Foreword

We are living in momentous days. This is an awesome time for the church to arise to its full potential in ministry. We cannot miss our moment and fail at the task we have been given. This collection of writings addresses the concept of ministry in the new millennium.

Current faculty members of Christian Life College wrote the chapters of this book and each one will challenge you in some area of ministry. Regardless of your particular interest in ministry, you will find something that will help you in your pursuit of God and your desire to assist someone else.

My father, Clyde J. Haney, founded this college and his desire was to train laborers for the harvest field. He trained young men and women, not for his generation, but for future generations. After more than fifty years, Christian Life College has alumni in many parts of the world living out my father’s vision, reaching the world!

It has been my privilege to attend this college, to teach in it, to serve as its President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, and now to fill the role of honorary board member. I highly commend the fine work of the college and its faculty. I salute this wonderful effort, the publication of their first volume of writings by the faculty. I hope this will be an ongoing tradition, setting a standard of excellence in scholarship and writing.

Kenneth F. Haney  

General Superintendent

United Pentecostal Church International

St. Louis, Missouri

2004

Introduction

I am delighted to have some part in bringing to you the first volume in Third Millennium Ministry, a Christian Life College faculty project.  It is our plan to release a new volume annually.

After reading each chapter, I am convinced that the contributions found here will be helpful to many and will have a significant influence for good in the 21st century Oneness Pentecostal movement.  I found each chapter to be thoughtful, well-written, intriguing, and spiritually and mentally stimulating.  The broad range of material will appeal to readers involved in a wide variety of ministries.

In the first chapter, Terry Baughman, who is planting a church in the East Bay area of Pleasanton, California, describes the fresh opportunities associated with establishing a new work in a culture very much unlike that of the early and mid-twentieth century American Bible Belt.  You will find his treatment to be challenging; your creative impulse will be ignited.

In Chapter 2, Laura Payne traces the historical development of music ministry and offers significant insight into current trends.  Her suggestions for further research are on-target, opening doors of exploration for scholarly research in the field of Oneness Pentecostal music.  I think you will especially appreciate her call to integrate theology and musicology.

My contribution to the project is in the form of an introduction to canonical-compositional hermeneutics.  I have long been fascinated by the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament, especially in view of the fact that of the hundreds of direct quotations and allusions found in the New Testament, over half are from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.  My thesis that culminated the Master of Theology degree focused on this area of research.  It is titled “An Application of Canonical-Compositional Hermeneutics to Psalms 14 and 53.”  Chapter 3 is a very brief treatment of this approach to interpreting Scripture.  I plan to write more fully on this subject in the future.

In her usual delightful way, my wife contributed practical and inspiring help to all who have any interest in the writing ministry.  In Chapter 4, Judy Segraves interspersed three of her stories to illustrate the application of her guidelines.  Although I had read these stories before, I wept and laughed again.  She is a gifted and published author, and you will find her chapter to be well-titled.  It offers the encouragement and inspiration needed to motivate the writer in you.

I enjoyed Gayla Baughman’s exploration of talents and gifts in Chapter 5.  Before I read her contribution, I had never given much thought to the distinction between talents and gifts.  In my mind, I suppose I lumped them together.  But she makes a convincing case for a distinction, and her thoughtful counsel to a college student becomes an opportunity for all of us to expand our concepts of ministry.

Daryl Rash writes not only from a solid academic background, but also from a rich treasure of experience as a missionary in widely varying cultures.  In Chapter 6, he discusses the responsibility of believers to achieve real integration in society while at the same time avoiding participation in those societal practices that conflict with Christian values.  I believe he is right; only by means of such integration can we be salt and light.

I deeply appreciate my son’s contribution to this project.  Mark Segraves is a trained counselor who also possesses a significant theological foundation both on the undergraduate and graduate levels.  His treatment in Chapter 7 of the history of thought as it relates to spirituality and psychology was enlightening, providing me with greater understanding of the issues involved with the integration of theology and psychology.  His suggestions for further study provide clear and solid direction for future research.  I am convinced that there is a desperate need for the ministry of Christian counseling, counseling that is rooted solidly in biblical truth and that grasps the complexities of human existence.

Lonnie Vestal’s treatment of the value of the spiritual disciplines helped me better understand their contemporary importance.  In Chapter 8, he explains how the disciplines contribute to spiritual wholeness.  I have been somewhat frustrated for some time in trying to understand the Postmodern mind.  Lonnie helped me to better grasp this slippery creature, pointing out both its dangers and its possible benefits for those involved in gospel proclamation.

I was inspired by Robert Roam’s treatment of contemplative prayer in Chapter 9.  I intend to integrate this practice into my own prayer life.  I am a third generation Oneness Pentecostal with what is probably a rather typical approach to prayer and with minimal exposure to this approach to communion with God.  After reading this chapter, I am convinced that it is possible to incorporate the Scriptures into prayer in a more meaningful way.

By the way, be sure to read the breathtaking poem on page 95!  Terry Baughman, who wrote the poem, sent it to each member of our faculty hoping it would help motivate and inspire us to finish our contribution to this project.  When I read it, I was awestruck and insisted that he include it with the volume.  If you appreciate finely crafted literature, dancing words, and deep meaning, you will read this poem again and again.

I hope you enjoy reading this volume as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.

Daniel L. Segraves, President

Christian Life College

Stockton, California

2004