'PENTECOSTAL PREACHING'
--~~~~{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|}Pentecostal preaching is a unique form of sermonizing practiced by people who preach to five hundred and fifty million Pentecostals and Charismatic Christians around the world. In this article we want to compare Pentecostal preaching with both Roman Catholic preaching and Protestant preaching, and also to note the differences among them. Pentecostal preaching builds upon the historical, and the Reformed understanding of preaching. Pentecostals see sermonizing as anointed preaching with signs, wonders, and miracles (Luke 4:16-20). Joseph Byrd, a Pentecostal homiletican, says that Pentecostals do not have their own homiletic. In his dissertation he formulates a homiletic in consultation with Evangelical homiletics. I, however, hold the view that we Pentecostals have our own homiletic or way of preaching the gospel. This article seeks to define Pentecostal preaching in comparison to Roman Catholic and Protestant preaching, and to describe the uniqueness of Pentecostal preaching as it is and can be practiced today.
Our theory of Pentecostal preaching is developed from in-depth studies of both historical and contemporary practice. These sources include exegetes of New Testament passages on preaching, qualitative and quantitative analyses of 100,000 Pentecostal ministers on their understanding of Pentecostal preaching, analysis of the history, and theology of Pentecostal preaching, analysis of sermon literature, and sermons of the last one hundred years, personal interviews of Pentecostal preachers, a qualitative analysis of two Pentecostal preachers’ sermons, and analysis of a considerable number of audio, and video of sermons from Canada and the United States of America.
'''Roman Catholic Service'''
The center of the Roman Catholic service is the Eucharist at which bread and wine are served, and where the death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are remembered, and celebrated. We have observed that there are two positions about Roman Catholic preaching: The first position is put forward by Roman Catholic academics. From my conversation with three homileticans I met at the Academy of Homiletics in Memphis, Tennessee in 2005 they suggested that their service is divided into two parts: the Eucharist, and the preaching of God’s Word. Each part receives equal time and emphasis. I discovered a second position by speaking to Priests and lay people in the Roman Catholic Church. In Winnipeg, Canada I took a survey of Priest and lay people and they told me that the center of their service is the Eucharist and preaching prepares parishioners to receive Eucharist. In a sixty-minute Mass the average amount of time spent on the homily is ten minutes (One Charismatic Priest who preaches for twenty minutes told me that preaching is very important to him). I was told by Priests and lay people this is representative of all Roman Catholic services. Does it mean Roman Catholics minimize preaching? I am not sure. I cannot make that conclusion from such a small sampling. Is it only in Winnipeg, Canada where Roman Catholic time for preaching is short? I am not sure. Nevertheless, I can say that the Roman Catholics do not follow the model of preaching Jesus and the Apostles did where signs, wonders, and miracles follow the preaching, which is the point of this paper. (See my definition of Pentecostal preaching). Further research will be needed to make a solid conclusion, which is outside the scope of this paper.
'''Protestant preaching'''
If the center of the Roman Catholic service is the Eucharist, then the center of the Protestant service is the sermon or the homily. It seems to me that the Protestant service is a reaction, led by Martin Luther, and John Calvin, to a lack of biblical preaching as the center of the service in the Roman Catholic service.
Preaching for the Reformers meant that delivery of the Word of God should occupy the most time in the service and that everything should revolve around the sermon. The sermons ought to be well prepared from the original languages of the Bible. The historical and the cultural context of a passage being preached from should be properly understood, yet it should be so simple that the congregation will understand what is being said. Homileticians refer to this type of preaching as ‘expository’ preaching.
Since the Protestant Reformation, preaching, as the center of the service, has become institutionalized. Nothing is wrong in making preaching the center of the service, (today Protestants use a variety of methods to preach, such as: textual sermons, topical sermons, need-centered sermons, and missionary sermons et cetera), but, in general, we see three problems rising out of this reaction by the Reformers to Roman Catholic preaching.
