The Murderer and Majesty of Christmas

THE TALE OF TWO KINGS

© Dr. J. David Arnett, Pastor
Saturday, December 20, 2008
www.CarpentersHouseChurch.com

Picture Scrooge. He was "“Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dogdays; and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas" (Charles Dickens).

With that image in your mind, I set before you, this day, two kings.

One is the embodiment of humanistic genius, humanistic government, and humanistic greed.

The Other is the embodiment of divine logic, divine leadership, and divine love.

The one demanded to be served and many lives were sacrificed to his self-centeredness.

The Other came loving and serving and gave His life as a ransom for many.

The one craved the respect and acceptance of fellow kings.

The Other WAS worshiped by kings—and by scribes and scholars as well as by philosophers, paupers, priests, prophets and prostitutes.

Both claimed to be King of the Jews.

Both asked for loyalty.

The question before you is “Whom will you place on the throne of your heart? The King of Mammon or the King of Glory?”

The polytheistic, pagan religions of the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans had created a void in the ancient world.

It was a void superstition, black magic, and astrology could not fill.

The philosophers ridiculed the puny Roman deities, yet their education and wisdom did not remove the void.

Some desiring something more, sought for a better way to know their Creator.

Among them were Gentiles who attended the Jewish synagogues because they saw there a hope in one, true and holy God.

From these God-fearers came certain Magi (Wise Men) who sought to find a King, sought to find the King of kings!

Some suppose these Wise Men were descendants of the Chaldean wise men of whom Daniel was chief and who therefore might know of the star prophesied in Numbers 24:17.

All we really know is that these men saw a star and somehow God caused them to know it was THE star of One born King of the Jews, a King’s king, One worthy to be worshiped.

The star did not indicate where the King was to be born, so the Magi traveled to Jerusalem, the logical birthplace for the King of the Jews for it was the capital and housed the royal palace.

To their surprise, no one at Jerusalem had discerned the star or had heard of the birth of a new king.

We three kings of Orient are,
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.
O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

("We Three Kings of Orient Are" also known as "The Quest of the Magi" is a Christmas carol written by Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr.)

Rumors of distinguished visitors inquiring about the birth of a new king soon reached the paranoid ears of Herod, known as the Great.

Sucking air through pursed lips, Herod listened to the report.

Blood flushed his bloated cheeks.

His pudgy hands jerked into fists.

Those who best knew Herod prepared themselves for the inevitable explosion.

The volcano was about to erupt, spewing burning lava on all those about.

“A new king of the Jews!” he bellowed.

“Here it comes,” thought one servant, as she stepped into a less conspicuous place.

But Herod grew quiet.

His eyes narrowed to fine lines as he squinted at the messenger.

“Go,” he said with a serpentine hiss.

“Go, call the chief priests and scribes. I will speak with them.”

Herod was of mixed blood (half Idumean and half Nabatean Arab); hardly a proper king of the Jews.

Herod had come to the throne due to a favor Rome owed his father, Antipater.

With the assistance of Rome’s legions, he brutally crushed the armies of Antigonus, the last independent Jewish king and high priest.

By persuasive speech, secret intrigue and blood-shed he maintained his position throughout the reigns of Mark Antony and Augustus.

Herod knew that his hold over the Jewish people was tenuous at best.

His mixed blood made him a foreigner in their eyes.

His use of the Roman legions in laying waste to many Jewish cities as he expanded his control over his subjects left widows and weeping mothers and wandering orphans.

His willingness to support heathen cults aroused their suspicion concerning his loyalty to Judaism.

His occasional attendance at the temple ceremonies, his cynical use of the priesthood as a political tool, the looseness of his personal life, and the viciousness displayed in dealing with his rivals caused him to be generally hated by devout Jews.

Paranoia became a way of life for Herod.

He built magnificent fortress palaces at Masada and Herodium.

If he ever fell out of favor with Rome or if the Jews rose up to depose him, he planned to retreat to one of these for protection.

He was determined to see that nothing and no one took his wealth, position and power.

If he couldn’t be loved by the people, then he would be feared by them!

>>No one must threaten his throne!

In an effort to consolidate his hold over the Jewish people, Herod married a Jewish wife, Mariamne, the sister of Aristobulus, the rightful heir to the throne.

But out of jealousy and fear Herod had his popular 17-year-old brother-in-law drowned in his bathtub.

In Herod’s home blood was not thicker than water.

>>No one must threaten his throne!

Later, in a fit of jealousy, Herod had his beloved wife executed and her body preserved in honey.
Remorse so gripped Herod that he became physically and mentally ill.

He lashed out and had his mother-in-law killed.

>>No one must threaten his throne!

When the populace began to acclaim Alexander and Aristobulus (the sons of Herod by the Jewess Mariamne) Herod had them murdered.

No one (including his own sons) must threaten his throne!

Smitten with “intense itching, painful intestinal problems, breathlessness, convulsions in every limb, and gangrene of the genitalia,” haunted by the memory of his murders, Herod came to the realization he had no friends—no one who would grieve at his funeral.

So, he drew up a will ordering that upon his death 3,000 of the most prominent Jewish citizens be taken into the temple and executed.

That way, he reasoned, there would be tears shed on the day of his death!

It did not matter that he was not popular.

He had his possessions.

He had his position.

He had his power.

He was still king!

He still had his throne!

Footsteps brought Herod out of the dungeons of his twisted mind.

It was the priests.

Herod knew these men despised him.

He swore under his breathe.

His nostrils flared.

But as he spoke, honey dripped from his words.

“Ah, gentlemen. I have a theological problem for you. Where do the Scriptures say the Messiah will be born?”

It was an easy question.

Without hesitation, the men responded with a free translation of Micah 5:2, “In Bethlehem in Judea.”

The false friendliness gone, Herod dismissed the priests with a wave of his hand.

“Bring in the Easterners,” he ordered.

Entering the opulence of Herod’s palace, the distinguished guests seemed to take no notice.

They had not come to see treasure.

They had not come to pursue power.

Theirs was a spiritual mission.

They were looking for a King who could satisfy the soul.

For some reason Herod felt uncomfortable in their presence.

He shivered as long-buried feelings tugged at his heart.

Recovering himself, Herod spoke, “Welcome, welcome to my humble abode.”

He swept the room with a grandiose gesture. “What brings you to MY kingdom?”

“A star? Ah, yes, yes. I’ve heard rumors about a star? And you have seen it? Hmm, interesting, interesting. When did you say the star first appeared? And you think this star has something to do with the birth of the Messiah, the King of the Jews? Well, as I’m sure you know, I am a great student of the Scriptures and I believe the prophets predicted that the Messiah would be born in a little village 6 miles southwest of here. Bethlehem, it’s called.”

