Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Remembering Win Arn, Gary L. Mcintosh

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

Dr. Win Arn completed his life’s journey on earth this past December (June 26, 1923—December 13. 2006). For many of us who identify with the Church Growth Movement, his passing brought back memories of an important era in the life of North American churches that began in the early 1970s.

Bye Bye Rocking Chair, Win Arn

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

Senior adults in most churches have more available time … give more financially (one study indicated seven times more) than younger members … have years of valuable experience working in the church … don’t go “church shopping,” nor do they often move their residence … their work quality is high, and church loyalty solid.

A Short History Of Winfield C. Arn And The Institute For American Church Growth, Gary L. Mcintosh

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

This article is being reprinted from the Fall 2005 issue of the Journal of the ASCG in tribute to Win Arn. Readers who are not familiar with the early history of church growth, and particularly the role played by Win Arn and the Institute for American Church Growth, will find this article of interest. —Editor

The Korean Pentecost, Elmer L. Towns

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

Although Korea was one of the last nations in the Far East to hear the Gospel, a series of revivals early in the twentieth century quickly turned the Korean church into a powerful force for God. These awakenings transformed Korean culture and society and reached beyond its borders to other nations in Asia.

The Aids Orphan Crisis In Kenya: Caring For Kikuyu Children In Escarpment, Patrick Gitau Kihiu

ATS Dissertations

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has continued to ravage many populations in the world. Sub-Saharan Africa has become the home of millions of HIV/AIDS orphans and the numbers continue to grow. A major repercussion of the pandemic is that the traditional extended family network within this African context has been overwhelmed. Many of the AIDS orphans are now cared for by elderly grandparents. This study shows how the Kikuyu tribal system is supposed to work in providing care for its orphans. The study examines how some of the contemporary factors, particularly the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, have affected this tribal system. …

Towards A Model Of Engagement In The Public Realm For The Methodist Church In Singapore, Kiem-Koik Kwa

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Good News To The Poor: A Model For Holistic Ministry In Bunyore, Kenya, Moses Alela

ATS Dissertations

This study details a model for holistic Christian ministry which can be adopted by churches to help alleviate extreme poverty in Bunyore, Kenya. The model presented here is faithful to biblical truth and culturally relevant. If well implemented, the model can help Christians in Bunyore meet both their spiritual and physical needs, thereby demonstrating that Good News is indeed good to those in extreme poverty. The model has a spiritual element which makes it Holistic Christian Transformational Development (as it is termed here). This model stands in distinction from other models introduced by secular bodies which lack this spiritual element, …

The Church's Changing Mission: Working With Hiv/Aids Among The Shona People Of Zimbabwe, Thomas Muhomba

ATS Dissertations

The devastating and unhealthy consequences of HIVIAIDS pandemic in the midst of a growing church among the Shona people of Zimbabwe suggest the need to investigate characteristics and factors that expose the Shona to HIVIAIDS risk behaviors; and formulating recommendations to the church for effective ministry with the Shona community. The study was carried out among Shona cohorts in the urban area and rural area. For the urban area, the study was done in Harare targeting the Shona Community and United Methodist congregations whose membership are largely made up o f the Shona Speaking people. For …

Missional Experiential Education For Developing Christian Global Citizens, David E. Fenrick

ATS Dissertations

At the start of the 21st century, Christian educators are faced with the challenge of equipping Christian disciples for participation in God's present mission in the world, a worldthatisinthemidstofradicalchangeduetotheforcesofglobalization. Christians around the world, most of whom will never have the opportunity to participate in formal ministerial education, are being called upon to demonstrate a missional multicultural witnessandgloballevelofcitizenshipinthecommunitieswheretheylive. Giventhis reality, Christian education at every level needs to discover a pedagogical process for preparing all Christians for missionary vocations that address the emerging missiological realities ofthe 21st century.

This research was undertaken in order to investigate the degree to which the principles …

Revitalization 14:2, Center For The Study Of World Christian Revitalization Movements

Revitalization

No abstract provided.

Beyond Seeker Friendly, Stephen Vantassel

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

We want to provide some tips on identifying, welcoming, and integrating believers who were faithful to their old church but, due to various life circumstances, have had to relocate to your area. This article would also call attention to utilizing retired ministers who happen to attend your church.

