I’ve attended Society of Pentecostal Studies meetings for about 20 years. My Christian journey has benefited from academic pursuit. I’m a curious soul, always asking questions. As a young man, my curiosity led to being labeled rebellious or liberal. As an older man, my curiosity is often labeled as being bitter or angry. (I must confess that I’ve always been something of a protester and cynic). I’ve never understood why people are frightened by curiosity.
My academic journey has always been grounded in pastoral work. I sought education in order to be a better pastor, to be a better thinker, and to develop better vocational competencies. I wanted to be a better thinker, because I wanted to be able to answer the questions of my sons that no one could answer for me. It has always been my desire to guide young people in developing the Faith. I enjoy reading theology, but I have always maintained that a theology that cannot be practiced and lived is not helpful. An authentic Pentecostal spirituality requires engaging the heart, the head, and the hands. In other words, the practice of Pentecostalism requires a transformed heart, a renewed mind, and strengthened hands.
American Christianity has always been ambivalent towards formal academic education. In the colonial era, many American pastors resisted the educational elitism of their European trained colleagues. This is very much a part of the American ethos, an ethos that has been firmly embraced by North American Pentecostals. Pentecostals tend to believe that baptism in the Holy Spirit as empowerment for mission makes the minister omnicompetent. Although Pentecostal leaders would hesitate to admit it, they are rethinking this. The emphasis on leadership development among Pentecostals over the last two decades is a tacit admission that Spirit Baptism does not automatically make one a good leader. Likewise, Spirit baptism doesn’t automatically make one a good student of Holy Scripture, or a great preacher. Don’t misunderstand me – I firmly believe that baptism in the Holy Spirit is a necessary encounter in the Christian way. I suggest that Spirit baptism opens the heart and mind to the fullness of God so that we may be properly developed by disciplined study, prayerful reflection, and faithful practice.
Back to the Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS). From the beginning, Pentecostalism has been a diverse movement – diverse tongues, diverse tribes, and diverse points of view, all grounded in the common confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. SPS is not a happy place for those who have a low tolerance for diversity. SPS is a diverse society represented by Pentecostals around the world speaking various tongues and holding diverse points of view. SPS also includes scholars from various Christian traditions – Roman Catholic to Mennonite – who desire dialogue. At SPS, I find much that I can embrace, and much with which I disagree, sometimes profoundly. That can be said of any large family. Diversity is a strength when bound by a unity of love and faith. Listening requires humility and hospitality.
I have discovered that the academic pursuit of biblical and theological studies can be rewarding. Even so, there are pitfalls for academics and anti-intellectuals. Both can be tempted towards arrogance, a common human malady. Knowledge without love and faith is worthless, even dangerous. Willful ignorance is foolish. Both can be tempted by innovation. Intellectuals favor that which is interesting. Anti-intellectuals favor that which is pragmatic. In pursuit of the interesting and the pragmatic, both can be tempted to sacrifice faithfulness to Christ and his mission. Both can be tempted by faulty hermeneutics, that is reading Scripture in ways that justify political agendas and cultural biases that are contrary to the way of Christ. Both can be tempted towards heresy by selective use of Scripture and dismissing the Great Tradition in favor of contemporary concerns.
I’ve had the opportunity to sit at the table with some of the greatest scholars in the world. I’ve also had the opportunity to sit at the table with my illiterate grandmother. I have learned a great deal from both. Likewise, Pentecostal academics would benefit from dialogue with pastors and leaders who are not formally educated; and pastors would benefit from sitting at the table with Pentecostal scholars who have been called and anointed to teach.
