Seattle Here I Come

I received word today that my paper proposal has been accepted for the annual Society for Pentecostal Studies meeting in Seattle in March 21-23, 2013 hosted by Seattle Pacific University.  I truly enjoy these meetings -- the papers, the discussions, the friendships.

If anyone is interested, my paper is titled "Emerging Homiletics: A Pentecostal Response."  In this paper, I interact primarily with the homiletical proposals of Doug Pagitt (pastor of Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis, MN) who is a leading voice in the Emergent Church and has written Preaching Re-Imagined: The Role of the Sermon in Communities of Faith (Zondervan 2005).  From my perspective, I appropriate what I believe is right about Pagitt's approach and lay out how I believe Pentecostal preaching actually engages the criticisms he raises against "speaching" (Pagitt's term for contemporary models of preaching). 

So, I'm looking forward to another eventful time at SPS this coming year!

Pentecostalisms, Peacemaking, and Social Justice/Righteousness

I'm thrilled to once again be attending the annual meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS).  This year it is being hosted by Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA from March 1-4 (which promises to be much warmer than Karlstad).  The topic is one I find close to my heart -- "Pentecostalisms, Peacemaking, and Social Justice/Righteousness" and this year I will be chairing one of the Bible sessions.  It looks to be an interesting conference.  You can view a PDF of the sessions HERE.  

The two presenters and their respective papers I will be chairing are:
"‘New Treasures and Old’: (Re-)Reading the Old Testament Theologically with Early Pentecostal Mothers and Fathers" -- Chris Green, Bangor University (Wales)
"‘Tell Me the Old, Old Story’: The Hymns and Testimonies of Ancient Israel and American Pentecostals" --
Meghan Musy, Missouri State University

I am thrilled to be able to chair the session (especially as it pertains to the joint topics of Pentecostals and the OT).  Also, its a delight to be able to chair for Chris Green...who I've found helpful in several previous sessions of SPS concerning the integration of the sacraments -- and a sacramental appreciation -- and Pentecostal theology and praxis.


On a related note...I realized I still haven't joined Pentecostals and Charismatics for Peace and Justice, but will have to rectify that this year.  By joining you can elect to receive a PCPJ mug, shirt or book (Pentecostal Pacifism by Jay Beaman).  This group was formed by Paul Alexander (and several others of like mind) of whom I intend in 2012 to read his "Peace to War: Shifting Allegiances in the Assemblies of God".

N. T. Wright's Justification and the Cry of the Spirit

I finally finished my paper for the Society for Pentecostal Studies meeting in March on N. T. Wright's view of justification.  If you are interested in reading it you can do so over on my Scribd page HERE or following the link through my "Writings" page (the footnotes are a bit goofy due to Scribd's manner of formatting, but can be followed despite this).  This paper is supposed to eventually go to print (sometime this year) as part of an edited volume of the five papers that will be presented as a part of the N T Wright panel on justification (though I still don't know the details of this edited volume).  Here's the lineup for Memphis's presentations and the title/s:

Pentecostal Responses to N.T. Wright

Jenny Everts, Hope College, Chair

Glen Menzies, North Central University, Presenter
"Vocations of Israel and Israel‘s Messiah"

Joonho Yoon, Drew University, Presenter 
 "By Faith in Work or by Work in Faith?: Rahab‘s Justification from the Perspective of Neither New or Old"

Christopher Green, Oral Roberts University, Presenter
"Who Do I Say I Am?: A Pentecostal Response to N.T. Wright‘s Proposals on Jesus‘ Messianic Self-Understanding"

Rick Wadholm, Providence Theological Seminary, Presenter
"N.T. Wright's Justification and the Cry of the Spirit"

Frank D. Macchia, Vanguard University, Presenter
"The Church and the Economy of Salvation: An Interaction with N.T. Wright‘s Theology of Justification by Faith"

I'd love to know what anyone thinks of my paper.  :-).

N. T. Wright Paper Approved

Yesterday I finally was notified that one of my paper proposals for the Society for Pentecostal Studies for the upcoming 2011 meeting in Memphis has been approved!  That's happy news indeed.  My proposal is (tentatively) titled: "N. T. Wright's 'Justification' and the Cry of the Spirit".  It is an interaction with Wright's view of justification (from his book of response to John Piper's response to him in "The Future of Justification"...talk about having a lot to say to each other).  Essentially I'm arguing that Wright's pneumatological orientation for justification is helpful (especially for a more robust Pentecostal theology of justification) and will tease this out through expositions of the two Pauline passages (Rom. 8:15 and Gal. 4:6) dealing with the cry of the Spirit, "Abba!"  (any possibility of a plug for the group by the same name...their songs always get stuck in my head :-)  There will also be some cameos by Gordon Fee in the paper (as he has been saying much the same thing as Wright...though obviously not in full agreement with Wright overall scheme as I understand it).