Am I a Neo-Pentecostal?

I’ve been thinking about the incredible impact of Pentecostalism on the planet over the last 100+ years.  If you’ve never read a history of Pentecostalism see here for  a book by Dr. Vinson Synan of Regent Seminary.  It’s pretty amazing!

Some highlights about the Pentecostal movement:

• The Pentecostal movement birthed several strong denominations, including the Assemblies of God.
• It became the explosive engine for the resurgence of the world-wide missions movement
• It became the seed-bed of the charismatic movement and “third-wave” churches.
• It sparked a wave of healing and prophetic ministry around the world

Classic Pentecostalism is generally related to these 3 beliefs and practices:

1. The pursuit of ‘The Baptism in the Holy Spirit’
2. The understanding of the gift of Tongues as ‘evidence’ of Spirit Baptism
3. The practice and belief of Divine healing through prayer

A Classic Pentecostal Experience

I had a classic pentecostal experience. I came to Christ and first became part of a Baptist church that placed primary emphasis on the preaching and study of God’s Word. I was taught that most of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit were withdrawn from the church at the end of the ‘Apostolic Age’.

During the years I was part of this church, I had some supernatural encounters in ministry that totally rocked my world including a 3-part prophetic dream that resulted in a spontaneous “deliverance session”, where I saw demons being expelled through my prayers. That just messed up my Baptist theology. I totally freaked out, and had to really re-think what I had been taught about spiritual gifts.

After several months of reading ( “Joy Unspeakable” by Martin Lloyd-Jones was particularly eye-opening), studying the Bible and praying I was convinced about the validity of an empowerment experience distinct from salvation. More importantly, I became incredibly hungry – spending hours  praying and seeking God for it.

Finally a friend of mine took me to an open terrace, laid hands on me and prayed a simple prayer. He claims that I spoke in tongues at the time, but I felt like I mumbled a few words. He then proceeded to tell me very confidently that I ‘got it’, leaving me somewhat befuddled.

Once I reached my apartment, I thought ‘I should try and see if I really got something’ and decided to see if I could pray in tongues. It was about 9:30pm. At 7:00am the next morning I was still praying in tongues, trembling and feeling “electricity” pulsate through my whole body. With not a single wink of sleep I felt as fresh as a daisy and went straight to work at my office. Had a great day too!

I know that from that day on I walked in an increased level of boldness and confidence in sharing Jesus. Also, I became more aware of the supernatural nature of the world. Even emotionally, I experienced a greater freedom of expression, especially in prayer and worship, becoming less self-conscious and much more aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit. My passion and love for Jesus deepened over the next few months. To this day, the fruit of that experience remains in my life.

Since then I have prayed with many people receive Spirit Baptism, and have seen Jesus graciously pour out his spirit and release his power and gifts through the laying on of hands. My personal favorite is a friend of mine who prayed in tongues, interpreted his tongues and then prophesied over us as we laid hands on him.

Struggling with Pentecostalism

Now, more than a decade later, I have to say I have some struggles and questions with pentecostal theology and practice.

Before I outline my concerns, I want to say that I totally love and will always be deeply rooted to my A/G community, specially in Minnesota and within Chi Alpha, where I work. These theological questions are like a tiny flea-bite when compared to the overwhelming love, support and care I receive from the pentecostal community I am a part of. Actually, I would guess that many of the younger generation in the pentecostal movement share these struggles and questions. This is why I  typically attend churches that are inter-denominational in life while remaining strongly pentecostal in practice.