1. The Protestants’ understanding of preaching is too Eurocentric. By Eurocentric I mean the preaching is governed by European standards of culture, hermeneutics, and behavior. This in itself is not wrong, but when it becomes the measuring stick to determine all of preaching, it is not the most appropriate or effective instrument. It has severe limitations when it seeks to evaluate preaching of non-western and oral cultures. 2. Most European preaching uses Aristotelian logic (Aristotle was a heathen) to understand, and outline Scripture, and preach sermons. Aristotelian logic is a method of argumentation which draws heavily on inductive and deductive logic. We would argue that Aristotelian logic works against the ethos of the Scripture, and the Pentecostal movement. In a world where most of the Christians have a non-western world view, preaching using inductive, and deductive logic becomes difficult, and a hindrance to communicating the gospel.
'''Protestant Service'''
The basic differences between Pentecostal preaching and other forms of preaching
Pentecostal Service
The Roman Catholic service gives little time to preaching, and the Reformed/Protestant service seeks to emphasize more time given to preaching, thereby making preaching the center of the service. Pentecostal preaching builds upon these traditions and helps the church to move back to the example of Jesus, and the apostles. Pentecostals see other types of preaching as lacking, and lopsided. Pentecostals see preaching, and ministering to the physical, emotional, needs of others as the center of the service.
When we exegete Luke 4:16-20, Jesus says two things about preaching: it is anointed preaching, and it is followed by signs, wonders, and miracles.
"vs. 18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19: to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (NRSVB)
There are two ways to interpret verses 18, and 19. The first is to consider “anoint” as the main verb, the second verb “sent” modifies “anoint”; the three infinitives, “to preach”, “to proclaim”, and “to proclaim” (infinitives tell the purpose of the main verb “anoint”). By so doing the words could be interpreted to mean that Jesus was “anointed”, and “sent”, “to preach”, “proclaim release to the captives”, “recovering of the sight” of the blind, and “liberty to the oppressed”, and “to proclaim” this as a time of God’s liberation.
Verb order 1
A second way to interpret these verses is by looking at the two main verbs “anoint”, and “sent” separately. Then the passage would read: Jesus was anointed to preach (infinitive). Jesus was “sent” (verb) to “proclaim release” (infinitive) to the captives, “release” (infinitive) those that have been bound, and “proclaim” (infinitive) this is the acceptable year of the Lord (this the time God is releasing people). Whichever interpretation one chooses both would mean the same thing. Release, seeing, and liberation is not only figurative but literal. Jesus came to set free those who are in bondage to demonic activity, those who are spiritually and physically blind. In other words Jesus not only came to preach anointed sermons but to perform signs, wonders, and miracles. We see this model of preaching throughout the ministry of Jesus. In Mark 1:21-39, Jesus preaches in a synagogue in Capernaum, and delivers a man from demon possession. In Mark 2:1-12 he continues, on the same day of ministry, preaching in a home, as in Mark 1, and heals a paralytic. Matthew 4:23 tells us:
And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. (NRVB)
Verb Order 2
Paul affirms the same thing when he said, “and I came to you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling”.
My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit, and of power, 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2: 4, 5. (NRVB)
The demonstration of the Spirit means that preaching should be followed not only by conversion but also by signs, wonders, and miracles (the Holy Spirit works in many ways).
The gifts of the Spirit presented in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 can be divided into parts: speaking gifts (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues) and power gifts (faith, healing, miracles, discernment of spirits). This further emphasizes the point that preaching is meant to be accompanied by signs, wonders, and miracles.
The foregoing is essentially what we mean by biblical, and Pentecostal preaching.
Some characteristics of Pentecostal preaching
We want to outline some principles that guide the preaching of Pentecostals and Charismatics.
Primarily, Pentecostals see all of Scripture as the Word of God. In contrast, some Protestant theologians believe that the Epistles teach doctrine but the Gospels do not. This is especially true for those who come with a dispensational pre-supposition to the Scripture. When one comes to the Bible with a dispensational pre-supposition, or any other pre-supposition, one forces the Bible to be read into their pre-supposition instead of letting the Bible speak for itself. Pentecostals believe all the Bible is the Word of God, and we should let the Bible speak for itself, bearing in mind its language, culture, and historical setting. This becomes important for Pentecostals because they teach that we can build doctrine from the historical books of the New Testament especially Luke, and Acts. This argument was settled a while ago among New Testament scholars.