Leaning forward in his chair, Herod took on a confidential tone, “Go and search diligently for the young Child and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also. I am a religious man you know, yes, religious, religious.”

The Wise Men came to Jerusalem seeking for fulfillment.

They sought a King.

But Herod with all of his wine, women, wealth and power could not satisfy.

In fact, Herod was himself miserable.

He was a phony King of the Jews!

The Wise Men started toward Bethlehem and the star reappeared!

They recognized it at once as the same star they had seen back in their home country.

The star began to move, indicating it was no ordinary star but truly a miraculous token of God’s guidance for seekers.

Steadily, it led them until they came to the very house where the young Child was.

Filled with joy, the Magi presented Him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

By faith, the Magi saw that this Child was THE KING for whom they searched.

He was the promised Messiah.

Deep in their hearts, they knew that He was the Word become flesh and that through Him the world might be saved and satisfied.

In an act of worship, the Wise Men fell down at the feet of the small Child and expressed their heart-felt worship and adoration.

A personal encounter with Jesus invariably transforms the seeker into a true worshiper; to know Him is to love Him!

Though they were intellectuals, though they were wealthy, though they were regal in their own right they humbled themselves before THIS CHILD.

They recognized that the Christ Child was and is the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

And He shall reign for ever and ever!

Having found what they searched for, the Wise Men followed God’s leading and went directly home.

They did not return to Herod.

Herod stormed through the palace.

“I’ll kill those liars. I’ll torture them. I’ll tear the tongues from their deceiving mouths. Who do they think they’re dealing with? I am the King of the Jews! No one can threaten my throne and live!”

Servants and minor officials scattered, trying to escape the gaze of the crazed king.

When he was like this no one was safe.

“Find the commander of my troops! I’ll show them who’s King of the Jews!”

The commander hurried in and saluted smartly.

Herod screeched, “There are spies and traitors in the land! You must deal with them! Take your troops to Bethlehem. Kill every male child two years of age and under. Don’t let any escape. I want them dead. Do you hear? Dead! I am the king. I am the king.”

The commander was a brave man, but he trembled as he said, “Sire, the soldiers will not kill babies.”

“They will do as I say! I am king!”

Screams mingled with the sound of retreating hoof beats, as mothers wept over the butchered bodies of their babies.

Thus, the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled (31:15).

Warned in a dream, the parents of the Child King had escaped to Egypt.

Through the gifts of the Wise Men, God supplied sustenance and safety for the holy family in a foreign land.

Not realizing whom he was dealing with, Herod failed to destroy Jesus the Christ, the True King of the Jews.

However, the story does not end there.

Oh, no! The story never ends with time.

There is always the eternal with which to reckon.

King Jesus grew up to be a great preacher.

In His most famous sermon, He taught that “no one can serve two masters.”

As He said, “for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches.”

On another occasion, Jesus asked, “What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

Herod exchanged his eternal destiny for a few brief moments of prominence, position, prosperity, and power.

On a self-centered sacrificial altar, he slaughtered his spouse, his sons, and his soul to squeeze a scepter, and sit on a throne.

But at death what did he have?

Nothing!! Absolutely nothing!!

At death Hell claimed him as its own!

Thirty one years later, there was another power hungry leader and another group of greedy soldiers ... others who were willing to sell their eternal souls for temporal things.

In a mockery of a trial, Pilate asked Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

And Jesus answered, “It is true. I am a king. For this cause was I born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

But He added, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

All Pilate could say was, “What is truth?”

Then turning to the murderous, mad mob, Pilate asked, “What shall I do with Jesus, your Messiah?”

“Crucify him!” they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify! His blood be on us and on our children!”

Pilate gave in to the blood-thirsty rabble.

He turned Jesus over to the Roman garrison to be flogged and crucified.

But first they took King Jesus into the fortress, stripped Him, put a scarlet robe on Him, drove a crown of thorns into His head and placed a stick in His hands as a scepter.

They took turns kneeling before him in mockery.

“Hail, King of the Jews!” they yelled.

They spat on Him and beat Him with a rod.

When they tired of their sick game, they led King Jesus through the city streets, out of the city to a place called Skull Hill.

At Calvary, the soldiers crucified Jesus.

Above His head they placed a sign.

It read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

From the cross, King Jesus shouted, “It is finished!” and dismissed His spirit.

But remember the story does not end with time.

There is the eternal dimension.

Jesus conquered death and Hades!

Within three days, He rose from the grave.

He ascended to the throne room of heaven.

And He has promised to return for those who like the wise men surrender to His Lordship!

WILL YOU SURRENDER TO THE KING OF KINGS?

If not, like Herod of old or Scrooge of Dickens’ “Christmas Carol,” you may die “…a tight-fisted … squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!”

© Dr. J. David Arnett, Pastor

Saturday, December 20, 2008

All rights reserved.

www.CarpentersHouseChurch.com

www.DavidArnett.com

Who is welcome in your church?

Lynnette lives in Willard. She has been attending Carpenter’s House since the first service on October 5.

She has invited four of the five people who have accepted Christ in the short history of the church

Yesterday, she asked me a thought-provoking question: “What kind of people do you want in this new church?”

When I asked what she meant, she replied, “I have many friends in Willard, but they do not look like you, dress like you, or talk like you. They are drug addicts, Meth addicts, and real sinners. They live together. They have problems with the law. But they are longing for something more. They will come, if I invite them. But I was not sure you wanted them.”

I told her that is why we are in Willard—for the lost.

One of my first sermons in Willard was on the verse: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Please pray for Carpenter's House of Willard, MO. http://www.carpentershousechurch.com/

Return to the Primacy of Scripture

A commitment to the primacy of Scripture characterized the Pentecostal Movement from its beginnings. Founders believed the Scriptures to be the authoritative standard for “beliefs, affections, and actions.” [1]

They regularly confirmed the validity of their spiritual experiences by consulting the Scriptures. According to Russell P. Spittler, Pentecostals attempted to square their spirituality with “biblical precedent and command.” [2]

William Menzies, speaking of the early days of the Assemblies of God, writes:

The modern Pentecostal revival, like other revivals in the past, could have fallen into the abuse of overemphasis on spectacular phenomena that accompany revivals. The baptism in the Spirit and the manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12-14) are experiential in nature. Such experiences were defining of the revival. The Assemblies of God avoided the pitfalls of extremism and unbalanced emphases because of an early commitment to the authority of the Bible as the all-sufficient rule for faith and practice. [3]

For Pentecostals, theology was an attempt to search the Scriptures to understand what the Holy Spirit is doing in and saying to His Church. Pentecostal theology was and continues to be a work in progress. For Pentecostals, theology was not “identified solely or even primarily with systematic treatises, monographs and scholarly apparatus in centers of academia.” [4] According to Steven Land,

In the context of American restoration-revivalism, it was the “black spirituality of the former slaves in the United States” encountering the specific Catholic spirituality of the movement’s “grandfather,” John Wesley, that produced Pentecostalism’s distinctive spirituality. Neither Wesley nor the African-Americans did theology in the traditional scholastic way. Sermons, pamphlets, hymns, testimonies, conferences, spirituals—these were the media of this movement. [5]

However non-traditional the apparatus, Pentecostal media were replete with Scripture.

