Gordon Fee's work on I Corinthians is a contribution to The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Prepared by some of the world's leading scholars, the series provides an exposition of the New Testament books that is thorough and fully abreast of modern scholarship yet faithful to the Scriptures as the infallible Word of God.

Since the work of J.C. Beker in the 1970s, emphasis has been given to the importance of contingent circumstances, rather than any chronological development, as a hermeneutical key to Paul's letters. Given each of Paul's letters is topical, addressing specific pastoral circumstances, I explore in this study the possibility of a statistical analysis of Paul's use of key words and phrases as a means to calibrate the emotional distance between Paul and his various audiences. After locating each epistle within a framework particularly of text-critical and sociological scholarship, I evaluate Paul's audiences in terms of their soteriological 'state'. For Paul, the optimum state is 'being in', that is being obedient to the kerygma he has proclaimed, and remaining within behavioural parameters that he has established. It is the responsibility of each audience to adhere to his teachings and remain in that state. Not all are doing so. This influences Paul's relationship to the audience, an influence revealed primarily through his changing language: when Paul is content with the state of his audience, including their behaviour, he experiences greater emotional connection with them. This 'connection' is a quantifiable contingency, measurable by the frequency with which Paul uses key terms of address and addresses essential topics. A favourable or unfavourable level of connection in turn affects the way in which Paul focuses on soteriological questions of being 'in' or 'out', or in transition from 'in' to 'out' of Christ. By ascertaining the extent to which Paul feels comfortable with his audiences, his 'emotional connectedness', it is possible to 'weigh' the value of the soteriological statements that Paul makes throughout his letters.

The First Epistle to the Corinthians

Run that you may win it: contingency and emotional connectedness in the soteriological language of Paul

Weak enough to lead: Paul’s response to criticism and rivals in 2 Corinthians 10–13: a rhetorical reading

Pentecostalism Re-Imagined: Reconfiguring Pentecostalism in Twenty-first Century New Zealand Joseph McAuley Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2018 The goal of this ministry-focused paper is to outline a leadership development process through which Assemblies of God pastors in New Zealand might engage in critical reflection regarding the nature of Pentecostalism. With Pentecostalism increasingly understood as a contemporary methodology of church, this project seeks to instead define Pentecostalism via six markers consistent within the Pentecostal movement over the last one hundred years – theological simplicity, pragmatic methodologies, missional energy, pneumatic expectation, ontological enchantment and relational tribalism. Each marker is deemed to be adjustable, and this project encourages a reimagining of Pentecostalism with adjustments made to Pentecostalism’s normative settings. It is hoped that this will preserve the strengths, while mitigating the weaknesses, inherent in Pentecostal ministry. The paper begins with an historical overview of Pentecostalism, exploring the evolution of the movement. A brief history of the Assemblies of God in New Zealand is provided, as well as a series of contextual considerations. A theological reflection is then offered in relation to the six defining markers of Pentecostalism, with suggestions made regarding the adjusting of each. The final section of this paper explores a leadership development project in which a group of pastors formed a learning cohort designed to explore Pentecostalism and ways in which it might be re-imagined. This cohort engaged in a process of reflection via an online forum, theorization in a seminar setting, ministry experimentation in their own local church contexts, and then further reflection to assess the impact of the experimentation phase of the learning process. The desired outcome of this initiative was that pastors would be provided with critical tools while being encouraged and equipped in their ministry roles, with a reimagining of Pentecostalism opening the door to effective modes of ministry beyond that of a contemporary methodology of church. Content Reader: Reverend Dr Graham Buxton, PhD

https://digitalcommons.fuller.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1353&context=dmin

Pentecostalism Re-imagined: Reconfiguring Pentecostalism in Twenty-First Century New Zealand

As one moves from west to east, both Galilee and Judaea follow a similar pattern in geomorphic terms, coastal plain, central hill country, rift valley and the uplands of Transjordan. Galilee was recognised as a Jewish territory, together with Judaea in the south and Perea across the Jordan. These sub-regions were soon incorporated into the kingdom of Herod the Great, and were expected to make their contribution to the honouring of his Roman patron, Augustus. In the past twenty-five years, no region of ancient Palestine has received more attention than Galilee, because of Jewish and Christian interest in the career of Jesus and the emergence of rabbinic Judaism there after the revolt of Bar Kochba. In addition to the study of the literary evidence, mainly Josephus' works, the gospels, and the rabbinic writings, the focus has been on archaeology, both at key sites like Sepphoris and in surveys of various subregions.

Galilee and Judaea in the first century

By the Same Word: The Intersection of Cosmology and Soteriology in Hellenistic Judaism, Early Christianity and "Gnosticism" in the Light of Middle Platonic Intermediary Doctrine