Editorial.
Pentecostal movements globally and in Australia have experienced dramatic growth in recent decades. This numeric growth has been accompanied by innumerable changes to the culture and structures of pentecostal churches. One of these changes has been the development of academic institutions, with the accompanying challenge to the pentecostal tendency to priorities spiritual development over academic training. Some Pentecostals are starting to realize that the two can go hand in hand and, indeed, that the latter constitutes one dimension of the former.
The extent of this change is readily apparent at Southern Cross College. When David Parker joined this college in 1987, not a single member of faculty had a recognised formal qualification in ministry or theology. In 1996, when I came as a student, this situation was little different; David Parker had earned his MA and Dr Mark Hutchinson was working part-time for the college, but the rest of the lecturers were pastors - good people, but not necessarily experts in the fields in which they were teaching. Less than a decade later, 9 permanent faculty have PhD’s, as do at least 10 additional visiting/contract lecturers.
This issue of APS arises directly out of this development. Of those 9 faculty with doctorates, Jacqui Grey, David Parker, and I all completed our study in 2005, and Dr Bruce Stevens joined the faculty in the same year. This issue thus draws on some of the results of our faculty research; Jacqui, describing and critiquing the way in which pentecostals read the Old Testament; David, explaining St. Luke’s use of the Spirit in the prologue to the book of Acts; Bruce, reflecting upon the effect of Pentecostal spirituality on our understanding of emotions; and myself, describing and critiquing recent changes to the culture and structure of the Assemblies of God in Australia.
Underlying all of this research is the question of the role of the academic in the church context, especially in pentecostalism, with its continued uncertainty about the relationship between the “head” and the “heart.” We thus begin this issue with an important article by Mark Hutchinson reflecting upon the nature of academic freedom in Christian educational institutions. The challenge faced by pentecostal colleges is to facilitate academic research in such a manner that the critically reflective vocation of the scholar is valued and, at the same time, to ensure that the notion of “academic freedom” is accompanied by continued affirmation of a college’s responsibility to serve the movement. It is hoped that the articles that follow Mark’s paper are an adequate reflection of these two goals.
Finally, we have introduced a new componant to this edition of the journal, entitled Next Generation Essays. This section is dedicated to publishing student papers, with the goal of encouraging and promoting pentecostal scholars of the future. Our inaugural “next generation” essay is from a Master of Theology Student, Chris Baker, who seeks to understand and critique the Pentecostal understanding of Spiritual Gifts.
Shane Clifton (editor)
© Southern Cross College, 2006