Mumford and Beall: Where are they today?

Bob Mumford © Ministry Today 1990

A  quick scan of the analytics for this blog indicates that readers are frequently led here when they query search engines as to the whereabouts of Charismatic Renewal figures like James Lee Beall and Bob Mumford.

"Is Pastor James Beall still alive?"

"Where does Bob Mumford preach?"

Those questions and ones similar to them are how many of you arrive at Word & Spirit blog. So today we'll give you some answers.

But first, for readers unacquainted with Beall and Mumford, here's some quick background:



Pastor Beall circa 1977

At the height of the Charismatic Renewal in the late 1970s, the pair were highly sought after speakers. Because Mumford was engaged solely in traveling ministry he was seen at more conferences and events. Beall was involved in pastoral ministry for over 50 years at Bethesda Christian Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan and so did not travel as frequently, but spoke, for instance, at high-profile events like the World Conference on the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem in 1974 (BCC was formerly known as Bethesda Missionary Temple and prior to 1988 was located in Detroit).

Other speakers at the World Conference on the Holy Spirit included: Corrie ten Boom, David du Plessis, J. Rodman Williams, Costa Deir, Kathryn Kuhlman, Charles Farah, Willard Cantelon, Pat Robertson, Arthur Katz, Charles Simpson, Jamie Buckingham and Gen. Ralph Haines.

According to author Peter Althouse, "Latter Rain centre Bethesda Missionary Temple, Detroit, played a role in the development of the Charismatic Movement. James Lee Beall not only succeeded his mother as pastor of the church, but he was a frequent contributor to the widespread Charismatic periodical Logos Journal" p. 51 in Spirit of the Last Days: Pentecostal Eschatology in Conversation with Jurgen Moltmann (T & T Clark, 2004).

Beall and Mumford were both speakers - along with Judson Cornwall - at a memorable Elim camp meeting in Lima, New York in 1980.

Mumford, who early in his career was a teacher at Elim Bible Institute, was in constant demand in the 70s. His popularity waned, though, when he became involved in the Shepherding/Discipleship controversy (some background on the controversy can be accessed in my December 2008 blog item about him).

Pentecostal/Charismatic historian Vinson Synan told author S. David Moore, "I think, had he not gotten into that controversy, he would have been the most outstanding Charismatic speaker of all" pp. 38-39 in The Shepherding Movement (T & T Clark, 2004).



Judith & Bob Mumford today

Mumford was one of the plenary speakers at the Conference on Charismatic Renewal in the Christian Churches in 1977, an event that Synan assesses to be the high point of the Charismatic Renewal. A report on Mumford's memorable address was covered on this blog in April 2010.

Beall, in addition to his pastoral duties at the Bethesda megachurch, had a radio broadcast that was aired across the nation (that ministry was initially know as America to Your Knees, but later, This Is The Day). Another well-known figure in the Charismatic Renewal was Jamie Buckingham, the widely-read columnist for both the Logos Journal and Charisma magazine. He wrote, "One of my favorite ministers is James Lee Beall, pastor of the Bethesda Missionary Temple in Detroit" p. 178 in Risky Living: Keys to Inner Healing (Bridge Logos Publications, 1976).

Buckingham was known not only for his incisive commentary on the state of the Renewal, but also for the humor woven into that commentary. He once wrote about some criticism he received for his platform appearance (which included tennis shoes), "you look as if you've just ridden into town on a load of turnips," he was told, "Look at Bob Mumford, Morris Sheats, and James Beall. They're strong and masculine - and they wear patent leather shoes" p. 64 in The Truth Will Set You Free: But First it Will Make You Miserable: The Collected Wit and Wisdom of Jamie Buckingham (Creation House, 1988).

(Morris Sheats remains active in ministry. His website can be seen here.)

Today, Mumford is 82, and while he is not nearly as active in speaking and writing as he once was, he still teaches seminars with his son Eric a few times a year. Their 2013 schedule can be seen here. Last year, Bob authored a book, Nourishing the Seed: Learning to Please God as Father, for which Eric wrote the foreward. One chapter has an intriguing Mumford-esque heading, "A Pickle in my Crème Brulee."