Likewise, Pentecostal history was filled with systematic Bible teaching, expositional Bible preaching, and sober attempts at practicing Biblical precepts. While sometimes naïve and simplistic and at other times legalistic, early Pentecostals were serious about the Bible.

Is this commitment to the primacy of Scripture attenuating? Should contemporary Pentecostals be concerned by the decline of systematic Bible instruction?

Some local churches are dismissing Sunday school in favor of extended worship services. Others are replacing systematic Bible teaching with topical treatments that draw heavily from the social sciences. Curricula based solely on the social sciences will result in a fuzzy spirituality of human self-help or self-deification.

Pastors are moving from expository to topical preaching. After listening to hundreds (thousands?) of sermons in homiletics classes and elsewhere, I am seriously concerned that Michael Horton is right. In his book, Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church, he asserts that contemporary preachers exclude Christ to proclaim a message of moralism, personal comfort, self-help, self-improvement, and individualistic religion.

Neglect of Biblical content in sermons will result in less than authentic Pentecostal spirituality.

Continuation down this slippery slope will result in congregations singing “worship him, worship him” without knowing “Him.” The pronouns and metaphors of their music will be meaningless.

While not a Pentecostal, Henri J. M. Nouwen issues a warning appropriate for Pentecostals:

Few ministers and priests think theologically. Most of them have been educated in a climate in which the behavioral sciences, such as psychology and sociology, so dominated the educational milieu that little true theology was being learned. Most Christian leaders today raise psychological or sociological questions even though they frame them in scriptural terms. Real theological thinking, which is thinking with the mind of Christ, is hard to find in the practice of the ministry. Without solid theological reflection, future leaders will be little more than pseudo-psychologists, pseudo-sociologists, pseudo-social workers. They will think of themselves as enablers, facilitators, role models, father or mother figures, big brothers or big sisters, and so on, and thus join the countless men and women who make a living trying to help their fellow human beings to cope with the stresses and strains of everyday living. But that has little to do with Christian leadership because the Christian leader thinks, speaks, and acts in the name of Jesus, who came to free humanity from the power of death and open the way to eternal life. [6]

[1] Steven J. Land, Pentecostal Spirituality: A Passion for the Kingdom (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press Ltd., 1997), 41.

[2] Russell P. Spittler, “Spirituality, Pentecostal and Charismatic,” in Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, ed. Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988), 805.

[3] William W. Menzies, “Lessons From the Past: What Our History Teaches Us,” Enrichment 4, no. 4 (1999), 84.

[4] Land, 35.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Henri J. M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1989), 65.

Pentecostals: People of the Presence

One of the most challenging contributions to my recent dialogues on Pentecostalism came from Rick Smith of Abingdon, Illinois. He wrote:

“I recently heard a definition for what it means to be Pentecostal: people of the presence. It's not about style, hype or following the way things used to be. Too often Pentecostals are dwelling on the glory of a past experience and they try to re-create that moment, often mimicking certain people or styles for it to happen again. Rather than seeking God, they are seeking an experience. They are seeking the presents of God rather than the presence of God. Thanks for bringing this subject to light. My prayer is that we will seek His presence and allow the Holy Spirit to saturate and empower us to do the ministry He has called us to do.”

When we seek God's presence and allow the Holy Spirit to saturate and empower us, lives will be transformed--even in the worst of environments.


Samuel Solivan points to the experiences of members of Hispanic Pentecostal churches in the United States, "Even though our communities remain destroyed, and we are forced to live our lives in inhuman living conditions, we still can attest to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives, empowering them to overcome their suffering, misery and despair." [1]

This hopefulness in the midst of suffering is what Solivan calls “orthopathos.” In using this term, he is referring to the power of the Holy Spirit that transforms “pathos” (the emotions of suffering and despair) into hope and wholeness. It is shalom that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7).


Solivan sees orthopathos as being the interlocutor between orthodoxy and orthopraxis—the bridge between the proclamation of liberty and the eschatological realization of liberty.


Solivan writes, “To speak to a former addict, prostitute, alcoholic or street person who has been transformed by the power of the Spirit is to speak to someone who knows what orthopathos is all about.” [2]

Gutted, graffiti-defaced project houses stand as monuments to the failure of governmental and social service agencies that did not comprehend that taking a person out of the ghetto does not guarantee transformation. However, it is possible to experience change while still in the hallways of ancient tenement buildings. Even though El Barrio in East Harlem remains a concrete jungle filled with drugs, prostitution, murder, suicide, and suffering, the corítos (small choirs) of the Pentecostal churches sing songs of joy—the songs of Zion in an alien land.


Does Pentecostal spirituality involve emotionalism? Yes, of course. If one understands that emotive responses are normal expressions of an inward joy that flows from a supernatural, wholistic liberation, then tears, laughter, raised hands, and other demonstrations are not bizarre.


At this entry point of the “redemptive lift” process, Hispanic Pentecostals experience liberation from the ghetto while still in the ghetto. The transforming power of the Holy Spirit helps them believe circumstances can change. The Spirit assembles the transformed and believing individuals into an incarnational, serving, and equipped community that can evangelize and work for social justice.


[1] Samuel Solivan, The Spirit, Pathos and Liberation: Toward an Hispanic Pentecostal Theology (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press Ltd., 1997), 111.


[2] Ibid, 111.

