Spirit-Empowered Christianity in the 21st Century is an authoritative compilation of the presentations from thirty leaders in the Charismatic/Pentecostal movement given at the Empowered 21 Conference in Tulsa, OK, in April 2010. These chapters share emerging insights on how the next generation will handle the profound issues facing Christians within the Charismatic/Pentecostal movement in the 21st century.

This book is a festschrift--a book of essays in honor of noted Pentecostal scholars Wonsuk and Julie Ma, The list of scholars below, representing a broad array of nationalities and academic disciplines, have followed the theme of A Theology of The Spirit in contributing articles within areas of their particular interest and expertise: Allan Anderson, J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, R.G. dela Cruz, Rose Engcoy, Harold D. Hunter, Dave Johnson, Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Kirsteen Kim, Robert Menzies, Ekputra Tupamahu and Amos Yong.In short, the scope of the book is universal in describing the person and work of the Holy Spirit through a number of the various strands of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements in the world today.

In 1906, a new religious phenomenon emerged from California. Then, just over sixty years later, a million-fold expansion occurred. What was the catalyst for this explosion of growth? The Pentecostal Paradox explores the history and rise of a new religious movement called the Pentecostals. Drawing on eyewitness accounts, newspaper articles of the day, and other long-forgotten sources, author G. J. Hocking weaves together an accurate history of the movement to the present day. Filled with fascinating stories--the mailing lists of over 50,000 subscribers go missing; a preacher hijacked the pulpit causing untold havoc; a report of flames shooting fifty feet in the air--The Pentecostal Paradox asks: Were these events fact, fiction, or real phenomena? In this timely work, California the Charismatic Cradle features prominently as the author juxtaposes the rise of Pentecostalism with both the California gold rush and the San Francisco earthquake. Eventually, a "God Rush" occurred in 1906 as many rushed to Azusa Street, Los Angeles. How will this book shed light on this vast group? What next for Pentecostalism? These questions are answered in a candid and yet concise way in this much-needed analysis of the Pentecostal movement.

This book offers an historical and comparative profile of classical pentecostal movements in Brazil and the United States in view of their migratory beginnings and transnational expansion. Pentecostalism’s inception in the early twentieth century, particularly in its global South permutations, was defined by its grassroots character. In contrast to the top-down, hierarchical structure typical of Western forms of Christianity, the emergence of Latin American Pentecostalism embodied stability from the bottom up—among the common people. While the rise to prominence of the Assemblies of God in Brazil, the Western hemisphere’s largest (non-Catholic) denomination, demanded structure akin to mainline contexts, classical pentecostals such as the Christian Congregation movement cling to their grassroots identity. Comparing the migratory and missional flow of movements with similar European and US roots, this book considers the prospects for classical Brazilian pentecostals with an eye on the problems of church growth and polity, gender, politics, and ethnic identity.

Although there are several preaching books today, there are only handfuls, if any, that address the centrality of the Holy Spirit in preaching. A hindrance to preaching in the twenty-first century is over intellectualization of the Gospel. After receiving a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Preaching, I thought I was now ready to prepare and preach an effective sermon that will draw any audience to Christ. I told myself, “I am ready. I have attained and I can double the size of any given church with my vast knowledge on preaching.” Little did I know that my degrees from the best schools around the world were not sufficient to preach the whole counsel of God’s Word. I have come to realize that clever persuasions of men do not change lives. The name of Jesus through the power of the Holy Ghost does. The secret ingredient in preparing and preaching Spirit-empowered messages is the power of the Holy Spirit. Ministers of the Gospel must not depend upon natural means to produce supernatural results, but must use supernatural means to produce supernatural results. Paul said to the Thessalonians, “Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance” (1 Thess. 1:5). The church is in desperate need of revival. Sinners are urgently in need of the Savior, and only the Spirit of God can convict sinners of their sins and bring revival to the nations. Consequently, the goal of this book is not to produce another great preaching book, but to help students and ministers prepare and present effective, Holy Spirit-empowered sermons to their audience. The book seeks to instruct readers on the importance of the Holy Spirit in preaching the Word of God while laying the foundational building blocks of effective preaching. This book is for both beginning ministers who are just starting ministry and for veteran ministers who would like to brush up on their preaching and teaching skills in order to become better, Spirit-empowered ministers of the Gospel. May God bless you and speak mightily through you with clarity, urgency, fervency and power as you endeavor to preach Spirit-empowered messages to a dying generation.

This final volume is an authoritative collection from more than two dozen leaders and scholars of the Spirit-empowered movement.

There is now a substantial scholarly consensus for the emergence of a high or divine Christology very early and from a Jewish context, but the questions of "how" and "why" need further study. Within the framework of traditional Jewish monotheism, Paul and other early Christians used the language of deity to describe Jesus. To investigate their view of Jesus, the author examines Paul's discourse in 2 Cor 3:16–4:6, employing insights from rhetorical criticism and Oneness Pentecostal Christology. He explains how early Christians proclaimed the deity of Jesus within their monotheistic Jewish context. He then identifies socio-rhetorical reasons for and practical consequences of the monotheistic deification of Jesus.

This volume explores issues and themes related to violence against women. The contributing authors approach the topic from a Pentecostal perspective both in the way they assess the pervasiveness and urgency of the problem and in the solutions they propose.

The face of African Christianity is becoming Pentecostal. African Pentecostalism is a diverse movement, but its collective interest in baptism in the Spirit and the result of Pentecost in daily living binds it together. Pentecostals read the Bible with the expectation that the Spirit who inspired the authors will again inspire them to hear it as God's word. They emphasize the experiential, at times at the cost of proper doctrine and practice. This book sketches an African hermeneutic that provides guidance to a diverse movement with many faces, and serves as corrective for doctrine and practice in the face of some excesses and abuses (especially in some parts of the neo-Pentecostal movement). African Pentecostalism's contribution to the hermeneutical debate is described before three points are discussed that define it: the centrality of the Holy Spirit in reading the Bible, the eschatological lens that Pentecostals use when they read the Bible, and the faith community as normative for the interpretation of the Bible.