Secondly, Pentecostals seek to operate from a spirit worldview. There are three worldviews: a biblical worldview, a western worldview, and a non-western worldview. A biblical worldview operates within a non-rational worldview in which there are dreams, visions, exorcisms, miracles, and people living in community. The western worldview is influenced by reason, and logic. It is anti-supernatural, individualistic, and self-centered. The non-western worldview is very similar to the Bible in that it operates not only in the rational plane but also in the non-rational plane where dreams, signs, wonders, and the supernatural are common place. Walter J Hollenweger suggested that William J Seymour, the founder of the Pentecostal movement, operated in a non-western worldview which helped facilitate a return to primitive biblical Christianity, and this has influenced Pentecostals to operate within that worldview.
Thirdly, Pentecostal preaching starts with a re-experiencing of the text and then draws out the symbolic meaning of the text. (We are discussing these two together because they are closely related). By re-experiencing the text we mean that God speaks to the preacher from a text in a new and fresh way. The preacher then comes as a witness on behalf of the congregation to re-experience the text. This experience becomes the starting point in building a sermon. This is the method that was used by Augustine and the early leaders of the Pentecostal church. At the Azusa Street revival, congregants and preachers were allowed to preach what the Lord had made real to them. Symbolic meaning was often included within the sermon’s presentation. Although preachers are equipped with better research tools today, the basic principle of re-experiencing the text has remained constant in Pentecostal circles. The symbolic meaning is added as one meditates and works through the text. Joseph Byrd, in “Paul Ricoeur’s Hermeneutical Theory, and Pentecostal Proclamation” , builds a theory on how one can re-experience the text in a discussion about Paul Ricoeur’s writings. Ricoeur’s view of preaching from a text is to look at both the literal and symbolic meaning of a text. His main concern is to make the distant text applicable today. While the literal meaning in a text gives the primary meaning, the symbolic meaning of a text gives a meaning of a text or adds to the preaching of the text. For example, the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is the literal event of history, and the primary meaning of the text, but symbolically it means leaving the old life.
Byrd suggests that the preacher should be aware of his own needs, and prejudices as he looks at the text, try to understand the text (genre, structure, focal point), he should find the focal point, keeping in mind the audience, and ask how it applies to the people to whom he will speak. I have found a simpler method to that of Byrd: I read through one book of the Bible at a time in my personal devotions, and anything the Lord speaks to me at about, I write it down. Other times the Lord may impress upon me certain needs in the world or community such as the family, and I write down. This exercise becomes the starting point in building a sermon. When I prepare a series of sermons, I return to my notes from my devotion, and then I write out every possible idea that can make a sermon. Finally, in a final sheet we choose from the above list a series of sermons by asking three questions: 1.) did God speak to me? 2.) is this sermon idea applicable to the audience? and, 3.) is it timely? Even when we are finished with this list if a situation, need or a special day arises such as Christmas or a crisis in the community I will skip that particular sermon. At no time I am bound to a particular sermon. I give the Spirit free course to change the sermon. This method works best in preaching from narratives, however, it is not limited to narratives. The symbolic meaning from a portion of Scripture should always be contextual, enhance the sermon, and support the purpose for preaching a specific sermon. For example, if one is preaching about blind Bartimeus one can say he was not only physically blind but spiritually blind, and Jesus came to heal him, and today Jesus heals physically, and spiritually. If Bartimeus was not a Christian believer, he was bound in his sins, and needed to accept Jesus as Messiah, and Lord. The New Testament speaks about light, and blindness; light is walking in the teachings of Jesus, and darkness is walking in sin, and bondage.