Pentecostalism: The Proof is in the Product

(c) 2008 Dr. J. David Arnett

I have a bookshelf filled with computer software. Most of it is rarely used. If the various programs did not live up to the advertising or failed to meet the need for which they were purchased, they were shelved. Only the relevant programs get a good workout. Emerging Pentecostals are asking to see the relevance of Pentecostal distinctives for a needy world. Is it simply emotional hype or does it make a difference for hurting humanity?
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If young Pentecostals are cynical, it is understandable. They grew up in an era characterized by financial and sexual scandals from the church house to the White House. Idiosyncratic evangelists filled the world’s television screens. Divorce rates, even among Christians, skyrocketed during their lifetime. Some were educated in a postmodern, deconstructionist matrix.
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Despite the cynicism, young people are still responding to the love and call of God. They love God and feel love and compassion for their dysfunctional families, friends, communities, and world. They are asking for the tools and the opportunities to make a real difference in the world.
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Not everything in the past was wonderful. There was glory. There was shame. Even the Azusa Street Revival was not perfect. Bigotry, avarice, megalomania, and neuroses plagued the early days of the Pentecostal Movement—just as now.
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Despite the human foibles, God was able to accomplish His purposes of preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the brokenhearted, delivering the captives, recovering sight to the blind, and liberating those treated unfairly (Luke 4:18-19).
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Through a variety of innovative social service ministries, God used early Pentecostals to minister to sinning and suffering humanity. These ministries included rescue missions, homes for unwed mothers, orphanages, Christian schools, feeding programs, literacy training, sponsorship of refugees, aid for disaster victims, and medical programs. They sought to minister to the whole person—body, mind and soul. Food, clothing, and shelter came with intensive Bible study and prayer.
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Admittedly, there has been tension in the ranks over ministries of compassion. The same eschatological urgency that propelled so many into missionary endeavor and evangelism caused some to withdraw from social action. Based on the belief that the end was near, many rejected the reformist methods of the optimistic postmillennialists and concentrated on “snatching brands from the fire.” They let social reforms result from humankind being born again. This attitude is reflected in the words of missionary statesman Melvin Hodges, “There is nothing as important as getting people’s hearts right with God. The center must be put right before the periphery can be corrected. To try to remedy peripheral conditions leaving the heart unchanged is useless and deceiving.” [1]
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This retraction from social action was as much a reaction to the so-called “social gospel” as it was a formally adopted theological position. Conservative Christians considered the social gospel a product of liberal preachers who had strayed from calling people to salvation and had reached for good works as a lame substitute. In reality, the social gospel was a disintegration of the concern that the revivalists and holiness preachers of the mid-nineteenth century had awakened for the afflicted human race. According to Sherwood Wirt “lacking the correction of Scripture and the direction of the Holy Spirit, [the social gospel] ceased to be a healthy expression of the church’s social conscience...”[2]
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The two things that Wirt identifies as important for genuine Christian social action—the direction of the Holy Spirit and the correction of Scripture—are precisely what Pentecostalism is well equipped to supply to a blended ministry of evangelism and compassion. Gordon Fee and Murray Dempster believe that the work that Jesus started when He walked the lanes of ancient Israel has been left to the Church to continue until He returns (Luke 4:18-19; Acts 1:1).
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The anointing and empowering to accomplish this daunting task come from the Spirit with whom Pentecostals have an interactive relationship (Acts 1:4-8). With their high view of Scripture, Pentecostals should be able to develop a solid, Bible-based theology that addresses social action. Dempster believes such a theology must “inspire and direct the church’s moral engagement with society without diminishing the church’s historic commitment to evangelism.”[3]
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[1] Melvin L. Hodges, A Theology of the Church and Its Mission: A Pentecostal Perspective (Springfield, Mo.: Gospel Publishing House, 1977), 102.
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[2] Sherwood E. Wirt, “Social Gospel” in Baker’s Dictionary of Christian Ethics. ed. Carl F.H. Henry (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Company, 1973), 638.
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[3] Murray W. Dempster, “Evangelism, Social Concern, and the Kingdom of God” in Called and Empowered: Global Mission in Pentecostal Perspective, ed. Murray A. Dempster, Byron D. Klaus and Douglas Petersen (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1991), 22-23.

An Unambiguous Pentecostal Theology

(c) 2008 Dr. J. David Arnett

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In addition to a carefully articulated hermeneutic, emerging Pentecostals long for a holistic and systematic Pentecostal orthodoxy—an unambiguous theology—that leads to a Pentecostal orthopathy that will invigorate a twenty first century Pentecostal orthopraxis.
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Holistic qualifies the orthodoxy as a belief system based on more than pneumatology and glossolalia.
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Systematic refers to the orderly assimilation of the truth discovered by the inductive biblical theologian. It is organized to display the progressions and relationships between doctrinal truths.
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Orthopathy is the passion and fire of emotions that flow out of an extreme, transforming encounter with God. It is the affect that reflects the glory of the Lord “as the Spirit of the Lord works within us” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT).
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Orthopraxis is the worshipping, holy, compassionate, and evangelistic behavior of one indwelt by and cooperating with the Holy Spirit.
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Pentecostal orthodoxy begins with Jesus Christ. A Pentecostal is a person who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and has surrendered to Him as Savior. When an individual invites Christ into his life, logic indicates that he receives all of God he is going to receive since the Godhead is not divided. In this sense, the Holy Spirit indwells all Christians.
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Regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the believer—by an act of his will—gives the Holy Spirit administrative control over every area of his life. Neo-Pentecostal Dennis Bennett called this “releasing the Holy Spirit.” Without getting into a debate over anthropology (trichotomy versus dichotomy versus monism), it might be said that when “released” the Holy Spirit begins to flow from within a person’s inner being (“heart” in John 7:38, NCV).
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As the Spirit moves outward, He affects the various aspects of a person. The human spirit is invigorated and the spiritual realm becomes perceptible. The emotions are touched. Frequently, the love of God overwhelms the believer. Joy wells up. The mind is affected. Visions, thoughts, or words may fill the Christian’s mind as the Holy Spirit shares the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16; Romans 12:2). Even the body is influenced. Tears may come in response to the powerful emotions. One person may laugh. Another may tremble. Still another may dance. Some individuals may lose muscle tone under the weight of God’s glory and fall prostrate. All of these observable responses to the working of the Holy Spirit are highly individualized. The experiences do not seem to be normative. Rather, they appear to be based on each unique, but culturally conditioned personality.
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However, from biblical and historical precedent, one observable experience does appear to be normative—speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:1-4; 10:44-48; 19:1-7). That the individual has yielded himself to and is cooperating with the Holy Spirit is evidenced initially by speaking in other tongues as the Spirit supernaturally imparts to him the ability.
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Carl Brumback has suggested that the reason speaking in other tongues is the initial physical evidence of the total saturation of a person in the Holy Spirit is because the speech mechanism is that last and most difficult member of the body to surrender and tame (James 3:1-12).
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There should be additional indicators that the individual is participating (note the present tense) with the Spirit. These indicators include increasing levels of intimacy with God, developing righteousness as evidenced in a mortification of the sinful life and production of the fruit of the Spirit, an emboldened passion for the mission Christ gave to the Church and an openness to various manifestations (charismata or pneumatika) of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 27-31; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11). David Lim calls spirituals gifts “God’s tools to lead us to maturity and ministry.” [1]
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Clearly, Pentecostal spirituality does not begin nor stop with the baptism in the Holy Spirit or with speaking in other tongues. Such spirituality begins at conception when the Spirit places in the human heart a hunger for relationship with the Creator. It continues through conviction, conversion, and ever increasing levels of interaction and intimacy. A person cannot interact with God without being changed. People become like those with whom they associate. This is especially true of spending time with God. Out of intimacy with the Creator, grow new priorities, new perspectives, new passions, new power, and new fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).
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Ultimately, the evidence for spirituality and an intimacy with the Holy Spirit is a life characterized by love (1 Corinthians 13). Such evidentiary love has two dimensions—love of God and love of neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). According to Richard Foster, “White-hot love of God compels us into compassionate love of neighbor… Love of God makes love of neighbor possible.”[2]
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[1] Lim, David. 1991. Spiritual Gifts: A Fresh Look. Springfield, Mo.: Gospel Publishing House, 19.
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[2] Richard J. Foster, Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith (San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1998), 166-7.

