A Pentecostal approach to biblical interpretation

Jacqui Grey is Professor of Biblical Studies, specialising in hermeneutics and the Old Testament, as well as Pentecostal theology. She is author and editor of several books, as well as some 50 journal articles and chapters in academic books. Jacqui is a member and past president (2017) of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, and was co-chair of the Biblical Ethics section (2022-2024) of the Society of Biblical Literature in the USA. She also plays a prominent role in representing global Pentecostalism at the World Council of Churches.

Jacqui’s latest research project is a book that gives a comprehensive account of biblical interpretation from a Pentecostal perspective. The book, co-authored with an American Pentecostal scholar, emphasises the Holy Spirit’s role in the production, interpretation, and application of the Bible as a communication of the triune God. It provides principles for biblical interpretation in global contexts, and gives new insight into the transformative nature of reading Scripture.

An oral history of Australian Pentecostalism

Jon Newton is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Pentecostalism at AC. An expert on both the Book of Revelation and Australian Pentecostalism, he has published widely in international journals and has supervised several HDR candidates. His books include Revelation Reclaimed: The Use and Misuse of the Apocalypse (2009), The Revelation Worldview (2015), A Pentecostal Commentary on Revelation (2021), and Holy Spirit Breakout: Discovering the Stories of Australian Pentecostalism (2023).

Jon is currently working on a major multi-year research project on the history of Australian Pentecostalism. For the past 5 years he has conducted video interviews with 197 older Australian Pentecostal and charismatic leaders. The interview footage has formed the basis of a recent book and journal article, with another book still in progress. The material will also form the basis of a video documentary. Once all the interview footage and transcripts have been made available through AC’s Pentecostal history archives, it will supply material for countless future research projects in this field.

The Spirit and all flesh: Towards a Pentecostal pneumatology of non-human animals, with a special emphasis on animal glossolalia

This research analyses and critiques current pneumatological perspectives on non-human animals and engages Pentecostal sources and broader perspectives to contribute to a pneumatology of non-human creatures. With some noticeable exceptions, at this stage the fields of animal theology and Pentecostal theology remain largely separate. This literature-based study aims to synthesise the work of non-Pentecostal animal theologians such as Linzey and Clough with Pentecostal scholars of eco/pneumatology, Frank Macchia, Amos Yong and A.J. Swoboda. One of the key distinctives of this work is the exploration of Spirit baptism beyond the boundaries of human experience. It will investigate the possible glossolalic faculty of sentient, non-human creatures in the context of a Spirit-baptised creation and suggest that non-human creaturely sighs and groans of lament align with the criteria of unintelligible glossolalic prayer, as developed by Frank Macchia. This project aims to contribute toward a Pentecostal animal theology and will implement Yong’s model of ‘pneumatological imagination’ as an instrument which informs a pneumato-centric reading, interpretation and subsequent theology on animals.

Azusa’s Prometheus: AC Valdez Sr. and the Pentecostal Tradition

Adolpho C. (AC) Valdez Sr. (1896-1981) was an influential Latino Pentecostal evangelist. Scholarly interest in his life has so far centered on three areas of study: his role in expanding Pentecostalism to New Zealand and Australia, his eyewitness account of the historic Azusa Street Revival (1906-1909), and, more recently, his significance to Latino history. Each of these areas of research is largely siloed within narrow, subject-specific interests that lack broader historical and biographical context. Also missing is a serious examination of Valdez’s ideas and practices, especially around Pentecostal doctrines and controversies. This study supplies these missing elements paired with a reexamination of Valdez's contribution and its enduring significance.