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

Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-90-04-42682-5
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 39, 332 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 601 g

Reihe: Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies

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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Emmett, David Neil

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein Missionswissenschaft, Missionsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christliche Kirchen, Konfessionen, Denominationen Protestantismus, evangelische und protestantische Kirchen Pfingstkirchen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Illustrations

Abbreviations

Glossary

Quotations

1 Introduction

1.0 A Study Worth Doing

1.1 A Study within a Broader Context

1.2 A Brief Survey of Burton’s Resonance in British Pentecostalism

1.4 Methodologies

1.5 The Value of Burton’s Letters

1.6 Preserving Archives

1.7 Personal Connections

1.8 Methods and Approaches to Historiographical Writing

1.9 An Overview

1.1 0Conclusion: the Significance of this Study

2 Emerging as a Pentecostal (1886–1914)

Introduction

2.0 Family Background

2.1 Burton’s Conversion

2.2 Journey into Pentecostalism

2.3 Burton’s Pentecostal Missionary Union Application

2.4 Burton in Christian Ministry

2.5 Frustration with Missionary Societies and Missionary Candidates

2.6 Conclusion

3 Established Leader of Pentecostal Missionaries (1915–1958)

Introduction

3.0 Leaving for Africa in Isolation

3.1 South Africa

3.2 The 1914 Pentecostal Mission Journey to Congo

3.3 Burton’s Journey to Congo

3.4 Early Years at Mwanza

3.5 1921–1922 Burton back in Britain: Assemblies of God Initiative

3.6 The Crawford Link

3.7 The So-called ‘Revolutionary Idea’ of Indigenous Church

3.8 Conclusion

4 Burton’s Relationships with Congolese Pentecostals, Especially Ngoloma Ndela Bantu (1916–1939)

Introduction

4.0 The Frontier Narratives of the CEM

4.1 Ngoloma: one of the ‘Native Evangelists’

4.2 Considerations Based on the Ngoloma Story

5 Evangelising through Shalumbo (1916–1937)

Introduction

5.0 Shalumbo’s Name

5.1 Shalumbo’s Importance

5.2 Pre-Angola

5.3 In Angola

5.4 The Journey to Mwanza

5.5 A ‘Quantum-Leap'

5.6 Shalumbo’s Return to the Basongye

5.7 Back to Mwanza

5.8 Shalumbo and Masele Return to Kipushya with the Burtons

5.9 Burton’s Perceived Need for Spirit-filled Agency

5.10 Missionaries to Kipushya

5.11 The Complicating of Shalumbo’s Relationships

5.12 Shalumbo’s Death

5.13 Considerations on Shalumbo’s Life

5.14 Conclusion

6 Burton’s Devolving Power: the CEM 1959–1964

Introduction

6.0 Conferences, Administrative Board Meetings and Mood Swings 1959–1960

6.1 Growing Triggers for Indigenisation

6.2 Salisbury: July, End of August and Start of September 1960

6.3 June–December 1960: The ‘Hodgson-Knauf affair’

6.4 Time to close the Congo Evangelistic Mission?

6.5 Burton Believes the Old Days are Gone

6.6 Burton’s Post Congo Years

6.7 Conclusion

7 Conclusion: Frustrated Idealist

7.0 Conclusions on Burton’s Impact

7.1 Significance for African Pentecostalism

7.2 Significance for Pentecostals Today

7.3 Significance for Scholarship and Missiological Research

Appendices

Appendix 1 Timeline of Burton’s life

Appendix 2 Burton’s letter to the PMU Council 16/10/1913

Appendix 3 Extract from Burton’s letter to Mundell 24/10/1913 (sic)

Appendix 4 Extract from Burton’s letter to the PMU 07/12/1913

Appendix 5 The Rights and Wrongs of Indigenous Principles

Appendix 6 Burton’s 1926 map of the working sphere of the CEM

Appendix 7 Burton’s 1933 map of the working sphere of the CEM

Appendix 8 Harold Womersley’s map of the CEM field in 1935

Appendix 9 Harold Womersley’s map of the CEM field in 1965

Appendix 10 Map of the Burtons’ and Shalumbo’s Return journey from Mwanza to Kipushya

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

David Emmett, Ph.D. (2017), University of Birmingham, is a tutor and lecturer at St Mellitus College, UK. He worked for ten years in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the Pentecostal church.