and by the way– i think george bush could write and enlightening book on the democratic party– and that would explain why he is a republican.

just as accidental passer-by

You are 100% correct that the younger generation of ministers (and even not-quite-old folks like myself) is often unfairly dismissive of our elders.

And I was unfairly dismissive of Reddin, Bridges and Lednecky in this post. Even overlooking some poor phrasing that I wish I hadn’t used, my underlying attitude was not kind.

I still confess to a certain bemusement at the book’s title, but it’s directed at the AG hierarchy at large and not at the authors themselves.

Yet again, I reiterate my respect for the three names I mentioned and for the countless others they represent. They are/were magnificent examples of faithfulness and fruitfulness in Pentecostal ministry.

I am guessing you never expected to hear from one of Opal Reddin’s granddaughters let alone two! I like my cousin would consider myself a “post modern”. I attend a non AG church that is post modern and very outreach oriented and our family is in the process of prayerfuly considering helping to plant another post modern church. While I cannot attest as to whether James Bridges should or shouldn’t have written a book on the Post Modern Era I can attest to the fact that my grandmother remained strongly involved in furthering the gospel until her very last days. She had very radical ideas for todays chuch climate for she believed in continuing to preach BIBLICAL TRUTH while being relevant, imagine that! This is something that seems to becoming lost to this generation of preachers, that the Bible alone can still be relevant. I think we as Christians have become so consumed with being “post modern” that we have forgotten that the Word of God not some series, or new book authored by a popular minister can be enough to reach a “new generation”, and this generation seems to be hungry for the meat of scripture not some watered down milk fed to us in small little sips. We can be a church with post modern music, and post modern dress and a post modern building and post modern decor and thoughts and still preach the Bible as the only Truth man needs. The Bible can never be compromised for the sake of unity and oneness and appealing to a “post modern era”. I believe individuals like my grandmother, Maurice Lednicky (who has been and remains a close personal friend)and James Bridges had/have the knowledge and authority to address the issue of the use of Pentecostal Gifts no matter what the “era”. And as a grandchild that grew up listening to Opal Reddin’s teaching and preaching I feel I certainly have the authority to speak on behalf of her when I say she was, and had she lived, would have remained for many years to come absolutly relevant in a post modern era even if you would have never found her in a pair of jeans on a Sunday morning. I want to make it clear Glen, that I am not so much offended by your words as concerned that this “post modern” generation is so quick to dismiss the words of our seasoned Saints that we end up forgeting the rich heritage they helped create not only for the AG but for Christians of many denominations.

I am also deeply sorry that my words have caused you pain. I meant no disrespect to her, either as a person or as a servant of Christ. Instead, I was attempting to highlight the absurdity of the title that GPH slapped on the book. Reading my words again, I didn’t make myself as clear as I could have.

I have great respect not only for Opal Reddin but for the other ministers I mentioned as well. No one can be an expert in every area of ministry. Some are skilled theologians and some are skilled preachers and some rare few are both. Some excel at pastoral care, others at exegeting our culture, others at translating the Biblical languages, others at church architecture, and others still at musical worship. When I say that these ministers are the wrong group to write a book on ministry in a postmodern context I am merely suggesting that there are others who would have been much better choices. No insult was intended.

May God’s grace sustain you as you continue to grieve her passing.

But I think the book likely has little to do with postmodernism. As the previous commenter indicated, it’s more about the timeless “spiritual gifts.” I’m confident that GPH put the “in a postmodern era” slug on it to lend it some marketability.

I am sure there are more than a few ChiAlphans who would be uniquely qualified to write on this subject. I wonder if you guys could network and draft an outline and get a book published that would be highly relevnant. Think about it, get 30 respected XA ministers to commit to a tentative outline of 15–20 brief chapter titles, work up an outline, and submit a proposal to GPH. If they don’t want it, I’m sure IVP would be interested.

Rich.