Why I'm Still Down with Pentecost

Pentecostalism, that is.

Over the years, I must admit my approach to Christian theology has changed greatly. This saying is quite true:

When you think you know everything, they give you a bachelor's.
When you find out you don't know anything, they give you a master's.
When you finally realize that you don't know anything but neither does anyone else, they give you a doctorate.

I haven't completed my D.Th. yet, but beyond the obvious hyperbole, I believe the last is quite true. I'm not as confident or dogmatic about every single one of my beliefs as I used to be. I've moved away (almost but not completely successfully) from the polemical approach to doctrine we've been taught for so many centuries that's so easy to fall into, towards a more irenic, ecumenical approach. I've come to realize that most of the time our differences aren't as important as what we choose to do about them (thanks K. for that lesson six years ago).

One the whole, I haven't changed significantly my position on most of the theological loci except for eschatology. I have changed a lot how I do theology. I no longer take a fundamentalist/evangelical approach but identify more closely with neo-orthodoxy. I'm sorry if this offends, but I find the former's view of Scripture and revelation less mature than the latter's. I've also come to embrace the riches of Christian tradition and acknowledge that "real" Christianity didn't begin in 1901 or 1517 but goes all the way back to the beginning when Jesus said, "Come, follow me." I still identify as protestant and believe that the Roman Church is in serious error, but I feel less compulsion to fight so much about it. Like I said, I'm tired of the polemics.

Despite this, however, if you ask me for a one-word description of my flavor of Christianity, I would immediately answer, "Pentecostal." Not just any Pentecostalism either, but hard-core, three-act classical Pentecostalism. I wring my hands as much as anyone at some of the inanities of the broader renewal movement, and its anti-intellectual tendencies can be stifling (though not nearly as much as conservative evangelicalism's anti-charismatic tendencies), but on the whole, I'm comfortable with its core theology and values.

I could probably come up with more, but here's a list of 12 reasons why I'm still down with Pentecost:

1. I still find the classical Pentecostal interpretation of Spirit baptism and its corollary of initial evidence to be the best handling of the available biblical data. I find the counter-arguments unpersuasive, and believe me, I'm very current on the debate.
2. Following on that, for too many reasons to go into here, I prefer Pentecostalism's heavy reliance on the Gospels and Acts for theology rather than filtering everything through an exclusively Pauline grid.
   
3. I can't buy into cessationism at all. Either God still does the stuff he did back then or it's all bunk (Heb. 13.8).
4. In a similar vein, salvation must be real salvation; the blood of Jesus is truly sanctifying (1 John 1.7). Simul iustus et peccator may be a good place for starting soteriology, but God help us if we remain there forever.
   
5. When I don't know how to pray, I'm glad for the Spirit's help (Rom. 8.26-27, 1 Cor. 14.14-18, 28). The Pentecostal gift is of value to all believers; don't knock it until you have tried it.
   
6. I appreciate how Pentecostalism was not a party to the fundamentalist-modernist controversy. The movement is perfectly positioned to steer a course between the two, though I'm gravely concerned it might not be wise enough to take that path.
7. Although the movement has not made the most of this potentiality, it's a wonderful avenue for accessing the riches of Christian history. Scratch a Pentecostal and underneath you will find a Methodist, and a Methodist is essentially an Anglican pietist. Through the Anglo-Wesleyan-Pentecostal stream, I have access to a very deep Christian tradition.
   
8. Following on no. 5, I find this Arminian stream of Christianity more compatible with Scripture and more sensible than the continental Reformation traditions and more coherent than attempts at hybridization. You may feel otherwise; we can agree to disagree.
9. Through its doctrine of healing in the atonement, Pentecostalism added a non-spiritual dimension to the work of Christ and provided at platform for a non-dualist, more holistic soteriology.
   
10. This tradition has correctly interpreted ministry primarily as a function of gifting, and as a corollary, has recognized the call and value of women in ministry. While it has by no means been perfectly egalitarian, but from a practical standpoint, it has done more to empower women than many others.
    
11. I seriously believe this wave of the Spirit is a move of God, even, as its earliest adherent professed, an eschatological sign (Acts 2.17-21).
    
12. Whatever else you can say, you can't say our church services are boring.