At the core of African American religion's response to social inequalities has been a symbiotic relationship between socio-political activism and spiritual restoration. Drawing on archival material and ethnographic fieldwork with African American Spiritual Churches in the USA, this book examines how their spiritual and social work can shed light on the interplay between corporate activism and individual spirituality. This book traces the development of this "politico-spiritual" approach to injustice from the beginning of the twentieth century through the opening decade of the twenty-first century, using the work of African American Spiritual Churches as a lens through which to observe its progression. Addressing subjects such as spiritual healing, support of the homeless, gender equality and the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, it demonstrates that these communities are clearly motivated by the dual concerns of the soul and the community. This study diversifies our understanding of the African American religious landscape, highlighting an approach to social injustice that conjoins both political and spiritual transformations. As such, it will be of significant interest to scholars of religious studies, African American studies and politics.

'Secularization' has been hotly debated since it was first subjected to critical attention in the mid-sixties by David Martin, before he sketched a 'General Theory' in 1969. 'On Secularization' presents David Martin's reassessment of the key issues: with particular regard to the special situation of religion in Western Europe, and questions in the global context including Pentecostalism in Latin America and Africa. Concluding with examinations of Pluralism, Christian Language, and Christianity and Politics, this book offers students and other readers of social theory and sociology of religion an invaluable reappraisal of Christianity and Secularization. It represents the most comprehensive sociology of contemporary Christianity, set in historical depth.

What do you say to someone who is hurting? How many times in everyday conversation do we struggle to comfort others in a troubled world? Christians should be "first responders," say Andy Reese and Jennifer Barnett, yet we lack the tools and confidence to reach out. We end up frustrated by our own inability to connect meaningfully and make a difference. But what would happen if we had the ability and courage to speak out in love? In these pages Andy and Jennifer give you the practical understanding and simple tools to do just that. You can fill even your casual conversations with the gentle yet transforming power of Jesus Christ. Here is what you need to confidently step out to bring peace, give grace and help others experience renewal. Visit www.freedomprayer.org for more information. "Extremely instructive and practical."--Max Lucado, pastor and bestselling author "This book will change lives--maybe even yours."--Rich Stearns, president, World Vision U.S. "Solidly based on the Gospel and immensely practical. It has helped our leaders walk in increased freedom while we help many know the truth that sets them free."--David McQueen, senior pastor, Beltway Park Baptist Church, Abilene, Texas "Our leadership team is fully on board and delighted with the simple effectiveness of this ministry."--Michael Swecker, pastor of Prayer and Freedom Ministries, Hosanna! Church, Lakeville, Minnesota "For many people a ministry like Freedom Prayer is the best place to start . . and I am most impressed with the team at the Freedom Resource."--Stephen Mory, M.D., assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, Vanderbilt University; psychiatrist, Mental Health Cooperative "Freedom Tools offers piercing insights with keen discernment to empower the reader to be set free at last. . . .A great tool for your spiritual warfare arsenal."--James W. Goll, founder, Encounters Network, Prayer Storm and GET eSchool; author, The Lifestyle of a Prophet and many more "Freedom Prayer has been invaluable to me as a counselor.."--Wendy Barnes, LPC, San Antonio "Freedom Tools is both practical and profound. It does a masterful job of taking a potentially complex subject and bringing it into everyone's reach."--Bill Johnson, senior leader, Bethel Church, Redding, California; author, When Heaven Invades Earth and more "Through the partnership of truths from the world of psychology and those from the world of inner healing, we can see powerful healing and transformation. By integrating the two, we will see more people live abundant lives as they heal their connection with God and are restored body, soul and spirit."--Margaret Nagib, Timberline Knolls Clinical Development Institute "Freedom Tools gave me a biblical manual for helping people experience freedom.."--Kirk Freeman, lead pastor, CrossBridge Community Church, San Antonio, Texas "Professional counseling and prayer ministries work hand in hand as essential partners to facilitate inner healing in wounded lives. Working together we can maximize the freedom, recovery and renewing of all those in need."--Dr. Mark Jones, LMFT director, Liberty Alliance "This powerful book gives you the Freedom Tools you need to demolish the adversary's obstacles to freedom and prosperity. Use them and you, too, can experience the super-abundant life that God desires for you!"--C. Peter Wagner, chancellor, Wagner Leadership Institute "A great need has long existed for someone to reduce inner healing to simpler, everyday language and tools. Our friend Andy Reese has done that admirably in Freedom Tools."--John Loren Sandford, co-founder, Elijah House Ministries "This is ministry from the heart and by the Spirit--so simple and natural that you'll ask yourself, 'Why didn't I know this before?'"--David Kyle Foster, founder and exec utive director, Mastering Life Ministries