Pentecostal Hermeneutics

Pentecostals begin Bible study by recognizing that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16, KJV). Certainly, narrative portions are included.
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Using the biblical theological approach, the Pentecostal exegete allows the truth and teaching to emerge from the biblical text. He does not read his experience or his bias into the text.
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In doing this work, he recognizes that each biblical writer is understood best on his own terms and in his own times. While each biblical author has his own distinctive perspective, because of the superintending work of the Holy Spirit, that viewpoint is compatible with and complementary to the standpoints of the other biblical writers.
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The exegete gives attention to the genre and the sequence of the passage within its context. He studies the syntactical relationships in the passage. He defines words according to usage by the author within the syntactical, historical, and cultural context of the passage.
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Theological concepts are viewed in relationship to the theology that historically preceded the writing. In other words, the interpreter must examine the influence of any antecedent doctrine on the biblical author’s intent. According to Kaiser, using inductive reasoning, it is possible to draw “timeless principles” from the biblical author’s “truth-intention.” These transcultural, transhistorical, universal truths become the basis for theology.
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Using these hermeneutical principles of induction, Pentecostals can assert that even without propositional statements it is possible to formulate doctrine based on historical precedent especially when the activity is divinely initiated and commanded by God.

Pentecostalism: Time for Uniform Protocol

For computers to “interface” they must use a uniform protocol—a set of conventions that govern the formatting of data. Without a uniform protocol, they cannot communicate properly. The messages are garbled. Perhaps it is time for Pentecostals to begin using a uniform protocol—a carefully crafted set of sound hermeneutical principles that will govern and validate the formulation of a consistent Pentecostal perspective on the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
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While on my spiritual odyssey, I encountered seemingly contradictory perceptions of Pentecostal Truth. Church leaders and authors used diverse and paradoxical language in describing the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The altar workers who exhausted themselves trying to “pray me through to the baptism” contradicted each other. “Hold on,” said one. “Let go,” urged another.
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Such untidiness in language is troubling to those who toil to explain what it means to be a Pentecostal—especially to the fourth generation. In the experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, does one “get the Holy Ghost” or does the Spirit get more of the individual? That is, does the person receive more of God or does she surrender more of herself to God? Is the baptism of the Holy Spirit the final stop on the celestial skyway or is it the pad from which spiritual adventures launch? Does the baptism in the Holy Spirit fill one with a passion for evangelism and missions or does the passion drive one to seek the empowering experience? Does the awareness of personal sinfulness before a holy God impel one to seek the cleansing and enablement found in the baptism in the Holy Spirit or does the deepening relationship motivate one to pursue holiness?
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The perceived ambiguity of Pentecostal theology may be caused by the “tools” of Pentecostal theology—oral tradition, tracts, magazines, and sermon booklets. For Pentecostals, theology is not “identified solely or even primarily with systematic treatises, monographs and scholarly apparatus in centers of academia.” [1]
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Theologizing is not merely a “speculative enterprise; it is urgent, last-days work.”[2] Preachers in passenger seats wrote Pentecostal theology as they carried an urgent message to a lost and dying world at the end of the ages. Surely, it is time to clarify Pentecostal theology.
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A clear theology begins with a carefully articulated hermeneutic. Pentecostals have usually depended on their Evangelical friends to provide the guidelines for hermeneutics. From them, Pentecostals learned to exegete biblical texts using the laws of grammar and the facts of history (grammatico-historical method). Within this framework, it was understood that the clearer passages of Scripture were to be used to illuminate the more esoteric ones.
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This principle served Bible scholars well until some began to insist that didactic portions of Scripture must interpret narrative portions. William and Robert Menzies suggest that this later stance may have come as an over reaction to more extreme expressions of redaction criticism. Carried too far, the principle easily becomes an excuse to interpret particular passages of Scripture by superimposing one’s preconceived theological “grid.” It can sideline the Gospels and Acts and yield the playing field to the Pauline epistles. Pentecostals and some Evangelicals have not been happy with the extremely restrictive and biased eisegetical approach to hermeneutics into which some have drifted. However, with a renewed emphasis on the discipline of biblical theology, the value of historical and narrative portions of Scripture is again being recognized. Walter C. Kaiser has suggested a new description for the refreshed approach to hermeneutics—the grammatical-contextual-historical-syntatical-theological-cultural method.
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In today’s climate, Pentecostals like Anthony Palma are recognizing the need to articulate hermeneutical principles and presuppositions before attempting to discuss Pentecostal distinctives.
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Young Pentecostals have been asking for a statement of the assumptions and rules for Bible study.
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They want to know that Pentecostal distinctives are based on careful exegesis and not simply someone’s experiences.


[1] Steven J. Land, Pentecostal Spirituality: A Passion for the Kingdom (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press Ltd., 1997), 41.


[2] Ibid., 36.

Speaking in Tongues: Interfacing With God

When a computer is coordinating harmoniously with another computer or with peripherals (or the computer user for that matter) they are “interfacing.”

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My Pentecostal experiences have helped me “interface” with God.

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When I received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, the actual experience of speaking in other tongues was almost anticlimactic compared to the thrill of “pursuing” God until He granted His “blessing.” This is not a disavowal of the doctrine of speaking in tongues as the initial physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is an affirmation that Pentecostal Spirituality is more than a one-time experience.

