This type of emotional, nonintellectual worship has never appealed to me. I am too snobby. Maybe I should reconsider.

In a global study of rapidly growing churches with social ministries, USC sociology professor Donald Miller found that nearly 90% of them were run by Pentecostals.

Miller said the survey has countered stereotypes that liberal Christians were doing the social ministries while Pentecostals focused on the hereafter. It has also challenged assumptions that active social ministries stymie church growth by reducing time for evangelism--one reason Pentecostals historically shied away from them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ May 31, 2001

Global Convention Testifies to Pentecostalism's Revival

By TERESA WATANABE, Times Religion Writer

At the Faithdome in South-Central Los Angeles this week, one of the most dynamic religious movements in the world is out in full force. A man from the Philippines has collapsed on the floor and is murmuring sweet praises to Jesus. An Asian and an African are hugging, praying and weeping. A leader of the faith, Thomas Trask, voice booming and face perspiring, has laid his thick hands over a Korean woman's head and is exhorting God: "Heal! Heal! Heal! We rebuke the attackers in the name of Jesus!"

A century after a one-eyed preacher in Los Angeles fired up the Pentecostal flame that has now spread to half a billion worshipers worldwide, several thousand believers from more than 40 countries are congregating here for the World Pentecostal Conference. At their nightly gatherings, differences seem to melt away as they worship in the same language of God and give remarkably similar testimony of miracles worked, lives transformed and native lands spiritually afire.

Gabriel Olusoji Farombi, resplendent in Nigerian robes, said he left the Anglican Church for Pentecostalism four decades ago after the Holy Spirit healed a leg shattered in an auto accident and marked for amputation. Thanks to such miracles, he and others say, the Nigerian church has grown from 900,000 a decade ago to 2 million today.

The Pentecostal movement is inspired by the biblical Book of Acts, in which the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and empowered them with the ability to speak in tongues, perform miracles and witness wonders. To believers, such gifts are not the stuff of dead history, but fully available today to those who ask for it through baptism.

Their exuberant faith is reshaping global Christianity by inspiring similar renewals among Catholics and other non-Pentecostal Christians. In what adherents call Pentecostalism's "third wave," this florid style of worship is now taking root indigenously and independently from its original American denominations, such as the Assemblies of God, Church of God in Christ and International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Fully 70% of those who follow the Pentecostal style today are nonwhite, religious demographer David B. Barrett said. He said the single largest group is China's 60 million. That spiritual energy has sparked a global backlash. Barrett said Pentecostals are the most persecuted Christians in history, having suffered oppression even in countries that embrace other Christian churches. Experts say many churches may see them as competition.

Pentecostals have come under fire for faking healings or running financially amok, as occurred with Jim and Tammy Bakker several years ago. Some Christians dispute their theology, arguing that the age of miracles is over. But Pentecostals are also beginning to win broad public acceptance, thanks in part to a new focus on social ministry.

Four years ago, for instance, the Assemblies of God began launching "Convoys of Hope" throughout the nation, bringing health clinics, food, clothing and the gospel to as many as 25,000 people every weekend, said Trask, the denomination's general superintendent. Now the denomination, whose 40 million members make it the largest Pentecostal group in the world, is expanding relief operations overseas. In a global study of rapidly growing churches with social ministries, USC sociology professor Donald Miller found that nearly 90% of them were run by Pentecostals.

Miller said the survey has countered stereotypes that liberal Christians were doing the social ministries while Pentecostals focused on the hereafter. It has also challenged assumptions that active social ministries stymie church growth by reducing time for evangelism--one reason Pentecostals historically shied away from them. "We took care of getting men saved and ready for heaven, but weren't sure what to do with them on Earth," said Ron Williams, Foursquare Church spokesman. "Now we're helping them with both their spiritual needs and their physical daily needs."

The focus on the supernatural, Holy Spirit and social ministry are not the only attractions for believers. Pentecostal churches tend to provide the small-group intimacy that many hunger for, experts say. The average Pentecostal church has only 90 members--60 in rural areas--and large congregations often take care to break down into "cell groups" in which personal and spiritual issues can be freely discussed, experts say. The Pasadena Foursquare Church, for instance, has developed "tribes" organized by interest--music, for instance, or art and culture. But just as often members might end up comforting someone bemoaning a romantic breakup or praying for each other, said Burt Jones, a church elder and USC research professor.

Cecil M. Robeck Jr., a lifelong Assemblies of God member and Fuller Theological Seminary professor, still tears up when he recalls how his church brethren always seemed to know when his impoverished family ran out of food and would always be there with bags of groceries. Members have no compunction about calling each other to account for their behavior--whether it is to admonish a spousal abuser or to challenge a minister's sermon in the middle of it, Robeck said. Robeck added that Pentecostalism's egalitarianism has also proved to be attractive. Anyone can minister to anyone. No theological degrees or ordination are needed. Leadership often rotates, with members taking turns reading Scripture, leading the music or prayers. In the 1906 Azusa Street Revival, which kicked off the worldwide movement in what is today Little Tokyo, believers say the Holy Spirit equally empowered men and women, blacks and whites. That model is still raised as the ideal, even though it is not always followed.

