Soon after I became a Christian, I moved from the Anglican church I had been raised in to a Pentecostal church. This was a good move for me. I naturally lean toward an intellectual faith and I needed the push to experience God. I am so thankful for my experience within the Pentecostal church. It was there that I was baptized, where I was discipled and where I heard the call to ministry.
And yet it was also a time of struggle for me. Unfortunately, it was a struggle with the heart of Pentecostalism. I was told by my pastors and all my friends that the fulness of the Holy Spirit always came with the sign of speaking in tongues and it was that fulness that was required for real ministry. I heard testimony after testimony of Christians who had been going through the motions, received the gift of tongues and then finally had the power for effective ministry. Despite the strong conviction of people I respected, I had great trouble with this.
Ironically, it was a Pentecostal hermeneutic that led me to give up on the belief in tongues as the initial sign of Spirit baptism. I did not perform a systematic study of all biblical passages related to the Holy Spirit. Rather my change of perspective came through experience. I was spending much time with Christians of other traditions, most of whom did not speak in tongues. Despite the testimonies of my friends, I noticed no differences in either effectiveness in ministry or in personal holiness. After much internal struggle, I finally left the Pentecostal church. While I am credentialed with a Baptist denomination, I considered myself to be simply a Christian.
I say I left the Pentecostal church but what I really mean is that I no longer worship at a church affiliated with a Pentecostal denomination. I have become more and more convinced that all Christians are pentecostals with a small ‘p’. The church was born at Pentecost and it was designed to be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led. How that looks will vary from tradition to tradition, but if Christianity is not based in Pentecost, it is not the church. I am fine worshipping without raising my hands and I do not miss messages in tongues during the services. But I am still a pentecostal in that I am well aware of my need for the Spirit’s power and guidance in all that I do. I appreciate my experience with a Pentecostal denomination and I still enjoy visits, but because of my views on tongues I can no longer identify as a classical Pentecostal. However, I will remain a pentecostal in that I understand Christianity as finding power in the Holy Spirit.
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Stephen Bedard is the director of Hope’s Reason Ministries. His vision is to equip Christians to articulate and defend their faith in a respectful, relevant and reasonable way.
August 27, 2012 at 10:08 am
Stephen,
Great summary that probably applies to many of us. I do miss the openness, confidence and seeming lack of fear of someone who may think differently however. Also the general liveliness. But you highlight the fundamental issue, wither the Holy Spirit? He is so obviously at work in so many churches, certainly in every denomination. And many through whom he is working recognize it as such.
Yet, there are those who seem able to read Luke, Paul and elsewhere and skip over the Holy Spirit in a single bound. In discussions on what fundamentally constitutes the gospel, for example, many are reluctant to include the sending of the Holy Spirit as an essential part of the Good News.
I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts and Jeff’s thoughts on his puzzling phenomenon.
August 27, 2012 at 10:20 am
Why do some miss out on those Spirit passages? Although I am now a Baptist denomination I belong to is not cessationist and is definitely open to the Spirit. However, talking to others, there is a fear of the Spirit in the sense it leads to a lack of precision. Take Galatians for example. Paul seems to indicate that ethics is based on walking with the Spirit rather than following certain rules. What does that mean? As much as I don’t want to be a legalist, having rules of what you are allowed or not allowed to do seems a lot easier than walking with the Spirit. Some people are afraid that if you emphasize the Spirit too much, you will lose the Bible’s role as a guide for life. That can happen, just people can focus on the Bible that they lose touch with the role of the Spirit. For those who are pentecostal, our responsibility is to demonstrate what a Spirit-led life looks like and that it does not have to lead to a bizarre world view that lacks any basis in the Bible.
August 27, 2012 at 12:45 pm
Stephen,
Yes. Precisely. I too attend a Baptist church these days and, if anything, the Holy Spirit is discussed more often, and with good insight, than in some Pentecostal churches I have attended. But, I don’t know of many Baptist congregations who are in danger of over emphasizing the HS to the point of losing sight of Scripture. Of course, that’s always the caricature in Baptist circles, but that’s pretty much all it is. Having said that, there are lots of Pentecostal churches these days who make very good imitations of good Baptist churches. :) BTW, In my longish lifetime, I’ve been an active member of one Wesleyan, three Baptist, and two Pentecostal churches.
But, my main question to you and Jeff is, would you include the giving of the Holy Spirit right up there with the Incarnation, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ as an essential element of the basic gospel?
August 27, 2012 at 1:31 pm
I can’t speak for others, but it is a key element in my preaching. My thesis for my M.Th. was on receiving of the Spirit as the key identity marker in the early church. The outpouring of the Spirit was a major anticipation in the OT and a key event in the NT. Why some churches don’t talk about it, I have no idea.
August 27, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Stephen,
Thanks for such a clear answer, and it is good to hear! Clear answers on this subject are not all that easy to find. Gordon Fee tells the story of a student who claimed that to him “the Holy Spirit is a gray, oblong blur.” (pg. 6 in “God’s Empowering Presence”.
Blessings,
Bev
September 5, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Thanks for your article and comments, Stephen.
Just wondering … your thesis topic sounds very interesting indeed. Where could I find a copy of it?
Grace, cheers — Kirk
August 27, 2012 at 6:45 pm
Francis Chan’s book Forgotten God is good insight on the struggle of non-charismatics to embrace the Spirit. It is worth a read.