Philip Jenkins: Migrantenkerken en charismatische vernieuwing revitaliseren de kerk in Europa

Op 11 maart wordt aan de VU een seminar gehouden met professor Philip Jenkins, over 'World Christianity, politics and public life' (zie hier voor info & aanmelden). Al in 2011 interviewde ik hem voor Koers over de krimp van de westerse kerk en het groeiende belang van migrantenkerken én charismatische vernieuwings-bewegingen binnen de gevestigde kerken.
"Het Europese christendom is op sterven na dood," zei Jenkins destijds. "Maar migrantenkerken en traditionele kerken die openstaan voor charismatische vernieuwing - zoals New Wine en de Alphacursus - blijken wél in staat om niet-christenen te bereiken en zelfs te groeien."

Een interview dat ik 2011 had met Philip Jenkins, voor het christelijke opiniemaandblad cvkoers (nu: denieuwekoers).

Now / Not Yet 2.0? Part 1: Ladd, Vineyard & New Wine

The well-known eschatological scheme of the "now" and "not yet" of the Kingdom of God is increasingly being critizised by charismatics. Pastors within the Post-Toronto-movement argue that the scheme isn't helpful, because it tends to underscore the "not yet" of healing and victory, inducing a passive and defeatist Christianity.

They certainly have a point. The term "Now/Not yet" has become jaded, and in many churches it seems to emphasize the "not yet" to the extend that the "now" hardly functions in faith practices.

Previously, I've argued to not let go of the tension of the "Now/Not Yet" (inaugurated eschatology), but to enhance this eschatological scheme from a pneumatological perspective. That's what this new blog series is about. Admittely, this is a series for serious theologians who are prepared to travel far and dig deep ;-) 

We'll be drawing from Wolfhart Pannenberg, Vel-Matti Kärkkainen, Frank D. Macchia, and others. In this first episode, we'll trace the original "Now/Not Yet" back as understood by George E. Ladd, Derek Morphew (Vineyard) and New Wine.

Training days: Learning to hear God's voice

Coming up at All Saints Anglican Church Amersfoort: three training days on 'Learning to hear God's voice'. This is a New Wine-course (book & dvd by Mark Aldridge, head of ministry for New Wine International). Rev. Grant Crowe and I will be leading this course.

Training days (including worship & ministry time): Sat. May 28, June 11, and June 25 (10-4pm) (Want to join? Contact Grant or me)

- How to hear God's voice today
- How to begin using the prophetic gift both inside and outside the local church
- How to use the gift wisely and sensitively
- Numerous examples and illustrations to help you practice and develop your gift in a safe setting

LifeStream Europe - What does this name refer to theologically?

The name LifeStream resonates with 'live streaming': broadcasting on the internet, showing what you do realtime. As Christians we are called to ‘stream’ the new life we have in Jesus, witnessing to God's Kingdom. But what does the name refer to theologically?

LifeStream Europe: Vision and Core Values & Theology

New Wine in Europe enters a new season under a new name: LifeStream Europe - internationals living out God's Kingdom. 

During 2015-2016 I was part of the interim-leadership team that guided this transition. Together with Francis Noordanus, I wrote a new Vision statement, and I added a few paragraphs on our Core Values & Theology: How does LifeStream Europe understand the Kingdom of God?

LifeStream Europe launches: international Christians living out the Kingdom of God

“There is such an increasing number of international Christians arriving in Europe, often bringing in a confident faith and a richness of gifting,” Francis Noordanus (Trinity Anglican Church Eindhoven) says. “We believe God is at work in these migrations, creating exciting new opportunities for mission in Europe. What we want to see, is international Christians engaging with this movement of the Spirit, living out the Kingdom of God within their international communities and witnessing to the life we have in Jesus Christ.”

This summer, LifeStream Europe (formerly known as New Wine in Europe) is launched.