Editor's Note: Religion's Role In The Environmental Movement, Terry C. Muck

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Notes, Kenneth J. Collins, Frances S. Adeney

The Asbury Journal

An Introduction to World Methodism

Kenneth Cracknell and Susan J. White

New York: Cambridge University Press

2005, 298 pp., paper, $24.99

Reviewed by Kenneth J Collins

Methodism: Empire of the Spirit

David Hempton

New Haven: Yale University Press

2005, 304 pp., paper, $18.00

Reviewed by Kenneth J Collins

Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities

Roger E. Olson

Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press

2006, 250 pp., paper, $25.00

Reviewed by Kenneth J Collins

Wilderness Forever: Howard Zahniser and the Path to the Wilderness Act

Mark W. T. Harvey

Seattle: University of Washington Press

2005, 325 pp., cloth, $35.00

Reviewed by Frances S. …

Believers And Engagement In Society: A Review Essay, James R. Thobaben

The Asbury Journal

A sampling of books from the perspectives of:

Mainliners

Secularists

Roman Catholics

Evangelicals

Organic Change: 12 Emerging Communities Of Missional Theologians, Bob Whitesel

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

My journey into postmodernal progressions of ecclesial change began with an ethnographic survey of 12 Christian congregations that were largely led, staffed and populated with adults between the ages of 22 and 35. My research within these communities was designed to uncover synergies and strategies that might inform further research among our masters and doctoral students in the College of Graduate Studies at Indiana Wesleyan University. The result of the above and subsequent research has led the present author to believe that the topic of organic change among emerging communities of missional theologians will be of both research and pragmatic …

Revitalization 14:1, Center For The Study Of World Christian Revitalization Movements

Revitalization

No abstract provided.

Salvation Means Creation Healed: Creation, Cross, Kingdom And Mission, Howard A. Snyder

The Asbury Journal

Global warming, hurricanes and violent storms raise fundamental questions about how Christians understand the relationship between God, human beings, and the entire created order. The issue is not just the ethical one of responding to environmental concerns; it is the more basic one of the nature of salvation itself as revealed in Scripture. Salvation through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit is the story of God redeeming and healing his creation, and this in turn defines the nature of Christian mission.

For multiple reasons explored here, evangelicals have often neglected or positively denied Christian responsibility to address ecological issues. This …

Anticipating The New Creation: Wesleyan Foundations For Holistic Mission, Randy L. Maddox

The Asbury Journal

This essay provides a brief orientation to the public debate over the last forty years about the implications of the Christian worldview for environmental concern. It then explores the mature writings of John Wesley (and some of Charles Wesley's hymns), seeking to highlight those convictions that emphasize God's care for the whole creation and that call upon us to participate in this care. These Wesleyan convictions are developed in direct dialogue with the most common charges leveled against the Christian worldview as unsupportive or even detrimental to environmental concern. The article also highlights how Wesley sharpened his commitment to those …

Grace Notes: Layering Small Grace Upon Small Grace, Terry C. Muck

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

The Spirit, Christian Practices, And The Religions: Theology Of Religions In Pentecostal And Pneumatological Perspective, Amos Yong

The Asbury Journal

The discussion of Christian theology of religions has focused primarily so far on the question of whether or not the Christian understanding of salvation is available through other religions to their adherents. The predominant responses of exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism have shaped the debate and serve as a typology for organizing the various theologies of religions. While Pentecostals have generally fallen into the exclusivist category - e.g., that salvation is available only to those who have converted to Christian faith - there are also other resources related to their views regarding the universal work of the Holy Spirit that have …

The Eucharist: A Disputed Question, Leon O. Hynson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Journal In Entirety

The Asbury Journal

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Spirit, Christian Practice, and the Religions: Theology of Religions in Pentecostal and Pneumatological Perspective
Amos Yong

What is the Range of Current Teaching on Sanctification and What Ought a Wesleyan to Believe on this Doctrine?
Christopher T. Bounds

John Wesley's Use of the Atonement
Darren Cushman Wood

"We Would See Jesus..." A Wesleyan Approach to Three Recent Films
Fred Guyette

The Twentieth Century Holiness Movement and Korean Holiness Groups
Myung Soo Park

The Eucharist: A Disputed Question
Leon 0. Hynson

FEATURES

Book Reviews

William B. Lawrence on Mike Graves, ed.,
What’s the Matter with Preaching Todqy? …

Grace Notes: Layering Small Grace Upon Small Grace, Terry C. Muck

The Asbury Journal

God's truth comes to us from different places at different times. Each truth event sounds a small note of grace that together, if we listen, make up the musical score of God active in the world today. Listen to these ten small notes ofgrace from ten recent books.

