Library Guides: Holy Spirit Research Center: Women of the Spirit

On Spirit-empowered Women in Leadership

Agnes Sanford and Her Companions: The Assault on Cessationism and the Coming of the Charismatic Renewal by De Arteaga, William L. Agnes Sanford was arguably the most original and spiritually fruitful theologians of the twentieth century. Among her achievements were the discovery and development of the inner healing ministry, the development of a theology of the light of God (missing in Western theology), and the first ever theology of nature prayers--as in stilling storms. She and her husband developed a school to teach ministers and lay leaders healing and deliverance prayer, and the gifts of the Spirit a decade before the charismatic renewal made such things acceptable in mainline churches. In spite of these achievements, she is largely ignored and unrecognized today. This work examines her career and shows why her theology, though deeply biblical, was unacceptable to orthodox critics. Sanford was part of a group who worked from the 1900s through the 1960s to make healing and deliverance prayer as normal in church. They had to confront the erroneous established theology of cessationism, which affirmed that the healing ministry of the church was past.
Call Number: BR1644 .D4 2015
Aimee Semple McPherson and the Making of Modern Pentecostalism by Barfoot, Chas H. Pentecostalism was born at the turn of the twentieth century in a "tumble-down shack" in a rundown semi-industrial area of Los Angeles composed of a tombstone shop, saloons, livery stables and railroad freight yards. One hundred years later Pentecostalism has not only proven to be the most dynamic representative of Christian faith in the past century, but a transnational religious phenomenon as well. In a global context Pentecostalism has attained a membership of 500 million growing at the rate of 20 million new members a year. Aimee Semple McPherson, born on a Canadian farm, was Pentecostalism's first celebrity, its "female Billy Sunday". Arriving in Southern California with her mother, two children and $100.00 in 1920, "Sister Aimee", as she was fondly known, quickly achieved the height of her fame. In 1926, by age 35, "Sister Aimee" would pastor "America's largest 'class A' church", perhaps becoming the country's first mega church pastor. In Los Angeles she quickly became a folk hero and civic institution. Hollywood discovered her when she brilliantly united the sacred with the prof ane. Anthony Quinn would play in the Temple band and Aimee would baptize Marilyn Monroe, council Jean Harlow and become friends with Charlie Chaplain, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Based on the biographer's first time access to internal church documents and cooperation of Aimee's family and friends, this major biography offers a sympathetic appraisal of her rise to fame, revivals in major cities and influence on American religion and culture in the Jazz Age. The biographer takes the reader behind the scenes of Aimee's fame to the early days of her harsh apprenticeship in revival tents, failed marriages and poverty. Barfoot recreates the career of this "called" and driven woman through oral history, church documents and by a creative use of new source material. Written with warmth and often as dramatic as Aimee, herself, the author successfully captures not only what made Aimee famous but also what transformed Pentecostalism from its meager Azusa Street mission beginnings into a transnational, global religion.
Call Number: BV3785.M28 B37 2011
Publication Date: 2014-08-21
Aimee Semple Mcpherson and the Resurrection of Christian America by Sutton, Matthew Avery Also available in opens new windowEBSCO eBook and print format: BX7990. I68 M325 2007
Call Number: Ebook Central
Publication Date: 2007
Led by the Holy Spirit: the missionary career, leadership, thought, and influence of Alice Eveline Luce by Peterson, Mikeuel Eugene
Call Number: BX8780.Z8 P48 2009 PEN
Life on Wings: The Forgotten Life and Theology of Carrie Judd Montgomery: 1858-1946 by Miskov, Jennifer Until now, Carrie Judd Montgomery’s (1858-1946) significant contribution to both the Divine Healing movement and Pentecostalism has been underexplored. Montgomery’s healing account in 1879, her early writings, her healing homes, and her contribution to the formation of the doctrine of healing in the atonement make Montgomery one of the most influential people in the American Divine Healing movement. Following her 1908 experience of Spirit baptism, Montgomery also became an important figure in the emerging Pentecostal Movement. This analysis of Montgomery’s writings focuses upon her theology of healing and her pneumatology. Miskov concludes that that the prayer of faith in James 5 and healing in the atonement were two of the major foundations in her finished work theology of healing. The study of Montgomery’s Pentecostal pneumatology reveals that she actively pursued the fullness of the Spirit, also at times referred to as ‘Spirit baptism’, both before and after her own 1908 tongues experience. While Montgomery’s Spirit baptism enhanced her spirituality, added a new flavor to her ministry, and caused her to re-interpret past experiences through a Pentecostal perspective, it did not produce any major shifts within her theology of healing. In light of her experiences with the Spirit throughout the years, a proposed redefinition of the Pentecostal Spirit baptism is presented. Miskov argues that Montgomery’s openness to new manifestations of the Spirit and her relentless pursuit of the fullness of the Spirit should inform present day approaches to spirituality and renewal.
