I am no longer a Pentecostal.

Posted by on . 4 comments.

I don’t talk much about my parents on this blog: one should shield civilians.  But I am not fit to tie their sandals. Both of them are better than I am. They left the Presbyterian Church in the middle of the charasmatic renewal and eventually ended up in the Elim Pentecostal movement.

I grew up in the movement. I do not deny the power of the holy spirit to change things radically. In today’s readings, we see that (1) the Holy Spirit was inherent in the incarnation and the gospel and (2) the Spirit was involved in moving the Church from preaching to the Jews, to preaching to the world.

Mark 1.

4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 10

44While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

via Daily Lectionary Readings — Devotions and Readings — Mission and Ministry — GAMC.

I grew up in a Mission focused, pentecostal friendly church. But, as I become older, I have become a crunchy calvinist. There are three reasons for this.

  1. I no longer beleive that there is a second and necessary experience of filling with the spirit. I beleive that god gifts people, but the spirit is with all beleivers. I see the teaching on this point as coming through the Holiness movement, which I consider strayed into the Catharist heresy by denying that we continue to sin, and that santification is hard, bloody, work.
  2. I mistrust emotions and emotional rhetoric. Despite my comfort with the “standard rock” service (I’m listening to Hillsong as I write — I have grown up with Scripture in Songs and Hillsong) and the validity of the worship experience, being a Christian is not only about worship.
  3. Some Pentecostals have thought through their theology and moved to a more systematic position. But many have not. And in not having a credal basis, they are suspect to subversion. We are seeing this with the movement of the older african pentecostal churches in the US towards liberation and the socialist heresy. Although the credal churches are staid, and flawed (all are) there is a balance of teaching that people are expected to adhere to.

Finally, I have seen as much or more abuse within the Pentecostals as anywhere else. Some people go into ministry to gain power and exploit: with sweetened words they metaphorically (and sometimes literally) seduce men and (particularly, if you read Paul) women who are guilt ridden by their evil desires. The older churches have enough problems with church discipline. The newer, congregational churches do not have the ability to remove and provide the pastoral care to the people while theses sons of perdition are removed from any place of power. And this has destroyed people’s faith.

For these reasons, I find the older divines nourish my soul. I’ve returned to the Presbyterian Church of my childhood, but now with knowledge. And I believe it is time to cling to the faith and practice of our forefathers, because this culture is run by the very sons of perdition we would want to shun, even if they are in the pews.

Comments

  1. Will S. says:
    July 8, 2011 at 8:21 am

    One of the heresies that has afflicted Pentecostalism is the insidious “Oneness” or “Jesus Only” Unitarian doctrine (in the United Pentecostal Church), which holds that the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are really only one – namely, Jesus Himself. Sadly, at least one of that movement’s pastors (T.D. Jakes) has become quite prominent within the greater evangelical fold…

    I’ve noticed two particular things about Pentecostals and charismatics, from my own anecdotal experience amongst those I’ve known and what they’ve told me, as well as what I’ve heard from others and also what I’ve read. Two difficulties:

    (a) As you mentioned, there is a problem with abuse and scandal, amongst their leadership; it is huge. I used to read regularly a Pentecostal blogger who aggregated news stories about various Pentecostal pastors caught in compromising positions; it was disheartening, to say the least.

    (b) People raised in that tradition have told me there is a huge problem with “Sunday Christians”, people who appear to be pious on Sundays, then live however they please the other six days, without regard to Christian teaching. Of course, I’ve also encountered this in the Reformed fold, as well, to a point…

  2. Brendan says:
    July 8, 2011 at 8:23 am

    Chris –

    What is the holiness movement within Calvinism or Presbyterianism? An interesting post, but kind of lost on the details.

  3. Will S. says:
    July 8, 2011 at 2:07 pm

    Can I also partly answer your question directed at Chris, Brendan? In the continental, or more specifically, Dutch, Reformed tradition, the Afscheiding was the movement out of the State church (based on the view that it had departed from proper doctrine and encouragement of proper living); this gave rise to more than one splinter church; one in the Old World, and one later, in the New World. The latter, the Christian Reformed Church in North America, has always had a pietist, or holiness-oriented, strain within it, alongside other strains; one emphasizing confessionalism, i.e. the doctrines; another emphasizing the transformationalism of the Gospel in the world, i.e. the practical application of the faith within the wider world. In the CRC, the three strains coexisted for a long time; I’d say that now, though, with the drift of the CRC, both the confessionalists and the pietists have decamped for more traditionalist breakaway denominations, while the transformationalists have largely stayed put, and themselves have become transformed by social trends in the society at large, alas. I belong to one of the breakway, more conservative denominations, and I wish there were both more confessionalists like myself, and more transformationalists as there were in the CRC; too many pietists for my liking in the breakway fold. But they are brethren, so I must accept them. I wish they’d accept me more, though.

  4. pukeko says:
    July 8, 2011 at 4:45 pm

    Will is partially correct, but in New Zealand it was a different problem. To discuss this, I have to discuss how the Azuza revival and the commencement of Pentecostalism at the turn of the last century came out of the holiness movement. In short, the idea that one could live sin free by a second gifting or experience predated speaking in tongues.

    The Charismatic movement was a merging of the practice of praying for the ‘infilling of the Holy Spirit” within churches that did not flow directly from Pentecostalism. In part this was snobbery: the Pentexostals were very much emotional, working class places and the middle class looked down their noses at them. The problems I had with this was not finding precedents in scripture — in Acts the Holy Spirit “falls” or is “gifted” at various times and in various ways, but the lack of attention to the practice of holiness, or a lack of wisdom around keeping oneself from sin.

    An example. It is highly, highly unwise, for a single man to have an unmarried woman inside his house unless she is a blood relative or there are other people there. You should counsel people in a manner where you can be seen — because you will be tempted . The old divines knew this. However, if you feel you have been sealed in the spirit and you are righteous, you will not protect yourself. You are pretending you are a plaster saint or a eunuch. Erotic arousal is visual in men (which is why sex sells everything from razors to porn).

    I have great affection for the Pentecostals. I have many friends who are pentecostals, and many of them live a life far more righteous than I do. However, I think they have too many errors in their theology or teaching to attend their churches.

    I have boys to raise, and they need to be exposed to correct doctrine.

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