Barry Mostyn Chant (born 1938) is an Australian academic, pentecostal pastor and author. His most significant contribution to the Pentecostal movement in Australia was as its primary historian. Heart of Fire: The story of Australian Pentecostalism[2] was published by the House of Tabor in 1973, a publishing company attached to Tabor College Australia, in Adelaide, which Chant founded and led as principal.
Chant's first book was also the first comprehensive history of Australian Pentecostalism based on grey literature and oral histories collected within 60 years of the establishment of the key Pentecostal churches in Australia. His collected sources, are now deposited in the archives of Alphacrucis, a Bible college in Sydney, New South Wales.[citation needed]
Chant was also founding editor of Australia's New Day magazine, the first national magazine addressing all expressions of charismatic renewal in Australia. Chant's doctoral dissertation was titled "The spirit of Pentecost: origins and development of the Pentecostal movement in Australia, 1870-1939".[3] His degree was conferred by Macquarie University in 2000, and a second volume of Pentecostal history was published from his thesis.[4]
Chant married Vanessa Bennett at the Adelaide Crusade Centre in 1960. They have three children.[5]
Chant began his working life as a secondary school teacher at Murray Bridge High School in South Australia, where he taught until 1963. In addition to his seminal work in writing the history of Pentecostal movements in Australia, Chant promoted Christian communications and cross-denoninational collaboration in Australia for more than 40 years, through the colleges, conferences, magazines and publishing company that he led. Chant was ordained as a minister of the Christian Revival Crusade (now CRC Churches International) in 1962. He became pastor of the Port Adelaide CRC assembly from 1964 to 1975 and then served as an associate pastor of the Adelaide Crusade Centre from 1975 to 1978. Appointed dean of the Crusade Bible College in Adelaide in 1964, Chant was promoted to principal of the college in 1977. He increased both the footprint of the college in Australia, and extended the college's influence, largely through publications.
Chant was the founding editor of Australia's New Day magazine (1977 - 1996), which addressed Australian pentecostals, charismatics and evangelicals, providing a platform for Australian Christian writers at a time when there were few outlets for their work. He also hosted a regular Sunday night talkback radio show on 5DN in Adelaide, South Australia, from 1983 to 1986. He chaired the United Charismatic Conventions in South Australia from 1980 to 1991, a Christian conference that encouraged charismatic renewal in mainline churches. In 1986 the convention at Wayville Showgrounds included international speakers: Reinhard Bonnke and Paul Yonggi Cho and it drew crowds from diverse church backgrounds from throughout Australia.[6] In 1979, Chant led the redevelopment of Tabor College as a multidenominational charismatic tertiary institution. He was president of the college until 2003. He also founded Tabor College Sydney in 1992 and remained there as principal for the next decade. From 2003 to 2010, Chant was the senior pastor of the International Congregation at Wesley Mission, Sydney.
Other roles
Editor, PCBC Journal (1997–2003)
President, Association of Pentecostal and Charismatic Bible Colleges of Australasia (1994–2002)
Chairman, Association of Pentecostal and Charismatic Bible Colleges of Australasia (1990–1993)
Secretary, Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship Steering Committee (1988–1991)
Member, Advisory Committee International Charismatic Consultation on World Evangelism (1987–1997)
Member, Austral-Asian Christian Church (1983–2003)
Member, Heads of Churches Committee, Adelaide, S.A. (1979–1985)
Member, Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship Steering Committee (1978–2004)
National vice-chairman, Christian Revival Crusade Inc, Australia (1977–1980)
Member, Rotary Club of Adelaide West (1976–1985)
State chairman, Christian Revival Crusade Inc, South Australia (1974–1985)
Published books
About Angels and You (Open Book, 2002)
Walking with a Limp: a Charismatic Approach to Suffering (Open Book, 2002; Tabor, 2014)
Praying in the Spirit (Sovereign World, 2002)
Spindles and the Crocodile (CD) (Turnaround Music, 2001)
Spindles and the Crocodile (Tabor, 1999)
The Scion Factor: The Kosmon Report Part 2 (Albatross, 1996)
The Doom of Drakon: The Kosmon Report Part 1 (Albatross, 1996)
Breaking the Power of the Past (Tabor, 1995)
Spiritual Gifts: A Reappraisal – a Biblical and Practical Handbook (Tabor, 1993)
Spindles and the Sleepy Lizard (Tabor, 1989)
The Return (with Winkie Pratney) (Sovereign World, 1988)
