Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

STRENGTHQUEST: DISCOVER AND DEVELOP   YOUR STRENGTHS IN ACADEMICS, CAREER, AND BEYOND By    Donald O. Clifton &    Edward Anderson Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton I read and reviewed (Sutton, 2007b) the 2004 edition of this book published by Gallup. There is a new version ( Second Edition ), which includes a third author, Laurie Schreiner. The authors present their strength-based philosophy, which fits nicely with the concurrent trend in positive psychology (Sutton, 2007a). Others have shown how the strengths approach is compatible with Christianity (e.g., see Sutton, 2007c). "A strength is the ability to provide consistent,  near-perfect performance in a given activity (p. 8)." The authors explain how talent, qua raw material, can be combined with knowledge and skill to produce a unique pattern of strengths. The book and the test have been revised. Overall, I think this approach to identifying personal strengt...

THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD:  GODLY LOVE and the  REVITALIZATION of AMERICAN PENTECOSTALISM .          By   Margaret M. Poloma  & John C. Green.               Poloma and Green report findings from a sociological study of the Assemblies of God by interpreting interview and survey data from 447 clergy and 1,827 congregants, contextualized by historical narratives, website documents, previous research, and sociological theories.  They posit that organizational tension between charisma (primal spirituality) and social structure (pragmatic, organizational concerns) can catalyze revitalization; however, extant data are not quite sufficient to support the hypothesized dynamic.  Data illustrate both a commitment to classic Pentecostal experiences (e.g., glossolalia, divine healing) as well as concerns for orthodoxy and structure.  We also see a str...