Our Faith, Resources & Boundaries

Where We Come From — and How We Study

Every conversation begins somewhere. Ours begins within the historic Christian faith and, more particularly, within the Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Word of Faith tradition.

We believe Jesus Christ is Lord, Scripture is the primary written authority for Christian faith and doctrine, the Holy Spirit is active in the Church today, the gifts of the Spirit have not ceased, prayer matters, healing is part of the biblical conversation, faith matters, words matter, and believers should understand and exercise the authority given to them through Jesus Christ.

We are not embarrassed by that heritage, nor do we pretend that it does not influence the questions we ask and the way we initially approach Scripture. At the same time, belonging to a theological tradition does not require us to stop examining it. One of the purposes of The Sojourner & The Professor is to understand more carefully what we believe, why we believe it, and where Scripture itself establishes the boundaries.

Our Faith Heritage

There are teachers whose ministries have significantly shaped the stream of Christianity from which The Sojourner comes. Some will appear frequently in our conversations because their teachings intersect directly with subjects we study—particularly faith, healing, prayer, the Holy Spirit, spiritual authority, and the believer’s identity in Christ.

Among the voices we may regularly consult are:

Kenneth E. Hagin — particularly foundational to our study of faith, prayer, healing, the Holy Spirit, and The Authority of the Believer.

Kenneth Copeland — faith, covenant, the believer’s authority, healing, confession, and living from the promises of God.

Andrew Wommack — grace, faith, the believer’s identity in Christ, healing, discipleship, and the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human response.

Kathryn Kuhlman — the person and work of the Holy Spirit, healing ministry, surrender, and the supernatural work of God.

Our broader Pentecostal, Charismatic, healing, and faith bookshelf may also include Smith Wigglesworth, F. F. Bosworth, E. W. Kenyon, John G. Lake, Oral Roberts, T. L. Osborn, Lester Sumrall, Derek Prince, Jack Hayford, Gordon Lindsay, Aimee Semple McPherson, Charles and Frances Hunter, Rick Renner, and Roberts Liardon, among others.

These names tell readers something important about us:

This is the neighborhood we come from.

But they do not define the boundaries of our library.

Beyond Our Own Neighborhood

The Professor’s imaginary bookshelf is considerably larger than one theological camp.

We may consult early Christian writers, Protestant Reformers, Wesleyan thinkers, evangelical scholars, Pentecostal scholars, historians, biblical-language specialists, counselors, psychologists, scientists, philosophers, and thoughtful critics who challenge our assumptions.

Depending upon the question, our conversations may interact with voices such as Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Andrew Murray, A. W. Tozer, Oswald Chambers, C. S. Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Gordon Fee, F. F. Bruce, Craig Keener, N. T. Wright, and many others.

We do this deliberately.

We do not believe that listening to someone requires agreeing with everything that person believes. Sometimes the best way to understand our own position is to hear a thoughtful challenge from outside it.

Scripture Gets the Final Chair

There is an important rule governing this rather crowded library.

No teacher gets Scripture’s chair.

Not Kenneth Hagin.

Not Kenneth Copeland.

Not Andrew Wommack.

Not an ancient Church Father.

Not a favorite preacher.

And certainly not The Professor.

We can deeply appreciate a teacher, receive enormously from that person’s ministry, and still return to the Bible and ask, “Is this what Scripture actually teaches?”

Our affection for a teacher will never require us to defend something we eventually conclude is mistaken. Likewise, disagreement with someone on one subject does not require us to discard everything valuable that person has taught.

We want enough conviction to have theological roots and enough humility to keep examining them.

Research Beyond Theology

Not every question we ask will be strictly theological. The Sojourner’s journey touches counseling, relationships, emotional health, human behavior, history, culture, aging, purpose, travel, photography, and ordinary life.

When appropriate, we may therefore consult peer-reviewed research, established psychological and counseling literature, historical scholarship, biographies, primary documents, scientific literature, and other reputable sources.

Those disciplines can help us understand the world and human experience. They do not automatically become Christian doctrine simply because they are useful.

Whenever possible, we want our readers to know where significant information came from so they can investigate it themselves.

The Professor’s Rule of the Bookshelf

The Professor has access to an enormous imaginary stack of books.

The Sojourner has questions enough to keep him reaching for them.

Together, we intend to explore widely without forgetting where home is.

We will ask questions without fearing them. We will examine our own tradition without apologizing for belonging to it. We will listen to people outside our theological neighborhood without automatically adopting their conclusions. We will distinguish testimony from evidence, interpretation from Scripture, tradition from doctrine, and confident assertion from demonstrated truth.

We expect to learn.

We expect occasionally to discover that we were wrong.

And when that happens, we would rather change our minds than protect our pride.

Our library can continue expanding.

Our foundation remains Jesus Christ, and our primary written authority remains Scripture.

That is the boundary around the conversation.

And inside that boundary, The Sojourner intends to ask a great many questions.

Fortunately, The Professor keeps the lights on late.

— The Sojourner & The Professor