A host of family, friends, and associates have made this work possible. Deborah, my patient and amazing-in-more-ways-than-I-can-count wife, deserves more praise and appreciation than I could possibly express in this lifetime (but she says that massages really help). She has continually encouraged, challenged, and critiqued me while also being a wonderful mother to our children as this book grew from an idea (1998) to a dissertation (2000) to the hope for a movement (2001) to the volume you know hold in your hand (2009). Together we have struggled with and rolled our eyes at the issues in this book, and we’ve spent many long nights talking through what it all means. I thank my son Nathan Bird and my daughter Kharese Shalom for the unbelievable joy, fun, education, excitement, and love they have brought to my life. I thank them from the depths of my heart for being who they are. Daniel McGee first introduced this topic to me and allowed me to pursue my interests while also focusing my energy on a feasible study, to him I will forever be indebted. I sincerely thank Barry Harvey for encouraging me to read Stanley Hauerwas and to take John Howard Yoder’s class at Baylor University in June 1997. Bob Patterson and David Hendon served as insightful readers who consistently improved each draft of the dissertation version of this book. Baylor University enabled the initial edition by granting me the Young Christian Scholars Fellowship; special thanks are due to William Bellinger Jr. for recommending me for the award. Don Thorsen, my department chair at Azusa Pacific University, provided me with a teaching schedule and resources that tremendously helped the expeditious completion of the final draft. Joyce Lee, of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, devoted many hours to locating and copying essential archival material. Dan Shong located and organized chronologically the hundreds of Evangel articles that I had to read and evaluate. Brian Pipkin pored over the thousands of names of World War II conscientious objectors to provide the valuable table in Appendix B. Marcy Mapes and Eugene Holder helped acquire numerous resources from libraries around the country. The interviewees who provided previously undocumented information helped make this book more complete: Charnal Adrian Bird, Michael Chase, Howard Cummings, Stanford Linzey, William Robertson, Dave Roever, Helen Rosengartner, Evelyn Smith, and Walter B. Smith. I deeply appreciate the Society for Pentecostal Studies for the work they inspire and the venue they provide for presenting this type of work. I also appreciate the European Pentecostal Charismatic Research Association for the opportunity to make my first academic presentation of this material, and to Keith Warrington and Neil Hudson of the Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association for publishing it. Allan Anderson, Jay Beaman, Chaplain Gene Brown (Col., US Army, ret.), Anthea Butler, David Daniels, Murray Dempster, Howard Kenyon, Gary McGee, Arlene Sanchez-Walsh, Joel Shuman, Harold Staiti, Jarred Stover, John Wyckoff, Amos Yong, and innumerable others assisted by conversing with me on this topic and encouraging me to finish. I also want to acknowledge the encouragement of Chuck Fager and Ann Riggs who both cheered me on and published a portion of this book in Quaker Theology. Albert Meyer and Alan Kreider have also been wonderfully supportive. Glen Stassen first introduced me to just peacemaking theory and has continually been an inspiration for Deborah and me. There is no way I can ever express the enormity of the gratitude I feel for all of those in Pentecostals and Charismatics for Peace and Justice who have helped keep hope alive for me and Deborah these last several years. Eric Gabourel, Terry Johns, Marlon Millner, and Shelly McMullin shouldered increasingly large burdens of leadership responsibilities to free up more time for me to finally finish this book. Aaron Alexander, Dallas Gingles, Jonathan Jeter, Rob Reid, and Christa Savely have also been instrumental in enabling me to complete this task. The friendship and ministry of Daniel Timmerman, my pastor for many years, created a safe space for my family to worship. I thank Southwestern Assemblies of God University for shaping me into a person who cares about the issues in this book by instilling in me a passion for sharing Jesus with the whole world, for teaching me to value and practice careful exegesis of Scripture, and for showing me how to seek and trust the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. My undergraduate experience was a life-changing joy because of faculty like Danny and Amy Alexander, LeRoy Bartel, Delmer and Eleanor Guynes, Doyle Jones, Adonna Otwell, Robert Harden, Terry Phipps, and John Wyckoff. They hired me as a twenty-three-year-old with an M.Div., hired me again after I completed my Ph.D. coursework, and gave me a schedule that allowed me time to work on my dissertation. I also sincerely appreciate the encouragement of Dr. James K. Bridges, who was mentored by William Burton McCafferty, when he supported me by affirming the importance of teaching the history of Pentecostal pacifism in Assemblies of God schools. I especially wish to acknowledge the patience and editorial work of J. Denny Weaver in helping bring this book to life, though the shortcomings that remain are all mine. It is truly an honor to be part of the C. Henry Smith Series. Finally, but in no way least significantly, I gratefully acknowledge the prayers, support, and unfailing love of my parents, Jerry and Sharon Alexander, and the rest of my family (Harold, Geraldine, Mark, Joy, Breleigh, Judah, Levi, W. B., Evelyn, C. A., Grace, Velma, Rodney, Betty, Ronda, Rick, Cole, Brandon, Marci Teri, Jason, Jorilyn, and Raegan). Our journey has at times been difficult because of this study, but you have always loved me. Thank you. —Paul Alexander |
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