“Being in Christ” and the renewal of Reformed theology Or: How Pentecostal theologian Frank D. Macchia could help advance the endeavour of Hans Burger

In his dissertation Being in Christ (2009) Reformed theologian Hans Burger does a commendable effort to renew Reformed theology through retrieving the concept of participation in Christ, in order to warrant the relational and transformative dynamics of the gospel.

It is doubtful, however, whether his systematic-theological proposal offers the dogmatic innovations that seem to be needed to fully achieve his goals. Further steps could be taken. 

In his compelling study Baptized in the Spirit (2006), Pentecostal theologian Frank D. Macchia suggests five dogmatic moves that might be helpful to further advance Burger’s endeavour.

What does it mean to be “charismatic Reformed”?

Over the last 17 years or so, I’ve been referring to myself as being “charismatic Reformed” – rooted in the theological tradition of John Calvin and charismatic in my experiences.

Lately, many people are asking me what “charismatic Reformed” stands for. What does “Reformed” mean for me, and how is my theology “charismatic”?

I’ll try to put some thoughts down in this blog. This is my no means a theological paper, or a church vision document – merely some thoughts that might be helpful. Of course, not everyone who considers themselves to be charismatic Reformed necessarily agrees with all things I’ll be suggesting – this is just me.

Experiencing the Indwelling Spirit: Enhancing Pannenberg with Pentecostal theology

The systematic theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg proves very helpful for constructing a systematic-theological framework for the charismatic renewal of “inaugurated Kingdom theology” (as it surfaces within New Wine). But Pannenberg fails to do justice to present experiences of Christ, due to a deficient pneumatology. What happens if we infuse Pannenberg's theology with insights from Pentecostal theology? Well, that's exactly what Frank D. Macchia has been doing in "Baptized in the Spirit: A Global Pentecostal Theology".

“Spirit baptism is a baptism into the love of God that sanctifies, renews, and empowers until Spirit baptism turns all of creation into the final dwelling place of God. Along the way, Pentecostals will be justified in calling Christians to a Spirit baptism as a fresh experience of power for witness with charismatic signs following.”

The Baptism of Jesus: Authority and Power (3): Power

If Jesus already was the Son of God, why did he need to receive the Spirit? Even Jesus could do the works of the Kingdom only through the Spirit. And though he had already received all the spiritual gifts and powers, they only became actual and active when the Spirit descended on him at the Jordan, Kuyper argues. Bring fully human like us, he was thus enabled by the Spirit to do the "mighty works" of the Kingdom.
But if Jesus did these "mighty works" being fully human, enabled by the Spirit, what would that imply for our proclamation of the Kingdom, as we "share in the anointing of Christ"? Could we, indeed, share in his ministry of "mighty works" too? The systematics of Kuyper, Moltmann and Pannenberg would allow for that interpretation.

The Baptism of Jesus: Authority and Power (2): Authority

For a Biblical understanding of Jesus' baptism in terms of authority and power, we need to maintain a trinitarian perspective, Abraham Kuyper, Karl Barth, Jurgen Moltmann and Wolfhart Pannenberg argue. In a rather progressive move, Abraham Kuyper emphasized the distinct role of the Spirit. Even though Jesus had authority already before his baptism, he needed the baptism with the Spirit to do the works of the Kingdom. His "mighty works" did not flow from his divinity, Jesus was fully human like us.

Last week we set the scene: We'll have to understand Jesus' baptism from the perspective of the coming of the Kingdom of God, for this is how Jesus himself understood the beginning of his public ministry. This week, we'll explore the notion of "authority" that comes with it.

The Baptism of Jesus: Authority and Power (1): Messianic Expectations

In the charismatic renewal it is often argued that Christians should minister healing and deliverance to others like Jesus ministered to people, in the same “authority” and “power”. But didn't Jesus have authority and power to heal and deliver because he was divine? In a short series I'll explore the significance of the baptism of Jesus in terms of "authority" and "power". How did Protestant theologians Abraham Kuyper, Karl Barth, Jurgen Moltmann and Wolfhart Pannenberg understand the baptism of Jesus?