Situating The Word: The Significance Of Christian Space For Evangelism, Laceye Warner

The Asbury Journal

With Protestant denominational membership declining steadily, and at times dramatically, since the 1960s, numerous local churches eagerly search for ways to attract new members. In efforts to reverse this trend, or at least slow it down, many have turned to techniques more informed by market logic and capitalist ideologies than the triune God revealed in biblical texts. One such technique insists upon creating "gathering spaces" with little if any evidence of Christian identity. Not even the nomenclature (e.g. "gathering space" instead of "worship space" or "sanctuary") indicates the nature of the purposes intended for these spaces. Many conclude the more …

John Wesley's Use Of The Atonement, Darren Cushman Wood

The Asbury Journal

Even though John Wesley claimed that the atonement was crucial to his theology, he never articulated a systematic theory of the atonement. This paper explores the way in which the atonement functions within his theology as the best approach for deciphering his understanding of the atonement as a foundational concept for his moral theology. The cross functions in his via salutis in two ways. It plays a substitutionary role in the removal of sin and guilt and has a participatory function, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to affect holiness in the life of the believer. These aspects of …

What Is The Range Of Current Teaching On Sanctification And What Ought A Wesleyan To Believe On This Doctrine?, Christopher T. Bounds

The Asbury Journal

This article seeks to answer two questions: What is the range of teaching on sanctification in Protestantism and what ought a Wesleyan to believe on holiness? In response to the first question, we summarize the different positions on sanctification in the major theological traditions of Protestantism, beginning with the most optimistic views and ending with the most pessimistic. The similarities and differences among the major Christian traditions are brought to the fore, as well as the nuances of understanding among Wesleyan-Arminians. We seek to foster an appreciation for each tradition's understanding of holiness, while arguing for the need of the …

Dramatic Enactment Of Christian Faith: A Review Essay, Sarah Heaner Lancaster

The Asbury Journal

The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story

Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen

Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic

2004, 252 pp. paper, $19.99

Theology and the Drama of History, Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine series

Ben Quash

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

2005, xiv, 235 pp. hardcover, $15.00

The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology

Kevin J. Vanhoozer

Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press

2005, 488 pp. paper, $39.95

Book Notes, Kenneth J. Collins

The Asbury Journal

Evangelical and Methodist: A Popular History
Riley B. Case
Nashville: Abingdon Press
2004, 32 pp. paper, $25.00
Reviewed by Kenneth J. Collins

God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Christopher Hitchens
New York: Twelve Press
2007, 307 pp. paper, $14.99
Reviewed by Kenneth J. Collins

Sanctified Sanity: The Life and Teaching of Samuel Logan Brengle
David Rightmire
Alexandria, Virginia: Crest Books
2003, 235 pp. paper, No price given.
Reviewed by Kenneth J. Collins

Wesley and Men Who Followed
Iain H. Murray
Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust
2003, 210 pp. paper, $21.00
Reviewed by Kenneth J. Collins

"We Would See Jesus..." A Wesleyan Approach To Three Recent Films, Fred Guyette

The Asbury Journal

Many Hollywood films are content to offer Americans an escape from the conflicts of contemporary life. A handful of special films lead us instead to probe and question the way we live. Here we look at three films through the lens of John Wesley's theology: Forrest Gump, Babbette's Feast, and Places in the Heart. The aims of the essay are threefold: (1) to initiate a more meaningful conversation about the way film can help us raise religious questions, (2) to learn more about God's power to renew His image in our lives, and (3) to seek the transformation of society …

The 20th Century Holiness Movement And Korean Holiness Groups, Myung Soo Park

The Asbury Journal

The Korean Christianity has been influenced by the American mission work whether its influence is good or bad. This study demonstrates how much the holiness movements in America have changed Korea Holiness churches. A schism among the American Holiness churches brought another one among Korean people; a revival in America brought another one in Korea. A theological change in American Holiness circle made the same kind of change in Korea. Therefore, we might study the Korea Holiness movement in relations with American Holiness movement.