Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Congregational Overview 2 Charisma and Structure in the Assemblies of God Theoretical Overview 3 Pentecostal Identity and the Charismata Mixed Motivation and Religious Experience 4 Structure and Charisma Doctrine, Power, and Administration 5 Spirit Baptism and Spiritual Transformation An Exercise in Socio-Theology 6 Spiritual Empowerment Pray-ers, Prophets, and Healers in the Pews 7 Law of Love and Love of Law Beliefs, Mores, and Faces of Love 8 Ushering in the Kingdom of God Religious Values, Godly Love, and Public Affairs 9 Covenants, Contracts, and Godly Love (with Matthew T. Lee) Appendix A: Statistical Tables (Pastors Survey) Appendix B: Congregational Measurement Scales Appendix C: Statistical Tables (Congregational Survey) Notes References Index About the Author

Promotional Information

Draws on fresh, up-to-date research to offer a new sociological portrait of the Assemblies of God for the new millennium

About the Author

Margaret M. Poloma is Professor Emeritus at the University of Akron. She is the author of many books, including Main Street Mystics,and (with Ralph W. Hood, Jr.) Blood and Fire: Godly Love in a Pentecostal Emerging Church (NYU Press, 2008). John C. Green is distinguished professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Akron. He is the author of The Faith Factor: How Religion Influences the Vote, among other works.

Reviews

"This work is exceptionally well-crafted and will stand as a new classic for understanding trends within the AG and modern Pentecostalism."
*International Journal of Comparative Sociology*

"This book is recommended for those interested in an empirically based study of new and emerging trends in American Pentecostalism."
*Catholic Books Review*

"This is a richly provocative book that can be expected to generate many fruitful follow-up explorations."
*Journal of Religion*

"A valuable addition to religious studies"
*Choice*

"Herring offers queer history and geography new artifacts of a rural past and present...his work challenges scholars to excavate more of these histories, geographies, and cultural and political styles."
*Envrionment and Planning D: Society and Space*

"Poloma and Green offer an important observation on the different types of congregations emerging within the Assemblies of God."
*Sociology of Religion*

"The authors successfully maintain a delicate balance between a plethora of statisticsand readable narratives, making the work a primary source for a wide audience of scholars interested in this century-old American Pentecostal journey."
*Religious Studies Review*

"An insightful, empirically based analysis of how the Assemblies of God denomination is changing in response to modernity. This multimethod book, based on both surveys and field research, contributes to a growing sociological literature on Pentecostalism."
*Donald E. Miller,Executive Director, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California*

"Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand American Pentecostalism. Poloma and Green have succeeded in crafting a readable, and indeed enjoyable, narrative that is at the same time precise in its insights, being grounded as it is in a rich array of survey and interview data. Novice and expert alike can learn what Assemblies of God pastors and congregants believe as well as what they actually do or do not do to act on their beliefs."
*Candy Gunther Brown,author of The Word in the World: Evangelical Writing, Publishing, and Reading in America, 1789*

"Poloma and Green have rendered a rich and compelling portrait of a complex faith. They probe the countervailing forces that characterize this vibrant denomination, examining how the priestly and the prophetic are intermingled, and how traditional religious orientations are melded with evangelical impulses. Those wishing to understand current developments in the Assemblies of God, and in American Pentecostalism at large, owe it to themselves to read this volume with care. Poloma and Green have their finger on the pulse of a rapidly changing facet of American religion."
*John P. Bartkowski,author of The Promise Keepers: Servants, Soldiers, and Godly Men*