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I am a Pentecostal not because I speak in tongues. Rather, I speak in tongues because I am a Pentecostal. Being Pentecostal is holistic and tongues are part of a larger spirituality.

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Pentecostal spirituality involves a cooperative or shared intimacy with God.

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Just as the circuits in an appliance wired to receive 110 volts will sizzle and meltdown when plugged into a 220 volts outlet unless it is retrofitted, no human can interface with the omnipotent God without facilitation. Answering the challenge to know God—not just cognitively, but experientially—requires divine help.

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As I thrashed around in the shallows of His presence, I felt frustrated and frail.

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It was as I relaxed and was suffused in the depths of His love that the divine assistance to interface with Him came.

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With the help of the Holy Spirit, I was able to express the ineffable. The ability to pray in an unknown language helped and continues to help me interface with and experience God.

The Greatest Faith Ever Known

Roman Catholic authors, a liberal United Methodist minister, and a teen-led prayer meeting were responsible for my involvement in the Pentecostal Movement.
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While reading Fulton and April Oursler’s The Greatest Faith Ever Known, the need for a dramatic confession of faith became inescapable. In the story of Philip and the Ethiopian financier as recounted by the Ourslers, it is clear that to qualify for baptism in water one must believe with all the heart. Deeply moved by the account, I knelt and prayed using the words of the Ethiopian money manager, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” [1]
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Not satisfied with a private expression of faith and wanting to emulate the biblical pattern, I approached the minister of our United Methodist Church and requested baptism by immersion. Fresh out of seminary, the Reverend Roberts was unorthodox in his beliefs and practice. He openly admitted to the teens who attended his weekly “rap sessions” that he did not believe in hell and was not too sure about heaven. It was not surprising when he refused the request. To him baptism was an unnecessary ritual.
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When reminded that Methodist catechetical classes taught that immersion was the prerogative of the believer, he insisted it would be too much trouble to borrow a baptistery from another church. Refusing to drop the matter, I began a search for a church that baptized by immersion.
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It was a pleasant surprise to find that the Assemblies of God church in a neighboring town not only observed believer’s baptism by immersion, but also endeavored to restore primitive Christian practices like those described in the Ourslers’ paraphrase of the Book of Acts.
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The teens at First Assembly were serious about their faith and conducted their own prayer meetings. During one of the prayer sessions, a few teens asked if they could pray for me to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I acquiesced even though the terminology and objectives were unclear. The encounter with the Holy Spirit began to transform my life even though I did not speak in tongues on that occasion. Rising from five-hours of prostrate prayer, life suddenly had a new direction.
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The next six months were a flurry of spiritual activities—unrelenting prayer at the altar, discussions with church leaders and consumption of literature on the subject of the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
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Finally, on a chilly February night, I methodically placed the various areas of my life “on the altar.” As I reached the place of total surrender, words in a language other than English (my first and only language) came into my mind. By an act of my will, I cooperated with God and spoke as He supplied the words and the ability to pronounce them properly. The more I spoke the larger the “vocabulary” became.
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Since that encounter at the altar, a day has not come when I could not pray or praise in tongues.
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[1] Oursler, Fulton and April Oursler Armstrong. The Greatest Faith Ever Known (Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc. 1953), 108. See also Acts 8:36-38.

Pentecostalism and Passionate Spirituality

From its beginnings, Pentecostal worship has been demonstrative.

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Perhaps it was the overflow of joy expressed by so many of the early participants as they experienced freedom from repressive circumstances. Perhaps it was the influence of African-American spirituality as Steven Land suggests. Whatever the reason, Pentecostal worship was participatory, emotional, and expressive.

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Handclapping, hand-raising, crying, laughing, boisterous singing, exclamations of praise, dancing, falling, “jerking,” corporate prayer, laying on of hands, “Jericho Marches,” tarrying at the altar, visions, messages in tongues, interpretation of tongues, words of prophecy, words of knowledge as well as animated preaching placed Pentecostalism in the tradition of the Camp Meeting Movement. Pentecostals considered the staid, ritualistic, liturgical, or creedal forms of worship as “unspiritual.”

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When one steps back and looks at the sweep of Christian history, it seems clear that God was orchestrating events to prepare for the “restoration” of an “apostolic” ministry—one with a passion for global missions. It seems that step-by-step God was restoring key elements to His Church—Sola Scriptura, justification by faith in the atoning work of Christ, an expectation of subsequent experiences with the Holy Spirit, a contemporary prospect for signs and wonders including divine healing, an anticipation of the imminent return of Christ, a passion for missions and a freedom to experience God personally.

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Where is the fire? Where is the fervency? Where is the passion?

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Did the pioneers of the Pentecostal Movement have something we have lost? If so, what must we do to reclaim the passion for God and His work in the world?

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Pentecostalism: A Theology of Urgency

For Pentecostals, theological reflection is not merely a “speculative enterprise; it is urgent, last-days work.” [1]
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Preachers, evangelists, and missionaries wrote and continue to write Pentecostal theology while in passenger seats on their way to deliver an urgent message to a lost and dying world at the end of the age.
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Hades: Building on the themes of George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and the nineteenth century revivalists as well as the plain teachings of Scripture, early Pentecostals preached the reality of “hell.” They believed that all who had rejected God’s offer of salvation in Jesus Christ would be removed from the presence of God and placed in eternal fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels—a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30, 41-46). They believed all whose names were not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life would be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). This certainty of hell filled the early Pentecostals with an urgent desire to reach and save the sad souls who were stacked up as brands ready for the burning.

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Imminent Return of Christ: Early Pentecostals also firmly believed in the imminent return of Jesus Christ and a fiery, cataclysmic end to earth (2 Peter 3:7). They believed they were living in the Last Days.

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Gary McGee writes, "Influenced by the rise of premillennialism in the late nineteenth century, Pentecostals were convinced that civilization would get worse before it got better. Hearing the incessant rumblings of war on the international scene and fascinated by the concomitant stirrings of Zionism, premillennialists became convinced the end was near." [2]
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Rapture of the Church: The Pentecostal pioneers expected Jesus to come at any moment to “rapture” His Church. They expected Christ to lead His people to a Holy City—a New Jerusalem. They believed that no one who was impure, or shameful or deceitful could enter this Holy City, only those who had made their robes white in the crimson stream of Calvary (Matthew 24:42-44; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 21:1-8).

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Some went so far as to say that only a sanctified subset of the Church would be raptured. To support this view they pointed to Paul’s words to the Ephesians: “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27, KJV).

