Intensive Prayers: Prayer as a Weapon and Relationship Among the Emerging Generations of African Diaspora Churches in the UK

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

“Intensive Prayers: Prayer as a weapon and relationship among the emerging generations of African Diaspora Churches in the UK”

 

 

The topic is quite interesting and calls more sociological approach in theologically addressing the new generation appropriation of the African Pentecostalism in diaspora communities.  However, the author needs to be more constructive and critical in approaching the theme. The comments are a bit random but address many of the issues in the paper. 

1. The abstract refers to one Pentecostal denomination but, in the introduction, and in the main text, you mentioned two.

 

2. The paper started with the presupposition that the concept of ‘liturgy’ plays a great role in the arguments that are presented in the text. Yet there is no clear explanation of what liturgy means, its link to prayer. In other words, is prayer a form of liturgy? Or when can prayer be considered liturgical?

 

3. Misspellings:

 

“Albert” instead of “Albrecht” (p.2);

“Ezze” instead of “Eze” (p.4)

“Isodore” instead of “Isidore” (p.9-footnote 34, p.11-Reference)

 

4. There are many inconsistencies in the methodology which can be easily fixed:

 

- inconsistency in the use of Capital letters: For example: “Church of Pentecost” - “church of Pentecost”

 

- in consistency in the footnotes: some references have full names, some do not, some have first name initials with surname…

 

- there are also inconsistencies in the way the names are arranged.

 

- the reference (no.12) to the book by Allan Anderson, for instance, bears neither his full name nor the full title of the book: Spirit-Filled World: Religious Dis/Continuity in African Pentecostalism.

*This is the same with the reference to Jehu Hanciles’ Beyond Christendom: Globalization, African Migration and the Transformation of the West.

*Same goes for Isidore Iwejuo Nkwocha’s Charismatic Renewal and Pentecostalism: The Renewal of the Nigerian Catholic Church…

 

- In page 7, the acronym RCCG was used without any explanation. The author may have presumed that the reader understands what it means. The same presumption is found in the use of “CoP” as well as in the reference to “Joel’s prophecy” (p.7, p.10). A typical reader would ask: What really do these concepts mean?

 

- There are repetitions of concepts already described - see “prayer clinic” (p.4 and p.8)

- I do not know if some of the references (even under the methodology of participant observation) pass the criterion of diligent research and documentation.

For instance, footnote 23: “Conversation with Pastor Q. November 2023” or “Interview with pastor C. 15th August 2024.” (footnote 32)

 

 

5. The paper does not have any researched support for the claim of the influence of African traditional religious practices on the Pentecostal spirituality. There are a number of studies on African Traditional Religion(s) that can offer some insights into the subject, including studies on the link between ATR and Pentecostal form of praying - This recently published doctoral research will help: Buertey, Joseph Ignatius Teye. "Revisiting Pentecostal spiritualities with reference to African traditional religious practices and Pentecostal theologies of prayer in Ghana." PhD diss., Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University, 2023 - https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/b305aec2-929d-404d-b919-45bf7561f4a9 Even Afe Adogame’s text on The African Christian Diaspora, which was referenced in the text will be helpful.

 

6. The anthropological dimension (or justification) of the Pentecostal Spirituality is hinted at but not explored. This would have been a scholarly way to explain the link between the physical needs and the spiritual response that is offering by the Pentecostal spirituality/prayer. In fact, Frank Macchia would be a good resource for that

 

7. Where is the reference to the survey mentioned in page 7? The survey was not mentioned as part of the methodology and the analysis of the data was not sufficient.

 

 

8. The analysis of both prayers points out that the request for practical gifts like “wisdom, excellence, and productivity” (p.6) do not also form part of the traditional African religion’s prayer formular. In fact, the typical prayer during libation reflects similar contents of both the FG and SG prayers, because of the emphasis on the human agency in ATR.

• I read Adogame’s position in page 10 as referring to the proximity between African Pentecostalism and African Traditional Religion/spirituality in comparison to other forms of Pentecostalism. And this fits to an early exploration of the relationship between the two.
• As such Adogame’s position here does not quite fit in with the references to Gerloff and Hanciles.

 

 

9. The author seems to use the expression "baptism with the Holy Spirit," "baptism in the Holy Spirit," and "baptism of the Holy Spirit"  interchangeably. Are all concepts the same?

 

10. On page 9: The exegesis of Mark 3:27 that was deployed by the author shows a particular interpretation of the passage, and the author could have taken a little distance in the presentation and would also have critically engaged such interpretation by providing other possible interpretations of the biblical passage.

 

 

11. Page 9: I could not understand what the author means by the following statements:

 

“It is within this context where there is a rupture from the first generation.” (page 7)

 

“My observations over a two-year period, 2022-24, show a significant number of SG members during school holidays, including the summer holidays.” (page 9)

Comments on the Quality of English Language

There are many misspellings and inconsistencies in the referencing method. Some of the grammatical constructions need to be improved. I would suggest a thorough proofreading after revision.

Author Response

Methodology has been added
Authors' positionality has been addressed
We have addressed the issue of locating Pentecostals and evangelicalism in Britain today as well as locating God in the conversation
We have discussed the issue of the second generation and social action
We have addressed the clarity and explanation on "intensive Prayer"
We have done proofreading to a large extent

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is a well-written paper. However, as indicated in my report, classifying where CoP and RCCG sit within global Pentecostalism will help readers unfamiliar with the different strands of Pentecostalism. So, take a brief time to situate the various forms of Pentecostalism: Classical Pentecostalism, neo-Pentecostalism, Charismatic renewal with historical churches, and African Initiated Churches (AICs). Something not to be long. Also, capturing the sub-themes or concepts of the Theological basis for Intensive Prayers will help. I think numbering them as they are under the theological basis doesn't help. To avoid overgeneralisation, specify which Pentecostal tradition you're referring to. It would be good to highlight that the second and third generation are not only influenced by Western culture and worldviews, but Conservative Evangelical theology and preachers like John Piper, Tim Keller, etc, are shaping the theology of many younger generation Diaspora Pentecostal Christians. 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Methodology has been added
Authors' positionality has been addressed
We have addressed the issue of locating Pentecostals and evangelicalism in Britain today as well as locating God in the conversation
We have discussed the issue of the second generation and social action
We have addressed the clarity and explanation on "intensive Prayer"
We have done proofreading to a large extent

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

There is an appreciable improvement in the revised text. Some of the arguments could be improved, and the sources could have been engaged more critically. But the article is good enough to be published.

Author Response

 

• Spelling or grammar corrections

Issues to do with spelling and grammar has all been corrected as

• Questions of consistency or clarity

Have been revised as recommended by Reviewer

• Referencing style from footnote based to author-date format

Referencing style has been changed