Editorial

JAMES E. COSSEY

EDITOR IN CHIEF

PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT BE SAVED?

MUCH OF WHAT TODAY IDENTIFIES ITSELF WITH PENTECOSTALISM

(ESPECIALLY IN THE MEDIA) HAS BEEN GREATLY COMPROMISED AND CONSTITUTES AN EMBARRASSING MISREPRESENTATION OF THE BOOK OF ACTS, AZUSA STREET, OR THE SHEARER SCHOOLHOUSE REVIVAL.

You are invited to visit the online Evangel site at

www.onlineevangel.org

and the editor’s blog at

www.evangelnotes.blogspot.com.

CAN THE R

ECENTLY, a ministry friend—a seasoned man of God—posited to me that the Pentecostal Movement, this once-grand “Third Wave of Christianity,” has lost its moorings and is likely beyond restoration. I’m not ready to go that far, but I agree that much of what today identifies itself with Pen- tecostalism (especially in the media) has been greatly compromised and constitutes an embarrassing misrepresentation of the Book of Acts, Azusa Street, or the Shearer Schoolhouse revival.

I’m not pessimistic; I’m an optimistic realist. I tend to see the glass half full, not half empty. When the forecast calls for 60 percent chance of storms, I rejoice over a 40 percent chance they won’t come. As for the Pentecostal Movement, I side with General Overseer Raymond Culpepper, who, in his December 2009 Evangel article, said, “I still feel a heartbeat!” But I do have concerns. I fear there may be some blockages to the blood flow in the body of Christ. We need a checkup from the Great Cardiologist!

Critics charge that Pentecostals place more emphasis on emotional experience than on the Word. Historically, that is a false accusation. To the contrary, most early Pentecostals who were baptized in the Spirit were not seeking an experience or an emotion. Rather, they were engaged in intense Bible study and prayer, seek- ing to literally live out what they saw in Scripture.

Today’s critics may have a point. Live- ly pep talks and motivational messages will never produce those disciples that are developed from Bible-based preaching and teaching which has typically character- ized Pentecostal pulpits and classrooms. With many churches eliminating Sunday school, and some camp meetings and

youth conferences axing Bible studies, there is little wonder that the typical churchgoer cannot name even four of the Ten Commandments, and 63 percent of today’s churchgoing youth believe that Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims all pray to the same God, but call Him by a different name!

Growing up Pentecostal, I was exposed to tremendous preaching about the bap- tism in the Holy Spirit. While being taught that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of Spirit baptism, we were never taught to seek after tongues. Sound bibli- cal exegesis showed us that one seeks after Jesus Christ, who is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). The emphasis was always on being endued with power for Christian service (Acts 1:8), and that speaking in tongues would come as an initial (first, but not only) evidence of that empowerment. Pastors and evange- lists preached often on the Baptism, and almost every service culminated with an opportunity for believers to seek for the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

God is up to something in the world today! The so-called emergent church, while, in my opinion, diseased with biblical anemia, is growing and succeeding because there is a grassroots cry, especially among youth and young adults, for spiritual reality. As John Jovan Markovic said, “They want to experience God. They want to be emotion- ally excited, even disturbed by the Divine Presence” (Ministry, March 2010). What they are looking for is what we advertise to possess! The survival of Pentecost demands a revival of biblical preaching and a renewed emphasis on the baptism in the Holy Spirit as an empower- ment for Christian service. Sadly, without these, my friend’s prediction could come to pass.

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