In October 2014 Dr. Adam Stewart and I conducted a survey of PAOC (Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada) credential holders that included questions regarding demographics, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours. Read more about the study here. The initial report, “Highlights from the 2014 Survey of PAOC Credential Holders,” is now available to view online. The report is […]
One might think that the experiences of being slain in the Spirit (or “falling under the power of God”) or trembling in the presence of God have only happened in the last hundred years during the contemporary pentecostal-charismatic movement. However, there is a long history of such experiences and they are no stranger to the […]
If speaking in tongues is a gift (1 Cor 12 and 14), then wouldn’t we think that only the gifted would be able to speak in tongues? The answer might seem to be “yes.” This possible answer might find support in Paul’s questions at the end of 1 Corinthians 12. Here, after he has said […]
Here is an excellent article on the idea of apostles in the NT, throughout history, and today, by a well respected and Pentecostal senior scholar: http://pneumareview.com/apostolic-practice-by-vinson-synan/ It isn’t a short one but it is worth the read.
What makes a Pentecostal a Pentecostal? …particularly a PAOC Pentecostal. In the earliest days of the Pentecostal movement in Canada, most of the people attending a Pentecostal church would have spoken in tongues. In fact, the reason that many Christians joined a Pentecostal church was that they were no longer welcome in their previous churches […]
While I appreciate the fact that some sermons don’t lend themselves to having an altar call, it seems to me (and others that I talk to) that altar calls are becoming less common in Pentecostal churches today (at least in North America). At first less frequent altar calls might seem to be a problem, but is it? […]
The PAOC has published another booklet: His Witnesses: Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World (2013). It would be too much to discuss all thirteen essays here, so I offer only a few reflections and highlights. David Wells (the PAOC general superintendent) expresses the impetus for this timely book: church life has many aspects that can […]
My course, “Pentecostalism and the Church in Canada” will be running online from Jan-May. Feel free to share the video around: Course Description This course provides an overview of the history of Pentecostalism, including the historical antecedents of Pentecostalism, the early growth of Pentecostalism in North America, and global developments in Pentecostalism. The course […]
All of the experiences of being filled by the Spirit (and Spirit baptism in particular) may be expressed with the metaphor of the intensity of the Spirit.
Macchia, Frank D. Justified in the Spirit: Creation, Redemption, and the Triune God. Pentecostal Manifestos. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010. 345pp.+x. $32US. You can read my full review here in the Canadian Journal of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity 3.1 (2013): 150-154. In Justified in the Spirit, Frank Macchia attempts “to develop a pneumatological theology of justification inspired […]