Creative Living: how to live the kind of life you've always wanted to live (Tabor, 1987)
Your Guide to God's Power (Sovereign World, 1987)
Jack-in-the-box [Musical] (Tabor, 1987)
Straight Talk About Marriage (Tabor, 1983)
Spindles and the Children (Tabor, 1983)
Spindles and the Lamb [Musical] (Genesis Music, 1982)
Spindles and the Orphan (Tabor, 1980)
Spindles and the Wombat (Tabor, 1978)
Straight Talk About Sex (Whitaker, 1977)
Spindles and the Eagles (Tabor, 1976)
Spindles of the Dusty Range (Tabor, 1975)
Heart of Fire: The story of Australian Pentecostalism (Tabor, 1973) ISBN0-9598050-0-1
The Secret is Out (Crusade, 1971)
Fact or Fantasy (Crusade, 1970)
About angels and you
Biblical Typology (Vision Foundations for Ministry) with Gill Waddle, 1996
Connecting with the church, the community and the world in the 21st century
Firm in the faith: Ten basic Bible study modules for new Christians
How To Live The Kind Of Life You've Always Wanted To Live
How To Study
Spindles and the Giant Eagle Rescue (An Australian outback adventure)
The Church (Vision Foundations for Ministry) with Ken Chant, 1988
The Miracle of Calvary
Upon Dry Ground
Magazines
Australia's New Day magazine ISSN 0159-7442 (published between 1987 and 1996)
Notes
↑ "Family Notices". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 26 October 1938. p.16. Retrieved 15 February 2016– via National Library of Australia.
↑ Chant, Barry (1984). Heart of fire: the story of Australian Pentecostalism (Rev.ed.). Unley Park, Sout Australia: House of Tabor. ISBN0-949330-05-1. OCLC12362822.
↑ Chant, Barry (2011). The Spirit of Pentecost: the origins and development of the Pentecostal Movement in Australia, 1870-1939. USA: Emeth Press. ISBN9781609470135.
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, an event that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.
The International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies (IFCA), formerly known as the Christian Church of North America (CCNA), is a North American Pentecostal denomination with roots in the Italian-American community, but is now a multicultural denomination. Central offices are located in Transfer, Pennsylvania. Ministries of the church include Benevolence, Home Missions, FOCUS, Foreign Missions, Education, Lay Ministries, and Public Relations. A convention is held annually, and their official publication is Vista, a quarterly magazine.
The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spiritual gifts (charismata). It has affected most denominations in the US, and has spread widely across the world.
The Toronto Blessing, a term coined by British newspapers, refers to the Christian revival and associated phenomena that began in January 1994 at the Toronto Airport Vineyard church (TAV), which was renamed in 1996 to Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TACF) and then later in 2010 renamed to Catch the Fire Toronto. It is categorized as a neo-charismatic Evangelical Christian church and is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The revival impacted charismatic Christian culture through an increase in popularity and international reach and intensified criticism and denominational disputes. Criticism primarily centered around disagreements about charismatic doctrine, the Latter Rain Movement, and whether or not the physical manifestations people experienced were in line with biblical doctrine or were actually heretical practices.
New Life Churches, formerly known as New Life Churches International, is a Pentecostal Christian church movement in New Zealand.
The Latter Rain, also known as the New Order or the New Order of the Latter Rain, was a post–World War II movement within Pentecostal Christianity which remains controversial. The movement saw itself as a continuation of the restorationism of early pentecostalism. The movement began with major revivals between 1948 and 1952 and became established as a large semi-organized movement by 1952. It continued into the 1960s. The movement had a profound impact on subsequent movements as its participants dispersed throughout the broader charismatic and pentecostal movements beginning in the 1960s.
Tabor College is an Australian Christian tertiary college offering a range of liberal arts courses from certificate to post-graduate studies in the areas of counselling, education, ministry, performing arts, mission, youth studies and humanities. The college is based in Adelaide, South Australia with a campus in Perth, Western Australia. The Adelaide campus, formerly including the national headquarters, is housed in heritage listed buildings in Millswood, which were formerly the Goodwood Orphanage and more recently an education centre. The Tabor Institute of Music (TIM) established in 2022 provides short courses, professional development and specialist music facilities.