Call Number: BX8762.Z8 M668 M58 2012 PEN
Limited Liberty: The Legacy of Four Pentecostal Women Pioneers by Estrelda Y. Alexander This book shares the stories of four women - Florence Crawford, Mary Magdalena Lewis Tate, Aimee Semple McPherson, and Ida Robinson - who, despite their gender, pursued their freedom to preach and defend the Christian gospel. The author hopes clergywomen will find guidance and solutions in the stories of these courageous women.
Call Number: BX8762.Z8 A12 2008
The Miracle Lady: Kathryn Kuhlman and the Transformation of Charismatic Christianity by Amy Collier Artman; Kate Bowler (Foreword by) In this latest volume in the Library of Religious Biography, Amy Collier Artman tells the remarkable life story of Kathryn Kuhlman, who, in her day, was considered the best-known female preacher in the world. In the process, Artman relates the larger story of charismatic Christianity, particularly how it moved from the hinges of American society to the mainstream. Tracing Kuhlman's remarkable career as a media-savvy preacher and fleshing out her unconventional character, Artman also shows how Kuhlman skillfully navigated the structures, rules, and landmines that surrounded female religious leaders in the mid-twentieth century. Book jacket.
Call Number: BV3785.K84 A78 2019
ISBN: 9780802876706
Publication Date: 2019
Spirit on the Move: Black Women and Pentecostalism in Africa and the Diaspora by Judith Casselberry and Elizabeth Pritchard, eds. Pentecostalism is currently the fastest-growing Christian movement, with hundreds of millions of followers. This growth overwhelmingly takes place outside of the West, and women make up 75 percent of the membership. The contributors to Spirit on the Move examine Pentecostalism's appeal to black women worldwide and the ways it provides them with a source of community and access to power. Exploring a range of topics, from Neo-Pentecostal churches in Ghana that help women challenge gender norms to evangelical gospel musicians in Brazil, the contributors show how Pentecostalism helps black women draw attention to and seek remediation from the violence and injustices brought on by civil war, capita list exploitation, racism, and the failures of the state. In fleshing out the experiences, theologies, and innovations of black women Pentecostals, the contributors show how Pentecostal belief and its various practices reflect the movement's complexity, reach, and adaptability to specific cultural and political formations. Contributors. Paula Aymer, John Burdick, Judith Casselberry, Deidre Helen Crumbley, Elizabeth Mca lister, Laura Premack, Elizabeth A. Pritchard, Jane Soothill, Linda van de Kamp
Call Number: BR1644.3 .S65 2019 HSRC
What Women Want by Alexander, Kimberly Ervin, and James P. Bowers Pentecostal women ministers have been silenced in official conversations about their place in church leadership. What do women ministers believe about family life? Have they been influenced by liberal feminism? Do they really want to be equal ministry leaders with men? What Women Want answers these questions in a first ever empirical study that paints a portrait of what it's like to be a Pentecostal woman minister. ""Alexander and Bowers and their colleagues in this volume insist that whatever their provenance, the voices of Pentecostal women ministers can no longer be ignored. Perhaps more than two or three prophetesses are speaking in these pages, calling attention to injustices and exploding the myths perpetuated by some of the sons who claim the Spirit. If so, then now the congregation of readers must judge and discern what is said--may those with ears to hear respond to what the Spirit is saying to the churches."" --Amos Yong, Director of the Center for Missiological Research, Professor of Theology and Mission, Fuller Theological seminary ""Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I read the stories found within the pages of this book. God has been and will continue to call and gift his daughters for ministry. Not only have Bowers and Alexander discovered what women want, they have given voice to their concerns in a