Fourthly, Pentecostal preaching moves the audience to re-experience the presence of God through the sermon, and in healings, deliverances, and hope at the altar. The objective of the Pentecostal sermon then is not an end in it self. All Pentecostal sermons seek to do something. It aims for something. As the sermon lifts up the risen Christ people are encouraged to look to Christ Jesus not their circumstance, and trust Him alone to resolve their problems. The altar is usually in front of the church, in the pew, or where the person is seated. The pastor some times will call people forward in front of the church where others will join in praying for the needs of individuals. Other times the pastor will pray for people in their seats. In a Pentecostal service a good after service prayer time can either break a sermon or make a sermon. Many times in this prayer time people let go of their problems, and let God take over; as they come to re-experience the text.
Fifthly, Pentecostal preaching seeks to preach to the needs in the audience. Pentecostal sermons are not dead vocal discourse from an ancient text but, a living text that speaks to the needs of the audience. Jesus came preaching, teaching, and meeting the needs of people. He dealt with every day problems in the Sermon on the Mount such as worry, money, fear, and anger. A need can be a disaster in the congregation or community; people in the church needing healing; the celebration of Easter or other events in the Christian calendar. The preacher would want to be guided by the Holy Spirit to learn what He is saying about what subject the preacher should speak.
Sixthly, Pentecostals preach a variety of sermons such as topical, textual, need centered, counseling, and expository. The guiding principle of Pentecostal preaching is that the sermon should be biblical (everything the preacher says should be supported by Scripture), and the sermon should be Christocentric. While expository sermons are the primary type of sermon that Pentecostals preach, they are not bound to this method of preaching. Their sermons are motivated, and developed by the fifth point—preaching to the needs in the audience. They are not bound by lexicon sermons, or Reformed preaching. Lexicon preaching is based upon sermon ideas outlined by a denomination, and is bound to the Christian calendar. Reformed preaching is primarily expository sermons that require study in biblical languages.
Seventhly, Pentecostal preaching is not dependent upon a particular mode of communication. I have observed that churches in North America whose roots are basically in Europe, preach monologue sermons. H J C Pieterse, a South African homilist, said that Jesus’ sermons were dialogues; we disagree. Jesus’ sermons were both monologues, and dialogues. For example, the Sermon on the Mount was a monologue but his sermon in the temple was a dialogue with the Jewish leaders asking questions. All Pentecostal ministers do not preach in dialogue as did their founding father, Seymour, but make use of a mixture of monologue, and dialogue. Dialogue preaching is a normal way of communication for African Americans. Pentecostals are not dependent upon a way of communication, as are the churches (denominations) that started in Europe, but people are allowed to be themselves, speaking with their own cultural expressions, and local ways of speaking. This makes preaching fresh, alive, and attractive to the audience.
Eighthly, Pentecostal preaching requires sermon outlines using blocks of thoughts especially when preaching from narratives. This method of preaching is now advocated by leading homileticians (such as Thomas Long) from the Academy of Homiletics. This method of outlining sermons is the opposite of inductive and deductive sermons. For example a narrative or a movie usually has one main thought that it seeks to communicate. In a movie or biblical narrative, the main point is not announced but as the story is told the main point(s) is/are disclosed. The same is true of preaching. We call the main point the purpose statement. It determines what the preacher wants to accomplish in the sermon. The main points are blocks of thoughts. The blocks of thought evolve from the narrative, and always reinforce the main point of the narrative. For example let us look at Acts 12:
Topic: Paul’s Conversion
Text: Acts 12: 1-9
Introduction
Purpose Statement: I want to inform my audience what happens when someone comes into contact with Christ.
I. Paul was a persecutor of the church
II Paul’s encounter with the living Christ
III Ananias’ prayer heals Paul
IV Paul preaches the good news
Conclusion
Practical applications of the ministry part of Luke 4:16-20
As a former pastor, and now a homiletician, I am concerned that there are fewer signs, wonders, and miracles in some Pentecostal churches in the West. This is not the case in the non-western church. Why do demonized and sick people leave our churches without receiving help? Is it because we do not have sick people, and demonized people attending our churches? Is it because we have been influenced by non-Pentecostal textbooks on preaching that our preaching has become unbalanced and limited? If that is the case, it is too costly. We have stated that Pentecostal preaching is anointed preaching on one hand, and signs, wonders, and miracles on the other hand. If theological students are not taught the above position at school, is it possible that many are coming to the pulpit confused about preaching?