Beall is 87 and pastor emeritus at Bethesda Christian Church. He handed off the senior pastorate to his daughter, Analee Dunn, in 2004. He has experienced a variety of health challenges in recent years, including a surgery in March of this year. Currently, he is on the mend and able to attend services at Bethesda. The church, one of America's earliest megachurches, was featured on this blog in September 2009. Beall's last book, Straight Talk About the Holy Spirit, was reviewed on this blog in February 2009.

BEALL FAMILY PHOTO (1996) - Back row, left to right: John Beall (son), Heather Beall (daughter-in-law), Anne Beall (wife), Pastor Beall, Analee Dunn (daughter), James Dunn (son-in-law). Front row, left to right: Courtney Dunn Snede (granddaughter), Anne Beall (granddaughter), Whitney Dunn (granddaughter), James Beall (grandson), Kate Beall (granddaughter).

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Two of Mumford and Beall's contemporaries from the Charismatic Renewal, Charles Simpson and Ken Sumrall, are the subjects of the 12-minute video below. Simpson is seen eulogizing Sumrall who passed away on January 11.
 

Back in the 70s, Simpson was teamed in ministry with Mumford, Ern Baxter, Derek Prince, and Don Basham in Christian Growth Ministries out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. From that ministry came New Wine magazine, one of the prominent journals of the Charismatic Renewal. The complete archives of New Wine can be accessed here. Today, Simpson leads Charles Simpson Ministries, which held its annual leadership conference in April, featuring Bishop Joseph Garlington.

Sumrall, like Beall, was a non-denominational leader. He founded Liberty Church in Pensacola, Florida, and a leadership organization, Church Foundational Network. He was 86 years old at his passing.



A plan for reading the Greek NT

New Testament scholar Dan Wallace has put together a reading plan that is designed to encourage beginning readers of the Greek New Testament. The plan encompasses the entire NT and is organized into 30 readings, allowing proficient and ambitious readers to cover the NT in a month.

Wallace is professor of NT studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and author of the widely-used intermediate study of Koine Greek, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Zondervan, 1996). He can be seen talking about the book in a two-minute video below.

Wallace's reading plan begins with texts that can be translated from Koine Greek without much difficulty (e.g., the Johannine corpus and Mark's Gospel) and then progresses through the more complex texts, finishing with the book of Hebrews. The plan goes as follows:

John 1-11
John 12-21
1 John; 2 John; 3 John; Philemon
Mark 1-8
Mark 9-16
Matthew 1-10
Matthew 11-20
Matthew 21-28
Revelation 1-11
Revelation 12-22
1 Thessalonians; 2 Thessalonians
Ephesians; Colossians
Philippians; Romans 1-8
Romans 9-16
1 Corinthians 1-10
1 Corinthians 11-16
Galatians; James
1 Peter; 1 Timothy
2 Timothy; Titus
Jude; 2 Peter
2 Corinthians 1-7
2 Corinthians 8-13
Luke 1-8
Luke 9-16
Luke 17-24
Acts 1-10
Acts 11-19
Acts 20-28
Hebrews 1-7
Hebrews 8-13

Links and a photo quiz

Who is this? Answer below.

The festschrift for NT scholar Grant Osborne is entitled, On the Writing of New Testament Commentaries. It includes chapters by Don Carson, Doug Moo, Craig Evans, Kevin Vanhoozer and many others. Be prepared though, it's pricey, very pricey ... Nijay Gupta and Constantine Campbell add this year to the growing volume of literature on Colossians ... Gupta also wrote a helpful article in 2010 on the state of research in Colossians ... Cherith Fee Nordling (Gordon Fee's daughter) is among the scholars in this video discussing N. T. Wright's book, Scripture and the Authority of God ... Another scholar's daughter, Sarah Pinnock, joins Scot McKnight, Roger Olson, and others in feting her father, the late Clark Pinnock, in this 83-minute video ... Stumped when you hear deconstruction, postmodernism, and post-colonial criticism spoken about? Perhaps Yale University professor Paul Fry's ENGL 300: Introduction to Theory of Literature could be of help. All 26 video lectures are available on the Open Yale Courses website ... Regent College Publishing has released its first eBook, Gordon Fee's The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels. Its Kindle price is less than $4 ... The fifth edition of Tremper Longman's Old Testament Commentary Survey is now available ... A great tandem: the fifth edition of Robert Gundry's book, A Survey of the New Testament and his one-volume Commentary on the New Testament ... Answer to photo quiz: a youthful and unbearded N. T. Wright. He gave a sermon yesterday at Central Presbyterian Church in New York. That sermon, on Galatians 5:13-18 and entitled, Paul and the Puzzle of Freedom, can be accessed here. A transcript of it can be read here.

