From Jerusalem to Azusa Street

This past April marked the 100th anniversary of Pentecostalism. The Alliance's Public Policy Director R David Muir looks at where we are as a result...

If you were fortunate enough to attend the four-day celebrations in Los Angeles, the marketing folks promised you a piece of history - the "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the reflection and reality of the world’s greatest revival" - all for $100.

I’m sure that those who attended were not disappointed. But now that the official celebration is over it’s a good opportunity to look briefly at the phenomenon that has become a dominant force in global Christianity.

A personal journey

In a rather musty local Anglican church hall in South West London, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues "as the Spirit giveth utterance". It happened on 23 May 1976 at a women’s convention, after spending considerable time "tarrying" for blessing in classical Pentecostal style.

I was converted in one of those traditional Apostolic Pentecostal churches where you really hadn’t arrived spiritually until you received the baptism. Although we rented the local Anglican church hall for our Sunday services, and our pastor would be occasionally invited to preach for the Anglican congregation, it was thought that they were not really "saved"; they were nominal Christians because they didn’t believe in, or receive, the Holy Ghost like we did.

That was a long time ago. And the history and experience of the Pentecostal story provides a spiritual stream for countless autobiographies not too dissimilar to my own. But what is this thing called Pentecostalism?

In the early days it was disparagingly referred to as the "tongues movement" because of its dominant expression and identification with this early Church practice. For Pentecostals, the book of Acts, especially chapter 2, provides much of the biblical basis for their teaching and experience.

Whether one describes Pentecostalism (and its Charismatic offspring) as author David Martin does - as "the most dramatic development of Christianity in the century recently concluded" - or as intimated in the subtitle of Harvey Cox’s book Fire From Heaven - as "the reshaping of religion in the 21st century" - one can but marvel at the work of the Holy Spirit in the growth and development of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches.

From a movement that started in 1906 in a former livery stable at 312 Azusa Street, Los Angeles, with a handful of believers under the leadership of an African-American Holiness preacher named William J Seymour (1880-1922), this is truly remarkable.

Today there are more than 500 million Pentecostals and Charismatics in the world, with projected annual growth around 11 million. The majority of them are in the Third World.

History and race

The origins of modern-day Pentecostalism are usually traced back to 1 January 1901, with Agnes Ozman speaking in tongues at Charles Parham’s Bethel Bible School. However, it is the 1906 Azusa Street revival under Seymour that signalled the internationalisation of the movement.

For three years (1906-1909), Seymour led an inter-racial revival. People from all walks of life and nations came to witness this "latter rain" outpouring, and women played a significant role in the leadership. At a time when "Jim Crow" laws and racial segregation dominated the fabric of American society, this was an amazing work of the Spirit in breaking down social, racial and gender barriers.

Indeed, one participant in the Azusa Street revival rejoiced that America’s historic "colour-line was washed away in the blood" of Jesus Christ. Regrettably, this racial unity was short-lived and has remained one of the tarnished memories in the Pentecostal legacy.

Pentecostalism undoubtedly paved the way for the Charismatic movement, which began in the second half of the 20th century following Episcopal priest Dennis Bennett’s experience and the call for a renewal from the Vatican II Council (1962-1965).

Although the terms "Pentecostal" and "Charismatic" are often used interchangeably, there are important theological points of departure. Essentially, Pentecostals subscribe to a work of grace subsequent to conversion in which Spirit baptism is evidenced by speaking in tongues (glossolalia). Charismatics, on the other hand, do not always advocate either the necessity of a second work of grace or the evidence of glossolalia as affirmation of Spirit baptism. Of course, both Pentecostals and Charismatics emphasise the work of the Holy Spirit through gifts (charisms) in the life of the individual and the Church.

Ecclesiastically, the differences between the two groups are a little more straightforward in that they can be seen in denominational affiliation. But even here we may be in danger of over-simplification. Basically, "Pentecostal" describes those that trace their roots back to the 1906 Azusa Street revival and identify with the spirituality of the movement - denominations like Elim Pentecostal Church, Church of God in Christ, United Pentecostal Church and the Assemblies of God, to name some of the well-known ones. The word "Charismatic" would characterise those outside these classical denominations, whether they are mainline denominations or individual churches.

Pentecostal experience

The attraction, appeal and dynamism of Pentecostal and Charismatic spirituality are much more than the sum of doctrines. Pentecostal spirituality often gives the poor, marginalised and disenfranchised a voice. It allows you, as Walter Hollenweger argues, to "talk about how you have been healed or how your very life has been changed".

For me, Pentecostal spirituality is experiential, intimate, oral and immediate; it speaks of a radical attachment and appropriation of both Word and Spirit in the prayers, devotion and lived-experience of believers, knowing that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and that His Spirit universalises the availability of His power to transform lives and communities.

I am no longer a member of the Apostolic church where I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but I thank God for that day in 1976 and for those who made me feel that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob wanted to be my God, and that He had a purpose for my life. When you hear this kind of message at the age of 17, and it is reinforced in an affirming, joyful and Bible-believing Christian community, everything changes.