Editing a journal is a fascinating and challenging exercise, particularly in the context of Australian Pentecostalism. It is a tradition which features strong subcultures which distrust of academic study in general, and theological reflection in particular. Sometimes one wonders whether anybody actually reads the articles that authors put so much effort into writing, and editors spend so much of that precious commodity, time, getting into a publishable form. Subscriptions for journals like APS seem to be increasing, but as many of these are taken up by libraries and other impersonal institutions, how does one know whether they are simply sitting on a shelf unread? I trust and pray that this is not the case. The contributors to this journal deserve to our attention, and I would go as far as to say that we need to hear their input. In the context of the pragmatism that frames so much of every day church life, our movement is in great need of the enrichment and challenge that comes from the profound insights of people such as Frank Macchia. No doubt, academic colleagues will seek out his work and engage with his ideas, but I hope that our pastors and lay leaders are also engaged, taking, for example, the opportunity to meditate on the significance of Spirit Baptism and its relationship to koinonia? In the face of the identity crises that have inevitably accompanied rapid transitions in Pentecostalism in recent decades (see my own article in the previous issue of this journal), philosophical analysis which aims at framing Pentecostal self-understanding (like that of Matthew Del Nevo, herein) is of vital importance. For those of a more practical inclination, Gerard Moore’s biblical pneumatology has immediate relevance to the life and mission of the church, as does the analysis of the emerging church movement by our "next-generation" scholar, Deborah Taggart.
In the second place, I am not the first editor to be faced with the challenge of locating high quality and relevant articles. I certainly believe that this has been accomplished in this issue, but it has not been achieved without struggle. The number of Australians working in this area is a continuing cause for concern. This issue includes articles from an American Pentecostal, and two Catholic scholars with interests in Pentecostalism. Australian Pentecostal scholars as such are few and far between, and those that exist are usually working so hard in day-to-day teaching and administrative responsibilities that they just don’t get time to think and write. For me, this is an every day reality. The college at which I work is experiencing substantial growth, a growth almost matched by the increase in bureaucratic requirements arising from changes to government accreditation regimes. After feeding the machine of bureaucratic necessity, one barely has time to prepare for class, let alone sit down to research and write. The assumption that academics spend all their time in ivory towers contemplating the universe is far from reality. Yet we cannot capitulate to the tyranny of sheer practicality. Most of us have pursued a scholarly vocation because we are passionate about ideas, believing that the world will be changed not by practical activity alone, but by the framing of personal, social, cultural and religious values that guide daily life. Our challenge is to continually remind ourselves why it is that we chose our profession and in that light, to do our best to prioritise research and writing. There aren’t many of us (at least in Australian Pentecostalism), and yet what we have to contribute is demonstrably of more importance to the church than many of things that take up our time.
Journals such as APS act as ‘rain gauges’. When the temperature shifts out on the Pacific and the forecasters predict a break in the drought, it is here that the evidence is first registered. In the future, there may indeed be a vibrant scholarly community sharing the best available thought in the cause of the Church of Jesus Christ. That is a reality yet to come. Every six months we wander down to the bottom paddock to tap the gauge and look for the evidence. In this issue we have a few drops. We are trusting – indeed investing our lives – for much more that is to come.
Shane Clifton