paradigms (also shaped by Pentecostal beliefs). In relying on these two pillars, they have appropriated western biblical hermeneutical tools, categories and methods in the African milieu; hence their appeal to a large number of contemporary African Christians.
34
Ireland, Jerry M. "African Traditional Religion and Pentecostal Churches in Lusaka, Zambia: An Assessment." Journal of Pentecostal Theology 21, no. 2 (2012): 260–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/17455251-02102006.
Full textAbstract:
This study seeks to discover how African Traditional Religion (ATR) is viewed by Pentecostal church leaders in Lusaka, Zambia. The convenience sample focused on fourteen Pentecostal churches of various denominational affiliations within the city of Lusaka, Zambia. A thirty-one-item survey tool, the Assessment of Traditional Religious Practices (ATRP), was developed and administered to 128 leaders regarding the prevalence of traditional religious practices among their congregants. The ATRP also assessed how these leaders typically respond to concerns related to ATR within their ministerial context. Findings indicated that traditional beliefs and practices continue to persist, though at nominal levels, within these churches. More importantly, a majority of these leaders feel adequately equipped to handle issues related to ATR because they understand their ministerial calling in terms of spiritual empowerment. The study concludes that the challenges presented by ATR regarding Christian discipleship continue to persist in local Pentecostal churches. However, leaders have employed a practical theological understanding of Pentecostalism, allowing them to overcome many of these same challenges.
35
Mhandu, John, and Vivian Ojong. "Covid-19 and the South African Pentecostal Landscape: Historic Shift from Offline Liturgical Practice to Online Platforms." Journal for the Study of Religion 34, no. 2 (January 21, 2021): 1–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2021/v34n2a5.
Full textAbstract:
The Coronavirus (Covid-19) disease resulted in an epic shift from offline liturgical practice to online platforms where South African Pentecostal churches are worshiping, using online tools such as Zoom. This article explores how offline liturgical practices, traditional power dynamics, and the performative and communication characteristics of Pentecostalism are decoded into the digital space, and the impact it has on congregants and church leadership. The self-image of South African Pentecostalism is unpacked in the context of Covid-19. Grounded in the interpretivist research paradigm, the article draws on telephonic interviews conducted with 20 purposively selected Pentecostal lay leaders and pastors in the eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal. The article uses the Giddens theory of structuration to understand the social structural challenges emanating from an online liturgical practice. The prohibition of gatherings to promote social distancing culminated in the use of online platforms as an alternative to physical gatherings. Key findings suggest that this historic shift created a plethora of challenges for Pentecostal churches in Durban, resulting in some being unable to reopen. Moving to online platforms meant that South African Pentecostal churches in Durban had to adapt to new modalities of practice in transmitting sacred information. By depriving Pentecostal churches the opportunity to perform rituals of solidarity and other offline liturgical practices, Covid-19 disrupted important social systems and its performative and communication traits. Despite the challenges and changes caused by this novel pandemic, this study also found that Covid-19 provided an opportunity to assess the doctrines of Pentecostal leaders. In other words, online worship is coupled with benefits that must not be overlooked.
36
Yong, Amos. "Justice Deprived, Justice Demanded: Afropentecostalisms and the Task of World Pentecostal Theology Today." Journal of Pentecostal Theology 15, no. 1 (2006): 127–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0966736906069260.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractBy and large, Pentecostal theology has proceeded with little attention to black Pentecostalism except as `objects' of historical or sociological analysis. But what does Afropentecostalism—black Pentecostalism in its global contexts—have to contribute to the formulation of a world Pentecostal theology for the twenty-first century? The works of Frank Chikane in South Africa, Robert Beckford in Britain, and Cheryl Sanders in North America are discussed and analyzed as points of entry into the theology of Afropentecostal churches. This essay assumes that the future of world Pentecostal theology cannot ignore the important contributions of Afropentecostal theological traditions.
37
Attanasi, Katherine. "Professional Women in South African Pentecostal Charismatic Churches." Pneuma 33, no. 2 (2011): 282–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/027209611x575087.
Full text
38
Biri, Kudzai, and Molly Manyonganise. "“Back to Sender”: Re-Visiting the Belief in Witchcraft in Post-Colonial Zimbabwean Pentecostalism." Religions 13, no. 1 (January 5, 2022): 49. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13010049.
