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book reviews
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Monique M. Ingalls and Amos Yong
The Spirit Of Praise: Music and Worship in Global Pentecostal-Charismatic
Christianity(University Park,pa: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2015).
vii + 300 pp. $79.95 hardback.
The global spread of Pentecostalism has been a topic of deep intrigue and serious study over the past four decades. With The Spirit Of Praise: Music and Worship in Global Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity, ethnomusicologist Monique M. Ingalls and theologian Amos Yong transverse the under-explored terrain of music and worship of the 21st century across global Pentecostal- Charismatic Christianity. Empowered by their multi-discipline, cross-cultural and transnational approach, these two editors have assembled an all-star cast of leading voices and widely celebrated practitioners to exemplify the artic- ulation of the intersection of translational knowledge and transformational ministry. Each of the fifteen chaptersoffer intense intellectualrigor while main- taining a high reverence for the power and mystery of the Gospel. From Ingalls’ opening words on defining musical moments of worship to Yong’s closing chal- lenge for theologians to pay more attention to what happens in these musical moments of worship, the spirit of praise flows freely and fluidly. Built on three overarching themes (Interconnection, Interface and Identification), this opus is divided into three sections that work apart and together to bring new think- ing on the influence of Pentecostalism and Charismatic Christianity on music and worship around the world and vice versa.
The first section, “Healing, Renewal, and Revitalization,” offers five different perspectives on the personal and communal benefits of actively participating in music and worship. In the lead-off chapter, Peter Althouse and MichaelWilk- erson offer an ethnographic exploration of “soaking prayer” as a form of charis- matic renewal in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand through Catch the Fire (formerly Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship). Andrew M. McCoy follows by theologizing suffering and healing in Pentecostal music and worship using case studies from around the world while drawing heavily on Miroslav Volf’s “materiality of salvation.” Next, Tanya Richesoffersaclose studyof indigenousAustralianPentecostalmusicalexpres- sion with a particular focus on healing, reconciliation and cultural vitalization. Michael Webb delivers an ethnographic study of Oro gospel music in post- independence Papua New Guinea while Miranda Klaver concludes the section with her study on the impact of the Living Gospel Church on the charismatic renewal movement in the Netherlands.
The second section, “NegotiatingTradition inTransition” convenes five more voices to share research and personal experiences on how music and worship
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016 | doi: 10.1163/15700747-03804007
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have been used to stimulate musical, theological and cultural shifts in local Pentecostal or charismatic congregations. Birgitta J. Johnson chronicles the use of music to move Los Angeles’ Faithful Central Bible Church from its mission- ary Baptist roots to what Johnson refers to as it’s “bapticostal” present. Similarly, Jean Ngoyo Kidula traces the musical influences at the Nairobi Pentecostal Church as the church dealt with rural-to-urban migration, the emergence of contemporary African evangelicalism and other societal, economic, cultural and theological influences. In the third piece in this section, Kimberly Jenk- ins Marshall deals with “interreligious musical borrowing” through the study of how Pentecostal theology and the Navajo approach to language create bar- riers to composing new Christian music in the Navajo language. Andrew Mall follows with an insightful case study of Nashville’s Anchor Fellowship, a non- denominational, charismatic congregation that reveals not only the influence but also the fusion of Pentecostalism and other modalities of Christianity. In the final chapter of the section, Mark Evans traces the global effect of branding through the growing influence of Hillsong music.
The last section, “Media, Culture, and the Marketplace” turns the focus on the interconnection of cultural contexts and mass media through the influ- ence of the marketplace. In the first of five chapters, Ryan R. Gladwin theol- ogizes on the role of music in stimulating social and cultural change in Latin American evangelicalism. Wen Reagan follows with analysis of recording artist Israel Houghton’s “neo-Pentecostal prosperity gospel” influence on numbers of people across racial and cultural spaces within the United States. With a different lens, Dave Perkins offers analysis on the dilution of charismatic Chris- tian values when mediated through the Nashville based music industry. In the next chapter, Will Boone offers analysis on the commodification of African American gospel music. In the final chapter, Martijin Oosterbaan takes us to urban Rio de Janeiro Pentecostal youth revival services to experience the cross- fertilization of funk carioca and gospel funk.
The Spirit of Praiseis a tightly constructed, well-organized compendium, yet like most works on contemporary topics there is at least one gap that calls forth additional scholarship on the topic. There is very little attention focused on the vibrant expressions of praise through the music and worship styles within the continent of Asia. Pentecostalism has spread vibrantly and swiftly in the urban centers of Asia yielding important offerings to global Christianity through new approaches to music and worship.The Spirit Of Praise: Music and Worship in Global Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianityis a huge contribution to the growing number of works on global Pentecostalism and a pivotal collection of new works on 21st century developments in music and worship.
PNEUMA 38 (2016) 503–531
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Emmett G. Priceiii
Professor of Worship, Church & Culture, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts
eprice@gordonconwell.edu
PNEUMA 38 (2016) 503–531
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