The Pentecostal Pastor

Pentecostal clergy are kneeling at the gateway to the twenty-first century with a prayerful sense of purpose. Two thousand years after our Savior's resurrection, we're still hearing His call to feed my sheep. The Pentecostal Pastor is an encyclopedia of wisdom for all who heed those words. The Pentecostal Pastor connects you with an esteemed panel of seventy-four pastors, missionaries, college presidents, and Christian leaders. Their rich portfolio of ministry experience spans America's cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Well-qualified to nurture clergy of today and tomorrow, they discuss real issues faced by real pastors. Inspiration and information on eighty-five diverse topics is organized for easy access. Articles are indexed by both Scripture and subject, and arranged under six themes: Priorities in the Pastor's Life, The Pastor's Personal Life, Preparing for Revival, Effective Accountability, Ministry to the Body, and Spirit-Anointed Worship.

In The Pastor, author Eugene Peterson, translator of the multimillion-selling The Message, tells the story of how he started Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland and his gradual discovery of what it really means to be a pastor. Steering away from abstractions, Peterson challenges conventional wisdom regarding church marketing, mega pastors, and the church’s too-cozy relationship to American glitz and consumerism to present a simple, faith-based description of what being a minister means today. In the end, Peterson discovers that being a pastor boils down to “paying attention and calling attention to ‘what is going on now’ between men and women, with each other and with God.”

Many pastors today see themselves primarily as counselors, leaders, and motivators. Yet this often comes at the expense of the fundamental reality of the pastorate as a theological office. The most important role is to be a theologian mediating God to the people. The church needs pastors who can contextualize biblical wisdom in Christian living to help their congregations think theologically about all aspects of their lives, such as work, end-of-life decisions, political involvement, and entertainment choices. Drawing on the Bible, key figures from church history, and Christian theology, this book offers a clarion call for pastors to serve as public theologians in their congregations and communities. It is designed to be engaging reading for busy pastors and includes pastoral reflections on the theological task from twelve working pastors, including Kevin DeYoung and Cornelius Plantinga.

"I want to go on living after my death, so that the message that God has given me to preach will continue to bless and help future generations of LGBT youth in their struggle for identity." -- Sister Paula Nielsen This is why Sister Paula, an open transgender Christian, spent seven years writing her autobiography "The Trans Evangelist," a document that scans seven decades. Her story is a unique journey that the reader will find fascinating, entertaining, and spiritually uplifting. Paula says: "So many people are living dull and uneventful lives because they are being what society expects them to be, rather than being the person they really are." Paula has had the courage to step out and be herself, swimming against the current of popular opinion of her time. Her life is checkered with controversy. Yet, through it all, God's hand remained on her life. In this book she leaves a legacy that people will not soon forget. ..".God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.....and things which are despised, hath God chosen...." (I Corinthians 1:27, 28) This truth becomes crystal clear as Paula's incredible story unfolds throughout this book.

The emergence of Pentecostalism in Ghana has attracted a massive following and generated institutions that have significantly impacted Christian discourse and national life. The movement has produced prominent leaders who have developed exemplary Christian education programs and generated volumes of Christian literature unprecedented in Ghanaian Christianity. Nevertheless, public opinion often upbraids church leaders for unethical conduct. Despite the concern for high moral standards set by Pentecostal church polity and ministerial ethical codes, reports of Pentecostal ministerial misconduct appear regularly in the media. Although congregation members and perceptive public observers appreciate the constructive moral impact of Pentecostal ministers, instances of promiscuity, power abuse, financial misappropriation, and superstition reveal a gap between ethical ideals and practice. As this research reveals, factors behind unethical ministerial conduct include inadequate training, poor accountability, and a general low level of ethical reflection. Good Pastors, Bad Pastors suggests that a multidimensional approach of responsible reportage, emphatic moral education, appropriate but sympathetic response to moral failure, and peer-review accountability could help uphold a higher standard of ministerial ethics.

Rose Engcoy's insightful study of the life and ministry of Rodrigo "e;Rudy"e; is a legitmate contribution to the historiography of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement in the Philippines, about which so little has been done. Here, we some valuable insights into the life of one of the six Filipino pioneers of the Assemblies of God church in the Philippines. Esperanza began as a church planter and pastor and later also served as an educator and long-time senior executive in the Assemblies of God in the Philippines. He played a vital role in that church's early success, which brought it to the forefront of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement in his beloved homeland. Today, the number of Christians is multiplying in the Asia Pacific region and Pentecostals and Charismatics are in the vanguard of that growth.

THE PENTECOSTAL DEACON will be a one-of-a-kind book in your library. No other book speaks to the unique calling of spirit-filled deacons and deaconess, who operate under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, but are subject to the authority of the Pastor. No single volume of work can better prepare them for their role as a servant, while at the same time, confirm the pastoral role in the selection, training and maintenance of these mighty warriors of God.