The revelatory experience or in common parlance, “hearing God’s voice,” is prized by Pentecostal-Charismatic Christians for its contribution to spirituality, yet remains one of the most problematic areas of church life. Theological tensions and pastoral fallout have plagued the experience since the time of the New Testament. Drawing on the tools of practical theology, this book presents the findings of a unique and ground-breaking study among Australian Pentecostals. With a theological framework modelled on New Testament practice and undergirded by the accountability of the local church, many of the problems associated with revelatory experience can be addressed and the experience fully harnessed for kingdom purpose.

The 'hearing God' experience is a prized feature of Pentecostal-Charismatic spirituality, yet one that is often shrouded in controversy and confusion. Drawing on the findings of a unique and ground-breaking practical theological study, this book provides a theological framework and ministry strategies so that the experience can be fully harnessed for kingdom purpose.

This introduction to biblical interpretation expands the interpretive task to encompass both comprehension of the Bible's content and active participation in God's redemptive plan. The authors help readers engage with the beauty of God's Word and read it holistically for their intellectual and spiritual growth. They address the nature of interpretation; emphasize the Holy Spirit's role in the production, interpretation, and application of the Bible as a communication of the triune God; and explore the Bible's genres and historical contexts through the lens of God's redemptive story. They also provide principles and accessible guidelines for biblical interpretation in global contexts, including a simple outline for beginning students to follow as they start interpreting and applying Scripture. Above all, the authors emphasize the transformative nature of reading Scripture. This series reflects the changing face of global Christianity. Series volumes highlight themes of interest to Pentecostal/Charismatic students; however, the books are respectful and inclusive of a variety of church traditions. Series editors are Jerry Ireland, Paul W. Lewis, and Frank D. Macchia.

After experiencing the transforming power of hearing God's voice in her own life, Revd Dr Tania Harris set out to unlock the questions Christians have debated for centuries: How does God speak? How do you know it's God? and What difference does it make to the church? As the central feature of the Spirit's outpouring at Pentecost and the grand prize of the New Covenant, the prospect of universal access to the Spirit is a powerful but pastorally risky concept. Drawing on insights from theology, sociology and her ground breaking PhD research, Harris skilfully presents a comprehensive theology and pastoral strategy for how the church, whatever the tradition, can hear the Spirit's voice for themselves. Revd Dr Tania Harris enables church leaders to safely and effectively lead their people into a powerful experience that was intended to be a normal part of every Christian's life. Content Benefits: Revd Dr Harris helps church leaders to transform their local church into a place where everyone can hear the Spirit's voice for themselves. - Combines theology and experiential practice - Explores the relationship between Spirit and Scripture - Unpacks the challenge of Cessationism - Explains the authority of contemporary revelatory experience - Addresses the pastoral issues associated with hearing from the Spirit - Scholarly yet accessible style - Helpful for church leaders who want their congregations to hear from God - Suitable for Christian thinkers who want to understand the role of the Spirit in the Bible and today

Nine gifted and God-loving authors share their personal experiences on topics ranging from supernatural and out-of-body experiences in the third heaven to prophecy and discernment. You will quickly realize through reading these thrilling stories that hearing God happens in many different ways, and you can learn how you can tune in to Him yourself. Incredible things happen when you listen for God’s voice—and when you ignore His promptings. Powerful and compelling stories challenge you into a deeper understanding about how to truly communicate with God.

The mission church literature seems to be dominated by idealized conceptions of the benefits of equipping congregations to participate in local mission work. This investigation challenges this idealism, by paying critical attention to congregants’ ordinary theologies that develop in reaction to the communication of Missio Dei theology to them. Their voices are absent from the formal literature. The study employs rescripting methodology to modify key assumptions made in the formal ecclesiological literature by drawing on insights that come from Christians’ ordinary theological voices. The study traces how the introduction of a Missio Dei theology to a British Reformed congregation had a significant impact on them. A small team of Christian leaders communicated Missio Dei theology to this church over a period of six years. It found that mission changes came at substantial personal cost to the church’s members: 1) a schism occurred when congregants attempted to remove the leader responsible for these changes from his office as church pastor, and a third of congregants left the church because they did not want to embrace the church’s new mission identity; 2) three divergent groups then emerged—two of them wanted different kinds of churches that seemed incompatible; 3) two thirds of members supported and participated in the church’s mission activities, which put strains on some of their families; 4) unresolved tensions continued to impact the congregation throughout the whole change process; 5) unexpectedly, for a Reformed church, a third group made up of women developed prophetic practices that arose due to the mediation of Missio Dei theology. Vitally, this thesis challenges the notion that helping churches to become mission-focused will make them thrive.

