Reflections of an Undeconstructed Pentecostal
A presentation on November 6, 2024 for Heritage Week Chapel at Pentecostal Theological Seminary in Cleveland, TN. This presentation discusses the heritage of Pentecostal worship and associated sights and sounds – healing, prayer, singing and dancing, holy laughter, being slain in the Spirit, and handling snakes.
The Church of God Declaration of Faith was adopted by the General Assembly of the the Church of God in 1948. It offers fourteen articles that succinctly state the theological commitments of the Church of God. PTS Press has released a new book – We Believe – that presents a scholarly, but accessible, exposition of each article of faith. Each chapter is written by member of the faculty at Pentecostal Theological Seminary. We Believe can be ordered from Pathway Press. Click here to order.
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Estrelda Alexander’s Black Fire tells a compelling story of the Pentecostal Movement, specifically that of Pentecostal believers of African descent in North America. Like many Pentecostal historians, she begins by comparing the physical earthquake in San Francisco in April 1906 with the spiritual earthquake of the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles in the same year. The reader is to be reminded of the words of God spoken by an ancient prophet: “I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations . . .” (Haggai 2:6-7). The birth of twentieth century Pentecostalism was indeed a profound shaking – a shaking of ecclesiastical structures, a shaking of socio-political sensibilities in North America, a shaking that would be felt in all the nations of the earth.
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Phoebe Palmer (1807-1874) was a prominent nineteenth century evangelist in the Wesleyan tradition. She came to the Christian faith in the midst of the Holiness revivals that followed the Great Awakening (1730s – 1740s) and the Cain Ridge Communion (1801). The spirituality of these American revival movements emphasized emotional and intense religious experiences that signified the reality of one’s conversion. This divine assurance was the foundation and motivation for the convert to go on to Christian perfection.
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I’m often asked for resources that are helpful to pastors in developing a Christian theology of human sexuality. Following is a select bibliography of resources I often recommend.
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