Christianity Today just published an interview with Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky. It’s a concise and interesting interview, well worth the read. It comes on the heels of his latest book: The Problem with Evangelical Theology: Testing the Exegetical Foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism, and Wesleyanism. According to editor Mark Galli, in this book, Witherington “makes a positive argument for how biblical interpretation should be done in an increasingly postmodern setting.”
Here’s the link to the article:
The Problem with Evangelical Theologies
Ben Witherington III thinks there is something fundamentally weak about each branch of the movement.
Interview by Mark Galli | posted 11/09/2005 09:00 a.m.
Here’s an excerpt that is clearly relevant for Pentecostals:
So, what is the problem with evangelical theology?
It has exegetical weaknesses that are not recognized or owned up to by the various evangelical Protestant strains of theology. That’s what it boils down to.
You write that in our distinctives, we are least faithful to the Word. What do you mean?
The issue is not really with Christology, the Trinity, the virginal conception, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, or the Bible as the Word of God. The issues I’m concerned about are the distinctives of Calvinist, Arminian, dispensational, or Pentecostal theology. When they try to go some particular direction that’s specific to their theological system, that’s precisely the point in their argument at which they are exegetically weakest.
The Calvinist system links the ideas of predestination, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. Each of those has its own exegetical weaknesses, especially perseverance of the saints.
But the same can be said about the distinctives of Arminian theology, especially when you start talking about having an experience of perfection in this lifetime. There are problems matching that up with what the New Testament says about perfection.
The same can be said about Pentecostal theology, with its teaching about a second, definitive work of grace, and about dispensationalism, with its teaching on pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation rapture. I show in my book that all of these evangelical theological systems are exegetically vulnerable precisely in their distinctives.
Classical Pentecostals need to think about this. One things we talk about the most in our circle is “the Pentecostal distinctive,” which is typically cited as the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues as the initial, physical evidence.” This is the Pentecostal distinctive above all others.
However, one of the “tags” we’ve long been known by, or called ourselves by at the least, has been “Full Gospel,” as a way of saying, we’re completely dependent on the Bible as God’s revealed will and plan.
In fact, at our movement’s inception, at Parham’s prompting of several adult students, the Baptism of the Spirit was experienced as a result of an intensive study of Scripture. Scripture came first, experience and doctrine came out of that.
Somewhere, we’ve lost our way.
As long as a single doctrine holds sway in our Fellowship as the single Pentecostal distinctive, we cannot be fully reliant on the Scriptures as our guide for faith, doctrine, and practice. We need to maintain our true distinctive, and that is: sola scriptura.
[tags]BlogRodent, Pentecostal, Assembly-of-God, Assemblies-of-God, tongues, glossolalia, Ben-Witherington, theology, narrative-theology, exegesis, interpretation, Bible, Scripture, denominations, Foursquare, Church-of-God, Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Wesleyanism, Christianity-Today[/tags]
I recently received a copy of The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching: A Comprehensive Resource for Today’s Communicators, and have been browsing through it from time to time. Whether you’re a full- or part-time preacher or even if you spend any time at all speaking in front of others as a Christian attempting to bring others to a better understanding of the Bible, or to bring them to a point of decision, you need this book on your shelf. It is the finest compendium of useful preaching/exhortation articles I have ever seen.
[Full disclaimer: This book was written and produced by my employer, Christianity Today, and edited by my good friend and coworker, Craig Brian Larson. But I’m not writing as a shill here. I get absolutely nothing out of additional sales of this book (unless you buy it via my Amazon Associates link, of course).]
I’ve only just started to browse through this tome, but every article I’ve glanced at or read has excited me, filled me with ideas on how to improve my preaching and prep-time, and given me already useful techniques to make my delivery more effective. Many of the articles were repurposed from timeless Leadership journal journal articles, some were cullled from the PreachingToday.com “Skill Builder” articles (click on the link for free articles), but there are a ton of new articles written fresh just for this project.
About the two editors: Haddon Robinson is considered by many to be one of the finest preachers alive today. I’ve always enjoyed the interviews and teaching I’ve heard from Robinson, and he has a clear, fatherly style of teaching. The blurb from PreachingTodayAudio.com says, about him:
“Dr. Robinson has been named one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world. His text, Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages, is used in more than 100 seminaries and Bible colleges in North America. He is also host of Discover the Word which airs on 400 radio stations across the world.” (Click the DtW link to listen.)