In 1972, Reinhard Bonnke heard a message from God:

"Africa shall be saved." Obediently, Bonnke moved to

Africa, where his ministry grew from humble roots to

crusades drawing more than one million people per night.

His ministry spawned incredible healing miracles of God,

saw the conversion of Muslims at a rate that warranted a

letter of warning from Osama bin Laden, and registered

more than 74 million decisions for Christ. In 2001,

Bonnke debated whether or not to move his ministry to

America.

Before he could think of leaving decades of missionary

work in Africa, Bonnke did something he had never done

before: he prayed for a sign that would confirm such a

move. God was about to answer that prayer.

A few days later, a woman brought the body of her

deceased husband to the Nigerian church where Bonnke

was preaching, in hopes that he would be raised from

the dead. Bonnke was unaware of this, and he never even

prayed for this man; but as he concluded his message,

he heard a chorus of shouts: "He's breathing He's

breathing " In front of thousands of witnesses, a man

dead three days had been raised back to life.

Now detailed for the first time, this incredible miracle is

part of a movement of God that was birthed in a small

African church and is now stretching around the world to

America. It is the beginning of a work of God, confirming

a new word: "America shall be saved."

This revelation was part of a prophecy given in 1936

by legendary evangelist and healing minister Smith

Wigglesworth to a young man named David du Plessis.

The revival Wigglesworth foresaw was a continuation of

the Pentecostal movement into the charismatic renewal

that continues to this day.

Later, in 1961, God gave Rev. Tommy Hicks a vision of

the continuation of that revival: a worldwide movement

in which the "Awakening Giant"--the body of Christ--receives spiritual power and authority on such a scale as

has not been seen since the book of Acts.

This book retells these two amazing prophecies in their

entirety and also discusses their implications for the

world today. The revival of God's church continues, but

it won't be complete until every Spirit-filled believer

understands his or her unique role in its fulfillment.

Study these prophecies and ask God to reveal how He

would use you to bring the greatest revival in history to

completion.

False beliefs about money so often rob us of our best opportunity to serve God, to love people, and to steward the wealth He gives us. Our cultural programming has embedded deep within us wrong ideas about wealth, money, and morality. These wrong ideas, and not greed or avarice, are the biggest source of poverty in the world. In Permission to Prosper, Ray Edwards offers three startling premises. First, God has promised you prosperity. Second, God has a purpose behind this prosperity (and it is not necessarily that you give all your money away). And third, the practice of prosperity is a spiritual activity. Not only do you have permission to prosper, but you also have a mandate to multiply. Permission to Prosper gives you the confidence and the keys to do just that.

"Nine Days in Heaven" relates the vision of twenty-five-year-old Marietta Davis more than 150 years ago, where she was shown the beauties of heaven and the horrors of hell. Told in modern language, the book contains poignant quotes from the original vision, as well as biblical teaching points and testimonials from individuals whose lives have been impacted with this vision during the past 150 years. Pull-out quotes from the original vision are included, as are short testimonials from readers whose lives have been impacted by this vision. Teaching points and biblical comments appear throughout the chapters.

