Professor publishes book on Luke-Acts

Mittelstadt said he will likely incorporate book into course materials

By Ana Pierce
CO-NEWS EDITOR

Dr. Martin Mittelstadt, associate professor of theology, recently published a book that he plans to use in future course materials.

The book is titled “Reading Luke-Acts in the Pentecostal Tradition.” Mittelstadt wanted to write the book for several audiencecs, one of those being students.
“My two real passions are Luke-Acts and Pentecostalism. Since I’ve spent probably about 15 years studying Luke-Acts, one thing I’ve noticed is that Pentecostal scholarship is largely ignored by the academic world. I wanted to write something useful for Pentecostals and available to Pentecostal students, scholars and pastors,” Mittelstadt said.

For Evangel students, this means that the book will be integrated into Mittelstadt’s course materials and possibly in other Pentecostal places of higher education. “I intend to use it for Luke-Acts courses. I also think it will be a good resource for my students in Pentecostal Foundations [class], because I deal with the history of Pentecostal interpretation. I was also encouraged to write the book by many friends who teach in other Pentecostal schools who thought there was a gap in this area,” Mittelstadt said.

Matt Sabella, a student in Mittelstadt’s Luke-Acts class, believes this newly published book will further the next class of scholars studying Luke-Acts.

“I am very excited to read Dr. Mittelstadt’s book. I learned more about Luke-Acts from him than I have in all of my life, and using his book for Luke-Acts next semester will benefit and enlighten all those who take the class,” Sabella said.

Mittelstadt cited a few things that made the writing process go more smoothly for him, one being a sabbatical in the spring of 2008.

Dr. Glen Bernet, Vice President for Academic Affairs, helped to make this possible for Mittelstadt.

Mittelstadt said, “I found that writing this book was easier than writing my doctoral dissertation, because in the spring of 2008, Evangel granted me a sabbatical, so I had about eight months from January to August of that year to do all the research and get going on my writing process. The last year was refining and polishing. I’m very grateful to Evangel for the sabbatical. Without it, this book wouldn’t have been possible.”

Mittelstadt invited Dr. Wave Nunnally to be one of several editors. Nunally said, “Dr. Mittelstadt’s book is going to be a real help to people interested in Pentecostal scholarship, because not only is it up to date in its bibliographical information, but it also gives anyone interested fingertip access to the works of Pentecostal scholars in practically every area of biblical studies.”
This is Mittelstadt’s second book, his first being “The Spirit and Suffering in Luke-Acts: Implications for a Pentecostal Pneumatology.” Mittelstadt’s new book, “Reading Luke-Acts in the Pentecostal Tradition,” is available at www.amazon.com.