Pentecostalism and Christian Unity: Ecumenical Documents and Critical Assessments

This volume of ecumenical documents key texts and critical essays is the first collection of its kind exclusively dedicated to Pentecostalism and its contributions to Christian unity. In the first part a cadre of internationally renowned scholars addresses the ecumenical heritage and perspectives of the Pentecostal movement since the early twentieth century. Part 2 offers a collection of final reports from international dialogues with Pentecostal participation. The final part contains programmatic essays in response to The Nature and Mission of the Church a major study on the doctrine of the church published by the World Council of Churches. Most of these essays were first presented by the ecumenical-studies group of the Society for Pentecostal Studies currently the only organized ecumenical think tank among Pentecostals in North America. Since its formation in 2001 the group has encouraged Pentecostal participation in ecumenical concerns has hosted Roman Catholic-Pentecostal conversations at the annual meeting of the Society has invited international scholarly debates on ecumenical matters and has engaged in the study of ecumenical consensus statements. The essays and documents in this collection model the dedication and commitment among Pentecostals today that engage the challenges and opportunities of Christian unity from the perspective of a tradition that has often been falsely accused of being anti-ecumenical. This collection presents an invaluable resource for teachers scholars and pastors interested in engaging the global Christian arena from the worldwide and ecumenical image of Pentecostalism. Contributors Carmelo E. Alvarez Harold D. Hunter Douglas Jacobsen Veli-Matti Karkkainen Frank D. Macchia Raymond R. Pfister Cecil M. Robeck Jr. Paul van der Laan Wolfgang Vondey Of all of the dialogues with whom the Roman Catholics have been involved in the evangelical community the Pentecostal may be the most interesting and influential. The Pentecostal and Catholic communities have experienced serious tension in certain parts of the world especially in Latin America. Therefore these dialogues and the reflections brought together in this book should be a rich source for the task of making the results of the dialogues a common heritage in Catholic and Pentecostal seminaries colleges and universities and congregations around the world. Dr. Vondey has assembled a line-up of Pentecostal scholars known for their depth scope and fairness a set of essays that should be of interest well beyond the Catholic and Pentecostal communities. --Jeffrey Gros FSC Memphis Theological Seminary In the field of ecumenism the common perception is that the youngest and fastest growing movement in global Christianity has been absent. Pentecostalism and Christian Unity will not only expose this misunderstanding but also prove to be an invaluable resource. Along with official bilateral documents a series of essays documents the nature of Pentecostal ecumenical engagement and provides mature theological reflection on how to proceed. The ecumenical movement will be both enriched and challenged by this contribution. --Ralph Del Colle Marquette University Wolfgang Vondey is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the School of Divinity of Regent University. He is the author of Beyond Pentecostalism: The Crisis of Global Christianity and the Renewal of the Theological Agenda (2010) and People of Bread: Rediscovering Ecclesiology (2008).