We know that Pentecostal/charismatic pastors believe in signs, wonders, and miracles but, in some quarters, the problem is that in a normal Sunday morning service, with its time constraints, praying for the sick, the demonized, and the needy goes unattended too. Furthermore, the average pastor does not fast on Sunday morning which is imperative to see signs, wonders, and miracles. The typical pastor fast an average of three times per month which helps, but it not the same as fasting and praying before praying for the needy.
We have discovered that the type of preaching Jesus and the apostles did is biblically accurate and met the needs of people. We in turn need to find a way to create a service that meets the needs of people. Preaching by itself cannot meet the needs of congregations because preaching [today] is only one half of what the Bible describes as preaching. In our understanding of preaching, if we start out with a score of a 100%—50% for sermon delivery, and 50% for praying for the sick, and needy—we will have a totally different definition of preaching. A Pentecostal or other Christian minister might be an excellent preacher (that is in the delivery of the sermon) and let us say that we give him a preaching score of 35% out of 50% but 0% for not praying for the sick, and needy. His score is only 35% out of a 100%. Let us now take a Pentecostal minister who is an average preacher. We give him a score of 25% of 50% for sermon delivery, and we will give him 35% for signs, wonders, and miracles following his preaching. It is quite obvious who is the better preacher, if our biblical definition is correct. The Pentecostal preacher is the better preacher because his preaching is in keeping with the biblical definition, and he gets a sore of 55% out of 100.
What we are seeking to do here is to apply the ministry part of Luke 4:16-20. It is an understatement to say the ministry part of preaching is missing in some of our churches. If there is a need we should find a way to minister to that need. In some circles, fear is one of the motivating factors that hinders us from praying for the needs of people. We are afraid of becoming a bad example for Christ or in any way be associated with people who are bad examples (and there are many bad examples). We are thinking of some so-called healing evangelists who lived immoral lives, and are dishonest in what they do. Some of us are afraid of the methodology used by some ministers who pray for people that are needy. Others might be afraid of people not getting healed when they pray for them. We are afraid of being laughed at by other people. We need to pray for people because Jesus commanded us to pray for people, and it is a mistake to think that everyone we pray for will be healed. Not every person treated by physicians is healed; medical failure is a natural process in the search for new ways to cure disease. The same attitude should govern us as we pray for people. We know that simple obedience to God’s Word is imperative, and as we step out in faith, God will honor us and we too will be successful.
One of the ways we can deal with praying for people with problems, sickness, and the demonized is to organize a special service every three months in small churches, and in large churches a weekly healing and deliverance service during the week. Another possibility is to have a healing and deliverance service in a church of any size once per month in the Sunday morning service. You will find an organized service will attract non-Christians who also have problems but the average church is not organized to meet their needs. You will find that non-Christians will come to trust Christ as savior during such a service. In my limited experience and observation of pastors who are involved in this type of ministry, non-Christians generally come to trust Christ in a healing, and deliverance service.
Jesus told us that some things do not happen unless we fast, and pray (Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:29; Acts 14:23; 1 Corinthians 7:5). This applies to a healing and deliverance service.
We have observed that church leaders involved in this type of ministry fast often, especially before they pray for the needs of people. We would suggest two days of fasting, and prayer before one gets involved in this type of ministry. It can be a total fast or a sub-total fast. A total fast is having nothing to eat, and a sub-total fast is having liquids. Does it mean one should pray 12 hours per day? No. It does mean that one will want to spend at least two hours a day in prayer at different times during the day. If others are joining you in praying for people they too should fast. If you cannot meet as a group then you should meet at least once before the service and spend one hour in prayer. Prayer and fasting will give you confidence towards God, and boldness in praying for the needs of people. Prayer and fasting gives unity among those praying for the needy.
