83
Models
and
Ministry
The role of models
for effective
ministry
is a subject
long
acknowl- edged
as
important
in Pentecostal and charismatic circles. Most frequently
the call is to follow Jesus as the model
par
excellence. The apostle
Paul saw himself as an
eminently worthy model, however, when he lauded the Thessalonians for
becoming
“imitators of us and of the Lord…” (1 Thessalonians 1:6a).
But his
ability
to act as a model for these
relatively
new Christians was
intrinsically
linked to his own imita- tion of the Lord toward whom he
pointed.
Models are
helpful
in the work of
ministry.
Paul had his
Barnabas, Silas,
and
Timothy
while Barnabas had his Mark. To the extent that
they keep
the Lord and His
ministry
in sight they
perform
a valuable service. Yet
early
in the Pentecostal movement Howard Goss observed that sometimes models were artificial. As a result their
quirks
rather than their
strengths inadvertently provided
canons of
dress, action, and thought
that their followers took on. “Some
might yell
a quick ‘Amen* in a happy
falsetto,”
he observed, “like Brother Pinson. Another
might jerk
his
head
a little to one side as Brother Durham did when the touch of God came
upon
him.”
[The
Winds
of God,
Ethel E.
Goss,
ed. (Hazelwood,
Mo.: Word Aflame Press, rev.
1977), 266-267]
In the
ministry
of
scholarship
there is still a need for models. Fortu- nately
for
younger
Pentecostal scholars there have been a series of such person
who have
participated
in the
Society
for Pentecostal Studies: Vinson
Synan,
William
Menzies,
Gordon
Fee,
and Russell
Spittler,
are just
a few of those who have modeled
scholarship
and
spirituality, rationality,
and
experience.
These scholars have
encouraged many younger
scholars to
explore
and stretch and continue to seek the truth.
Yet none of them has had the
apparent impact upon
Pentecostal scholars in the US in
quite
the same
way
as Walter J.
Hollenweger
has had on Pentecostal scholars in
Europe.
This is
probably
because he alone has been in a position to serve as a mentor for doctoral candidates.
Professor
Hollenweger
has for
many years
served as Professor of Missions at the
University
of Birmingham in England.
Many
a disserta- tion has been
produced
under his
tutelage.
One of his
students,
Fr. Peter Hocken,
writes in this issue of Pneuma about Cecil
Polhill,
the
wealthy, influential member of the
“Cambridge
Seven” who
pioneered
what was probably
the first
organized
Pentecostal
missionary sending agency.
In a sense,
his
biographical
account of Polhill’s work as a Pentecostal Anglican provides
another
early
model worth
reviewing.
David
Bundy
is the
product
of the Catholic
University
in
Lueven, Belgium.
In his
study
he has assessed a
portion
of the life of Louis Dalli6re who was a young intellectual in the Reformed Church of France and a philosopher and
pastor
who received a Pentecostal
experience during
the 1930s. As an intellectual, he
sought
for a number of
years
to
1
84
an articulate
apologetic
on
behalf of Pentecostalism. tual level because of
pressures Still, his
attempt
is worthy Models
may
also be found University
of
Calgary charismatic movements North American Pentecostalism.
tread a careful line of
integration, presenting
Ultimately,
he
stopped writing
at the intellec-
which were
brought
to bear
upon
him.
of review, and
perhaps,
of imitation.
in institutions. Professor Poewe of the
has noted
parallels
in South African
independent
clusions useful in
light
of
contemporary
between black and white
churches and in Her
study
is
interesting
and her con-
events in the
political
world of
we owe a debt to the EPTA
us to
the
South Africa.
As with the
previous Bulletin and to Dr. Jean-Daniel articles
by
Fr. Peter Hocken originally
Research in Europe held
issue of
Pneuma,
Pleüss for
allowing
and David
Bundy. They
were
presented as
papers
at the Conference on Pentecostal and Charismatic
at Gwatt,
Switzerland,
Cecil M. Robeck, Jr. Editor
August 12-15,
1987.
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