W.F.P. Burton (1886-1971): A Pentecostal Pioneer's Missional Vision for Congo

Download or read book W.F.P. Burton (1886-1971): A Pentecostal Pioneer's Missional Vision for Congo written by David Neil Emmett and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-11-23 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emmett contributes to missional pentecostal historiography through bringing a pre-eminent figure in early British Pentecostalism into the limelight. He shows how Pentecostalism in Belgian Congo was pioneered by W.F.P. Burton alongside local agency. Central to Burton’s contradictory and complex personality was a passionate desire to see the emancipation of humankind from the spiritual powers of darkness believing only Spirit-empowered local agency would enduringly prove effective. Burton’s faith believed for Spirit intervention in church communities converting lives, bringing physical healing and transforming regions. In the maelstrom following Congolese Independence, Burton’s belief in his own brand of indigenisation made him an outlier even among Pentecostals. Burton’s pentecostal faith engendered an idealism which frustratingly conflicted with those not sharing it in the way he pursued it. This book thus serves Pentecostals and historians by clarifying Burton’s ideals and revealing the reasons for his frustrations.