Subsequence, Prophecy and Church Order in the Apostolic Church, New Zealand

<p>The Apostolic Church of New Zealand forms a distinct group within the pentecostal movement on account of its practice of "divine government." The revelation of the restoration of apostle and prophet ministry, which originally came to the founders in the UK, served to establish a denomination which espoused prophetic guidance in matters of praxis and doctrine. The purpose of this thesis has been to critique the Apostolic Church's understanding of not only the doctrine of subsequence (i.e. Spirit-baptism is logically distinct from and subsequent to salvation) but the function of the prophetic and its effect on the organisational structure and operation of the church. A major focus of the early Apostolic churchmen was a defence of subsequence. Widespread mainstream opposition ensured pentecostals endured an isolation which served to reinforce their determination to validate the empowerment that they had experienced. As the need for polemic reduced, the emphasis shifted to promoting the gift of the Spirit as a missionary endowment. Methodist-Holiness teaching formed the basis for the early influences on pentecostal theology and as such promoted a verifiable work of the Spirit given in response to seeking. The challenge and influence from the Latter Rain and Charismatic movements saw the bestowal of the gift without an attendant period of tarrying. While this brought a universality to the experience, it did so at the expense of depth or intensity, with a resulting weakening in the expression of prophecy. An assessment of the view of prophecy held by the early Apostolic churchmen shows that too high a level of inspiration was often credited to prophetic utterance. The possibility of human frailty corrupting the purposes of God was not countenanced to any great degree, with the result that flawed or outright erroneous decisions proceeded unchallenged: in this the role of the apostle was under-exercised. The combination of a high view of prophecy and a decreasing quality of utterance over time affected the level of guidance available to the movement. The operation of the apostle necessarily changed: previously concerned with outworking the "Word of the Lord," the function of the apostle became limited to that of superintendent minister. The inability of the first and second generation Apostolics to recognise their schismatic origins perpetuated the rigid adherence to centralism, believing it to be the divine pattern. Centralised control manifested in two spheres: finance and personnel. Initially, when the movement was small, centralism was an expedient philosophy; however, its usefulness was soon outgrown. A retarding factor for the Apostolic Church has been the lack of autonomy afforded local assemblies and the ineptitude of the centralised government, which frequently mismatched men and their roles. Currently, there exists a trend towards relationship-based apostleship, utilising the concept of networks. A particular subset of this system is the church plant where a natural line of authority exists between it and the parent church. Prophecy operating in this situation confines itself to expansion, and avoids the problem, evident in previous years, of centralised revelation initiating the relocation of personnel. The Apostolic Church will survive the 21st century by allowing greater autonomy, with the apostolic function and the prophetic voice finding expression primarily through the local assembly.</p>

Subsequence, Prophecy and Church Order in the Apostolic Church, New Zealand

<p>The Apostolic Church of New Zealand forms a distinct group within the pentecostal movement on account of its practice of "divine government." The revelation of the restoration of apostle and prophet ministry, which originally came to the founders in the UK, served to establish a denomination which espoused prophetic guidance in matters of praxis and doctrine. The purpose of this thesis has been to critique the Apostolic Church's understanding of not only the doctrine of subsequence (i.e. Spirit-baptism is logically distinct from and subsequent to salvation) but the function of the prophetic and its effect on the organisational structure and operation of the church. A major focus of the early Apostolic churchmen was a defence of subsequence. Widespread mainstream opposition ensured pentecostals endured an isolation which served to reinforce their determination to validate the empowerment that they had experienced. As the need for polemic reduced, the emphasis shifted to promoting the gift of the Spirit as a missionary endowment. Methodist-Holiness teaching formed the basis for the early influences on pentecostal theology and as such promoted a verifiable work of the Spirit given in response to seeking. The challenge and influence from the Latter Rain and Charismatic movements saw the bestowal of the gift without an attendant period of tarrying. While this brought a universality to the experience, it did so at the expense of depth or intensity, with a resulting weakening in the expression of prophecy. An assessment of the view of prophecy held by the early Apostolic churchmen shows that too high a level of inspiration was often credited to prophetic utterance. The possibility of human frailty corrupting the purposes of God was not countenanced to any great degree, with the result that flawed or outright erroneous decisions proceeded unchallenged: in this the role of the apostle was under-exercised. The combination of a high view of prophecy and a decreasing quality of utterance over time affected the level of guidance available to the movement. The operation of the apostle necessarily changed: previously concerned with outworking the "Word of the Lord," the function of the apostle became limited to that of superintendent minister. The inability of the first and second generation Apostolics to recognise their schismatic origins perpetuated the rigid adherence to centralism, believing it to be the divine pattern. Centralised control manifested in two spheres: finance and personnel. Initially, when the movement was small, centralism was an expedient philosophy; however, its usefulness was soon outgrown. A retarding factor for the Apostolic Church has been the lack of autonomy afforded local assemblies and the ineptitude of the centralised government, which frequently mismatched men and their roles. Currently, there exists a trend towards relationship-based apostleship, utilising the concept of networks. A particular subset of this system is the church plant where a natural line of authority exists between it and the parent church. Prophecy operating in this situation confines itself to expansion, and avoids the problem, evident in previous years, of centralised revelation initiating the relocation of personnel. The Apostolic Church will survive the 21st century by allowing greater autonomy, with the apostolic function and the prophetic voice finding expression primarily through the local assembly.</p>