The following are some practical suggestions in praying for people who might be sick or demonized: 1. expect God to perform miracles; 2. use three things in praying for the demonized: a) pray in the name of Jesus; b) claim the blood of Jesus—one can say, “I plead the blood of Jesus against you Satan.” c) quote the Word of God. For example, one can say, “according to 1 Peter 3:18, 19 Jesus defeated you Satan. We command you to leave this person.” This type of prayer can be prayed not only for people that are demonized but also for those who are emotionally sick or may be carrying a heavy burden.
One should always pray with eyes open when praying for a demon possessed person because it is possible for demonic power to hurt you physically if your eyes are closed and you don’t see what is happening.
Always ask people to repeat the sinner’s prayer whether they are Christians or not. James 5:16 reminds us that if we confess our sins Jesus is faithful to forgive us our sins. We know that sin is related to sickness. We cannot go wrong by confessing our sins. I pray for everyone that comes to me for prayer. And I will tell them what I sense the Holy Spirit is saying to me about their problems.
You will find the Holy Spirit will lead you in how you should pray for needs such as depression, sexual abuse, anger, hopelessness, financial problems, and family problems. In some cases the wise pastor will direct the person to counseling, medical help, further prayer, and support.
Try to have a support group to pray with you because working with people with these described problems requires all the support you can get. It is no coincidence that Jesus sent out the disciples two by two. When one is tired of praying, the other person or persons can take turns in praying for the hurting.
The healing and deliverance service should be short, and simple. One can lead in a few hymns or choruses, a short sermon or a testimony that should build faith such as the healing of blind Bartimeus, how to exercise your faith, and the power of the blood of Jesus.
In Western society, where medical help is easily available, it is a good idea to send someone who claims to be demonized to be checked for any medical or psychological problems before consenting to pray for them.
Summary
We have been saying that biblical preaching, or the type of preaching Jesus and the Apostles did, consisted of anointed sermons accompanied by and signs, wonders, and miracles. If what we have been saying in this article is biblically, hermeneutically, and homiletically practical, we need to redefine our preaching, and make steps to change our ministry.
Dr. Aldwin Ragoonath, Th.D.<ref></ref>
<re Bob Menzies, a New Testament Pentecostal scholar, in an email he sent to me in September 2002, said the anointing is the generic term to describe the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the specific word to describe the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph Byrd, “Formulation of a Classical Pentecostal Homiletic in Dialogue with Contemporary Protestant Homiletic”, Ph.D. diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1990.
For more information see my dissertation, Aldwin Ragoonath, “Pentecostal Preaching in North America”, Th.D., diss., University of South Africa, 1999.
One of the two homileticans I spoke to at the Academy of Homiletics is Duncan Macpherson, Pilgrim Preacher: Palestine, Pilgrimage and Preaching (Towbridge, England: Cromwell Press, 2004).
I surveyed ten Roman Catholic Priests and four laymen in Winnipeg, Canada during the month of July, 2005. In my survey I found that Priests usually preach a maximum of 15 minutes and the minimum of five minutes. They also told me the purpose of the sermon is preparing people to receive the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist. They develop their sermons from the reading for the day. When I asked how much time they spent on sermon preparation they could not tell me.
See my additional comments, Aldwin Ragoonath, “Pentecostal Preaching in North America”, 108, 109. “Jesus began his ministry as a result of the anointing at the river Jordan (Mark 1:10.), and his appearance in the synagogue confirms this anointing. It is because of the work of the Spirit that Jesus can do the rest of the things mentioned in this passage. He can preach the gospel to the poor, heal the broken-hearted, preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovery of sight to the blind, and set at liberty those who are bruised. Although there are some textual problems in this passage: the insertion of Isaiah 58:6, “to heal the broken hearted”, and the deletion of, “day of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance” that does not rob anything from the accuracy and application of the passage. As it applies to the above, Luke may be quoting from the Q source. (The Q source is referred to by New Testament scholars as a written document that recorded the life of Christ, and was used by Matthew, and Luke as their primary source). But what we see here is Luke quoting from the LXX (Septuagint), and emphasizing his own pneumatic view of the Spirit.” At the heart of the discussion on anointing is one passage of Scripture, Luke 4:16-20 quoted from Is. 61:1, 2, and the exegesis of Luke 4:16-20, “anoint”, and “anointing”.
