A few weeks ago, about 450-500 people and I traveled to Cleveland, Tennessee for the annual meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS). Cleveland is the Mecca of the Pentecostal denomination known as the “Church of God (Cleveland, TN).” The city includes both the international offices of the denomination along with its schools: Lee […]
At the center of Pentecostal spirituality is the divine encounter. One can rightly argue that we cannot make an encounter with God happen in as much as we cannot control God. Nevertheless, some Scriptures make me think that this is something we can facilitate to some extent. A couple of the old strategies Pentecostals used to […]
How can Pentecostal churches move from “generic evangelicalism” to restoring historic Pentecostal spirituality? I should clarify that, for my own part, my concern is not first and foremost with encouraging churches to be “more Pentecostal”—I don’t have a preoccupation with preserving denominational distinctives simply for the sake […]
Together with Dr. Adam Stewart (Crandall University) and Kevin Shanahan (Environics Research), I recently published a journal article called “Changes in Clergy Belief and Practice in Canada’s Largest Pentecostal Denomination.” You can download the article here. Most readers will be most interested in the second part of the article, which discusses overall changes over the […]
Contemporary Pentecostal systematic theologians are discussing Spirit baptism in ways that include, but go beyond, traditional Pentecostal emphases. Amos Yong, who holds ministry credentials with the Assemblies of God (USA), is arguably the most prolific Pentecostal theologian today.
Contemporary Pentecostal systematic theologians are discussing Spirit baptism in a way that includes, but goes beyond, traditional Pentecostal emphases. Pentecostal’s have historically emphasized that any believer can be baptized in the Spirit and that […]
At times I have heard Pentecostal Christians triumphantly declare that Pentecostalism now consists of over 600 million people in the world. I assume they have the good intention of encouraging those Pentecostals who are listening. I sometimes worry, though, that they are implying that the large and growing number of Pentecostals in the world implies […]
Sometimes I think Pentecostals should just give up on talking about Spirit baptism. Students are either confused or crying in my office because they want to experience it, but haven’t.
Pentecost Sunday is coming soon. Did you even know? If you are Pentecostal, probably not. Yet, I have heard some Pentecostals complain when their pastor hasn’t mentioned Pentecost on Pentecost Sunday. Is this a problem? Not Liturgical Most Pentecostal churches I know aren’t liturgical. The closest they come to following the liturgical calendar is celebrating Christmas and Easter. […]
The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) is in a process of reviewing and refreshing its Statement of Fundamental and Essential Truths (SOFET). You can find a copy of the most recent, 2014, statement here. The PAOC’s SOFET has seen many changes. Some of these changes reflect reaffirmations of previous beliefs, while some reflect changing beliefs […]