Full textAbstract:
This paper is a critical analysis of the witchcraft beliefs in Pentecostalism in post-colonial Zimbabwe. While Pentecostals claim “a complete break from the past”, there have emerged new dimensions that show that the belief in witches and witchcraft is deeply entrenched among Pentecostals. It also brings to the fore the underlying aspects of the creativity and innovation that are informed by African spiritual or metaphysical realities. Research since 1980 (when Zimbabwe got her independence from the British) indeed confirmed the existence of witchcraft beliefs and practices, although it was heavily suppressed in the churches. This paper re-visits the belief in witchcraft activities in Pentecostalism through examining new avenues of expression in both older and newer Pentecostal churches. The newer Pentecostal churches, in particular, those founded after 2010, have demonstrated unique innovation in theology. Thus, the belief in witchcraft and witches warrants a fresh examination in light of these new developments. We, therefore argue that the emergence of diverse newer Pentecostal churches in the midst of strong older Pentecostal churches has opened new ways of negotiating the Bible and Shona culture.
39
Gooren, Henri. "The Pentecostalization of Religion and Society in Latin America." Exchange 39, no. 4 (2010): 355–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157254310x537025.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractPentecostalization is the combination of Pentecostal growth, Pentecostal influence on other religions, and Pentecostal impact on the rest of society. Increased competition with other religions (the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and mainstream Protestantism) forces these to adopt Pentecostal elements. Pentecostal elements (like conversion discourses, speaking in tongues, and faith healing) gradually spread in the mass media, affect non-religious groups in civil society and even the religiously unaffiliated, show up in political campaigns, affect economic behavior and entrepreneurship, and impact gender relations. Main research questions: To what extent is there a Pentecostalization of religion and society happening in Latin American countries, what forms is this taking, how are Pentecostal churches affected by the Pentecostalization process, and how could this lead to a new theoretical framework? The new theoretical framework of Pentecostalization links various previous approaches, theories, and unconnected country studies. Using ethnographic research, semi-structured interviews, and surveys, Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal churches and organizations will be analyzed in Chile and Paraguay. Chile has the oldest and strongest Pentecostal churches of Latin America, whereas Pentecostal growth only recently started in Paraguay, providing a clear contrast in the level of Pentecostalization.
40
Darko, N. Darko. "Pentecostalism and Africa-to-Africa missions-financing praxis." Pentecost Journal of Theology and Mission 3 (December 31, 2019): 87–100. http://dx.doi.org/10.62868/pjtm.v3i1.124.
Full textAbstract:
This article briefly introduces the missions-financing praxis of four Pentecostal churches that are prominent in the emerging African-to- Africa missions, and how this could form a basis for missional practice. The four major churches are, The Church of Pentecost of Ghana, The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, Light House Chapel International of Ghana, and The Redeemed Christian Church of God of Nigeria. Before we examine the missions-financing of these missional Pentecostal churches, it will be helpful to explain some of the terms that are used in this article, namely, Mission, Missions and Africa-to-Africa missions.
41
Olorunnisola, Titus S. "MIGRATION AND THE TRANS-NATIONALISATION OF AFRICAN PENTECOSTALISM IN EUROPE." Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal 7, no. 1 (January 13, 2020): 66–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.71.7163.
Full textAbstract:
Migration, the movement of people from one geographical location to another is an indispensable component of globalisation which has impacted the latter with visible effects. Neo-Pentecostal Christian movements from different parts of Africa have seized the advantage of both migration and globalization to advance their missionary causes. This has resulted in planting new churches and organization of para-church ministries and outreaches in different parts of Europe and elsewhere.
Using the Critical Integrated Analysis (CIA) method, which seeks to generate data from the existing body of knowledge, the article explored the trajectories of African migration vis-à-vis the penetration of African-led Pentecostal churches in some part of Europe. This process has stemmed encounters between the European and African cultures plus the hurdle of navigating the cultural nuances of the Europeans.
The article discovered that although there are shreds of evidence of growth among African-led migrant churches, more grounds need to be covered. It suggested that migrant churches need to structure their ministries and organisations in ways that propel appropriate cultural engagement with their host communities to enable them to influence and transform their immediate social realities.