Olson on the sovereignty of God

Olson

Roger Olson is an Arminian theologian who regularly engages Calvinists in his books, lectures, and on his blog. Today, his blog reminded me why he is my favorite theologian (a position he inherited upon the passing of Clark Pinnock).

He shared a talk that he gave at the Missio Alliance Gathering in Virginia. Here is the opening:

My office phone rang and I answered it. A stern voice said, "Is this Roger Olson?" to which I confessed. The man introduced himself as a pastor of a Baptist church in the state, implying that he was a constituent of the seminary where I teach. Anyway, I got the message. "I hear you don't believe in God's sovereignty," he declared. I responded, "Oh, really? What do you mean by 'God's sovereignty'?" He said, "You know. God is in control of everything."

I decided to play with him a little. "Oh, so you believe God caused the holocaust and every other evil event in human history? That God is the author of sin and evil?" There was a long pause. Then he said, "Well, no."

"Then do you believe in God's sovereignty?" I asked. He mumbled something about just wanting to "make sure" and hung up.

You can read the rest of the talk at Roger's blog here.

Not only does this blog share Olson's Arminian view, but his Pentecostal background as well.

Last year in Pneuma he wrote of his "Pentecostal experiences that included speaking in tongues beginning at age fourteen, laughing in the Spirit at age seventeen, and being slain in the Spirit at a Kathryn Kuhlman crusade at age twenty-one." Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies volume 34, number 3, page 323.

He is currently the Foy Valentine professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor University's George W. Truett Seminary.

Synan: Pope Francis open to charismatics

Pentecostal historian Vinson Synan was interviewed on the CBN News Channel last Friday and said Pope Francis is "very open to the Charismatic Renewal" and that he (Synan) would not even be surprised if the pontiff had the operation of the gifts of the Spirit in his own life.

Synan, who is one of the most trusted authorities on Pentecostal and Charismatic history, met Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio back in 2005 at the International Charismatic Consultation in Buenos Aires.

"I would say he is a born-again Christian, as we Protestants say," Synan told CNN News Channel.

A four-minute video clip of the interview can be seen below.

[UPDATE 3/20/13] Lee Grady wrote today in his column: "Last week in this column I shared a dream in which I saw a tsunami crashing into the Vatican and turning the Catholic system upside down. When the new pope was elected, an Argentinean newspaper called him 'Tsunami Bergoglio' because they expect him to reform the stuffy, prideful, bureaucratic Vatican and challenge Catholics to return to a humble focus on Christ.

"We need the same drastic reforms on our side of the evangelical/Catholic divide. We need Pentecostal and charismatic leaders who shun the palace, reject lavish excess and get back to the basics of true gospel ministry." The entire column, entitled, "No More Pentecostal Popemobiles," can be read here.

[UPDATE 3/21/13] Charisma News is reporting today what evangelist Luis Palau told a prayer breakfast in Ft. Lauderdale:

"Known as the 'evangelical pope,' Francis has invited Palau to lay hands on him in prayer. Palau says, 'Whenever we pray together, he says, Lay your hands on me and pray for me, that God will keep me as servant. He is respectful of all sides of Christianity.'"

Wright and Stendahl on glossolalia

Wright

New Testament scholars N. T. Wright and the late Krister Stendahl both have writings that address glossolalia (the NT Greek word that most translations render, tongues).

Wright, one of the few NT scholars that is able to gain traction in bookstores other than those devoted to bibles, writes,

"'Tongues' refers to the gift of speech which, through making sounds, and using apparent or even actual languages, somehow bypasses the speaker's conscious mind. Such speech is experienced as a stream of praise in which, though the speaker may not be able to articulate precisely what is being said (a point to which Paul will draw attention later on), a sense of love for God, of adoration and gratitude, wells up and overflows. It is like a private language of love." - in Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (Westminster John Knox Press), pp. 181-182.