How are spiritual power and self-transformation cultivated in street ministries? In Addicted to Christ, Helena Hansen provides an in-depth analysis of Pentecostal ministries in Puerto Rico that were founded and run by self-identified "ex-addicts," ministries that are also widespread in poor Black and Latino neighborhoods in the U.S. mainland. Richly ethnographic, the book harmoniously melds Hansen's dual expertise in cultural anthropology and psychiatry. Through the stories of ministry converts, she examines key elements of Pentecostalism: mysticism, ascetic practice, and the idea of other-worldliness. She then reconstructs the ministries' strategies of spiritual victory over addiction: transformation techniques to build spiritual strength and authority through pain and discipline; cultivation of alternative masculinities based on male converts' reclamation of domestic space; and radical rupture from a post-industrial "culture of disposability." By contrasting the ministries' logic of addiction with that of biomedicine, Hansen rethinks roads to recovery, discovering unexpected convergences with biomedicine while revealing the allure of street corner ministries.

It's time to Discover Your True Worth. Join Lindsay Roberts as she invites you to step into your God-given purpose and become all that He has called you to be. Before his death, Oral Roberts commissioned his daughter-in-law Lindsay with what he believed to be a mandate from God: Lindsay was called to help women discover who they are in Christ, establish them in their powerful identity in Him, and help them become the women God created them to be-women of true worth. Since that day, Lindsay has made it her mission to share that powerful message with women around the world. She believes that as women, we must discover who we are and what we're made of in order to move forward in all God wants us to become-in business, in the church, in our families, in our communities, and beyond. Within the pages of Discover Your True Worth, Lindsay will empower you to: Embrace God's grace to turn the pain of your past into the stepping stones of your future Welcome your God-given calling with confidence and courage Become a force for God and play a part in preparing His kingdom here on earth This book is for any woman who has ever feared, fallen, failed, prayed, hoped, loved, lost, been discouraged, risked a dream, or wondered if she matters. Are you ready to Discover Your True Worth? Praise for Discover Your True Worth: "I see the message in Discover Your True Worth as a similar handbook [to Woman, Thou Art Loosed], one that will guide women who are on the journey to becoming all that God created them to be and to making a difference in every facet of life and every sphere of influence." -Bishop T.D. Jakes, New York Times bestselling author "As a child of God, we must understand our worth. Lindsay encourages us to discover who we are, who we are made in the image of, and what our useful purpose is! So many of us, myself included, have struggled to find our place in the 'big scheme of things' because we get sidetracked by our failures and mistakes. We think there's no way God could use a broken vessel like me in His mighty work. That's what Lindsay shows us: His power is made perfect in our weakness, misfortunes, mistakes, and mishaps." -Miss Kay Robertson, matriarch of the Robertson family, author, speaker, flawed but favored

In this outline Kenneth E. Hagin says, He leads the believer into a knowledge of intercessions, encour-ageing him to experience all that God has for him in this area. The Word to become keen interrcessor

Few believers experience God's altar--a place of pure and wholehearted relationship and worship where our holy God can meet with us and the fire of his presence can fall. But such an altar is necessary in our personal lives, our marriages, our churches, and our nations so that we are strengthened, empowered, and equipped for every good work. In this influential, modern-day call back to the altar, Chuck D. Pierce and Alemu Beeftu invite readers to find their way to rebuild the place of God's presence to allow the fire of God--his presence and power--to fall. When we rekindle the altar fire, our lives, prayer, and worship are transformed. The time to rebuild altars for fresh fire is now!

Start Operating in the Gift of Prophecy Today!

When it comes to prophecy, the three most common questions among Christians are:

1. Can every believer speak 1. prophetically?
2. If so, how do I start hearing God’s voice?
3. Once I’ve heard a prophetic word, what should I do next?

Jermaine and Rebecca Francis answer the first question with a resounding “yes!” — every believer can receive and release words from Heaven!

With this in mind, they tackle the other two questions, offering this book as a userfriendly guide to hearing from God and speaking His words. Jermaine and Rebecca represent the next generation of prophetic voices under the leadership of renowned prophet and teacher, Dr. Bill Hamon. Their passion is to activate and instruct other believers in the prophetic anointing.

Activating the Gift of Prophecy will help you:

• Start operating in the gift of prophecy in accordance with Scripture.
• Discern the voice of God through different spiritual senses.
• Separate soul from spirit when it comes to hearing God.
• Operate in prophetic protocol to deliver words effectively.
• Develop a pure heart that God can trust with prophetic revelation.

As a follower of Jesus, you are filled with the Holy Spirit, which means you have access to God’s prophetic words. Learn how to receive and release these words today!