42
Machingura, Francis. "The Significance of Glossolalia in the Apostolic Faith Mission, Zimbabwe." Studies in World Christianity 17, no. 1 (April 2011): 12–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/swc.2011.0003.
Full textAbstract:
This study seeks to look at the meaning and significance of Glossolalia 1 in the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe. 2 This paper has also been influenced by debates surrounding speaking in tongues in most of the Pentecostal churches in general and the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe in particular. It was the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) that brought Pentecostalism to Zimbabwe. 3 The paper situates the phenomenon of glossolalia in the Zimbabwean socio-economic, spiritual, and cultural understanding. The Pentecostal teachings on the meaning and significance of speaking in tongues have caused a stir in psychological, linguistics, sociological, anthropological, ethnographical, philological, cultural, and philosophical debates. Yet those in the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe argue that their concept of glossolalia is biblically rooted. Surprisingly non-glossolalist Christians also use the Bible to dismiss the pneumatic claims by Pentecostals. The emphasis on speaking in tongues in the AFM has rendered Zimbabwean ‘mainline’ churches like Anglicans, Catholics and Methodists as meaningless. This is the same with African Indigenous Churches which have also been painted with ‘fault-lines’, giving an upper hand to AFM in adding up to its ballooning number of followers. This is as a result of their restorationist perspective influenced by the history of the Pentecostal Churches that views all non-Pentecostal churches as having fallen from God's intentions through compromise and sin. The AFM just like other Pentecostal churches in Zimbabwe exhibit an aggressive assault and intolerance toward certain aspects of the African culture, which they label as tradition, 4 for example, traditional customs, like paying homage to ancestral spirits (Kurova Guva or bringing back the spirit of the dead ceremony), and marriage customs (polygamy, kusungira or sanctification of the first born ritual). The movement has managed to rid itself of the dominance of the male adults and the floodgates were opened to young men and women, who are the victims of traditional patriarchy. Besides glossolalia being one of the pillars of AFM doctrines, the following also bear some importance: personal testimonies, tithing, church weddings, signs/miracles, evangelism and prosperity theology.
43
White, Peter, and Simbarashe Pondani. "Church-Franchise: Missional Innovation for Church Planting and Leadership Mentorship in Neo-Pentecostal and Neo-Prophetic Churches in Africa." Religions 13, no. 8 (July 29, 2022): 698. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13080698.
Full textAbstract:
The great commission, as traditionally understood in Christendom, has been the core basis for church growth. Passion for the lost, evangelism outreach, conversions, and baptism followed by congregating, have culminated in church establishments. Pentecostals, especially the Neo-Pentecostal and Neo-Prophetic Churches have attracted huge crowds. The thrust towards fulling the Missio Dei has seen micro–Neo-Pentecostal Churches and Neo-Prophetic Churches in Africa becoming enormous ministries over a short period of time. However, growth within Neo-Pentecostalism and Neo-Prophetism in the African setting has been associated with all kinds of challenges: leadership crisis, fund misuse, and a lack of accountability. Furthermore, controversy with regard to some of the Neo-Pentecostal and Neo-Prophetic leaders running these ‘churches’, has made headlines on several accounts within the social media space. It seems that there is a lack of leadership mentorship as many of them do not belong to a denominational body or lack the idea of ‘belonging’. In view of the aforementioned reasons and other related challenges, this article proposes an innovative missional model of franchising. The thrust of this article is to explore the possibility of church-franchising and how the Nnoboa mission concept proposed by White (2019) offers an alternative framework within which to engage the Neo-Pentecostal and Neo-Prophetic Churches for church planting and leadership mentorship.
44
Englund, Harri. "CHRISTIAN INDEPENDENCY AND GLOBAL MEMBERSHIP: PENTECOSTAL EXTRAVERSIONS IN MALAWI." Journal of Religion in Africa 33, no. 1 (2003): 83–111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006603765626721.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractRecent scholarship on Pentecostalism in Africa has debated issues of transnationalism, globalisation and localisation. Building on Bayart's notion of extraversion, this scholarship has highlighted Pentecostals' far-flung networks as resources in the growth and consolidation of particular movements and leaders. This article examines strategies of extraversion among independent Pentecostal churches. The aim is less to assess the historical validity of claims to independency than to account for its appeal as a popular idiom. The findings from fieldwork in a Malawian township show that half of the Pentecostal churches there regard themselves as 'independent'. Although claims to independency arise from betrayals of the Pentecostal promise of radical equality in the Holy Spirit, independency does sustain Pentecostals' desire for membership in a global community of believers. Pentecostal independency thus provides a perspective on African engagements with the apparent marginalisation of the sub-continent in the contemporary world. Two contrasting cases of Pentecostal independency reveal similar aspirations and point out the need to appreciate the religious forms of extraversion. Crucial to Pentecostal extraversions are believers' attempts to subject themselves to a spiritually justified hierarchy.