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Hastening the Return: Many, following the lead of C.I. Scofield and A.B. Simpson, believed they could hasten the return of Christ by developing an aggressive strategy to evangelize every nation on earth. The basis for such a belief was their understanding of the words of Jesus: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14, KJV).

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Urgent Need for Power: These eschatological beliefs filled the Pentecostal pioneers with an urgency to be ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ by living holy lives and by reaching the lost while there was still time. This urgency drove them to seek for the God-given enablement to live sanctified lives and for the power to proclaim boldly the gospel to a lost and dying world.

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Gary McGee writes, "The emergence of Pentecostalism in the twentieth century is all about missiology: How could the world be evangelized in the 'last days' before the imminent return of Christ? To Pentecostals, the only successful course lay in a return to the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit which accompanied the ministry of the disciples in the book of Acts." [3]
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Baptism in the Holy Spirit: While seeking for the power that they believed Jesus promised in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8, these earnest people experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave them the ability.

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The reception of the baptism in the Holy Spirit was a further sign of the end of the age. Charles Parham, an early leader, was convinced that Christ’s premillennial return would be the culmination of a worldwide revival. Viewing glossolalia as proof of the “latter rain” outpouring of the Spirit, Parham believed the restoration of Pentecostal power would launch the expected global revival as “divinely trained” missionary workers spread the “apostolic faith” around the world.

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[1] Steven J. Land, Pentecostal Spirituality: A Passion for the Kingdom (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997), 41.

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[2] Gary McGee, “Pentecostals and Their Various Strategies for Global Mission: A Historical Assessment,” in Called and Empowered: Global Mission in Pentecostal Perspective, ed. Murray A. Dempster, Byron D. Klaus and Douglas Petersen (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1991), 207.

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[3] McGee, 201.

Building on the Foundation of Spiritual Adventurers

The newer, faster computers with more memory and more user-friendly operating systems did not spring up over night. No, they are the products of innovators who labored to improve and enhance the efforts of those who had pioneered in the field of electronic processing and storage of data. The new products are built on the foundational work of earlier scientists.
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I think there is a need to pull back the curtain and explain that the Pentecostal Movement did not spontaneously appear either. Rather, it was built on the foundational work of previous spiritual adventurers. Without stifling exploration, innovation, and creativity, those who work with emerging Pentecostal leaders have the responsibility of showing them where they fit into the advance of God’s Kingdom. Will emerging Pentecostals learn from their predecessors? Can they enhance and improve on the efforts of the pioneers?
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Sola Scriptura: A commitment to the primacy of Scripture characterized the Pentecostal Movement from its beginnings. Pentecostals owe much to the Reformers who restored to the Church the principle of Sola Scriptura—the teaching that the Bible alone is the final authority for what we must believe and how we must behave. Believing the Scriptures to be the all-sufficient rule for faith and practice, Pentecostals have attempted to search the written Word of God to understand what the Holy Spirit is doing in and saying to His Church.
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Radical Conversion: Linking the activity of the Spirit with the Word in this way moved Pentecostals beyond contemplation of biblical teachings to volitional action based on Scriptural truth. It was not sufficient to possess an intellectual assent to the facts of the Gospel, an individual needed to have a “heart-warming experience” with God.
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Being born into a Christian family was not adequate. Being moral in the eyes of the world was not enough. A clear-cut decision for Christ was required. People were expected to mourn over their sins and seek Christ to receive cleansing and regeneration. For this emphasis, Pentecostals should be grateful to the nineteenth century revivalists as well as to John Wesley and the Moravians and Reformers who influenced him.
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Pursuit of Personal Holiness: Donald Dayton and others have pointed to Wesley’s theological emphasis on sanctification (“Christian perfectionism”) as the backdrop for the emphasis on a “second work of grace” within the Holiness Movement of the 1800s.
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While Wesley preferred to use descriptions such as “attaining the mind of Christ” or “total devotion to God” rather than “sinless perfection,” Phoebe Palmer and other Methodist teachers held to the possibility of attaining instantaneous and entire sanctification by “placing all on the altar.”
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Others in the Holiness Movement who were less Wesleyan pursued experiences with God subsequent to justification as part of the “deeper life” (“Higher Life” for the Keswick Teachers) that was part of progressive sanctification.
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Social Justice: It is noteworthy that the teachings of Christian perfectionism affected not just the personal arena, but tackled social and institutional concerns as well. The movement gave vitality to the antislavery enterprise.
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Baptism in the Holy Spirit: As the Holiness Movement advanced toward 1900, it increasingly used the terminology and imagery of Pentecost to describe the subsequent blessing. Charles G. Finney and Asa Mahan helped popularize the phrase “baptism with the Holy Ghost” as a description for the empowering and cleansing experience. When the Pentecostal revival began, it co-opted the Holiness terminology to describe the baptism in the Holy Spirit with its attendant speaking in other tongues.
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Divine Healing: One of the most obvious components of the Pentecostal foundation is the sincere belief in contemporary signs and wonders. Following in the footsteps of those who believed in the restoration of vital New Testament Christianity before Christ’s return, Pentecostals refused to accept the teaching that miracles ceased with the death of the last Apostle. Like A.B. Simpson, they believed that since divine healing was part of the atonement it was the will of God to heal.
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Do we still believe? Do we believe in sola Scriptura, in radical conversion, in the pursuit of personal holiness, in Christian compassion and social justice, in the infilling of the Holy Spirit, in divine healing?

An Emerging Fourth Generation of Pentecostals

Those who work with the fourth generation of Pentecostals find that for some of the emerging leaders, loyalties to Pentecostal history and traditions are slight. For them the debate over tongues as the initial physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is not over. Members of the fourth generation are not convinced that Pentecostalism is the “restoration” longed for by the nineteenth century revivalists. The more astute ask for a clearly articulated hermeneutic and a less ambiguous theological rationale for Pentecostal distinctives.

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Those who work with “Generation Four” hear the challenges: “Show us how Pentecostal experiences make us any different from those in other churches. Demonstrate the relevance of Pentecostal teachings for a world in need.”

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Likewise, the emerging Pentecostals are blasé about the polish and panache of “spectator church” (both local and electronic church). They crave involvement. They are willing to get dirty to make a difference in the world.
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Obviously, this analysis of the Pentecostal Movement is overly simplistic. It does not take into consideration that there continue to be individuals experiencing radical conversion and “true believer” vitality. Neither does it acknowledge the global changes over the past 100 years. To understand adequately where the Movement is at, one should factor in the impact of the economic and geographical moves from an agrarian to an industrial to an information-based economy. One should analyze the sociological moves from Builders to Boomers to Busters to Generation Xers and now to Millennias.