Prophets come in many varieties--ecstatic worshipers, inspired preachers, social justice advocates, and even political pundits. Their messages vary accordingly. The purpose of this book is to dig beneath the message to understand the how. How do modern-day prophets experience the prophetic impulse? The phenomenological study at the core of this book answers that question directly by examining the experience of Canadian Pentecostals. From there, the experience of modern-day prophets is compared with Old Testament prophets, with special attention given to Jeremiah. It turns out that prophets today share in the same experience as their Old Testament predecessors. This book can benefit three audiences. For the academy, this work provides the first phenomenological study of prophecy in Canada. For pastors, reading this book will be an exercise in empathy, placing you in the shoes of the prophets in your congregation, helping you to understand what goes on when someone prophesies. For everyday prophets, this book will affirm your connection, through Jesus, to the Old Testament prophetic tradition, enabling you to read those Old Testament books in a new experiential light.

Translating God serves as an inspirational guide book that puts God's great love back into prophetic ministry as a primary goal full of real life stories that articulate the culture of love behind God's heart for the prophetic. So much of the prophetic ministry is esoteric and a free for all in which people throw down the God card on anything they "feel," but this book brings balance without taking away the desire to see the powerful nature of God displayed. On top of that, it's biblically based and is supported by scripture throughout each story, driving home the book's message of activating the ability to hear God's voice for each reader. Through a thought-provoking prophetic ministry philosophy and Shawn's glorious successes and very real failures, you will be inspired and equipped to: learn how to hear God for yourself and others grow through simple focused steps, take great risks, stay accountable, love people well, grow in intimacy with the Lord. As an internationally known prophetic voice who has ministered to thousands--from political leaders to those on the streets--Shawn shares everything he has learned about the prophetic in a way that is totally unique and refreshing. Shawn aims for the higher goal of loving people relationally, not just pursuing the gift or information, and he activates you to do the same. Start to reshape the world around you with God's love today.

Lynn R. Huber argues that the visionary aspect of Revelation, with its use of metaphorical thinking and language, is the crux of the text's persuasive power. Emerging from a context that employs imagery to promote imperial mythologies, Revelation draws upon a long tradition of using feminine imagery as a tool of persuasion. It does so even while shaping a community identity in contrast to the dominant culture and in exclusive relationship with the Lamb. By drawing upon the work of medieval and modern visionaries, Huber answers a call to examine the way 'real' readers engage with biblical texts. Revealing how Revelation continues to persuade audiences through appeals to the visual and provocative imagery she offers a new sense of how the text metaphorical language simultaneously limits and invites new meaning, unfurling a range of interpretations.

The Interpreting Spirit is both a consideration of the Spirit's role in the interpretation of Scripture and a celebration of renewal scholarship. It examines those who have focused on the Spirit's role in their hermeneutical considerations, recognizing common, uniting themes amidst the diversity of scholarly approach and opinion. Working on the principle that the Spirit communicates in ways that seek to unify and celebrate the other, Mather works diachronically from 1970, identifying and drawing together these common, uniting hallmarks into a collective understanding. Pivotal to Mather's argument is her emphasis that we do not just interpret Scripture, but that the Spirit through Scripture, and working in our lives in ways that lead us towards Scripture, interprets us. The Interpreting Spirit is the first comprehensive analysis of the conversation surrounding pneumatic interpretation that has been taking place, particularly among renewal scholars, since 1970. It seeks to answer the notoriously difficult question, "What does the Spirit do in the process of biblical interpretation?"