45
Asamoah-Gyadu, Kwabena. "Pentecostalism in Africa and the Changing Face of Christian Mission." Mission Studies 19, no. 1 (2002): 14–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157338302x00161.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThird World Christianity has been experiencing exponential growth since the turn of the twentieth century. Nowhere is this renewal in Christianity more visible than Africa, where religious innovations led by indigenous Christians have mostly been Pentecostal in character. The Pentecostal movements leading the current renewal of Christianity in African countries like Ghana are autonomous, independent of both the established historic mission denominations and the older classical Pentecostal churches like the Assemblies of God. Ghanaian Pentecostalism in its various streams has adapted the global Pentecostal culture to suit the needs of the local context in ways that have changed the nature and direction of Christian mission. The traditional themes of healing, deliverance, prosperity and empowerment associated with the global Pentecostal movement have been synthesized with traditional worldviews, giving Pentecostal Christianity an added relevance in African context. This has yielded massive responses. In Pentecostal movements under discussion, therefore, one finds the ingenious ability of indigenous Christians to appropriate a phenomenon of global significance for local consumption.
46
Dodson, Jacob D. "Gifted for Change: The Evolving Vision for Tongues, Prophecy, and Other Charisms in American Pentecostal Churches." Studies in World Christianity 17, no. 1 (April 2011): 50–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/swc.2011.0005.
Full textAbstract:
Over the past few decades many Pentecostal churches in the United States have experienced a decrease in the practices of prophecy and speaking in tongues during public worship. This article will explore how this change has taken place and why it matters to American Pentecostals. Three major trajectories will emerge in the discussion including: the changing self-identity of Pentecostals, the relations Pentecostals share with other Christian traditions, and Pentecostal efforts to reach out to a variety of groups. The thesis of this article is that the apparent declining interest in prophecy and speaking in tongues in America Pentecostal churches is misleading because it does not adequately acknowledge ecumenical developments in the broader Pentecostal theology of charismatic gifts. Many new approaches reexamine the roles of ordinary charisms, communal boundaries, non-Pentecostals, and those with intellectual disabilities. This shift in thinking has potential to reorient the larger tradition toward its ecumenical, interracial, and intercultural foundations.
47
Benyah, Francis Ethelbert Kwabena. "ÖHLMANN, Philip, Wilhelm GRÄB and Marie-Luise FROST (eds). <i>African Initiated Christianity and the Decolonisation of Development: Sustainable Development in Pentecostal and Independent Churches</i>." PentecoStudies 22, no. 1 (June 20, 2024): 124–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pent.28545.
Full textAbstract:
ÖHLMANN, Philip, Wilhelm GRÄB and Marie-Luise FROST (eds). African Initiated Christianity and the Decolonisation of Development: Sustainable Development in Pentecostal and Independent Churches. Abingdon: Routledge, 2020. 338pp. Hbk. ISBN: 9780367358686. £130.
48
MAXWELL, DAVID. "HISTORICIZING CHRISTIAN INDEPENDENCY: THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT c. 1908–60." Journal of African History 40, no. 2 (July 1999): 243–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s002185379800735x.