powerful and passionate way. Evident is that a feminist political agenda is not at play, but rather called women who are seeking full expression of the giftings which they have received from God. This place of equal leadership can be found throughout numerous churches that trace their roots to the holiness tradition. May we be willing to listen to the voices and open our hearts and minds to the Spirit's leading."" --Caria Sunberg, Forty-Third General Superintendent, Church of the Nazarene ""This important study listens to data gathered from women in a major Pentecostal denomination and gives expression to their beliefs and experiences in ministry. It contains many insights as well as some surprises. Significantly, it identifies a research agenda that has implications beyond Pentecostalism and the church in North America. As such, it deserves to be read widely, and its findings considered carefully by those in church leadership."" --Mark J. Cartledge, Professor of Practical Theology, Regent University Kimberly Alexander is Associate Professor of the History of Christianity at Regent University School of Divinity. She is the author of Pentecostal Healing: Models of Theology and Practice (2007), as well as numerous articles and book chapters related to Pentecostal spirituality and women in the Pentecostal tradition. She is a past-president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. James P. Bowers is Director of Graduate Studies at Virginia Bible College and pastor of St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Portsmouth, VA. He is editor of Portrait and Prospect: Church of God Pastors Face the Twenty-First Century and numerous articles and book chapters related to spiritual formation and pastoral practice.
Call Number: EBSCO eBook
ISBN: 9781532643767
Publication Date: 2018
A Woman's History of the Christian Church: Two Thousand Years of Female Leadership by Muir, Elizabeth Gillan
Call Number: Ebook Central
Publication Date: 2019
Women in leadership : a Pentecostal perspective by Alexander, Kimberly Ervin, and R. Hollis Gause
Call Number: BV4415 .A44 2006

The Spirit-empowered Woman

Emboldened: A Vision for Empowering Women in Ministry by Leach, Tara Beth, with foreword by Scot McKnight Throughout Scripture and church history, women have been central to the mission of God. But all too often women have lacked opportunities to minister fully. Many churches lack visible examples of women in ministry and leadership. Pastor Tara Beth Leach issues a stirring call for a new generation of women in ministry: to teach, to preach, to shepherd, and to lead. God not only permits women to minister--he emboldens, empowers, and unleashes women to lead out of the fullness of who they are. The church cannot reach its full potential without women using their God-given gifts. Leach provides practical expertise for how women can find their place at the table, escape impostor syndrome, face opposition, mentor others, and much more. When women teach, preach, lead, evangelize, pastor, and disciple, and when men partner to embolden the women in their lives, the church's imagin ation expands to better reflect God's story and hope for the world.
Call Number: Ebook Central
Publication Date: 2017
Gender, Social Change and Spiritual Power: Charismatic Christianity in Ghana by Soothill, Jane E. Charismatic Christianity is the most recent and fastest growing expression of Pentecostal religion in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghanas capital, Accra, the charismatic churches dominate the religious scene. This book focuses on the gender discourses of Ghanas new churches, and considers charismatic perspectives on womanhood, manhood, marriage and family life. Offering a fresh perspective on the organisational structures of the charismatic churches, this study looks at the leadership roles of female pastors and pastors wives, and draws attention to the links between female leaders and spiritual power. By highlighting the importance of spiritual power in interpreting gendered social change, the book sheds new light on the socio-cultural role of Ghanas new churches.
