Pentecostal

Assembly of God, Pentecostal, Rage and Rants, Random Miscellany, Religion

Update on Golden Murder

Rich Tatum
December 10, 2005
6 Comments

This is an update to: Youth pastor slays wife, confesses. Why, oh why?

Eric Brian Golden had his first day in court yesterday. Golden’s confession was read the the court by Detective LaPrentice Mayes, and other testimony was apparently provided, including some of Golden’s statements to the police outside the transcript. (Remember, “anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…�). Judge Lawrence Dillon is sending Golden to the grand jury with an charge for murder. I’m not sure how this goes, but based on my extensive reading of popular crime novels and my years spent observation fictional TV crime shows (read: I have no idea what I’m talking about) I’m guessing the grand jury will meet (within a couple months), hear the evidence again, and decide whether or not the “people� of the good state of Georgia are going to try him for murder. Right now he’s only charged, the grand jury would indict (or not). An indictment is not a sentence.

New information paints a more disturbing picture of the Golden family life. According to Brian Golden, his and DeeDee’s marriage had already been “rocky� for two years—with the trouble apparentlly beginning after their move to Southside. There was drinking going on (Golden claims DeeDee had already been drinking by the time he arrived home after work at five pm on that day), and they fought over some unidentified member of the youth group who Brian had taken to the mall.

Assembly of God, Pentecostal, Random Miscellany, Religion

The Assemblies of God’s corporate roadmap for transformation

Rich Tatum
December 9, 2005
5 Comments

I just resurrected this from my email archives from April of this year. But I thought some of you might find still find this interesting to read.

As some of you may know, I worked at HQ from 1991 to 1999 and during that entire time the HQ leadership had been working at –reengineering– corporate structure (I think they were calling it –re-entrenchment– or some such euphemism, to avoid panicking the huddled masses), and re-evaluating our overall church culture. I know that at every General Council a report is presented evaluating the overall spiritual climate of the Fellowship, but I think there’s been a particular pointedness to the internal naval-gazing ever since Margaret Poloma came to HQ to research her book, The Assemblies of God at the Crossroads: Charisma and Institutional Dilemmas.

I understand a lot of hand-wringing occurred after that book came out. Many disagreed with Poloma, but many also agreed. This, I think, is one of her main points:

“Just as other once-charismatic religious movements have followed the path of over-institutionalization and over-regulation, which in turn has discouraged much of the original charisma, the Assemblies of God could suffer the chilling effects of routinization. … Paradoxically, the institution that developed out of charisma and has been strengthened by fresh outbursts also seeks to tame and domesticate this spirit. it remains to be seen whether — and how much — charisma will rule over bureaucratic forms and regulations, or whether organizational concerns will stifle the Spirit.”

–Margaret Poloma, ‘The Assemblies of God at the Crossroads: Charisma and Institutional Dilemmas,” Christian Century, (10/17/90), pp. 932-934.

Now, with Trask’s program, –Vision for Transformation,– well under way, my good friend (and former boss), Tim Strathdee, has been used by God to usher in a change that some might call miraculous–if it truly does have an impact on corporate culture.

This is a good article, and it may give some of you who’ve never been to Springfield a glimpse into the inner workings of HQ culture.

Rich.

Assembly of God, Pentecostal, Rage and Rants, Random Miscellany, Religion

Youth pastor slays wife, confesses. Why, oh why?

Rich Tatum
December 4, 2005
25 Comments

I struggle whether to blog on tragic news events with real victims still suffering, and about which I can do nothing. I am not a journalist, the story is not local, and I don’t want to prey off of other’s sensational misfortune just to garner a minor increase in blog traffic. But, being a Pentecostal (Assemblies of God) blogger, I do feel that when something newsworthy happens in our niche of culture, it’s worth at least knowing about if only for reflection and with a view toward “big picture” issues.This should go without saying, but I will say it anyhow: please pray for the church and families involved in what I am about to describe. My commentary and reaction follow my summary.

The News

Around 10-10:30 on Thursday, November 17, Southside Assemblies of God youth pastor, Eric Brian Golden, fought with his sweetheart bride, Deadra “DeeDee” Marie Golden. Their Savannah, Georgia, neighbors were not alarmed. Police were not called. Michael, their 15-year-old son, slept soundly through the battle. But before dawn DeeDee would lay at the bottom of a shallow grave outside Fort Stewart, Georgia with a broken neck. She had been strangled to death.

Assembly of God, Bookshelf, Nonfiction, Pentecostal, Random Miscellany, Religion

The Problem with Pentecostal Distinctives

Rich Tatum
November 9, 2005
10 Comments

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,…

Assembly of God, Links, Pentecostal, Rage and Rants, Random Miscellany, Religion

PETA, goldfish, and stupidity … or ‘Why I eat animals and don’t brag about it in the press.’

Rich Tatum
November 2, 2005
7 Comments

There’s a rash of fishy news stories on Google lately about a minor skirmish between a 300-member Assembly of God church and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA—not to be confused with “People for the Eating of Tasty Animals”). The score: PETA 1, People 0, Comet Goldfish -12.…

Assembly of God, Pentecostal, Random Miscellany, Religion

“It’s okay … I’m Emergent. I’m here to help.” Or, deconstructing the helpful deconstruction.

Rich Tatum
September 27, 2005
13 Comments

There’s an essential irony in all the talk about the emergent church vs. the old-style church and where they intersect. Or, maybe—to be charitable—there’s an essential paradox. To wit: how is it possible to decry and denounce all the old structures and forms as being irrelevant without falling into the…

Assembly of God, Katrina Aftermath, Links, Pentecostal, Random Miscellany, Religion

Assemblies of God Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts Update

Rich Tatum
September 7, 2005
2 Comments

I just received this from the General Council of the A/G: –From: Office of the General Secretary [churches@ag.org] Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2005 1:45 PMSubject: A/G Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts Update The General Council of the Assemblies of God, together with the Convoy of Hope, continues to respond to the…

Assembly of God, Blogging, Links, Pentecostal, Random Miscellany, Religion, Site Updates

Pneumablog has been posted.

Rich Tatum
September 6, 2005
1 Comment

Hi. Here’s my current list of active Pentecostal, Charismatic and Assembly of God bloggers. I hope you enjoy it. And feel free to add to it with your comments.    PneumaBlogs: Select Pentecostal/Charismatic Bloggers Rich. [tags]assemblies-of-god, assembly-of-god, blogger, blogging, BlogRodent, charismatic, church-of-god, foursquare, god-blogger, god-blogging, godblog, godbloggers, godblogs, pentecostal, pneumablog,…

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