Full textAbstract:
Scholarly study of Christian independency in southern Africa began with the publication of Bengt Sundkler's Bantu Prophets in 1948. A rich literature subsequently followed, much of it deploying his now classic typology of Ethiopian and Zionist Churches. Nevertheless, the historical study of independency has been limited. As one scholar has recently observed, historians have tended to focus on the Ethiopian-type churches, leaving the study of the Zionist-type to anthropologists and missiologists. The neglect of Zionist-type churches by historians meant that early studies on this form of Christianity were historically weak. Missiologists distorted the whole area of inquiry with theological concerns, at first raising the spectre of syncretistic heresy, and more recently making claims about indigenous authenticity. Anthropologists initially viewed independent churches as fascinating examples of cultural resilience. The movements were seen as sources of community, loyalty and security in the face of the atomising and anomic experience of urbanization; or as foci for ‘the process of modification and adaptation’ taking place throughout rural society. But anthropologists rarely paid attention to independency's origins. Where historians did engage with Zionist-type independency, they did so through the spectacles of nationalist historiography in order to demonstrate independency's supposed proto-nationalist character.By adopting an international and regional perspective, this article provides an account of the historical origins and early evolution of these churches. Where scholars in the past have tended to disaggregate the movement, essentializing its later racial and geographical boundaries, this paper will draw the early history of the movement together, illuminating its common origin and global character. The basic ingredients of this account have been available in the work of Walter Hollenweger, Jean Comaroff, Sundkler's later book, and more recently, studies by Jim Kiernan and David Chidester. Nevertheless, the historical implication that so-called African independent churches emerged out of the global pentecostal movement continues to be ignored.The purpose of demonstrating the origins of southern African pentecostalism is not to make the now commonplace historical and anthropological critique of authenticity, although those pursuing a theological agenda which distinguishes African Independent Churches as a separate category of Christianity would do well to pay heed to that critique. Neither is it assumed that analysis of origins explains the meaning and appeal of different southern African pentecostal movements and denominations. Rather, this paper demonstrates that pentecostalism is a global phenomenon: a collection of vital and powerful idioms about illness and healing, evil and purity which make striking resonances with peoples sharing common historical experiences of marginalization from established religion and from the values of twentieth-century industrial capitalism. At the same time pentecostalism has also exhibited a remarkable capacity to localize itself, taking on very distinct meanings in different local contexts. At the heart of this paper lies a comparative analysis of the radically different responses which the movement engendered from the South African and Southern Rhodesian states.
49
Adenekan-Koevoets, Bisi. "Nigerian Pentecostal Diasporic Missions and Intergenerational Conflicts: Case Studies from Amsterdam and London." Mission Studies 38, no. 3 (December 15, 2021): 424–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341812.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Since the 1960s, African-led Pentecostal churches have flourished in the UK and Europe, often identifying the evangelisation of White indigenous populations as a key missiological aspiration. This desire has not yet been realised, although by numbers and social engagement, African Pentecostals are making their presence known and returning conversations on religion to the public sphere in Europe. This article, based on case studies in London and Amsterdam, departs from established scholarship on ‘reverse missions’ by arguing that intergenerational conflicts within Nigerian-initiated Pentecostal churches in Europe are a significant obstacle hindering their missional aims. This qualitative study focuses on second- and subsequent-generation Nigerian migrants and their perceptions of the missiological and religious activities of the first generation, exploring intergenerational conflicts relating to leadership; indigenous beliefs/practices; gender/cultural norms, and missiological approaches. It argues that addressing these points of conflict will be an important tool for the missional success of African Pentecostals in Europe.
50
Haugen, Heidi Østbø. "African Pentecostal Migrants in China: Marginalization and the Alternative Geography of a Mission Theology." African Studies Review 56, no. 1 (April 2013): 81–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/asr.2013.7.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract:The city of Guangzhou, China, hosts a diverse and growing population of foreign Christians. The religious needs of investors and professionals have been accommodated through government approval of a nondenominational church for foreigners. By contrast, African Pentecostal churches operate out of anonymous buildings under informal and fragile agreements with law-enforcement officers. The marginality of the churches is mirrored by the daily lives of the church-goers: Many are undocumented immigrants who restrain their movements to avoid police interception. In contrast to these experiences, the churches present alternative geographies where the migrants take center stage. First, Africans are given responsibility for evangelizing the Gospel, as Europeans are seen to have abandoned their mission. Second, China is presented as a pivotal battlefield for Christianity. And finally, Guangzhou is heralded for its potential to deliver divine promises of prosperity. This geographical imagery assigns meaning to the migration experience, but also reinforces ethnic isolation. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews, participant observation, and video recordings of sermons in a Pentecostal church in Guangzhou with a predominately Nigerian congregation.