Geoff W. Sutton Blog

Reality is breaking in on my work in an incredibly powerful way. I am writing about racism and sexism in a book about counseling Pentecostal Christians, which I started early in the Covid Spring of 2020. Then along came the horrible videos of violence against Black Americans.  Then, as I am searching for examples of the reality of the lived experience of Black Christians, I read an interview with Dr. Estrelda Y. Alexander that captured so much of the same issues I am trying to convey to young counselors. This post tells about what I learned from Dr. Alexander. Here's the context. Counselors are supposed to be aware of, and knowledgeable about, the culture of their clients. So, I write about Pentecostal cultures. And I find out Alexander shares similar comments with her interviewer. I also want counselors to be aware that race matters and there is a history of racism in Pentecostal churches. Alexander says that too and has a book on the subject! Fortunately, I had ment...

A conspiracy theory claims Bill Gates plans to insert microchips into a Covid-19 vaccine, which would facilitate tracking people. The chip insertion is false and malicious gossip; however, Christians are passing the ominous story around. Why do they do this? That’s what I want to consider. Normally, I wouldn’t pay much attention to such a story, but it caught my attention because I am writing about Pentecostal-Charismatic Christians and psychotherapy. And I remembered joking about how nice it would be to insert a memory card into my brain to help my memory. That quip didn’t go over well with some Christians. Chips and Route 666 For those who are not familiar with Pentecostal theologies, they include versions of eschatology (teachings about end times) that refer to humans identified by a mark of a beast, which is listed as 666 in the book of Revelation. Contemporary fundamentalist writers (not just Pentecostals) look at technological advances like RFID chips and othe...

MAKING PEACE WITH FATHERS When the Faith of Fathers Interferes with Relationships How do you celebrate father’s day when your memories don’t allow you to say, “You’re the Best Dad ever?” Perhaps your casual glance at social media suggests so many people had better father’s than you did. Do you notice the silent posts —people who don’t comment on their fathers and how great they were? Perhaps you knew the fathers of friends and wish your father could be more like theirs? Perhaps your father wasn’t there for you and you wonder why he was not in your life? There are fathers who only merit the name in a biological sense. I’m not writing about those. Apparently some father’s walk on water—at least that’s the impression I get from reading posts by many young women. I’m not writing about those fathers either. There are ordinary fathers who have delightful and troublesome attributes—it’s those I write about. And in particular I am writing for this blog about Psycho...

Top 10 Prayers for Healing Have you ever asked God to heal you of a condition?  What happened? Scientists have studied prayer in different ways and do not find a great deal of support for its effectiveness. There are testimonies of healing. And sometimes you will find medical evidence that a condition has suddenly improved without medical intervention or despite medical opinion that a condition was not expected to improve. What do people pray for? A Lifeway Survey reported 1 October 2014 identified the following Top 5 things people pray about. 1. Family or friends 82% 2. personal problems or difficulties 74% 3. Good things that recently occurred 54% 4. Personal sin 42% 5. People in natural disasters 38% See their survey for their language and more details. It's pretty impressive that people care about others. Pew Report on Prayer               Published on the U.S. National Day of Prayer, May 1,...

Love, Prayer, and Charismatic Spirituality Picture a smallish young woman, head bowed, sitting on a wooden chair near the back of a small wooden church. As the semiformal service blended into an after service of prayer, she began to quiver. She shook, the chair began to rock on two legs, and she began to speak in tongues. It was her first time. She never forgot that experience of warmth and God’s presence. God’s love had been experienced. Soaking Prayer Photo The story of the young woman is from the 1930s but charismatic spirituality is going strong and together with Pentecostalism, represents one of the fastest growing movements in Christianity.  Although scholars argue over fine points of defining religion and spirituality, a common finding is that religious people pray. But they pray in different ways. This week I finished reading Catch the Fire: Soaking Prayer and Charismatic Renewal by Canadian Sociologist,Michael Wilkinson and Religious Studies schol...

PENTECOSTAL GROUP CELEBRATES CENTENNIAL The Assemblies of God USA (AG) completed their 100th anniversary celebration last week. Formed in 1914 from a gathering of 300 people, the group has become the largest Pentecostal group in the USA (about 3.1 million). The celebration was attended by many guests from the AG groups in other countries. The worldwide number of adherents is about 67.5 million. Psychology of Religion approaches groups initially by understanding beliefs and behaviors. Of course, official beliefs of any faith do not always match what the rank and file believe or practice. Nevertheless, learning about the official beliefs is a good starting point. The AG identify 16 fundamental truths , which their clergy are expected to profess. If you examine their beliefs, you will see they are similar to common core beliefs of conservative Christian groups with the exception of what has been known as "Plus 2" referring to the Pentecostal beliefs in 1) divine healing ...

LOVE     and Pentecostal-   Charismatic Spirituality I was intrigued by the writings of researchers who are exploring what they call the Science of Godly Love. A Templeton Foundation Report from last year (2013) featured some findings by researchers Matthew T. Lee, Margaret M. Poloma, and Stephen G. Post. Here are some quotes from the report: Ø   Almost half of all Americans feel God’s love at least once a day Ø   Eight out of ten have this experience at least once in a while. Ø   A similar number have felt God’s love prompting their compassion for others at least occasionally, with almost a third feeling this compassion daily or more often. Ø   Millions of Americans frequently experience divine love and for them this sense of God’s love not only enhances existential well-being, but underlies a sense of personal meaning and purpose and enlivens compassion for others…(Matthew T. Lee) An interesting phrase is what the...