Ask A Pentecostal: Questions and Answers About Pentecostalism

What is Pentecostalism? The History of the Movement.

What exactly is Pentecostalism?

As a girl born and raised in Pentecostal churches, I've encountered variations of this question multiple times, from adults and teens alike. Some of the most common I've heard questions are:

Why do you wear skirts?

Why don't Pentecostal women cut their hair?

Why don't Pentecostals wear jewelry, makeup, etc?

Why are Pentecostal services so crazy?

Aren't Pentecostals the ones who handle snakes?

Well, before I can answer those questions, I have to make the point that Pentecostalism is not universal. Different churches, denominations, preachers, and people believe different things. When answering questions like these, I have to take care to distinguish between Biblical convictions(things expressly commanded in the Bible), denominational or church convictions(things required to be a member of a certain denomination or church), and personal convictions(things you personally believe that God requires of you as a person).

I'll delve into this in the next chapter. For now, let's look at the history of Pentecostalism. Above I've posted a great video that explains better than I could about the beginnings and stages of Pentecostalism. For those of you who would like to skip the history lesson, just scroll past the section in italics.

It's difficult to find a date or period of time and say 'Pentecostalism started here'. If you asked when it did begin, many people would point to the Azusa Street Revival in 1906, led by William J. Seymour, an African-American pastor. The revival went on for months and was characterized by spiritual experiences and testimonies of healings, miracles, and "speaking in tongues".

The Azusa street revival was criticized by mainstream society in general for many different reasons, not the least being the fact that Seymour, a black man, was leading a mixed-race congregation that included Whites, Blacks, and Latinos. In 1906, this just wasn't done by "proper people". Mainstream denominations considered the entire affair scandalous and disorderly, dismissing those involved as crazy and unorthodox.

But truly, similar revivals had been seen before; involving healings, miracles, being "slain in the spirit" and other occurrences typical of a Pentecostal revival. Some would date the beginning of the Pentecostal movement as the Second or First Great Awakening. But to really understand Pentecostalism, you would have to go back to the very beginning of the Church in Acts.

After Christ's ascension, he commanded his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of another comforter. After fifty days of waiting, the day of Pentecost arrived.

Acts 2:1-4 states

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

The scripture goes on to describe how the disciples came out of the house and went throughout the streets. This was during a Jewish religious festival, so there were Jew from all over the world, native to other countries. These foreign-born Jews all heard the disciples speak in their own native tongues and "they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine."

Then, Peter stood up to preach. He told the crowd that had gathered that the disciples were not drunk, seeing as it was only about nine in the morning, but that God's Spirit had been poured out as had been promised in the book of Joel.

Peter went on to preach the gospel and about three thousand were saved that day. Later, he and John, through the power of the Holy Spirit, healed a beggar that had been lame from birth. The crowds in the street marveled, not knowing what this meant and Peter again preached the gospel, resulting in the salvation of about five thousand.

For hundreds of years, the Christian church viewed all of this as descriptive rather than prescriptive. That is, they believed the second and third chapter of Acts to be saying, "this is what happened; this is how the church started" and not "this is what should be happening today".

The Pentecostal movement is based on the idea that these kinds of signs and wonders due to the filling of believers by the Holy Spirit should still be happening today.

Okay, you may be saying, so that's how Pentecostalism started, but you haven't completely answered what it is.

Right you are.

Pentecostalism generally entails four main beliefs:

Salvation: That all people have sinned and need to repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior

Inerrancy of Scripture: That the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the final authority on how we should live

Sanctification: The process by which God purifies and cleanses the heart of a believer

Baptism of the Holy Ghost: Being filled with the Holy Spirit as the disciples were in Acts 2, evidenced by spiritual gifts

These are the staples of the Pentecostal movement.

Now, you'll notice I didn't mention the Trinity. That's because some Pentecostal groups don't believe in One God eternally existing in three persons; namely, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. But that's another subject for another time.

So, what do you think? Are there any particular questions you have about Pentecostalism? Comment here and I'll do my best to answer.