Pentecost Church vs. Pentecostal Church

In a few days, Christian churches everywhere will be celebrating the Festival of Pentecost. In our church, we will be listening to the sound of different languages, watching flames of fire, and enjoying a church decked in red. All this is good and fun — but such worship does more to obscure than uncover what it means for a church to live in the spirit of Pentecost. In the following, I hope to explore a bit what is may mean to be a “Pentecost” church, and how such a church is different from a “Pentecostal” church.

Pentecost Church vs. Pentecostal Church
The adjective “Pentecostal” is derived from the noun “Pentecostalism.” Pentecostalism is a religious renewal movement within Christianity, that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (see Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. "Pentecostalism". http://pewforum.org/docs).

Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is an umbrella term that includes a wide range of different theological and organizational perspectives. As a result, there is no single central organization or church that directs the movement. Most Pentecostals consider themselves to be part of broader Christian groups; for example, most Pentecostals identify as Protestants.

Beliefs concerning spiritual gifts among Pentecostals are as varied and diverse as the number of denominations they have split into. However, all Pentecostals share a belief that all spiritual gifts described in the Bible are at work in the church today.

Clash between Lutheran and Pentecostal Beliefs
Some of the fundamental concepts of Pentecostalism clash with core Lutheran beliefs. Perhaps the main difference between Lutheran and Pentecostal doctrine is that Pentecostalism tends to emphasize the importance of personal and spiritual "experiences" (such as "baptism in the Holy Spirit" and speaking in tongues), while Lutherans emphasize the importance and centrality of God’s Word and God’s promises in Scripture. 

Lutherans are concerned that Pentecostals often teach that an individual must first become worthy before s/he can be baptized in the Spirit. This worthiness, Pentecostals believe, is gained by complete obedience to Christ, holiness, intense prayer, fasting, etc. This conflicts with the Biblical teaching that God gives God’s Spirit freely, by grace, for all who believe in Jesus and are baptized with water. This emphasis on worthiness tempts Pentecostals to lapse into (what Lutherans would consider) works-righteousness.

What is a "Pentecost Church"?
To understand the notion of a “Pentecost” church, we first need to look at what the Bible says about God’s Holy Spirit, for the Festival of Pentecost celebrates to coming of God’s Holy Spirit upon the first Christians.

A Spirit-Filled Church
The Old Testament calls God’s Holy Spirit God’s “wisdom” (or “sophia”) and teaches that God’s wisdom was present with God before the creation of the world. God’s Holy Spirit fell upon Jesus at his baptism in the river Jordan and was with Jesus ever since. After Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, God’s Holy Spirit fell upon Christ’s body, the church, and continues to be with her ever since. God’s Holy Spirit empowers people, calls them out of complacency, stirs them, comforts, and sustains them through life’s perils.

A Pentecost Church, thus, is a church that celebrates the presence of God’s Holy Spirit and strives to live in the Spirit’s presence. A Pentecost Church seeks to open herself to the works of the Spirit. A Pentecost Church is open to the notion that God’s Spirit is at work in her, even today. A Pentecost Church is open to surprises, for she trusts that God continues to do new things in the world. Pentecost Christians are willing to let God’s Spirit sweep away their long-held biases and prejudices, if those prove contrary to Christ’s message of grace and mercy.

Is Bethel a Pentecost Church?
Are we such a Pentecost Church? Is our congregation truly open to the works of God’s Holy Spirit in our midst? Do we trust that God empowers us, challenges, and sustains us through God’s Holy Spirit? Do we truly celebrate the gifts of God’s Spirit among us? Do we truly trust that God’s Holy Spirit is working among us? Or do we trust more in the power of religious tradition, balance sheets, and savings accounts? Not all of the Spirit’s gifts may be comfortable. Sometimes God’s Spirit works among and within us to wake us from all-too-comfortable spiritual slumber and complacency.

What are Signs of God’s Holy Spirit?
The New Testament itself tells us that the Church, the body of Christ, is evidence to the world that Jesus Christ is alive in the here and now. The church is God's sign to the world that Jesus has been raised from the dead. When Jesus’ first disciples realized they had an unbroken and unbreakable connection to their Savior, the Church formed. Enlivened and emboldened by their connection with Jesus, they lived together with such passion and compassion, such love and grace, such generosity and power, that the only plausible explanation for their life together was the presence and the power of God’s Holy Spirit. 

Do we live together in such a loving and Spirit-filled manner as the early Christians did? That, I believe, is the first and foremost question posed to us by God this Pentecost Day … and always.