At the world conference, which ends today, conferees have discussed racial reconciliation, theology, mission work and worship in daytime workshops. The evening gatherings have featured song, sermons and prayer by leading Pentecostals, from the Rev. Jack Hayford of the Church on the Way in Van Nuys to Bishop Charles Blake of West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles. Then, at the end of the night, comes the climactic altar call. Believers have surged forward in a rip-roaring display of weeping, praising, laying on of hands and falling to the ground. "The Pentecostal movement is more powerful today than ever and will continue to gain momentum," Trask declared. "No man can stop it. It's a God thing."

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), June 02, 2001

Answers

Anybody out there cept me that doesn't see this Pentacostal/Church of God/Whatever Protestant problem as overblown. I've never met any of those wierd people or if I have they kept they're mouths shut. Lots of Catholics round here. Mostly Mexicans. Good folks. Maybe I'm missing something but most all religious people I know are OK. Better than OK.

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), June 02, 2001.

Carlos--

That is my impression also. I have never had a fundie try to convert me.

On the other hand, I don't speak glossolalia.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), June 02, 2001.

ooogabodalapafytoba bejatiko fulordiplwfer!

-- al-D (dawgs@zianet.net), June 03, 2001.

I remember, as a teen, going to a Billy Graham crusade with my friend's youth group. It was a very "emotional" experience, and a few teens in the group went up and accepted Christ. It was kindof like being in a trance. The music and the words just seemed to "fill" the body. This is not unlike the other cults that prey on folks looking for something.

Observing the aftermath of the teens who accepted Christ on that day, once the fog lifted, they went back to their normal patterns of life. I don't know if this was a pentecostal thing or not, but it seems that one needs daily doses of whatever it is to remain "in the fold". That's kindof a scary thought in itself, to me.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), June 03, 2001.

Several years ago some friends invited us to visit their church. It was a pentecostal-type church revolving around the charismatic personality of the founder. The church itself was named after the founder, not Jesus. The church met in a large warehouse in an industrial district because the congregation was so huge.

The children had a church of their own. Inside the enormous cavern for children, the walls were painted floor to ceiling with colorful animals. The folding metal chairs were painted in primary colors, and the chairs were arranged so that no two chairs the same color were next to each other. There were probably 300-400 chairs in there, giving the effect of an endless rainbow of color. The stage at the end of the room held a large puppet stand. Most of the children's sermons were delivered by puppets. The visual effect was so overwhelming to an adult that I can't imagine letting a child see it only once and then never going back. To be deprived of this sight would be unbearable for a child.

The children were told that each one could come to a pizza and skating party for free -- but only if the child brought at least one parent to church with him. The fun to be had at the pizza party was detailed to the point that children without attending parents were in tears.

The adult sermon was punctuated by orchestrated echolalia. A missionary overseas was contacted by phone to personally thank the congregation for the large donation the congregation had made. The missionary was in the Phillipines. I had talked to friends in the Phillipines before and knew that (at that time) there was normally a delay between incoming and outgoing transmissions. This particular missionary must have gotten his connection from God, because there was no delay of even a fraction of a second. I mentioned to my friends the discrepancy between what I understood as reality and what was being presented on the stage in front of us. They said that God really helped that minister do his stuff. They did not question it.

My friends are wonderful people. We like them so much that we invited them to live with us during the rollover if they felt the need. I wished very much to relate to their style of religion. I was troubled by the blatant psychological manipulation of children in order to bring in the parents. I was troubled by what I believed was a fake phone call explaining where a large of money had been received from that congregation.

It would have been easy to let them take over my children and my life because they offered total contentment now and heaven to come. Sometimes I wish I could let go, close my eyes, and believe. It seems easier when I watch other people do it, but it never works for me.

-- helen (not@sure.anymore), June 03, 2001.

Helen, I’ve seen a few similar situations such as you detail and it is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY! Make that TAX EXEMPT MONEY!

However, the ‘believers’ that provide the money to the church hierarchy are getting something in return. So what you have is free enterprise in action.

My beef is the ‘tax exempt’ status that organized religions enjoy. It’s a business, pure and simple, and should be treated like one.

-- Lay Down (on@the.couch), June 03, 2001.

Guru Ma predicted Armageddon to occur on April 23, 1990. So far as I know, Church Universal and Triumphant is still in their bunkers at Grand Teton Ranch.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), June 03, 2001.

FWIW, try again: Apocalypse Then

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), June 03, 2001.

I have an uncle who is a very faithful union man. This psychological manipulation is not unique to religion. He is as brainwashed as any of these pentecostals. The scary part he is the disdain he shows to those who disagree with his very narrow world view.

-- jammy (jammin@with.jammy), June 03, 2001.