The Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS) is an American

scholarly association A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...

of biblical scholars, theologians, and others who are members of Pentecostal churches or are involved in the Charismatic Renewal. It was founded in 1970. The members of the Society consider themselves responsible for recording the history and developing the theology of these grassroots movements that have influenced Christianity worldwide.

Overview

SPS was first envisioned by three classical Pentecostals, Dr. William W. Menzies of the Assemblies of God, Dr.

H. Vinson Synan Harold Vinson Synan (December 1, 1934 – March 15, 2020) was an American historian, author, and alliance leader within the Pentecostal movement. Synan published a total of 25 books, a majority related to Holiness, Pentecostal, and Charismatic mov ...

of the

International Pentecostal Holiness Church The International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) or simply Pentecostal Holiness Church (PHC) is a Holiness-Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1911 with the merger of two older denominations. Historically centered in the Southeaster ...

, and Dr.

Horace Ward Horace Taliaferro Ward (July 29, 1927 – April 23, 2016) was a lawyer, state legislator, and judge in Georgia. He become known for his efforts to challenge the racially discriminatory practices at the University of Georgia School of Law and was ...

of the Church of God. The original requirement for membership was adherence to the statement of faith of the

Pentecostal Fellowship of North America The Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA) is an interdenominational fellowship of Pentecostal and charismatic churches and denominations in North America, existing for the purpose of promoting cooperation and understanding. It is ...

. However, because

nontrinitarian Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essenc ...

s and others were unable to sign the statement for doctrinal reasons, this requirement was eventually eliminated. The purpose of the Society, as defined on its website, is to provide a scholarly forum in which to interpret the

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

movement as well as "to stimulate, encourage, recognize, and publicize the work of Pentecostal and Charismatic scholars and scholars of Pentecostalism; to study the implications of Pentecostal theology in relation to other academic disciplines, seeking a Pentecostal world-and-life view; and to support fully, to the extent appropriate for an academic society, the following statement of purposes: -To encourage fellowship and facilitate co-ordination of effort among Pentecostal believers throughout the world. -To demonstrate to the world the essential unity of Spirit-baptized believers, fulfilling the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ, “That they all may be one” (John 17:21). -To cooperate in an endeavor to respond to the unchanging commission of the Lord Jesus, to carry His message to all people of all nations. -To promote courtesy and mutual understanding, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, until we all come in the unity of the faith” (Ephesians 4:3, 13). -To afford prayerful and practical assistance to any Pentecostal body in need of such. -To promote and maintain the scriptural purity of the Society by Bible study and prayer. -To uphold and maintain those Pentecostal truths, “most surely believed among us” (Luke 1:1)." The Society holds annual conferences. The organization, which began as a scholarly branch of classical Pentecostalism, is now ecumenical, with over 500 members from all major Christian denominations. For many years, the Society has hosted the meetings of the Roman Catholic/Pentecostal dialogue (see

Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965. Po ...

Past Presidents

* William W. Menzies (1971) * R. Hollis Gause (1972) * Russell P. Spittler (1973) *

(1974) * Leonard Lovett (1975) *

Don Argue Don Argue (born 1939) was the president of the National Association of Evangelicals from 1992 to 1998.Randall Balmer, ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism'', Westminster John Knox Press, 2001, p. 2/ref> He also served as the president of North Central ...

(1976) * Horace S. Ward (1977) * Anthony Palma (1978) * James Beaty (1979) *

Stanley M. Horton Stanley Monroe Horton (May 6, 1916 – July 12, 2014), was an American Renewal theologian within the Pentecostal movement and the author of numerous books. He served as the senior editorial advisor for the '' Modern English Version Bible'', and h ...

(1980) * Ithiel Clemmons (1981) * William G. MacDonald (1982) * Cecil M. Robeck Jr. (1983) * Harold D. Hunter (1984) * J. Rodman Williams (1985) *

Peter Hocken Peter Hocken (22 June 1932 – 10 June 2017) was a British theologian and historian of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the Pentecostal movement in the twentieth century. Born in Brighton, England, Hocken was ordained a priest in the Roman Cat ...

(1986) * Edith Waldvogel Blumhofer (1987) * Ronald Kydd (1988) * Donald W. Dayton (1989) * Manuel J. Gaxiola-Gaxiola (1990) * Murray W. Dempster (1991) * D. William Faupel (1992) * Cheryl Bridges Johns (1993) * Roger Stronstad (1994) * Eldin Villafañe (1996) * Grant Wacker (1997) * J. Chris Thomas (1998) * Rebecca Skaggs (1999) * Frank D. Macchia (2000) * Sherry DuPree (2001) * Samuel Solivan (2002) *

Ralph Del Colle Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

(2003) * Steven Jack Land (2004) *

Anthea Butler Anthea Deidre Butler (born 1960) is an African-American professor of religion and chair of the University of Pennsylvania Department of Religious Studies, where she is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought. Early life and ...

(2005) * Blaine Charette (2006) * David Daniels (2007) *

Terry Cross Terry M. Cross (born 1947) is a retired United States Coast Guard Vice Admiral who served as Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from July 2004 until June 2006. He served as the Coast Guard's second in command and was the Agency Ac ...

(2008) * Amos Yong (2009) * Estrelda Alexander (2010) * Kimberly Ervin Alexander (2011) * Jeff Gros (2012) * Paul Alexander (2013) * Lee Roy Martin (2014) * Kenneth J. Archer (2015) * Michael Wilkinson (2016) * Jacqueline Grey (2017) * Mark Cartledge (2018) * Martin Mittelstadt (2019) * No Conference - Covid 19 (2020) * Martin Mittelstadt (2021) * Melissa Archer (2022)

Executive Directors

Vinson Synan Harold Vinson Synan (December 1, 1934 – March 15, 2020) was an American historian, author, and alliance leader within the Pentecostal movement. Synan published a total of 25 books, a majority related to Holiness, Pentecostal, and Charismatic mov ...

(1970) * James Beaty (1973) *

(1978) *

(1980) * Russell P. Spittler (1983) *

(1988) * D. William Faupel (1997) * David Roebuck (2004) * Lois E. Olena (2011) * Margaret English de Alminana (2016) * Adrian Hinkle (2019)

''Pneuma''

The society publishes '' Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies'', first published in 1970.

References

External links