Stendahl, who was a professor at Harvard Divinity School, wrote,



Stendahl

"It seems to me that the witness of  the New Testament texts as to the phenomenon called glossolalia is quite clear and quite simple - and quite up to date. The various texts carry with them a certain critique of the situation today. The history of our main traditions is one of fragmentation and impoverishment within the Christian community. As I read Paul it seems clear to me that if the Presbyterians and the Episcopalians, the Lutherans, and all the 'proper' Christians, including the Catholics, did not consciously or unconsciously suppress such phenomena as glossolalia, and if other denominations did not especially encourage them, then the gifts of the Spirit - including glossolalia - would belong to the common register of Christian experience." - in Paul Among Jews and Gentiles: And Other Essays (Fortress Press), p. 121.

Gordon Fee sermon from 1988

The video below features a sermon by New Testament scholar Gordon Fee, delivered February 14, 1988 in Croatia. (Five minutes of congregational singing precede the sermon).

The sermon is about the book of Philemon, one of the two Pauline letters Fee says he would keep if he were allowed to only have access to two. His other pick is Galatians.

Fee is currently professor emeritus of New Testament at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.

He edited the prestigious New International Commentary on the New Testament series for 20 years, also writing three of the volumes (1 Corinthians, Philippians, and the Thessalonian letters).

A brief tribute to Fee's career was featured on this blog in July 2008. Charisma magazine featured him in its October 2010 issue.

Keener on the historicity of Acts

Craig Keener, professor of New Testament at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky, has written the first volume of his commentary on the book of Acts. In his endorsement, NT scholar Darrell Bock - himself the author of a commentary on Acts - says that Keener has "provided us with a rich gem of a commentary on Acts."

In the 11-minute video below, Keener talks about the historicity of Acts.

Keener was featured in an eight-part interview - "Fridays with Craig Keener" - on this blog in 2008. The first installment can be read here.

Lecture series by Fee this month

Gordon Fee

RegentRadio.com, the broadcasting arm of Regent College, began a series of lectures by Gordon Fee today.

The 12-lecture series is entitled, The Holy Spirit in Pauline Theology. Fee has written arguably the standard work on the subject, God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul.

The lectures are offered free of charge and can be accessed here. One lecture is played each day and played continuously for the 24-hour period. The lectures titles include:

• Finding the Center in Pauline Theology
• Spirit Language in Paul
• Spirit as person
• Paul and the Trinity
• The Spirit as God's Personal Presence
• Spirit and Eschatology
• Spirit and Torah
• Spirit and the Unbeliever
• Spirit and Ethics
• Spirit and the People of God
• Spirit and the "Gifts"
• Spirit and Worship

Fee is currently professor of emeritus of New Testament at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also taught at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Wheaton College, and Vanguard University.

Until 2011, he was for twenty years the editor of the renowned New International Commentary on the New Testament series, also writing the volumes on 1 Corinthians, Philippians, and the Thessalonian letters.

A profile of his career was posted on this blog in 2008. Charisma magazine profiled Fee in its October 2010 issue.

Worship & prayers: pre-written or spontaneous?

Marshall

In commenting on the thanksgiving section at the beginning of 1 Peter (1:3-12), New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall notes that Peter makes use of an established phrase ("Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!") to launch into his own expression of thanksgiving.

"Now the expression of praise uses exactly the same opening words as 2 Corinthians 1 [verse 3] and Ephesians 1 [verse 3], which shows that this was a form of words which had become traditional in the church and was widely known and used by people taking part in prayer and praise.

"There are two attitudes to that kind of thing in the church today …. Some people like to use an existing set form of words. The fact that they have been used for centuries or have been authorized in a prayer book makes them all the more important for them and means the praise to God forms part of the offering of praise given down the centuries to God.

"There’s a danger that praise of that kind can become formal and lack both spontaneity and living relevance to the concrete situation – if you simply say the prayer out of the book.

"Other people eschew any kind of set prayers, possibly because they find the repetition of familiar forms of words makes them boring and meaningless, or because they think the Spirit should inspire fresh acts of praise each time.

