This systematic theology textbook introduces students to the complexity and beauty of theology as a pursuit of the global church today. It views theology as an ongoing conversation with many voices about the wonders of God that is faithful to Scripture but is also attentive to the wisdom of tradition and the relevance of context.The book first summarizes the nature and necessity of theological thinking and discusses theological method. Chapters then unfold in creedal order through ...

This introduction to biblical interpretation expands the interpretive task to encompass both comprehension of the Bible's content and active participation in God's redemptive plan. The authors help readers engage with the beauty of God's Word and read it holistically for their intellectual and spiritual growth. They address the nature of interpretation; emphasize the Holy Spirit's role in the production, interpretation, and application of the Bible as a communication of the triune God; and...

This introduction explores Christian spirituality as a pursuit of the global church today. It encourages students to adopt a lifestyle spirituality, which involves relational intimacy with the triune God.Gary Tyra is well known for his work in the field of Christian spirituality and has years of experience in the classroom and in the church. In this book, Tyra encourages us to adopt a Pauline lifestyle spirituality, whereby we keep in step with the Holy Spirit so that we might expe...

One hundred years after the Azusa Street Revival stunned Los Angeles and changed Western Christianity, Pentecostalism has become the fastest growing religious movement in the world. However, many Pentecostal denominations in the United States are in a slow decline. Will Pentecostalism survive in North America in the twenty-first century? If so, what forms will it take? The Future of Pentecostalism in the United States brings together leading scholars of charismatic and Pentecostal...

Paul Tillich (1886–1965) is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. By bringing his thought together with the theology and practices of an important contemporary Christian movement, Pentecostalism, this volume provokes active, productive, critical, and creative dialogue with a broad range of theological topics. These essays stimulate robust conversation, engage on common ground regarding the work of the Holy Spirit, and offer significant insights int...

In this volume, Frank Macchia offers a systematic theology written with Christ's outpouring of the Holy Spirit from the heavenly Father at Pentecost as its dominant motif. Christ's death and resurrection provide for our reconciliation with God and make way for the Spirit, for the divine overflowing onto all flesh. The church is born in the grace of that overflowing. From the abundance of this divine self-giving spring forth many different tongues aflame with the church's praise and witness...

In Jesus the Spirit Baptizer, globally recognized Pentecostal theologian Frank Macchia offers a Christology based on the premise that Pentecost is the culminating point of the identity and mission of Jesus. Drawing from both classical and contemporary sources, Macchia probes the fundamental connection between the person of Christ and the Holy Spirit, arguing that Christology properly explicates Jesus as the one who bears the Spirit so as to impart the Spirit to all flesh.

In The Holy Spirit as Communion, Leon Harris examines the pneumatologies of Colin Gunton and Frank Macchia. For both theologians, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is foundational to understanding their doctrine of God, Christology, and ecclesiology. Drawing on the theme of communion, The Holy Spirit as Communion expresses the concept that the Holy Spirit is the person who perfects the divine nature and personhood of the Father and Son. It is the Holy Spirit who perfects the eternal communio...

Frank D. Macchia argues that the Son of God baptized (and continues to baptize) humanity in the Spirit by pouring forth the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. All four Gospels and the book of Acts describe how the Son is sent of the Father and empowered by the Spirit to fulfil this mission; Macchia in turn claims that Christ succeeds by incorporating others into himself and into the love of the Father.The Spirit-Baptized Church proposes a richly pneumatological ecclesiology t...

The essays in this volume evaluate and build on Barth's theology from the perspective of Pentecostal theology and, thereby, contribute to constructive Pentecostal systematic theology by using Barth as a valuable dialogue partner. At present, a theological conversation of Pentecostals with Barth does not exist and this volume fills this void. More widely, it will aid all those who seek a convergence of the Word and the Spirit in theology.Barth and Pentecostals share some important c...

Some reputable sociological research indicates that a surprising number of evangelical churchgoers are living out a version of the Christian life that's more informed by the values of the surrounding culture than by the discipleship teachings of Jesus and his apostles. Viewing the cause of this disturbing trend in the church to be a "discipleship deficit" that's exacerbated by a "pneumatological deficit," Gary Tyra has written a book that addresses both. In this work, Tyra encourages evang...

Three Gods, or One, or Three-in-One? Since the word Trinity does not appear in the Bible, many people wonder whether the doctrine is anything more than an intellectual puzzle created by theologians. This book takes readers on a guided tour of thelogic leading to understanding God as a Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the Bible (and in Christian experience) are all vital to the reality of salvation. All three save. This point may not seem to be very significant until see...