Trinity Western University: TWU Academic Journals
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For the Sake of The Call: The Eschatological Vision of a Pentecostal Prairie Pastor
No full textUsing examples from the personal memoirs of a small-town Prairie pastor, Ernest Shelvey, the paper argues for otherwise possibility as an interpretive framework for his life and ministry. Based upon Shelvey's belief in a possible God, History became, not the consequence of cause and effect, but rather the unfolding of God’s will on earth. For the sake of the call referenced an eschatological “may be” that legitimized an uncertain way of being in the world. As an assertion or wager of an open history, one that was “not yet” determined by a human will, Shelvey's call allowed for a radical openness to “life in the spirit”. This orientation, as theorized by philosopher Richard Kearney, made a unique difference in Shelvey's life, training and ministry by opening up a spiritual space of generousity, by possibilizing God into the everyday experience, and by potentializing opportunities to redeem human action and instill hope for an alternate future than that which could have been predicted. Incorporating narratives like Shelvey's into the standard denominational and sociological interpretations may open up new opportunities to understand the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada as a movement and a fellowship.
Stories We Live By: Convergences in Community Narratives of Mennonites and Pentecostals
Get PDFThis essay employs the art of narrative inquiry to explore points of convergence and divergence between Mennonites and Pentecostals. I recount three interrelated storylines constructed from my mennocostal experience: from memories of services and activities in my childhood Pentecostal church; from stories told by Mennonite family; and from writing and reflections of authors who share my Russian Mennonite heritage. These storylines are: (1) Pentecostal exuberance and Mennonite quiet; (2) Pentecostal soldiers and Mennonite peacemakers; and (3) Pentecostals and Mennonites as God’s chosen people. I assess how these stories blend together to create larger narratives that impact behaviours such as worship, separation from the world, and evangelism
Barbara Johnston of Sarnia, Ontario: The First Canadian Pentecostal Missionary to India
Get PDFIn Canada, three early geographic centers of Pentecostal revival emerged within the first decade of the twentieth century, along with its leaders: R. E. McAlister in Ottawa, Ellen Hebden in Toronto, and A. H. Argue and his family in Winnipeg. Ellen Hebden is the first person known to have received Pentecostal baptism in Canada. We know some detail about these personalities and their work in these cities largely because of the earliest Pentecostal newsletters that have survived until today: The Promise, published in Toronto between 1907 and 1910 by Ellen and James Hebden, The Good Report, published in Ottawa between 1911 and 1912 by Herbert Randall, H. L. Lawler, and R. E. McAlister, and The Apostolic Messenger, published in Winnipeg between 1908 and 1910 by A. H. Argue. These Canadian newsletters, along with some international newsletters, reported information about the experiences of connected missionaries and evangelistic efforts. Several small Canadian towns and cities are mentioned by name in these newsletters. The acknowledgement of these little-known communities hints at the establishment of Pentecostalism in less urban centres, each locus having its own story and distinct personalities. As yet, most of these stories remain untold, lost, or forgotten. This biographical portrait of Barbara Johnston of Sarnia, Ontario, is an attempt to reclaim one such story, with a hope that readers might be inspired to recover and retell similar accounts of other early Canadian Pentecostals
Rethinking Cultural Engagement: A Review of God's Not Dead
No full textThis paper will examine the God’s Not Dead franchise as representative of a recent wave of American Christian films that present evangelism and apologetics within the framework of the so-called ‘culture war’. The films are provocative and have generated much negative comment, yet it will be argued that when they are taken as models of a particular kind of Christian response to the ever changing landscape of American society important questions can be asked about how Christians might better engage cultural change. Moreover, since the theological perspective and rhetorical style of these film have prompted the criticism that these films function more as propaganda for a particular political ideology than as genuine witness to the Christian faith, it will be argued that they can provide a helpful stimulus towards greater self-criticism within the Christian faith community. The paper seeks to encourage discussion on the possible impact of these films on perceptions of the Christian faith, on the challenges they pose for Christians who might think about and approach the issues related to faith and secularism in a different way, and on the character and form of a positive and responsible engagement with secular culture
Notes From The Archives: Researching Canadian Pentecostalism at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
Get PDFThe Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC), located in the national office of the Assemblies of God in Springfield, Missouri, is by many standards the largest archival repository of Pentecostal materials in the world. The FPHC has very strong collections relating to the Assemblies of God USA and early North American Pentecostalism. In recent years, the FPHC has been augmenting its collections relating to the broader Pentecostal and charismatic movements by systematically collecting materials from across the denominational, social, linguistic, and national divides.