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It is also important to contemplate the effects of the philosophical shifts from Traditionalism to Modernism to Post-Modernism to Digitality. The religious influence of the Charismatic renewal, the commingling of Evangelicals with Pentecostals, the embarrassment of prominent Pentecostals, and the political Religious Right all need contemplation. With more space, one should evaluate the significance of women’s issues, race relations, immigration, the media, and the availability of modern medicine.
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How will Pentecostal leaders respond to the current situation? Will they legislate loyalty to the institution? Will they develop a bunker mentality—hunkering down to await the assault of the “barbarian hoards” of the fourth generation? Will they compromise standards and relinquish distinctives to hang onto the bodies, budgets, and buildings that give the appearance of success? History demonstrates the ineffectiveness of institutionalism at perpetuating movements.
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Where then does the Pentecostal Movement turn? Must it adopt what Brian McLaren calls “an anarchist ecclesiology”? Must the Church be demolished and rebuilt from scratch every hundred years or so? Is there another alternative?

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Can the Church periodically sort out and cherish the non-negotiables of the faith? Can it discard, replace, or upgrade the obsolete or superfluous traditions and structures?

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Can the Church insure that all generations have the opportunity for radical conversion and for the Holy Spirit to “pour new wine into new wine bags” (Matthew 9:17, NCV)?

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Surely, with God’s help it can.

Upgrade, but Save the Core Values

I just purchased my twelfth computer in twenty years. With the advances in technology, computers frequently need upgrading or replacing. Despite the upgrades or replacements, that which was truly valuable was always saved—the data—my sermons, syllabi, class notes, and financial records.

Can the Pentecostal Movement upgrade while saving its valuable distinctives? Can it advance without damaging or losing the precepts, passion, and praxis of the pioneers?

Pentecostalism has arrived at the point when the visionary founders and early leaders (Eric Hoffer would call them “true believers.”) have died or retired and now are being replaced by an emerging generation of leaders. Some of the new leaders inherited their tenets and practices without spilling blood in the crucible of revolution.

The Pentecostal Movement has reached the organizational stage when it is facing the ecclesiastical dangers of institutionalism and anarchism. Institutionalism occurs when an organization takes action to preserve its existence, often at the expense of the purpose for which it originated. Anarchism feels little loyalty to the organization and perceives the institutional church as a hindrance to spontaneity, community, and mission. Anarchists think it is best to demolish and rebuild.

Who were the “true believers” who founded the Pentecostal Movement?

Often coming from the ranks of the deprived and disenfranchised, many Pentecostal pioneers experienced radical conversion as they responded to the “full gospel” message. The foremost doctrines of the “four square” message were: Salvation in Jesus Christ, Divine Healing through the atonement, the premillennial return of Christ, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit (or Ghost) with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues. Some added sanctification by faith as a second definite work of grace as a fifth fundamental of the full gospel.

My former Senior Adults Pastor, John Wannenmacher of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (John died last March), used to tell me how his father Joseph (a leader in the Assemblies of God) frequently started his sermons focusing on some distinctive topic, but always worked the sermon around to expound the “four cardinal doctrines.”

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For leaders like Joseph P. Wannenmacher becoming a Pentecostal was a decisive step. They tearfully and passionately testified to the validity of the Pentecostal teachings. They boldly battled foes within and without over the distinctives. They were true believers.

Even the second generation of Pentecostals demonstrated passionate loyalty for the movement. Perhaps they personally witnessed or knew of the radical transformation that occurred in the lives of their parents.

John Wannenmacher vividly tells the story of the dramatic healing that his Hungarian, violin-playing father experienced in the “faith homes” in Zion, Illinois (started by John Alexander Dowie). Whether he is aware of it or not, John preached four point sermons—just like his father. All of Joseph and Helen Wannenmacher’s children (John, Philip, and Lois) served the Assemblies of God as ministers. Having been in such proximity to the early firebrands, the subsequent generation bore the brand of Pentecostalism.

As the beneficiaries of the “redemptive lift,” those in the third generation received better educations and held jobs that were more lucrative. They strove for acceptance and respectability in their communities. Less heavenly-minded and more earth bound, they focused on constructing bigger buildings in better neighborhoods. They participated in the political debates for which their forbearers had little time.

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For some in the third generation, religious experiences were more a matter of “socialization” (E.S. Williams’ word) than radical transformation. As the churches grew in terms of membership, finances, and community acceptance, the old participatory, lay-led worship drifted more toward a spectator, clergy-directed activity.

Seemingly, for some, loyalty to “the cause” became more a matter of maintaining the traditions handed down to them by parents and grandparents (a creedal ritualism) rather than a “fire in the belly.”

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Where are we now?

Pentecostalism at the Crossroads

Whether the Pentecostal Movement is in crisis (as some believe), it is definitely at a crossroads.

As the movement begins its second century, it faces certain issues that threaten to attenuate its vitality.

Some of these issues surfaced when a limited number of Pentecostal pastors, educators, and students training for ministry responded to my one-question survey: “What issues do you think Pentecostals face as they move into the twenty-first century?”

To prevent a biased result, no suggested answers were included with the survey.

Responses included race relations, women in ministry, styles of worship, ecumenism, universalism, the influence of the Charismatic Movement, an indistinct hermeneutic, an ambiguous theological rationale for Pentecostal distinctives, relevance of Pentecostal doctrine to the current culture, neglect of eschatology, changes in missionary strategies, the need for social action, lack of integrity among leadership, worldliness, the breakdown of the family, postmodernism, institutionalism, and the need to maintain Pentecostal distinctives.

While the survey was informal and limited to a few dozen respondents, a slight deviation in focus between the age groups was discernable. Those above 35 years of age universally mentioned the need to maintain Pentecostal distinctives. Those in the below 35 years of age category did express concern over Pentecostal distinctives, but with less frequency.

Interestingly, the younger group mentioned concerns that were not raised by those who were older—breakdown of the family, integrity of leaders, relevance of Pentecostal doctrine to the current culture, and social action.

It would require a dissertation to address all of these matters adequately.

In the next few installments, this blog will explore the areas with which I am most frequently confronted in my work with young Pentecostal ministers—the dangers of institutionalism and anarchism, the perception of theological ambiguity, and the relevance of Pentecostalism to a needy world. The other issues raised in the survey will be touched on only when they intersect one of the three foci.

Welcome to Theological Speed Bumps

This blog is devoted to the theological and praxis ponderings of Dr. David Arnett