Charismatic Renewal and Its Challenge to Traditional Theology
I have just uploaded to an American publisher the manuscript of my next book.
Entitled The Holy Spirit as Person and Power: Charismatic Renewal and Its Implications for Theology, it offers fresh perspectives on the Holy Spirit from what has been learned in charismatic experience.
In just over one hundred years, the Pentecostal–charismatic movement has transformed world Christianity. Pentecostal and charismatic Christians are noted for their rediscovery of spiritual gifts and their commitment to world evangelisation. The fastest-growing part of the world Christian movement, Pentecostals and charismatics now number around 700 million, more than 27 percent of the global Christianity.
My book takes what has been learned in the dynamism and variety of charismatic experience and applies it to mainstream theology. I show that the renewal movement has brought to light many overlooked aspects of what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit. These are not the insights of an enthusiast claiming a new revelation. Rather, these elements are present in the Bible’s description of the Spirit but have been ignored or overlooked in traditional pneumatology.
In the Bible, the Spirit oversees the development of the fine-tuned universe. The Spirit moves things to their perfection. The Spirit inspires artistic creativity and empowers Israel’s leaders. But only with the Messianic prophecies is it promised for the first time that the Spirit will indwell human beings. With Jesus’ fulfilment of these promises comes a profound change in the Spirit’s relationship to humanity. Constituting Jesus as Israel’s Messiah, the Spirit makes him the Spirit–filled human being who in turn promises to impart the Spirit to his followers.
I argue that what the Spirit did in the life and ministry of Jesus is a prototype and pattern for what the Spirit desires to do in the life and ministry of Christians. Being baptised in the Holy Spirit is a tangible experience, distinct from though ideally accompanying conversion, which initiates a believer into a new realm of experience of God and effectiveness in God’s service.
Engaging with Catholic and Eastern Orthodox reflection on the Spirit, I note the difference between the incarnation of the Son and the coming of the Spirit. In the incarnation, a divine person assumes human nature. In the coming of the Spirit, as the Russian Orthodox lay theologian Vladimir Lossky has noted, the divine nature is communicated to human persons. The dynamism of the Spirit’s activity in the world today invites us to recognise the Spirit as a distinct divine person and reassess our understanding of God’s triune being.
The Holy Spirit as Presence and Power applies the lived experience of charismatic Christians to enrich academic theological understanding of the person and activity of the Holy Spirit. The book is a significant work of theological reflection, engaging with leading thinkers in the field of pneumatology. But I have written it as a hands–on practitioner who has been actively engaged in charismatic renewal, in leadership of local churches, in a national renewal organisation, in Bible teaching, and in mission trips to Eastern Europe.
The Holy Spirit as Presence and Power offers fresh perspectives on the Holy Spirit. It is a book with ecumenical implications for all branches of world Christianity. It challenges theology and the global church—in its Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical expressions—to learn from the Pentecostal-charismatic movement. It is a rich, learned and prophetic work of theological integration, itself a testimony to the Spirit’s inspiration.
No date of publication has been announced yet, but I envisage it will be available in mid–2020. You are welcome to contact me with expressions of interest, and I will let you know when it becomes available.
Rob Yule
To learn more about Rob’s books or blogs, or to contact him, visit robyule.co.nz
