By: Sam Stephens on October 17, 2013
Exit, Voice and Loyalty: Responses to decline in Organizations, Firms and State by Albert O. Hirschman is a short and quick read but one packed with a load of analytical information on how people respond to deterioration and decline, whether in an organization, a grouping of any sort, government or firms. The author initially begins…
By: Fred Fay on October 16, 2013
A couple of years ago a church in our area had a pastoral change. The new pastor brought fresh energy and a desire to reach out to the community. Within a few weeks of taking the role, people became uneasy about his preaching style. It was more topical; less focused on scripture and did not…
By: Becky Stanley on October 14, 2013
Miller and Yamamori’s Global Pentecostalism vividly captures a growing trend among the global church today. He considers the buzzword of holistic development with a focus on social transformation in the church context. Interestingly while holistic development and social transformation in principle encompasses church’s mission, the church historically, either chosen to dichotomize it from the sacred…
By: Cedrick Valrie on October 14, 2013
In their book Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement, Miller and Yamamori do an extensive job investigating and sharing their findings on how Pentecostalism is impacting its global neighbors. As their four year journey takes them from country to country, the authors discover that Pentecostal organizations are about both raising their voices…
By: Sam Stephens on October 11, 2013
While it is true that Pentecostalism is growing, it is doubtful whether their social engagement is increasing in proportion as claimed by Miller and Yamamori in their book Global Pentecostalism: The New Face Of Christian Social Engagement. I found myself floundering a bit in my attempt to identify the central thesis that Miller and Yamamori…
By: Richard Rhoads on October 11, 2013
I was 21 years old, wet behind the ears and had no idea what I was doing in ministry. Just three weeks before I was pursuing a job in healthcare, now through a crazy turn in events I found myself serving as a summer missionary for a local inner city Youth For Christ. The Executive…
By: Phil Smart on October 10, 2013
It’s a cult, it’s a cult! These were the words that described the Communidade da Graca in Brazil that Miller and Yamamori write of in Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement. For years, since the church’s founding, an expressed message of health and wealth had been its constant. Along with this theology…
By: Garrick Roegner on October 10, 2013
A Personal Journey I grew up in Bible and Baptist churches, so I never knew a Pentecostal growing up. They were strange people who did strange things, and we knew to avoid them. My senior year of college (where I had been involved in Cru) Chi Alpha (the campus ministry of the Assemblies of God)…
By: David Toth on October 10, 2013
Miller and Yamamori’s book, “Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement, is an encouraging read in the sense that it serves as a literary ‘news cast’ of sorts, giving the reader a multitude of updates on the many and various ways Pentecostals are engaging social ministries around the globe. The authors, on three…
By: Chris Ellis on October 10, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Donald Miller’s Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement. To be perfectly honest, my understanding of Pentecostalism is informed by experiences from my childhood that are, shall we say, less then ideal. When I was a senior in high school, I went on a mission trip to Ghana with…
By: Sandy Bils on October 9, 2013
There are two persistent prejudices about Pentecostals. They always have their hands in their air (or laid on people in prayer) They are so tied up in charismatic worship, that they are not focused on social ministry. Both are not exactly right. Reading “Global Pentecostalism – The new face of Christian social engagement” the authors…
By: Sharenda Roam on October 9, 2013
From birth until 23 years of age I considered myself “United Pentecostal.” My father pastored a fairly large church in our “headquarters” location of St. Louis, Missouri. We did not own a television or go to movies and my female garb was restricted to skirts and dresses with no excesses such as makeup and jewelry…
By: Fred Fay on October 8, 2013
I am Pentecostal, although I prefer the word Charismatic. Pentecostals have been known for their extreme emotionalism and demonstrative behavior, neither of which I am. The importance of God’s immediate presence expressed and sensed are part of how I relate to God. Our church history has been one in which we withdrew from the community…
By: David Toth on September 25, 2013
In the book Good to Great and The Social Sectors Jim Collins makes the case that greatness is a framework that belongs to both business and the social sectors. He writes that his “Good to Great” principles do indeed work in the social sectors even better than he anticipated. He continues to relate five questions that are…
By: Mark Steele on September 21, 2013
Good to Great by Jim Collins has been one of my favorite leadership books ( Collins 2001). I Have had the opportunity to take a number of team members through the principles Collins articulates. One principle in particular, “getting the right people on the bus,” has challenged me for many years. I remember one of…
By: Sam Stephens on September 20, 2013
“Good is the enemy of Great” (Collins 2001). Most companies are good and are satisfied to remain that way while the possibilities and potential lies before them to move to a level of greatness. Jim Collins, following a thorough research of the subject argues in his book Good To Great that it is only a leader…
By: Sharenda Roam on September 20, 2013
“How do you create a climate where the truth is heard? (74) This question, asked by Jim Collins, the author of the book Good to Great intrigued me. Especially as it relates to a question one of my college students in my “World Religions” class asked me recently. He wanted to know, after studying all…
By: Richard Rhoads on September 20, 2013
In the spring of 1997 I married my college sweetheart Naomi. Like many newlyweds, our first few months were spent learning new an interesting details about your spouse. Not long into our second month, Naomi shared that she had a hedgehog by the name of Loofa, which she was keeping at her classroom at the…
By: Cedrick Valrie on September 20, 2013
Rick Warren recently preached a sermon comparing life to a game of poker, highlighting the types of cards life deals. The five he proposes are chemistry, connection, circumstance, conscience, and choices. I would like to highlight the latter card – choices. Choices can be unexpected game changers. When determining someone’s capacity for greatness, Jim Collins…
By: David Toth on September 19, 2013
Doctorow’s book left my head swimming in a sea of I’s and O’s! I felt like he was trying to help me to grab hold of a wet greasy fish that was very much alive and wiggling to get free! I usually take some notes as I work through a book but at the end…