"Their danger is that they fall into unconscious set patterns of words themselves and the scope of their prayers is narrowed, and we get, “Lord, we just want to praise you, Lord, for this … and, Lord, we just want to praise you for that … and, Lord, we ask you to bless so-and-so,” and you’ve heard it many times, I am quite sure.

"So the stereotype develops despite the people who think they are being spontaneous and free. They also, I think, lack something of the broadness and range of Scriptural praise.

"Peter, however, uses familiar church language to provide the framework for the prayer, but he relates it to the specific situation at the moment." - from Marshall's lecture series, The Teaching of First Peter. The 10-lecture series (over seven hours total) can be purchased and downloaded in MP3 format from Regent College's bookstore here.

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Marshall has also written a commentary on 1 Peter. Donald Carson says, "Granted the limitations of the series, I. Howard Marshall ... is superb." New Testament Commentary Survey, sixth ed. (Baker Academic, 2007)
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He is emeritus professor of New Testament exegesis, as well as, honorary research professor at the University of Aberdeen. His Pocket Guide to New Testament Theology can be downloaded for free here.

Fee video from CBE International

The video above is a clip from a talk given by Dr. Gordon Fee for Christians for Biblical Equality International.

Entitled, "Cultural Context of Ephesians 5:18-33," the entire lecture can be purchased on DVD from CBE here.

Studying Romans with N. T. Wright

         ~ be sure to see the video below ~  

Not only does N. T. Wright write topical books like his latest, How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels (HarperOne, 2012), he writes bible commentaries, both scholarly ones and those for lay readership.

The professor of New Testament from the University of St. Andrews has provided both for the book of Romans. His scholarly commentary can be found in volume 10 of the New Interpreter's Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes, while the commentary for lay readership (a two-volume effort) is entitled, Paul for Everyone: Romans (Parts One & Two).

The scholarly commentary uses the texts of the New Revised Standard Version and the New International Version side-by-side, while Paul for Everyone contains Wright's own translation of Romans.

Those who are only interested in the scholarly commentary yet want Wright's translation, as well, can have access to it in, The Kingdom New Testament (HarperOne, 2011), Wright's translation of the entire New Testament.

Ten hours of lecture on Romans that Wright delivered at Regent College in Vancouver are available for purchase in MP3 format by linking to the Regent College bookstore here.

There are three lengthy articles on Romans written by Wright that can be accessed for free online:

• Paul and Caesar: A New Reading of Romans
• Romans and the Theology of Paul
• The Law in Romans 2

In the video below, Wright gives an 18-minute introduction to the book of Romans.

Help for studying the Revelation

Back in 2005, Gordon Fee was asked to speak at Calvin Theological Seminary on how to preach the book of the Revelation.

In his introductory remarks he gave some advice that I want to pass on today:

"At the outset, let me encourage you to buy three books. The first is Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation (Cambridge University Press, 1993), which is the absolutely best book on the Revelation that has ever been written. Written by one who has unusual expertise in apocalyptic, he has captured the essence of the theology of this book in seven brief chapters. This is a book that should set your heart on fire to take this great biblical book and make it known to your congregations. When I teach the Revelation, it is the one book that I require everyone to read and write a review of within the first three weeks of term." Calvin Theological Journal (April 2006).

The other two books he recommended were Grant R. Osborne's commentary in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series, and Gregory K. Beale's commentary in the New International Greek New Testament Commentary series. The Denver Seminary Journal's 2012 exegesis bibliography also recommends the works by Osborne and Beale. In the category, "best detailed, critical commentaries using the Greek text," they are both given an asterisk, meaning, "top priority for acquistion and/or use." That exegesis bibliography can be accessed here.

Since 2005, Fee has written his own commentary on the Revelation. It is part of the New Covenant Commentary Series.

Wright at Willowcreek

New Testament scholar N. T. Wright has come out with a new book entitled, Simply Jesus (HarperOne), and recently gave a talk with same title at Willow Creek Community Church.

On Sunday, November 6, Wright spoke at the megachurch pastored by Bill Hybels. Willow Creek, in the Chicago, Illinois suburb of South Barrington, is one of America's largest churches.

Both the video and audio recordings of the talk can be linked to here.