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.
Continue reading “A revised edition of Pentecostal Sacraments is available!”
In Pentecostal Sacraments (2010, 2015) I suggested that the church’s worship should be an integration of the Spirit, the Word, and Sacraments. For liturgical worshipers, the Spirit is present in the sacraments. For reformed worshipers, the Spirit is present in the Word. Pentecostal worshipers emphasize an unmediated personal encounter with the Holy Spirit. Each worship tradition standing alone has shortcomings. Liturgical worship without the Word and the Spirit may lead to dead formalism. Reformed worship without sacraments and the Spirit may lead to sterile intellectualism. Pentecostal worship without sacraments and the Word may lead to shallow emotionalism. Since the publication of Pentecostal Sacraments, others have called for the integration of Word, Sacrament, and Spirit in Christian worship.
Continue reading “Celebrating Sacraments at the Pentecostal Altar”
God is omnipresent. God’s presence fills space and time; God’s presence transcends space and time. God’s omnipresence means that God is not confined within, or limited to, a specific time or place (Acts 17:24). Even so, God has, at times, revealed God’s self locally, in a specific time and place.
Continue reading “The Spirit filled the House”
As I have previously written, the altar call is the climax of the Pentecostal worship service. But many Pentecostal churches no longer have altar calls. I think its time to rethink the altar call.
Continue reading “We Need to Rethink the Altar Call”