Maori, Biculturalism and the Assemblies of God in New Zealand, 1970 - 2008

<p>This thesis examines the extent to which the New Zealand Assemblies of God, one of the largest and oldest Pentecostal denominations in the country, has fostered participation by Maori, and its success in doing so between 1970 and 2008. From the advent of the Mana Maori renaissance in the 1970s the idea of biculturalism became an important vehicle for Maori aspirations. As part of its broader agenda, the thesis also considers the church's response to this bicultural emphasis. The Assemblies' particular response is analysed in the light of experiences in the mainline denominations and the Apostolic and Destiny churches which either experienced considerable success in attracting Maori participation, or explicitly accommodated the call for a bicultural response using recognised bicultural models. The research is based on the published literature of the Assemblies of God and an extensive range of interviews. These provided detail on the motivations and underlying beliefs that have generated particular responses. The published literature of the other denominations has also been addressed for comparative purposes, along with a range of relevant secondary literature. The Assemblies of God's flexible structure, clarity of teaching, fostering of indigenous leadership and emphasis on local church autonomy, has enabled it to grow rapidly throughout the world. Despite this, and despite the church's emphasis on crosscultural mission, this thesis demonstrates that Maori have not joined the Assemblies of God to the same extent that they have other Pentecostal denominations in New Zealand. It argues that the church has done little to foster Maori participation in the movement, and identifies eight key historical, ideological, and organisational factors that have hindered its ability to do so. In particular, it highlights the significance of the denomination's emphasis on local church autonomy, the absence of any deliberate "mission" to Maori, and the church's multicultural emphasis and historical suspicion of "social justice".</p>

Maori, Biculturalism and the Assemblies of God in New Zealand, 1970 - 2008

<p>This thesis examines the extent to which the New Zealand Assemblies of God, one of the largest and oldest Pentecostal denominations in the country, has fostered participation by Maori, and its success in doing so between 1970 and 2008. From the advent of the Mana Maori renaissance in the 1970s the idea of biculturalism became an important vehicle for Maori aspirations. As part of its broader agenda, the thesis also considers the church's response to this bicultural emphasis. The Assemblies' particular response is analysed in the light of experiences in the mainline denominations and the Apostolic and Destiny churches which either experienced considerable success in attracting Maori participation, or explicitly accommodated the call for a bicultural response using recognised bicultural models. The research is based on the published literature of the Assemblies of God and an extensive range of interviews. These provided detail on the motivations and underlying beliefs that have generated particular responses. The published literature of the other denominations has also been addressed for comparative purposes, along with a range of relevant secondary literature. The Assemblies of God's flexible structure, clarity of teaching, fostering of indigenous leadership and emphasis on local church autonomy, has enabled it to grow rapidly throughout the world. Despite this, and despite the church's emphasis on crosscultural mission, this thesis demonstrates that Maori have not joined the Assemblies of God to the same extent that they have other Pentecostal denominations in New Zealand. It argues that the church has done little to foster Maori participation in the movement, and identifies eight key historical, ideological, and organisational factors that have hindered its ability to do so. In particular, it highlights the significance of the denomination's emphasis on local church autonomy, the absence of any deliberate "mission" to Maori, and the church's multicultural emphasis and historical suspicion of "social justice".</p>

The Episcopal Church

Recent data provide cause for concern in areas of decline for mainline denominations generally, and the Episcopal Church in particular. There are also significant opportunities evident from trends in the data. Information gleaned from the 2020 FACT survey, particularly the qualitative data that focus on sources of concern and pride, can help to illuminate the complexity of the adaptive challenges we face as a church. This analysis of the data highlights the complexity of the challenges, while also pointing to hope and possibility for the future.