Although there are some textual problems in this passage (the insertion of Isaiah 58:6, “to heal the broken hearted” and the deletion of “day of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance”), that does not rob anything from the accuracy and application of the passage. As it applies to the above, Luke may be quoting from the Q source. I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989), 18; New Testament scholars refer to the Q source as a written document that recorded the life of Christ and was used by Matthew and Luke as their primary source. But what we see here is Luke quoting from the LXX (Septuagint), and emphasizing his own pneumatic view of the Spirit. I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke, 183. “In Is. 61 the anointing is clearly that of a prophet (cf. 1 Kings. 1:21; CD 2:12; 6:1; 1QM 11:7), and in view of 4:23 the same motif should be seen here, although Schurmann, 1, 229, thinks that Luke himself reinterpreted his source in terms of a ‘messianic’, i.e. kingly, anointing. Ultimately, the concepts of the eschatological prophet and the Messiah merge.” Marshall sees in Luke 4:16-19 the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1, 2. The typological counterpart of the stories of Elijah and Elisha and the eschatological fulfillment of ‘this day’ has come (Luke 4:21). The Scriptures have come to fulfillment and the last days have begun, 178.
They said, “….this is what He was chiefly to do for his people, both in word and deed” C F Keil and F Delitzsch, translated by James Martin, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. VII, Isaiah, 424-426; “Jesus had come to save the entire man: body and soul. The promised blessings were both physical and spiritual” William Hendriksen, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1981), 254; This word is used in the physical, moral, and metaphysical sense in the New Testament. Bonn Wolfgang Schrage, edited by Gerhard Kittle, translator and editor by Geoffery W Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Vol. 8 “” ,(Grand Rapids: William B Eerdmans Publicshing Company), 271-294.
Paul desired not to be dependant upon the oratory skills of his time but to preach under the power of God with the objective of seeing lives changed, deliverances taking place, and bodies healed. Research has shown that Pentecostal ministers today yearn for the same things as Paul. The same word “” in Acts 1:8 is used in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 by Paul to describe preaching that demonstrates the power of God. To preach with “power” on the one hand, and means anointed preaching, and on the other hand, and means sings wonders, and miracles. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 2, s.v. “” by Grundman, 310-311; Hans Conzelmann, A Commentary on the First Epistle of the Corinthians (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, English translation, 1975), 55; Joseph Henry Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1968), 68; Fred Fisher, Commentary on 1 , and 2 Corinthians. Paul uses the same word “power” in Acts 1:8 to describe his preaching. Paul then was saying (in 1 Cor 2:4, 5) his preaching was not dependent upon the popular oratory of his time: he demonstrated his preaching by changed lives, and miracles.
I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989), 181. Cf. Roger Stronstad, The Charismatic Theology of Luke, (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1984).
Walter J Hollenweger in Jan A B Jongeneel (ed.) Experiences of the Spirit: Conference on Pentecostal and Charasmatic Research in Europe at Utrecht University (New York: Peter Lang, 1989), 9, 10. His background contributed to the growth of the worldwide movement particularly the “extraordinary synthesis of indigenous African elements...incorporated into Protestant Christian worship. Trance, ecstasy, visions, dreams, and healings were not foreign either to the slaves or to their descendants.” Cf. Matthew Clark, “An Investigation into the Nature of a Viable Pentecostal Hermeneutic”, Th.D. diss., University of South Africa, 1997.
is one the words for preaching, it means a witness. Although the apostles were witnesses to what Jesus taught and did, we come to the text as a witness on behalf of the congregation to re-experience the text. One needs to be true to biblical text. Thomas G Long in, The Witness of Preaching (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1989) has a book that deals with this concept of preaching.