Towards an Integrated Theology of Youth

This article summarises eight theological perspectives on youth and young people. Young people are variously seen as (1) sinful creatures in need of redemption; (2) gifts of God and sources of joy; (3) developing beings in need of guidance and instruction; (4) open to conversion; (5) vulnerable to exploitation; (6) fully human, made in God’s image; (7) a prophetic presence; and (8) a prophetic voice. Rather than simply affirm all 8 perspectives as important, an integrated theological perspective on youth views young people within the distinctive features of their created reality, with particular strengths and assets along with distinct needs and deficits, to be fully capable as bearers of the divine image, and with emerging capability as social agents.

Abraham Heschel

The friendship between Abraham Joshua Heschel and Reinhold Niebuhr was both personal and intellectual. Neighbours on the Upper West Side of New York City, they walked together in Riverside park and shared personal concerns in private letters; Niebuhr asked Heschel to deliver the eulogy at his funeral. They were bound by shared religious sensibilities as well, including their love of the Hebrew Bible, the irony they saw in American history and in the writings of the Hebrew prophets, and in their commitment to social justice as a duty to God. Heschel arrived in the public sphere later, as a public intellectual with a prophetic voice, much as Niebuhr had been for many decades prior. Niebuhr’s affirmation of the affinities between his and Heschel’s theological scholarship pays tribute to an extraordinary friendship of Protestant and Jew.

Theorizing Democracy in a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic raises questions about the future of democracy and civil society. Some recent predictions seem to use the suffering to score points in ongoing political arguments. As a better example of how to describe the future during a crisis, I cite the prophetic voice of Martin Luther King, Jr. King does not merely predict: he calls for action, joins the action, and makes himself responsible for its success or failure. With these cautions about prediction in mind, I venture two that may guide immediate responses. First, communities may erect or strengthen unjustifiable barriers to outsiders, because boundaries enhance collective action. Second, although the pandemic may not directly change civic behavior, an economic recession will bankrupt some organizations through which people engage.

Mwea Irrigation Scheme in Kenya

History embraces the story of the Supreme Being, humanity, and the Universe. Human history is a silent realm that encompasses creation, fall, concupiscence, and the need for the prophetic voice towards human redemption. This article seeks to examine the Mwea Irrigation Scheme and explore the oppressive situation that was experienced by its rice farmers; and eventually assess the need for prophetic voice as the critical pillar and/or the key tool that ought to have stood as the weapon of addressing the vice. To this end, this article will methodologically draw from the history of Mwea Irrigation Scheme, unfold the origin and growth, the oppression of the rice farmers, and the need for the prophetic voice as the aforesaid tool of empowerment, as it seeks to build on a Kenyan version of liberation and/or political theology. Strictly therefore, the problem that this article wrestles with is the unearthing of the above-mentioned oppression of the Mwea rice farmers and the need for redemptive prophetic voice that is geared towards the ultimate goal, the liberation of the socio-economically oppressed rice farmers. Arguably, working out a liberation theology that addresses the Mwea case compares well with the Asian theologies such as the Burakumin theology for the marginalised and minority peoples of Asia whose reflection from the prophetic role of religion gives solace to their plight. It also compares with the Waterbuffalo theology, as propounded by Kosuko Koyama. In Waterbuffalo theology, a Japanese theologian, Kosuko Koyama, attempts to translate the Christian faith into the Asian tradition in Thailand, a phenomenon where farmers spend substantial amount of time in their respective rice fields without any substantial and/or decent returns. Apart from a theo-historical design, the methodology in this presentation includes: interview schedules, literature review of relevant and existing literature, and the reliance on the modus operandi that is well captured by the biblical Prophet Amos.