Bivocational Ministry as the Congregation’s Curriculum

Ambiguities and uncertainties about defining bivocational ministry are an opportunity for theological reflection and religious education. This article begins by acknowledging a context of anxiety about congregational vitality in North American mainline denominations and utilizes Boyung Lee’s communal approach to religious education to facilitate imagining new ways of being church for white-majority congregations, which seem to have difficulty coming to terms with bivocational ministry. The central sections of this article proceed descriptively, exploring the breadth of definitions of bivocational ministry and related terms, organized around several loci: vocation and ministry; jobs and finances; and commitment. Constructively, this article conceives of intentional bivocational ministry as the congregation’s curriculum, a practice of the entire faith community. This article concludes with a call for religious educators to assist in this endeavor.

Double Denominational Belonging among Youths in Nigeria: Implications on Christianity

Christendom is fragmented in many denominations with different religious beliefs and histories that make them distinct and different from one another. In Nigeria the mainline denominations are Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Assemblies of God churches with the many multi-faceted Pentecostal churches gradually making serious in road into the religious arena. This is a qualitative research. Oral interviews were conducted by the researcher and research assistants to generate data. The data so collected was then analyzed through the phenomenological method to arrive at results. The population of the study is Christian Nigerian Youths who belong to double denominations. Furthermore, using the snowball sampling technique, youths who belong to double denominations were located (34 males and 34 females from each establishment representing the various states). 340 respondents were interviewed in all. Pentecostal churches are not so distinct in their faith beliefs as the other main churches. Because of their rich spirited liturgical celebrations, scripturally and prosperity appealing messages, penchant for healing, miracles and casting out of demons and lose hierarchical structures, young people are easily drawn to them. Young Christians while not denouncing their membership of mainline Christian churches have joined the different Pentecostal groups that dot every nook and crony of the society. The paper addresses this phenomenon and its impact on Christianity by using library findings and oral interviews.

Dissent as Mainline

This chapter examines how shifts in ideas, culture, and politics reconfigured dissenter Protestantism in twentieth-century North America. The first of these shifts, the rise of modernist ideas, divided dissenter Protestants into strict biblicists and more intellectually inclusive ‘liberals,’ which set mainline denominations on a path to theological pluralism and institutional stagnation. The second, the rise of consumer capitalism, pulled these two Protestant streams away from a shared social vision of ‘Christian civilization’ and toward consumer individualism in the forms of therapeutic, prosperity-driven theologies and consumer models of outreach. The third, the expansion of the liberal pluralist state, threatened American Protestantism’s privileged cultural status, set mainline advocates of pluralism against evangelical defenders of ‘Christian America,’ and restructured the ways dissenter Protestants engaged society. By the close of the twentieth century, these changes had propelled the demographic and cultural assent of evangelical organizations over older Protestant denominations, making them the new ‘mainline.’

African American Religious Identities in the Twentieth Century

This chapter analyzes African American religious identity and practice in the twentieth century. Shaped by the Great Migration and the rise of mass culture, modern African American religious practice was both inventive and entrepreneurial. Although mainline denominations continued to dominate, Pentecostal and Holiness churches gained popularity through the rise of storefront churches, a refuge for southern migrants in the urban North. In addition, new religious movements such as the Moorish Science Temple of America, the Nation of Islam, and Father Divine’s Peace Mission Movement offered followers the opportunity to create entirely new religious and ethnic identities for themselves. The rise of radio and television transformed African American evangelism and eventually produced the era of the megachurch exemplified by the careers of Reverend Ike and T. D. Jakes. Modern African American religions competed in a spiritual marketplace that cultivated imaginative faith practices and met the material needs of their followers.

The Bible and the Mainline Denominations

The National Council of Churches holds the copyright to the Revised Standard and New Revised Standard versions of the Bible. This fact speaks volumes about the mainline Protestant approach to the Bible, which emphasizes scholarly expertise, institutional authorization, and ecumenical cooperation. This chapter explains how these three emphases shaped the mainline in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and how the mainline continued to rely on them amid dramatic cultural changes in the later twentieth century. The chapter closes by exploring ways the Bible has been both unifying and divisive among mainline Protestants in more recent history.