The Neo-charismaticmovement is a movement within evangelical Protestant Christianity that is composed of a diverse range of independent churches and organizations that emphasize the current availability of gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and faith healing. The Neo-charismatic movement is considered to be the "third wave" of the Charismatic Christian tradition which began with Pentecostalism, and was furthered by the Charismatic movement. As a result of the growth of postdenominational and independent charismatic groups, Neo-charismatics are now believed to be more numerous than the first and second wave categories. As of 2002, some 19,000 denominations or groups, with approximately 295 million individual adherents, were identified as Neo-charismatic.
Kenneth David Chant is an Australian Pentecostal pastor with CRC Churches International. He was ordained in 1952 in the CRC. He is the elder brother of Barry Chant, who is the founder and former president of Tabor College, Australia.
The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.
The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially the General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States. The Assemblies of God is the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal body. With a constituency of 3,041,957 in 2011, the Assemblies of God was the ninth largest Christian denomination and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States, growing to 3,295,923 in 2019. Since then, its adherents have declined to 2,928,143 in 2022.
The Pentecostal Church of New Zealand (PCNZ) was a Pentecostal denomination established in 1924 that was the first attempt at organizing the Pentecostal movement in New Zealand. After a series of splits, the church disbanded in 1952.
The Finished Work is a doctrine associated with Pentecostals of the Finished Work Pentecostal tradition, that locates sanctification at the time of conversion; afterward the converted Christian progressively grows in grace. This is contrary to the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification that locates complete sanctification in a definite second work of grace which Holiness Pentecostals teach is a necessary prerequisite to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Finished Work Pentecostals are generally known to have retained the doctrine of progressive sanctification from their earlier Reformed roots, while Holiness Pentecostals retained their doctrine of entire sanctification from their earlier Wesleyan roots. The term finished work arises from the aphorism "It's a Finished Work at Calvary", referring to both salvation and sanctification. Though the term is used within Pentecostal Christianity, it is not exclusively a Pentecostal doctrine.
William Howard Durham was an early Pentecostal preacher and theologian, best known for advocating the Finished Work doctrine.
CRC Churches International, formerly known as the Christian Revival Crusade, is a Pentecostal Protestant Christian denomination founded in New Zealand and Australia by Leo Harris in Adelaide, South Australia, with assistance from Thomas Foster in Melbourne, Victoria.
Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal relationship with God and experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. Pentecostalism was established in Kerala, India at the start of the 20th century.
The Swedish Pentecostal Movement is a Pentecostal movement in Sweden. Many, but not all, of these, are members of the Pentecostal Alliance of Independent Churches, which was founded in 2001. The Pentecostal movement spread to Sweden by 1907 from the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival and the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles in 1906.
Pentecostalism in Australia is a large and growing Christian movement. Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. It emerged from 19th century precursors between 1870 and 1910, taking denominational form from c. 1927. From the early 1930s, Pentecostal denominations multiplied, and there are now several dozen, the largest of which relate to one another through conferences and organisations such as the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship. The Australian Christian Churches, formerly known as the Australian Assemblies of God, is the oldest and longest lasting Pentecostal organisation in Australia. The AOG/ACC is also the largest Pentecostal organisation in Australia with over 300,000 members in 2018. Until 2018, Hillsong Church was one of 10 megachurches in Australia associated with the ACC that have at least 2,000 members weekly. According to the church, over 100,000 people attend services each week at the church or one of its 80 affiliated churches located worldwide.
Charismatic Christianity is a form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts as an everyday part of a believer's life. It has a global presence in the Christian community. Practitioners are often called Charismatic Christians or Renewalists. Although there is considerable overlap, Charismatic Christianity is often categorized into three separate groups: Pentecostalism, the Charismatic movement, and the Neo-charismatic movement.
Sarah Jane Lancaster was the leader of Australia's first Pentecostal congregation. An evangelist and administrator, she established a printing press in her meeting hall to produce evangelistic tracts and pamphlets. Lancaster also published Australia's first Pentecostal magazine, Good News. Lancaster became president of the nation's earliest attempt to organise Pentecostalism into a denomination, the Apostolic Faith Mission of Australasia. Although she is recognised as the founder of Australian Pentecostalism and contributed to the unique prominence of women in the founding of Australian Pentecostal congregations, many of her doctrinal ideas were quickly abandoned as the movement developed.
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