In this first pasrt, we'll set the scene: The Jewish expectation of the coming of the Kingdom of God proves important for a proper understanding of Jesus' baptism.
Check also:
- Part 2 (on authority)
- Part 3 (on Power).

Salvation & the Trinity (4): Thomas G. Weinandy - The Father’s Spirit of Sonship

In the last few posts, I explored the trinitarian proposals of Moltmann and Pannenberg, for these seem to be promising for a New Wine theology. But I concluded that a refinement of their proposals is sorely needed, if their proposals to understand the substance of salvation from the intratrinitarian perichoresis is to be adopted in a soteriological framework for vindicating the charismatic renewal of New Wine.
A study that really might be helpful at this point, is Thomas G. Weinandy’s The Father’s Spirit of Sonship: Reconceiving the Trinity. Weinandy is a charismatic Catholic scholar. One of the greatest benefits of Weinandy’s concise study is that it clarifies and concretizes the relevance of the doctrine of the Trinity for the individual believer and the life of the church, and that he does so in soteriological terms.

How to Understand Salvation? A Typological Overview

New Wine understands God's salvation as "wholeness of life", but this is a contested concept. For mainstream Protestant theologians - and maybe even more so for the Evangelical and Reformed theologians among them - embracing the concept of “salvation as wholeness” isn’t obvious at all. In fact, it is a concept that is mostly overlooked and if not overlooked, it is often contested because of specific theological concerns.

How do the Orthodox-Reformed, Evangelical and Modern Protestant traditions perceive "salvation"? A typological overview.

[Part 5 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]

New Wine and Salvation as Wholeness

Theological debates on charismatic renewal tend to focus on its most striking features, such as practices of prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing and deliverance. My PhD-research on New Wine theology takes a different perspective, namely that of soteriology: How is salvation defined, and how does it function?

[Part 4 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]

The Third Wave of Charismatic Renewal: Characteristics and Theological Roots

New Wine originated within the Church of England in the 1980s and can be considered to be part of the so-called Third Wave of Charismatic Renewal. Its theological roots are quite different from Pentecostalism. Which are the characteristiscs of this Third Wave and which are the theological roots of New Wine?

[Part 3 of a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014.]

A New Reality: Challenges from the Global Charismatic Movement

One of the major challenges for Western theology in the 21st century, is to adjust itself to a new reality of global Christianity – the demographic shift of Christianity to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Lived theology is rapidly and thoroughly changing under influence of non-Western charismatic Christianity, also within Western countries due to global migration. As British missiologist Andrew Walls put it, “The Christianity typical of the 21st century will be shaped by the events and processes that take place in the Southern continents, and above all by those that take place in Africa.”[1]


[Part 2 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]

The First Time I Found Myself Praying in Tongues...

The first time I found myself praying in tongues was more than twenty years ago. It was simply at home, as I was having a time of devotion. At that time I wasn’t involved in anything like charismatic renewal, and – being a Reformed Evangelical - I was totally unprepared for the experience.

[Part 1 of a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014.]

N.T. Wright and New Wine

N.T. Wright is not a charismatic theologian. But the similarities between his Kingdom theology and the theology of the charismatic renewal of New Wine are striking. “O yes,” Wright reacted last Thursday at the TU Kampen, “our theologies on the Kingdom are quite similar. New Wine is right to state that the ministry of healing should be part of the mission of the local church.”

Vrienden (Column De Reformatie)

Een tijdje terug was ik behoorlijk afgepeigerd. Leeggetrokken, zeg maar gerust. En, om eerlijk te zijn, ook teleurgesteld in God. Problemen stapelden zich op in de kerk, en ik zag even erg weinig van Gods betrokkenheid. Het verlamde me geestelijk. Ik kon me er niet echt meer toe zetten om nog stille tijd te houden – ik was er wel even klaar mee. Misschien herken je het wel.