Call Number: Ebook Central
Publication Date: 2007
God's Peculiar People: Women's Voices & Folk Tradition in a Pentecostal Church by Lawless, Elaine J. Also available in print: BX8763 .L38 1988 "Holy Rollers" -- with this epithet most people dismiss members of the Pentecostal sect as wild religious fanatics. In this new study, folklorist Elaine Lawless draws on fieldwork among Pentecostal congregations in the limestone region of southern Indiana to offer a sympathetic view of the Pentecostals as a special group distinguished by their own folk traditions and religious expression. From her findings she describes the members' codes of dress and behavior, their attitudes toward themselves and others, their special use of words, and their distinctive religious practices. Focusing on the activity of a particular church, she then analyzes the structure of the service and shows how its elements -- singing, praying, testifying, preaching, and speaking in tongues -- exhibit, not a formless display of fervor, but rather an ordered and traditional sequence that creates a unique religious expression. Important to the study is the attention given the role of women. Although the Pentecostal interpretation of Biblical teachings accords men domin ance, women occasionally preach in the church and during the testifying part of the service they are often able to exercise control and religious authority. Many of the women have relatives in the dangerous work of the limestone quarries, and for these women the personal experience and close relationship fostered by the Pentecostal church, Lawless finds, offers welcome emotional support. This readable study affords a new understanding of one Pentecostal sect and an appreciation of the role of women in fundamenta list religious practices.
Call Number: Ebook Central
Publication Date: 2005
God Forgive Us for Being Women: rhetoric, theology, and the pentecostal tradition by Qualls, Joy E. Also available in print: BR1644 .Q35 2018 PEN
Call Number: EBSCO eBook
Publication Date: 2018
Handmaidens of the Lord: Pentecostal Women Preachers and Traditional Religion by Lawless, Elaine J. Includes life histories of four women preachers, transcriptions of sermons, and analysis by Lawless of both life stories and sermons.
Call Number: Ebook Central
Publication Date: 1988
It's a New Day by Billingsley, Scott It's a New Day chronicles the rise of women and African American evangelists in the independent charismatic movement in post-World War II America. Billingsley observes current figures such as T. D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer, and Creflo Dollar, who were deeply influenced by charismatic pioneers Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin. The evangelists adopted their ministry-building and prosperity gospel tactics and are notable for megachurches, televangelism, and health-and-wealth doctrines. The modern charismatic movement has grown far more sophisticated and has become a truly international phenomenon, and Pentecostals and charismatics hold a wide variety of views on race and gender. Charismatic women ministers take to the pulpit, manage publishing empires, and lead the faithful in modern America. Similarly, both black and white charismatic ministers preach to integrated churches and hold integrated revivals, even while racial divides endure in the larger society. It's a New Day contributes to our understanding and appreciation of one of the most vital sectors in current American religious life.
Call Number: Ebook Central
Publication Date: 2008
Philip's Daughters: women in pentecostal-charismatic leadership by Alexander, Estrelda, and Amos Yong, eds. This volume brings together twelve scholars from a variety of scholarly fields including biblical studies, history, theology, sociology, anthropology, and missiology in a multi-disciplinary exploration of themes related to women's leadership within the three branches of the renewal movement: Holiness, Pentecostal and Charismatic traditions. These scholars - women and men - from both within and outside the traditions, draw on various methodologies including hermeneutics, ethnography, critical theory, and historical analysis to explore the experiences and contributions of women from the movement's inception to the present. They keep before us the challenges that still impact women's full participation as equal partners in ministry and leadership on both the American and global scene. The volume looks at the multiple roots of women's margin alization within the renewal movement while suggesting progressive solutions that take seriously the social locations of Pentecostal and Charismatic congregations and the theological foundations on which the movement has been built. At the same time, it locates these discussions within the broader postmodern realities facing the church as it attempts to faithfully live out its witness to the biblical truth that both male and female are created in the God's image and endowed with the capacity to work creatively toward the unfolding of the Kingdom.
Call Number: BR1644 .P5 2009
Professional Women in South African Pentecostal Charismatic Churches by Frahm-Arp, Maria This book offers an exploration into the interconnections between career success and religiosity as it examines the role of Pentecostal Charismatic Christianity in the work experiences of young, professional, black women who are becoming part of the post-apartheid South African middle class.