Drawing from six decades of Scripture-based teaching and study in the original Greek and Hebrew, the late Derek Prince clearly explains the foundation for Christian faith, salvation, baptism, the Holy Spirit, laying on of hands, the believer's resurrection, and eternal judgment. This revised book, which has been translated and distributed worldwide in more than sixty languages, offers Christians evrything they need to develop a strong, balanced, spirit-filled life, including a comprehensive index of topics and a compelte index of Scripture verses.

Reedited and reprinted by Kenneth E. Hagin and Dr. Roy Hicks, this in-depth study clearly proves to believers that Christ died for their sicknesses just as He died for their sins.

With your mouth you are either going to give God dominion over you, or you're goint to give Satan dominion over you. Quit talking the devil's language and start talking God's language.

A compilation of Lake’s most influential sermons on topics such as Christian life, the work of salvation, Christian baptism, the evidence of Christ’s work, the sanctification of the believer, and the life to come.

“I tell you we are living in a day and hour when the Spirit of God has come into the world afresh, when the consciousness of mankind is opening up to God in a manner that it has never opened before.”

John G. Lake was a divine conduit for the flow of the Spirit. One of the most powerful healing evangelists of the twentieth century, he converted, healed, and delivered countless believers, and established churches and ministries around the world. But he never forgot the Source of his success: the work of the Spirit. Every time he spoke, he invited listeners to jump in the flow of the Spirit and experience for themselves its transformative power.

Today, the powerful teachings of John G. Lake are needed more than ever before. The Flow of the Spirit is an easy-to-read compilation of Lake’s most influential sermons on topics such as Christian life, the work of salvation, Christian baptism, the evidence of Christ’s work, the sanctification of the believer, and the life to come. With this volume, the power of Lake’s ministry is at your fingertips.

Jesus before Pentecost studies the history of Jesus' ministry from William P. Atkinson's Pentecostal perspective. This perspective affects both his method and the book's content. In terms of method, Atkinson puts forward a strong argument for looking carefully at John's Gospel, as well as the synoptic gospels, as a reliable historical source for Jesus' life. In terms of content, his main areas of study follow key Pentecostal interests, summed up in the "foursquare" Pentecostal rubric of Jesus as Saviour, Healer, Baptiser in the Spirit, and Soon-Coming King. The picture that emerges offers fresh insights into Jesus' life: notably, the symbolic meaning Jesus invested in the feeding of the five thousand; the effect that Jesus' approach to healing the sick had on Him; the involvement of God's Spirit in His life and in the lives of those around Him; and, lastly, His enigmatic predictions of his future coming. Overall, the study is both academically rigorous and warmly engaging. It will appeal to anyone who is interested in Jesus, regardless of whether or not they are associated with the Pentecostal tradition.

The complex and sometimes contradictory articulation of ethnicity, religion and gender informs this book on the cultural construction of identity for Jamaican migrants in Britain. The author argues that religion -- in this case Pentecostalism -- cannot be understood simply as a means of spiritual compensation for the economically disadvantaged. Rather, in the New Testament Church of God, one of Britain's largest African Caribbean churches, the cosmology of the church resolves the questions surrounding identity as well as suffering. Religious participation is one way in which African Caribbean people negotiate the terms of representation and interaction in British society.

With its remarkable ability to adapt to many different cultures, Pentecostalism has become the world's fastest growing religious movement. More than five hundred million adherents worldwide have reshaped Christianity itself. Yet some fundamental questions in the study of global Pentecostalism, and even in what we call 'Pentecostalism', remain largely unaddressed. Bringing together leading scholars in the social sciences, history, and theology, this unique volume explores these questions for this rapidly growing, multidisciplinary field of study. A valuable resource for anyone studying new forms of Christianity, it offers insights and guidance on both theoretical and methodological issues. The first section of the book examines such topics as definitions, essentialism, postcolonialism, gender, conversion, and globalization. The second section features contributions from those working in psychology, anthropology, sociology, and history. The third section traces the boundaries of theology from the perspectives of pneumatology, ecumenical studies, inter-religious relations, and empirical theology.