Here are some of my questions/concerns:

1. One-shot Pentecostalism? I don’t know if it’s right teach spirit baptism as  ‘THE Baptism in the Holy Spirit’. Is there just one Spirit Baptism? When you get one, is that it? Have you got it all? In my reading of the book of Acts (see Acts 4), the Early Church experienced multiple Spirit Baptisms with a continual increase in power. Sure, the first experience is always significant and transforming, but to speak of it as ‘THE (one and only) Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ to me has produced a stunted pneumatology.
2. Evidential Tongues? I struggle with the emphasis on the ‘evidence of tongues’ for Spirit Baptism. I understand the historical, cultural climate that resulted in this teaching (for the best explanation and defense of this see Spirit and Power). I even agree that the Pentecostal teaching (in essence and in practice) is totally right – "tongues” is the most clearly discernible outward sign of being immersed in the Spirit. It’s the easiest to spot when you are praying for someone. But I cannot accept that ‘if you don’t speak in tongues, you cannot know for sure that you are Spirit baptized’. I am certain that this idea is not Biblical.
3. Gateway to Gifts? Sometimes there is teaching that Spirit Baptism is the gateway to Spiritual Gifts. This again, is simply not true, especially if you define spirit baptism based on #2 above. Yes, people often receive spiritual gifts during spirit baptism, but I don’t think the correlation is exclusive.
4. Subsequence as normative? The idea that a person first gets saved and then, at a later point, receives spirit baptism as a second work of grace has been deeply rooted in Pentecostal theology. This is what we teach and therefore this is what is normative in our movement. I am not sure the book of Acts is teaching this as normative for the church. I do believe that the book of Acts clearly teaches an undeniable DISTINCTION between salvation and spirit baptism (see Acts 8:14-17).  My sense is that salvation and spirit baptism should be simultaneous, and that this would be more ‘the biblical norm’. But this is really hard to do in practice, so while I disagree in theory, in practice I usually go the Pentecostal route.

I understand that this not the standard Pentecostal theological framework in every church, but these teachings or variations of these are always floating around…

Some Negative Fallout

Here are some negative results of the Pentecostal teaching outlined above:

1. A loss of spiritual hunger after a single spirit baptism. We think we’ve got it all once we experience one single immersion. We no longer seek (at least with the same passion) subsequent immersions and greater anointings of the spirit. Why should we? We’ve already got THE Baptism in the Spirit.
2. A complacency over ‘evidential tongues’. We have churches filled with people who speak in tongues who still walk under fear when it comes to being witnesses. Though we teach Spirit Baptism as empowerment to be a witness – and tongues as just a sign, in practice, we get people who can point to the sign as evidence of spirit baptism without actually walking in the fullness of pentecostal power. Don’t get the sign confused with the anointing itself!
3. A misunderstanding and despising of other ‘non-spirit-filled’ streams. We have trouble seeing the supernatural in those who are not pentecostal. When we do see it, we get confused. Historically men and women have moved in great healing, prophetic and apostolic anointing without a pentecostal theological framework or experience. People today commonly prophesy without speaking in tongues (common in the Vineyard movement, for example). Those we don’t understand and accept, we tend to alienate. Spiritual gifts are related to conversion, not only spirit baptism.

The greatest loss, in my mind, is the loss of hunger, once you’ve received ‘THE Baptism in the Holy Spirit’. We are open to some, but not all of the empowerment God offers. What usually happens, is that those who hunger for more go to other streams and movements and just get what they need. I think the classic pentecostal framework, this wonderful wineskin, is in danger of getting a little stiff.

My Neo-Pentecostal framework

Here is my neo-pentecostal framework:

I encourage everyone to pursue more spirit baptisms. I go after everything that’s out there – holy laughter, healing impartations, prophetic encounters, tears… whatever  - every flavor of spirit immersion that God is pouring out.

I will speak in tongues till I am blue in the face, because tongues is an awesome gift! But I will be very careful not to imply or even think that I got “it” while others don’t. I got some, and I want more… lots more! Let the evidence of ‘power to witness’ and boldness be visible in my life, and may it stir others to pursue more of The Spirit’s empowerment.

I will embrace and encourage everyone, from every stream, to pursue power in God. I will recognize the supernatural wherever I see it and let it stoke my hunger in God. I will pray and teach to give away any and every spiritual impartation I can, while constantly seeking God for more. I will press into God for more power, more gifts and more boldness all the time – and constantly keep my heart open to correction and my spirit open to receive more from God.

How about it, God? I’m ready to take another long dip in your River!