Books & Publications by Cup & Cross Ministries in 2014

   
 

Prophetic and Persecuted Movement

Since a social movement that purposes liberation of the individual is always rejected by the present political and economic powers, Pentecostalism arises and develops in the midst of constant persecution and resistance. The constantly present struggle against evil, wrong and unrighteousness is the power that moves Pentecostalism to its final purposes. Once persecution disappears, Pentecostalism loses its original power and turns to a nominal religious organization, which continues to function and exist, however, outside the boundaries of its original purpose.

The theology of the Persecuted Church is a theology of martyrdom. The context of persecution is a constantly present formational factor in Pentecostalism worldwide, and as such it is a universal characteristic of the movement. Only as such can Pentecostalism act in its God-given prophetic authority. In the same prophetic power in which John prophesies of the coming Baptiser with the Holy Spirit, the Early Pentecostals preached about the Fire from Heaven prior to the actual experience of the Holy Spirit baptism. The message of the movement then becomes a prophetic utterance under which the movement grows and develops to the point of fulfillment of the promise given by God.

Movement with a Message

It is an indisputable fact that the Pentecostal movement has experienced tremendous growth in the twentieth century. Very similar to the ministry of John the Baptist, the message of Pentecost has drawn crowds to the small mountain churches where in contrast to the rather primitive theo-praxis the power of God has been evident.

Similar to the ministry of John, the powerful results of Pentecostalism are produced by preaching that may seem unreasonable. For Pentecostals, however, it is words of life. It is obedience to the Great Commission of Christ to preach the gospel to all due to determination deriving from realized eschatology of the already-not-yet Kingdom of Heaven. The reality of the message then becomes a reality of the Pentecostal community in which the believer lives and witnesses even to the point of martyrdom. What seems to be an unreasonable message to the world becomes the identity of the Pentecostal community.

A loss of the message then means a loss of identity. In order to protect its identity Pentecostalism strives to deliver the message and experience to the generations to come, forming a genuine Pentecostal catechesis. This is much similar to the educational strategy of John the Baptist and his discipleship formation. The restoration and reclamation of the past heritage moves toward preservation of the experience and message. The context of technological and scientific progress, affects the development of the Pentecostal movement transforming its original primitive purpose, theology and practices. The only way to preserve the power of Pentecostalism then is through preservation of its primitivism.

6 New Books Published in 2013

1. About the Bible, a monograph on the history of the Bulgarian Bible [follow this link for more information]

2. The Gospel of Luke & Acts in the New Bulgarian Translation Series [follow this link for more information]

3. Tetraevangelion: The Complete Works of the Gospel Writers in the New Bulgarian Translation Series (2007-2013) [follow this link for more information]

4. Pentecostal Primitivism (Bulgarian) [follow this link for more information]

5. Ancient Recipes of Bulgaria [follow this link for more information]

6. Bulgarian Study New Testament [follow this link for more information]

New Books Published in 2012

Pentecostal Primitivism Preserved

In  attempt to answer the present ecclesial predicaments, this work suggests a way of remembering and returning to the past. Judging from his own Eastern Pentecostal Tradition and personal salvific experience, the author calls the Christian Church to neo-primitivism expressed in the rediscovering and reclaiming of the basic order of the Primitive Church of the first century. Dr.Donev proposes a new understanding of the Pentecostal experience expressed in power, prayer and praxis. Furthermore, reclaiming of the original experience is the answer for the church of the 21st century expressed in discipleship after Christ.

Looking Over the Wall

This book is the result of over a decade of research and personal experiences of living in Bulgaria for the past seven years. It embodies documents, articles, personal interviews and essays dealing with psychological explorations of communist and post communist Bulgaria. Along with a historical overview of Bulgaria, the author presents the development of psychotherapy throughout the country and addresses future concerns for the state of counseling within a post communist context. Furthermore, the author examines the Pentecostal experience of the Bulgarian evangelical believer drawing on a paper presented at the 36th annual Society of Pentecostal Studies Conference.

 

Bulgarian Churches in North America

Bulgarian Churches in North America results from a comprehensive dissertation work on emerging Bulgarian American congregations. The book incorporates some twenty years of research, which the author began while involved with the establishment of the first Bulgarian Church of God in North America initially located in the city of Chicago. The work presents an overview of the historical presuppositions and immigrant dynamics associated with Bulgarian churches is offered to enlighten the current problem of ministry. Next, a detailed contextual analysis describes the churches participating in the project. The work concludes with a series of prognoses of the explored movement of evangelical churches, various considerations and an A-to-Z church planting proposal to serve as a paradigm for ministry.

Cooking Traditions of Bulgaria

Bulgarian cuisine is distinct, yet eclectic at the same time with Mediterranean influence and flavors of its surrounding countries. Bulgaria borders the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey. Greece is also a neighbor, along with Serbia and Macedonia to the west. This cookbook features 50 personal, but authentic recipes in attempts to further the tradition of keeping alive century old recipes of Bulgarian cuisine. I have tried to keep the recipes as authentic as possible with using American based ingredients and with every dish, dessert or drink there is a story to be told…

 

The Life and Ministry of Rev. Ivan Voronaev

This book tells the story of the life and ministry of the family who brought the message of Azusa Street to Eastern Europe and Russia. The research has taken close to a decade to complete. It started with a brief article on the beginning of the Pentecostal movement in Bulgaria, where unfortunately most church archives were destroyed during Communism. Consecutively, the research led my wife and I on a long journey from the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives in Nashville, to the Assemblies of God headquarters in Springfield and the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley. Both papers included in this book were presented at two consecutive meetings of the Society for Pentecostal Studies in Minneapolis (2010) and Memphis (2011).

 

The Case of Underground Chaplaincy in Bulgaria

This book embodies documents, articles and essays dealing with the rediscovering and reestablishing of chaplaincy ministry in Bulgaria after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, including the envisioning and establishment of the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association and it’s proposal for the reestablishment of chaplaincy within the Bulgarian Armed Forces submitted to NATO’s Manfred Wörner Foundation in 2006, which subsequently led to the envisioning and establishment of the Master’s Program in Chaplaincy Ministry via the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute and New Bulgarian University of Bulgaria in 2009.

It is our sincere prayer that after all said and done chaplaincy is finally endorsed and established in the Bulgarian Arm Forces.
 

MATTHEW: A New Bulgarian Translation

In 2007, we set course with a pilot edition of the new translation including the Gospel of John, which was printed for Christmas. Our team continued with a full edition of the Johannine works, which included The Gospel of John, Epistles and Apocalypse, published for Easter 2008. In 2009, we presented a partial methodology behind the translation at the Logos Software’s annual BibleTech conference in Seattle and at the 2010 BibleTech in San Jose, our team was able to show in an actual work setting the software used to prepare the Bulgarian interlinear text to the Nestle-Aland critical edition of the New Testament. Finally, we were able to publish in print the complete translation of the Gospel of Matthew for Christmas 2010. The printing of Mark and the Lukan Corpus are scheduled respectively for Easter and Christmas of 2011.

 

MARK: A New Bulgarian Translation

The new literal translation of the Gospel According to Mark hits the Marketplace on Monday via bookstores across Bulgaria as annual book fairs are usually held during the spring season. This time has been long waited by theologians and Bible scholars as this is the first series of literal translations from Nestle-Aland in the Bulgarian vernacular. It is the third volume our ministry has put out with the complete Johannine works in (2008) and the Gospel according to Matthew (2010). Final editorial revisions before printing are being made on the last of the volumes, which includes Luke and Acts, with plans to make it available to the general public by the end of the year.

« Previous Page