To get an idea of the kind of content you’ll find within this book, read the interview with Haddon Robinson titled, “Preaching That Opens Ears and Hearts.” (Sorry, that link used to be free, now it requires membership.)
Craig Brian Larson is pastor of Lake Shore Church (Assembly of God) in downtown Chicago, and is the managing editor of PreachingToday.com. He’s well-known in the world of sermon illustrations, having compiled several illustration compendia (see Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching, volumes one and two, for example), and coauthored a guide for helping preachers add journalistic impact to their messages (see Preaching That Connects).
Though these two men compiled and edited this book, and contributed to it in a few articles, the contents were provided by the best preachers and preaching teachers in the field, covering a huge spectrum of denominations and traditions. Some of the writers you might recognize include John Ortberg, Rick Warren, Warren Wiersbe, Alice Mathews, John Piper, and Andy Stanley—just to name a few.
If you preach or teach at all, you really owe it to your listeners to pick up this book and refer to it from time to time. It will be a resource you refer to for years, and it will challenge you at every turn. This book is truly a gift to the Church!
Rich.
[tags]BlogRodent, preaching, homiletics, Craig Brian Larson, PreachingToday.com, The Art and Craft of Preaching, Haddon Robinson, Rick Warren, John Ortberg, Warren Wiersbe, John Piper, Andy Stanley, sermons[/tags]
It’s dated, but I just stumbled across this.
Stanford U. 
Chi Alpha pastor Glen Davis guffawed at the news and then blogged about a book put out last year by the Assemblies of God’s Gospel Publishing House (GPH): Pentecostal Gifts and Ministries in a Postmodern Era, compiled and edited by the General Treasurer of the General Council of the A/G James K. Bridges, with some contributions from past CBC president Maurice Lednicky, and former CBC prof. Opal Reddin.
What’s laughable about this, you ask?
Just the irony of a septuagenarian and a few other retirees writing about postmodern ministry.
But, wait, is that really the case? Look at the GPH sell-copy:
For the Pentecostal movement to continue to be an effective instrument in this last day harvest, there must be a renewed emphasis upon the necessity of Spirit baptism for all believers — for out of that dynamic experience issue the supernatural gifts of the Spirit and their resultant ministry gifts. This book proclaims a challenge to return to the headwaters of this great river: Christ himself, the great Spirit baptizer and the dispenser of His gifts! Paper.
Read that carefully and you’ll see that this book could have been written back in 1952 when Brother Bridges got his start in the Texas district. The principle focus, as belied by the title, is not about postmoderns, postmodernism, or even the emergent church. It’s about spiritual gifts, which are rather timeless in their exercise and function, aren’t they? Truly, what the Apostle Paul had to say about spiritual gifts 2,000 years ago in 1 Corinthians 12–14 is just as relevant today as it was at Azusa.
If the book is true to its blurb, it’s probably about as useful a read on the spiritual gifts as any book edited by any respected and well-seasoned Pentecostal minister. We shouldn’t begrudge the authors the credibility and standing they bring to this text before reading it.
However, I suspect the titling of the book has to do as much with marketing as it does with subject matter — if not more so. Publishing houses, even at the A/G, reserve the right to assign whatever title they believe will sell. And make no mistake, GPH is a business, and it’s in the business of selling books.
You think they whiff a trend (a decade too late)? Consider: you’re the head of the division of the A/G publishing arm, and Brother Bridges wants to compile a book. He’s the treasurer, the guy who literally signs your checks. Do you say “No?” Not only should you keep your boss happy, you have a guaranteed readership. People, fellow septuagenarians no doubt, will buy the book. Yes, sir. It’s on the reading list for a course at AGTS: Ministry on the Edge: The Mission to Post-Christian America.
But slapping the “postmodern” stuff in the title? I suspect that’s just marketing. Now, I haven’t read the book, and I likely won’t, but if it doesn’t have a strong postmodern application and focus I wouldn’t be surprised. But I would be ticked off.
Not that my opinion matters.
[tags]assemblies-of-god, assembly-of-god, BlogRodent, central-bible-college, gospel-publishing-house, GPH, james-k-bridges, maurice-lednicky, opal-reddin, postmodernism, spiritual-gifts[/tags]
