Reflections of an Undeconstructed Pentecostal
My first experience in Church of God academia occurred in 1978 at East Coast Bible College (Charlotte NC). My first class, Old Testament Survey, was taught by Dr. Ken Bell. I will never forget his first words: “This is not going to be a glorified Sunday school class.”
Continue reading “In Praise of Church of God Academia”
Christians in the USA have long been ambivalent about the education of clergy. The first colleges founded in colonial America were established primarily to educate clergy. But many colonial Americans viewed clergy education as a vestige of European elitism. During the Great Awakening the conflict raged between formally educated clergy who generally opposed the Awakening and clergy who were not formally trained who generally supported it. Jonathan Edwards, the greatest American theologian who was formally trained, resisted elitism and guided the Awakening. His book, The Religious Affections, remains a helpful guide for the formation of renewal in the Church. Don’t miss the point here – it was a formally trained theologian who resisted elitism and offered an enduring defense of renewal movements.
Continue reading “The Real Crisis in Christian Education”
The following article was first published in the April 23, 1921 edition of the Church of God Evangel. F. J. Lee served as General Overseer of the Church of God (1923-1928) and president of Lee University (1922-1923). It is presented here to demonstrate that Pentecostal leaders have always understood the need for a trained ministry.
Continue reading “Go Ye, But Wait – by F. J. Lee”
I often feel that I’m stuck in the middle, walking down a path between two fools – those who reject knowledge and those who have made knowledge an idol – both for whom I have great affection. There is an old hit song from the 1970’s that I have adopted as my new anthem. Stealers Wheel wrote and performed Stuck in the Middle with You, a song that made Billboard’s top ten in 1973. The lyrics of the chorus include these words: “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right; Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.”
Continue reading “Stuck in the Middle”