Pentecostal Liturgical Theology: On the Altar, Willed to Pentecost

This book explores how Pentecostal meaning-full worship frees people into a cosmic liturgy that wills humanity to Pentecost . A liturgical turn has marked recent Pentecostal studies, producing a growing body of liturgical theologies. This cutting edge work analyses four theologians at its forefront: Tanya Riches, Daniela Augustine, Chris E.W. Green, and Wolfgang Vondey. It does so through a "liturgy as primary theology" approach, which defines liturgy as "the church at prayer”. Here, Rice shows how Pentecostal experience clarifies liturgy as the church at prayer on the altar. Drawing from critical discourse analysis, continental philosophy, and Aristotelian wisdom, this incisive book proceeds by narrating a healing soteriology that makes humanity willed to the common good signified by Pentecost. Working from Walter Hollenweger's insights on the ecumenical promise of Pentecostal liturgy, Rice identifies inclusivity, liberative spirituality, Majority World epistemology, gift-sharing community, and scholarly re-oralization as apt benchmarks for Pentecostal liturgical theology. This inclusive multi-faceted form reveals how Occidental voices dominate the Pentecostal discourse, yet conversely offers augmenting pathways toward a more globally representative theology, summoning the Pentecostal academy to the altar. The foremost pathway this book presents is its theology of Pentecostal meaning-full worship. Through the lens of liturgy as a cosmic gift economy, Rice shows how Pentecostal meaning-full worship frees people into a cosmic liturgy that wills humanity to Pentecost. Through engaging Ricoeurean/Aristotelian narrative theory, this eye-opening work thus climaxes with a briefly constructed Pentecostal theology of the altar. It shows how Pentecostal meaning-full worship fosters moral formation as worshippers place themselves on the altar of sacrifice, becoming priestly partners with God; fuelling the gift economy that flourishes his household, till all creation be willed to Pentecost. Pentecostal Liturgical Theology: On the Altar, Willed to PentecostThis book examines Pentecostal worship as a transformative “cosmic liturgy” that leads humanity toward the moral and spiritual significance of Pentecost. It focuses on a “liturgy as primary theology” approach, which views liturgy as the church at prayer, and analyses the work of leading theologians Tanya Riches, Daniela Augustine, Chris E.W. Green, and Wolfgang Vondey.Utilising critical discourse analysis, continental philosophy, and Aristotelian wisdom, the book explores a healing soteriology that aligns humanity with the common good signified by Pentecost. Drawing on Walter Hollenweger’s ecumenical insights, it highlights benchmarks for Pentecostal liturgical theology, including inclusivity, liberative spirituality, Majority World perspectives, gift-sharing community, and re-oralisation. It critiques the dominance of Western voices in Pentecostal discourse while offering pathways toward a more globally inclusive theology.The book’s central theme is a theology of Pentecostal worship as a “cosmic gift economy,” where worshippers engage in moral formation by offering themselves on the altar of sacrifice, becoming priestly partners with God. This worship model fosters a flourishing divine household and envisions all creation being willed toward Pentecost, culminating in a Pentecostal theology of the altar that connects meaning-full worship to moral and spiritual transformation.About the authorMonte Lee Rice is a pastor and theological educator in Singapore, Southeast Asia.He has served within both the Assemblies of God and Anglican traditions, including several years of missionary service in West and East Africa.He received his PhD (2024) from Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, Baguio, Philippines. In Singapore he has taught at Asia Theological Centre and ACTS College. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Copyright Dedication Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction: Promise and Problem of world Pentecostal Liturgical Theology Chapter 1 Summoning pathways towards a world liturgical theology willed to Pentecost Chapter 2 What says the spirit? Charting the liturgical turn within Pentecostal studies Chapter 3 Mapping the terrain: Forefront voices in Pentecostal liturgical theology Chapter 4 Moving forward through the Hollenwegerian Vision Chapter 5 ‘On the altar, catching fire!’: Towards a Pentecostal theology of the altar Conclusion: Becoming the church at prayer on the altar Bibliography Scripture Index Name Index Subject Index