How might the academic task be considered worship? How might the academy inform worship and worship inform the academy? How does the culture of the worship community influence worship practices locally, globally, ecumenically, and as public theology? How might worship engage culture - e.g. film, art, theater, technology - and yet be countercultural in the practice of worship and prayer? How might worship relate to issues of justice and inequity as well as pressing ecological theological issues? In a so-called post-postmodern world, how do scholars integrate Christian faith as expressed in worship and learning?
We invite scholarly studies of the theology, history, and practice of Christian worship within Pentecostal/charismatic expressions. Each discipline is encouraged to contribute their specialist critical insight and engagement.
“I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you...” (Luke 1:2).
To submit a proposal to the Program Committee for consideration for the 2025 Annual Meeting, you must willing to become a member of the Society prior to November 1, 2024. If you are a current member, your membership must be renewed for 2025 prior to November 1, 2024. If you need to apply or renew your membership, you may do so here. Only membership after October 1 of a given year applies through to December 31 of the following year.
All participants in panels, seminars, workshops and paper sessions at the Annual Meeting are required to be SPS members in good standing. Organizers of panels, seminars, and workshops must verify participants’ membership status by November 1, 2024. The membership status of individuals who submit proposals for paper sessions is verified by the Executive Director before the abstract is placed in the program. If you are not sure whether you have paid your SPS dues for the current year, you may check the membership directory on the members-only page of our website.
A waiver of the membership requirement may be requested from the Program Committee by the Interest Group Leader at the time the session is submitted for review if the participant in question is a scholar in a field not ordinarily associated with Pentecostalism. A waiver of SPS membership for participation in the Annual Meeting will be granted only once for any given individual. Such waivers may not be granted to a scholar who is either submitting an individual proposal to the Program Committee or who is responding to papers within an organizer-refereed panel or affiliated group. Requests for waivers should be sent directly to the SPS Executive Director.
All participants in sessions on the program, including nonmembers who have received a waiver of the membership requirement, must register for the Annual Meeting and pay the applicable fees no later than November 1, 2024.
Our ideal situation is to have the best possible program and to involve as many people as possible. An increased number of participants will strengthen the Society by including people and increasing dialogue opportunities. However, presenters are limited to one paper presentation at each annual meeting. If multiple paper proposals are submitted, only one will ultimately be accepted. You may also serve on a panel (including book review panels or panels on a given topic) even if you are presenting an accepted paper. You may also serve on the program as a chair and/or a respondent even if you are giving a paper and/or serving on a panel.
If you have been selected to present a paper at the annual meeting of the Society, you will be required to follow some guidelines. Download this archive: Sample Paper, unzip it and use either file to guide the formatting of your paper. (The file may download after you click this link without any further notification.)