Ministry and the Miraculous: A Case Study at Fuller Theological Seminary

by Lewis B. Smedes (Editor)

Book by Smedes, Lewis B.

Genres: Theology, History

80 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

About the author

Lewis Benedictus Smedes (1921 — December 19, 2002) was a renowned Christian author, ethicist, and theologian in the Reformed tradition. He was a professor of theology and ethics for twenty-five years at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. His 15 books, including the popular Forgive and Forget, covered some important issues including sexuality and forgiveness.

Lewis Benedictus Smedes was born in 1921, the youngest of five children. His father, Melle Smedes, and mother, Rena (Benedictus), emigrated to the United States from Oostermeer, Friesland in the Netherlands. (Rena's name before being changed by the officials at Ellis Island was Renske.) When he was two-months-old, his father died in the partially completed house he built in Muskegon, Michigan. He married Doris Dekker. He died after falling from a ladder at his home in Sierra Madre, California on December 19, 2002. He was survived by his wife, three children, two grandchildren and one brother.

In addition to many articles, Smedes wrote many popular books including:

* Forgive & Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don't Deserve, Harper, 1984
* A Pretty Good Person What it Takes to Live with Courage, Gratitude, & Integrity or When Pretty Good Is as Good as You Can Be, Harper, 1990
* Standing on the Promises
* Choices: Making Right Decisions in a Complex World
* How Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?
* Caring & Commitment: Learning to Live the Love We Promise
* The Incarnation in Modern Anglo-Catholic Theology
* All Things Made New
* Love Within Limits
* Sex for Christians
* Mere Morality: What God Expects From Ordinary People
* A Life of Distinction
* The Art of Forgiving
* Shame and Grace: Healing the Shame We Don't Deserve
* Keeping Hope Alive
* My God and I, a Spiritual Memoir, Eerdmans, 2003

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fascinating little booklet describing the great controversy at Fuller in the 1980s: is healing prayer a valid form of church ministry? Through interviews with theologians and professors, eventually, Smedes came to a fairly tempered conclusion: healing prayer is a form, not the only form, and should not be the exclusive form of evangelistic ministry.

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back during my seminary days one class raised considerable attention and controversy. John Wimber and Peter Wagner offered a class that suggested ways in which the miraculous could aid church growth. But because it ended up being a circus at times -- with many attending classes who were not enrolled, the faculty had to make some decisions. Lew Smedes led the conversation and these are the reports from that conversation. In the end attendance was limited to students only.