J.D. King: Regeneration: A Complete History of Healing in the Christian Church (Vol 2)
J.D. King, Regeneration: A Complete History of Healing in the Christian Church, Volume 2 (Christos Publishing, 2017), 488 pages, ISBN 9780999282618.
J.D. King has a wide-range of roles-and experience-in the local and larger Body of Christ. He has been a key part of the well-known revival that launched from what is now known as World Revival Church. Interesting, not only has he been a part, he has remained as a lead trainer and mentor of those who have been touched by the move of God and desire to carry it to other communities—and around the world. In fact, he is now pastor of the church located in Kansas City, Missouri. He has experienced revival, been used by God as a part of a team to sustain and spread revival, and currently pastors, many years later, the church from which the revival was launched. Beyond the revival and local church experience, he has wide readership in both print media, including Charisma Media, and a large social media following due to a popular blog covering a wide range of subjects. Related to the book I am reviewing, Regeneration: A Complete History of Healing in the Christian Church, Volume 2, he has researched the subject independently for nearly two decades. His experience with revival, healing in the local church, and years of independent research provides him a very broad lenses to view and share on the ministry of healing—both today and in the larger context of Church history.
The stated purpose of the book, to present healing as a central part of Church history and Christian heritage, is a challenging one, to say the least. Has healing truly been in practice, beyond small pockets, for these thousands of years? Is it possible that healing is really part of the Gospel-and practice-of the Church instead of just being a side issue that is at best tolerated? There are many years-and “streams”-to cover—not to mention personalities to profile and highlight. This is exactly what J.D. King set out to see and to reveal. The result is this massive three volume set of books. It has received positive reviews from scholars and ministry leaders such as Dr. Randy Clark, Dr. Michael Brown, and Dr. Craig Keener.
Though I have, and had heavily “skimmed,” all three volumes, I chose to review the second volume. This volume covers the years 1947 to the present (and the various movements that came throughout those years). This covers Salvation-Healing through what has been dubbed the Third Wave. I have to admit that I, too, love healing ministry and equipping others to see healings, but there is also so much to learn by looking back and seeing the figures God used and the movements they were a part of. There is so much to be gleaned from the personalities, theologies, and experiences of these men and women. Past areas of study, for me, included salvation-healing, Word of Faith, and Third Wave, but, from my reading of this volume, I really picked out a lot of good “nuggets” about men, women and movements that I thought I knew much about already. One example is the life and ministry of John Wimber (And by extension, Bill Johnson, who was influenced by and reflects Wimber’s legacy today.). I had wondered how the author would cover so much history in three volumes, but King does a great job packing a lot of useful information into a very readable flow of words that keeps your attention. The pages have the information that make it useful (along with many, many footnotes that point to additional resources for the true researcher) for the scholar; but also a flow that makes it accessible to the hungry heart, too. The book may challenge the reader at times. I felt my “Feathers being ruffled” while reading the section on Word of Faith, but by the end of the section, I had to admit it was a fair reflection. It did not degrade the movement as many have, but it does show you the good, the bad, and the ugly. It documents the shifts within the movement itself. For me, the small section of “Missing the Spirit?” is a great commentary on the movement, but causes us to check our own hearts as well. We need the Word and the Spirit, but, most of all, we need the “prayer and fellowship with the Father.” It is clear that a man who is both an ardent researcher and pastor has composed these volumes.
The sections on Anglicanism and on Fundamentalist-Evangelical were the most interesting to me, because I was not aware of them, overall. I had some idea of figures within Fundamentalist-Evangelical circles who tolerated healing, but I was not aware of some of the champions of healing within those particular circles. My favorite section was on Anglicanism, though, and there is a rich vein of healing history there that needed to be “mined” and shared. King did that beautifully. The history and lessons of just two movements within the Anglican church that J.D. King shares is worth the whole book (And there is so much more!): the Society of Emmanuel and the Order of St. Luke. I am sure many others interested in, or at least open to, healing may not have been aware of the depth of healing in these movements. In these, and each of the movements, King makes the figures involved come alive to us today. 
I would highly recommend this series of books to anyone who loves healing; whether the intended scholarly audience (and pastors and other five-fold ministers) or those “in the pew” who want to be inspired and encouraged in the fact that perhaps God could use them either in their own church or a larger context of promoting a ministry that is close to the heart of God, for which many have sacrificed, and which flows like a river through Church history (sometimes in surprising places!). I would also recommend this volume, specifically, to those with even the slightest interest, or curiosity, in healing who may not be a part of movements more commonly recognized as being as open to healing. While both Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism has been skeptical, the waters of healing have flowed there, too. These volumes bring healing home to us in both a historical and personal way. Healing is a part of our shared heritage and history, and it is okay to pursue Jesus as Healer and to take Him to our homes, churches, and communities—and beyond.
Reviewed by Ryan Miller