Call Number: Ebook Central
Publication Date: 2010
Women and the Landscape of American Higher Education: Wesleyan Holiness and Pentecostal Founders by Ruelas, Abraham The post-millennial vision of nineteenth century America led to greater educational opportunities for women, but these were focused on women's domestic efficacy in developing messianic mothers to help create the kingdom of God on earth. Yet, by embracing the doctrine of sanctification, Wesleyan Holiness women were able to move from women's sphere (domesticity) to the public sphere (public ministry), which they had come to see as their intended place. Not only did they make this shift for themselves, but they created Christian institutions of higher education that provided opportunities for both women and men to prepare for public ministry. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a new force would enable women to further demonstrate their equality in the work of the Lord. In 1901, the Pentecostal movement was ushered in when Agnes Nevada Ozman became the first person in the modern era to speak in tongues. This movement saw the promise and fulfillment of equal empowerment of men and women for service by the Holy Spirit, which sent individuals throughout the world to further the kingdom of God. As the theological shift from a postmillennial to a premillennial view occurred, opportunity became necessity as priority was given to the creation of schools to prepare ministers to reach lost souls before the return of Jesus. The founding of such schools was pioneered by Wesleyan Holiness and Pentecostal women who carried the torch as their movement grew into the twentieth century. This book compiles the inspiring stories of some of the most notable women who, from society's perspective stepped outside established roles to claim a significant place in the history of American higher education.
Call Number: BV4030 .R84 2010 PEN
Women Healing/Healing Women: The Genderization of Healing in Early Christianity by Wainwright, Elaine Mary 'Women Healing/ Healing Women' begins with a search for women who were healers in the Graeco-Roman world of the late Hellenistic and early Roman period. Women healers were honoured in inscriptions and named by medical writers, and were familiar enough to be stereotyped in plays and other writings. What emerges by the first century of the Common Era is a world in which women functioned as healers but where healing becomes a contested site for gender relations. By the time the gospels are written the place of women as healers is effectively erased. The book uses the historical and cultural evidence to re-read the gospel texts and discover healers in a woman pouring out ointment, healed women bearing on their bodies the language describing Jesus, and even in women possessed by demons.
Call Number: Ebook Central
Publication Date: 2014
Women in Pentecostal and Charismatic Ministry by English de Alminana, Margaret, and Lois E. Olena, vol. eds. Also, available in print: BX8780.Z5 W66 2017 PEN
Call Number: ProQuest Ebook Central
Publication Date: 2017
The Women of Azusa Street by Estrelda Alexander The Women of Azusa Street pays tribute to the women who played a vital role-which was typically overlooked or downplayed in literature-in the 1906 Azusa Street Revival, an event in Los Angeles that catapulted the then fledgling Pentecostal Movement into national prominence. In the wake of the 100th anniversary of the Azusa Street Revival, which was held day and night for nearly three years, Alexander reveals the fascinating stories of Holy Spirit baptized women from various racial and cultural backgrounds-who like Jesus' disciples-gave up everything and risked their lives to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Women whose stories are told herein include: Daisy Batman, Ivy Glenshaw Campbell, Emma Cotton, Florence Crawford, Rosa de Lopez, May Evans, Lucy Farrow, Lucy Leatherman, Lillian Garr, Anna Hall, Julia Hutchins, Clara Lum, Ardella Meade, Jennie Moore Seymour, Rachel Sizelove, Mable Smith, Neely Terry, Susie Valdez, and Ophelia Wiley. Book jacket.
Call Number: BR1644 .A42 2005 Main & HSRC
Publication Date: 2005
Women with the Good News: The Rhetorical Heritage of Pentecostal Holiness Women Preachers by Welch, Kristen Dayle In autobiographies retrieved from archives, dusty libraries, and personal interviews, Kristen Welch has examined the emerging ethos of women preachers in the IPHC to offer a legacy of hope to Christian women still struggling for full equality. In this book, Welch explores Pentecostal epistemologies formed by engagement with the Holy Spirit, a connection to Oklahoma and its people, and connections to a community of believers. Through the voices of Pentecostals living in Indian Territory in the late 19th century, the 20th century, and up to today, Welch examines what it means to be a Pentecostal woman preacher.
Call Number: BX8774.A4 W44 2010