Doxologies in the NT: Where is the Spirit?

During our course this week Dr. Phelps shared a document that was very interesting.

(POST UPDATE [i.e. credit where credit is due]: The PDF document in this post was given to our professor, Dr. Dennis Phelps, by Dr. Daniel I. Block of the Wheaton Graduate School.)

The document is a chart that lists all the doxologies in the New Testament.  Most notably it lists who is being praised in each of these expressions of praise.  Almost all of the references are to God.  A few are to Christ.  NONE are to the Holy Spirit.  This is what was so interesting.  In the NT there seems to be missing any direct praise solely and specifically addressed to the Holy Spirit.

What does this have to do with Charismatic Worship?  Oftentimes there is a very pronounced emphasis upon the Holy Spirit within many variations of the Charismatic style of worship.  The question needs to be asked whether this emphasis aligns with the doxological worship spelled out in the New Testament.  Here’s the document we were given:

View this document on Scribd

Our Site Is Now Complete…(for the most part)

The various pages of this site (which are displayed as a navigation bar running horizontally underneath the picture/header at the top of this site) are now complete. Make sure to click through to each page to see what our group has put together.  The pages are as follows:

• About Our Group
• Components of Charismatic Worship
• Strengths & Weakness
• History
• Cultures & Trends
• Biblical Data

We invite you to interact with the information we have provided.  At the bottom of each individual page and every single post you will find a comment box for your feedback.  We welcome your questions, comments, resonations, etc.

A Few More Interesting Reads…

Here are a couple more articles that members of our group have come across in their research.

From Christian History & Biography: ”Worldwide Renewal: The Charismatic Movement”

Excerpt: “Recent decades have witnessed a remarkable movement throughout the Christian church. Springing up spontaneously across the full spectrum -from Protestant to Roman Catholic to Greek Orthodox – the charismatic renewal now involves millions of people on every continent.”

Click here to read the full article.

From the Barna Group: ”Is American Christianity Turning Charismatic?”

Excerpt: “Pentecostal or charismatic Christianity is viewed by some Americans as an emotional, theologically suspect form of the Christian faith. It is widely thought to be a very vocal and visible, but numerically small slice of the grand religious pie in the United States. Two new surveys from The Barna Group, however, indicate that things are changing dramatically in the religious landscape.”

Click here to read the full article.

Statistics Regarding Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity

The Barna Group presents their findings on “How Different Generations View and Engage with Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity.”

Below are two charts they’ve produced that reveal their survey’s results.  They charts also come with several paragraphs of commentary.  Click here to read the full article.

“Everybody Is Not a Child of God”

Distinctions Between ‘Pentecostal’ and ‘Charismatic’

Here’s an interesting series of articles that distinguish between the labels ‘Pentecostal’ and ‘Charismatic.’

Excerpt from the Introduction of Part I:

“The difference between the Pentecostals and the Charismatic is not easily discerned by casual or indifferent observers within or without the Evangelical church.  Many believe they are the same.  But there are vast differences between Biblical Pentecost and the modern Charismatic movement that distinguish them as being two very distinct beliefs and two very different churches with two widely separated doctrinal stances.“

Here are links to the four parts of the article:

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV

Interesting Read on the Work of the Holy Spirit

View this document on Scribd

‘The Globalisation of Charismatic Christianity’

Here’s a sample chapter from Simon Coleman’s book, The Globalisation of Charismatic Christianity.  The chapter is titled, “A ‘Weird Babel of Tongues’: Charisma in the Modern World.”  It helps paint a picture of the modern history of the Charismatic Worship movement.

Click here to view a pdf of the sample chapter.

A Helpful Resource on Miraculous Gifts

(Click on book to go to book's page at Amazon)

Perhaps the primary distinction of Charismatic Worship is an expectation and welcoming of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit during times of corporate worship.

Here’s a helpful resource that discusses whether miraculous gifts are still around: Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?

The contributors each take a different position ranging from a cessationist to an all out, full-blown pentecostalist.

Several helpful reviews are posted over at Amazon.

An Example of Over the Top Charismatic Worship

Charismatic Worship & Praise Expressions

A Vineyard church lists various components and expressions of praise and worship:

• Songs of praise and worship
• Lifting or extending of hands
• Clapping our hands and shouting
• Dancing
• Waving flags or banners

See the rest of the article here.

Interview with Charismatic Worship Leader

What Happens When the Holy Spirit is Given?

Spontaneous Worship

Is It Scriptural to Be ‘Slain in the Spirit?’

Here’s a helpful Q & A article that attempts to ask and answer several questions related to the notion of being ‘slain in the Spirit.’

Among the questions addressed are:

• Is being slain in the Spirit something found in the pages of Scripture?
• Is being slain in the Spirit demonic or occultic?
• Are people giving up their self-control?
• Are people wrongly pursuing a blessing?

The piece seems to present a pretty fair picture of what proponents of being slain in the Spirit believe about the practice.  Click through to view the article in its entirety.

ABC News’ Nightline Segment on Speaking in Tongues

Read about this story over at ABC’s site.

Articulation of Charismatic Doctrine

The General Council of the Assemblies of God (USA) has a helpful statement of belief regarding several distinctive charismatic beliefs.

Concerning the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ they say,

“The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance.”

Read the rest here.

Helpful Video About Speaking in Tongues

Southern Baptists Debate Over Speaking in Tongues

Excellent article over at The Christian Post.  Here’s an excerpt:

“Two people using the same methods of interpretation can look at the same text and come to completely opposite conclusions. When someone says, ‘I’m speaking in tongues and it is from the Holy Spirit,’ some people believe them and other people don’t, and there’s the difference.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Example of Popular Charismatic Worship Music

Some Links to Check Out

Here are several links with more information on Charismatic Worship:

• http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/char/more/hist.htm
• http://www.vineyardusa.org/site/about-vineyard
• http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/special/pentecostalism.html
• http://www.jeremiahproject.com/prophecy/charis1.html (there is a great video with this one.)
• http://www.pastornet.net.au/renewal/journal10/j-brento.html
• http://www.believershome.com/html/pentecostal__charismatic__thir.html
• http://www.worshiplinks.com/denominations_pentecostal.htm
• http://www.victorious.org/sprgifts.htm
• http://learntheology.com/holy_spirit_charismatic_gifts.html
• http://faithcenter.wordpress.com/2008/07/22/nightline-speaking-in-tongues-video-sunday-july-27-2008/

Extreme Charismatic Practices

And here’s another clip, but you’ll have to click through to YouTube to watch.  Here’s the link.

Leading Christian Worship, by Arthur Rowe

View this document on Scribd

Raw Data

This “home” page will serve as a running blog where our group will present raw data that we gather during the week. Our more refined information will be published under the respective pages that run across the menu bar of this site. Those pages will be updated later in the week.

Group 5: Charismatic Worship

This blog is part of a project submission for a Worship Leadership course (PATH 5300) offered at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Posts and pages will be added throughout the week as our team compiles information and formats it into a presentable fashion.

Our group has been assigned the task of gathering data concerning the Charismatic Worship Movement and assimilating it into a presentable format.  This blog will be the platform upon which we present many of our findings.