Jay E Adams, Pulpit Speech, (Philadelphia: Presbyterian, and Reformed Publishing Company, 1971), 51-61.
Paul Ricoeur’s writings have very helpful information on this subject. Interpretation Theory: Discourse , and the Surplus of Meaning (Fort Worth, TX: Texas Christian University Press, 1976), and Essays on Biblical Interpretation, ed., Lewis S. Mudge (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1980) Joseph Byrd in his dissertation, “Formulation of a Classical Pentecostal Homiletic in Dialogue with Contemporary Protestant Homiletics” (Ph.D. diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1990), and his essay, “Paul Ricoeur’s Hermeneutical Theory , and Pentecostal Proclamation”, PNEUMA: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies Vol. 15, No. 2, (Fall 1993): 203-214. Byrd’s Pentecostal adaptation is helpful to all serious students. His methodology is highlighted in the above article pages 111-112. The following is an example:
“INTERPRETER (first naïveté)
a. Briefly relate your past experience with the text. What are your prejudices about, and what is your pre-understanding of the text?
b. What are the ‘typical’ accepted interpretations of the focus or intention found in this text? That is, what has the Church believed about this passage? What have Pentecostals believed about the passage? How does this text fit into the larger analogy of faith? (Is it crucial? Peripheral? Irrelevant?)
TEXT (critical consciousness)
a. Identify, and describe the literary genre.
b. Outline the passage according to its literary structure.
c. List, describe, and discuss specific metaphors, imagery, and important language found in your text.
d. Is there a climax or a focus to your text? What is the theological ‘point’ that the text is trying to make?
e. Discuss the text’s context. Identify the author, recipients, and Sitz im Leben. What is the significance of what is being said to the recipients of your periscope?
f. What words or particular actions in the text do you need to have a literary, historical, social or theological context in order to understand, and properly?
AUDIENCE
a. Describe the community for which you plan to interpret your text.
b. Describe the cultural setting.
c. Describe the social setting.
d. Describe the educational setting.
e. Describe the worship/ministry setting.
f. What is your relation to this group?
g. What is the significance of this text to them?
h. How does important vocabulary ‘sound’ in their ears?
i. Do they care about the issue in your text?
j. Determine the existential elements (example fear, joy, guilt) in your text. How does your specific group relate to these elements at the present time?
k. How will you communicate this text? List the sorts of vocabulary, stories from life, and images (worldview as well as illustration), which parallel those in the text that you can use to communicate this text.”
Paul Ricoeur, Essays on Biblical Interpretation, ed., Lewis S. Mudge (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1980), 54; quoted in Byrd, “Paul Ricoeur’s Hermeneutical Theory , and Pentecostal Proclamation”, 207; Lorettes Dornisch, “Symbolic System , and the Interpretation of Scripture: An Introduction to the Work of Paul Ricoeur,” Semeia 4 (1975):14; quoted in Byrd, “Paul Ricoeur’s Hermeneutical Theory, and Pentecostal Proclamation”, 209.
Ragoonath, “Pentecostal Preaching in North America” ( Th.D., University of South Africa, 1999), 186.
Ibid, 186.
H J C Pieterse, in his book on, Communicative Preaching, suggests that Reformed pastors are preaching less expository sermons and more topical and textual sermons. (Pretoria, South Africa: University of South Africa, 1995.)
Ibid.
Gerald L. Davis, I Got the Word in Me, and I Can Sing It, You Know: A Study of the Performed African-American Sermon (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985), 64-111.
Aldwin Ragoonath, Preach the Word: a Pentecostal Approach (Winnipeg: Agape Teaching Ministry of Canada, 2004), 109.
In my chapter on a, “Survey of Pentecostal Practitioners”, I found 46% of Pentecostal ministers fast an average of two to three times per month, Ragoonath, “Pentecostal Preaching in North America”, 184.
Ragoonath, Preach the Word: a Pentecostal Approach, 2004. See chapter 6.
~~~~
