Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 29:3-4, Summer-Fall 1992

REFLECTIONS BY A PENTECOSTALIST ON ASPECTS OF BEM

Harold D. Hunter

PRECIS
Confounding the axiomatic antithesis between expressive narrative and reflective theol-
ogy, the surge of Pentecostal scholars provokes a search for theological treatises that are global
in scope and that seek to rise above controversies of the past. Pentecostal theologians have
disavowed appellations such as precritical and submodern, yet they are predictably drawn by
the Apostolic Faith Project of the World Council of Churches, in part because inherited
restorianism resonates with sensitivities to doxological and confessional orientations. Brighton
'91, which featured Juergen Moltmann as keynote speaker, brought together 150 Pentecostal and
charismatic scholars of all known stripes from six continents and gave voice to new insights for
handling racism, sexism, socioeconomic oppression, the environment, etc. This unprecedented
symposium attracted established conciliars, while six months earlier twelve Pentecostalists
attended the W.C.C. Assembly at Canberra, which met under the banner, "Come, Holy Spirit" —
hence, the exploration of Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry.

Prolegomena

Expressions of tremendous appreciation have been rightly directed to-

ward the World Council of Churches' Faith and Order Commission for the
remarkable document, Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, widely known simply
Harold D. Hunter (Church of God [Cleveland, TN]) has been Scholar in Residence at the Church
of God School of Theology in Cleveland, TN, since 1991. He was a visiting professor at the Korean
Bible Seminary in Seoul during 1991; served as executive director of the Sunday School Dept. of
the Church of God of Prophecy (1986-91), while doing research and lecturing widely around the
world; and taught theology at Oral Roberts University School of Theology, Tulsa, OK (1985-86),
and at the Church of God School of Theology (1981-85). He has also served as an instructor at
Manna Christian College, Fayetteville, NC (1980), and at Melodyland Graduate School of
Theology, Anaheim, CA (1978-79). Ordained in 1975 (with the Church of God since 1992), he
has held numerous denominational posts and held local-church pastorates in Vancouver and in
California. He holds a B.A. from Lee College, Cleveland, TN; a Diploma of Christian Studies from
Regent College, Vancouver, and both an M.A. in theology and a Ph.D. in systematic theology
(1979) from Fuller Theological Seminary. He served as President of the Society for Pentecostal
Studies (1983-84); has been a member of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A./Faith & Order-Pentecostal Dialogue since 1987; and was co-director of the Brighton '91
International Charismatic Consultation on World Evangelization (and directs the resulting net-
work of Brighton scholars). He is active in numerous professional and church-related societies
and is an advisor to the International Roman Catholic-Classical Pentecostal Dialogue (since
1983). His articles have appeared in many denominational and academic journals and as chapters
in books (including the Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements [Zondervan, 1988],
the Dictionary of Christianity in A merica [InterVarsity Press, 19901, and the New 20th-Century
Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 2nd ed. [Baker Books, 1991]). He edited Pastoral Problems
in the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement (S.P.S., 1983) and co-edited (with Peter Hocken) A ll
Together in One Place: Papers from the Theological Section of the Brighton Conference on W orld
Evangelization (Sheffield Academic Press, 1993). His "Musings on Confessing the One Faith"
appeared in Pnewna (Fall, 1992).
317
318 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

as BEM. 1 The extent of its influence can easily be seen in the number of
circulated copies (400,000 by 1989) and, more significantly, by the impressive
number of important responses. It seems that virtually all major traditions and
most parts of the world have found this discriminating work of Faith and Order
worthy of serious interaction. 2 The ability of BEM to arrive at -several impor-
tant "convergences" should encourage Pentecostalists from around the world
to sense a welcome opportunity to participate in the future of the conciliar
movement. Convergences identify agreements lacking consentire. This is a
definition allowed by Faith and Order. 3 Although distracted by the absence of
their doctrinal and pastoral priorities, the greatest loss may be the lack of
redress by BEM to anything like the pentecostal ethos. Since pentecostal
praxis anticipated Bonhoeffer's concept of "cheap grace," this is not a minor
oversight. 4 Latin Americans show the way by expressing the cornerstone of
pentecostal ethos as "encuentro." Since Pentecostals do not seek a radical
departure from their inherited theology but, rather, its vivification, the term
"experience" as denigrated in the West fails to capture the intended personal
appropriation of biblical truths. If their narrative theology has at times been
uneasy with mainstream formulations of gospel truth, the same cannot be said
about the pentecostal resolve to adhere to perceived fundamentals of the
faith.5
1
Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, Faith and Order Paper 111 (Geneva: World Council of
Churches, 1982); hereafter cited as BEM.
2
Michael Kinnamon has quickly qualified this: "... neither Faith and Order nor the WCC as
a whole `approved' BEM. The WCC has repeatedly affirmed that it cannot legislate doctrinal
agreement for its member churches" (in his Truth and Community: Diversity and Its Limits in the
Ecumenical Movement [Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.; Geneva: WCC
Publications, 1988], p. 41).
3
BEM, preface. See the 1989 draft of the W.C.C.'s Commission on Faith and Order on the
process and responses to BEM: 1982, chap. 3, p. 11. Hereafter identified as the "F. & O. Draft
Report," this would later become Baptism, Eucharis4 and Ministry: 1982-1990— Report on the
Process and Responses, Faith and Order Paper 149 (Geneva: WCC Publications, 1990). Markus
Barth has been clearly discredited in his pronouncement that BEM is "nothing better than an
accumulation of incompatible beliefs" ("BEM: Questions and Considerations," Theology Today
42 [January, 1986]: 496; quoted in Kinnamon, Truth and Community, p. 48).
4
My 1984 Presidential Address for the Society for Pentecostal Studies at Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary suggested the following as recognizable components of the pentecostal
ethos: frequent and earnest prayer, active evangelism, absolute sincerity, humility, travailing,
devout piety, total personal encounter. This compares favorably with the summary given by Birger
Gerhardsson, The Ethos oftheBible, tr. Stephen Westerholm (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981),
chap. 6. Cf. Walter J. Hollenweger, "Pentecostals and the Charismatic Movement," in Cheslyn
Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, and Edward Yarnold, eds., The Study of Spirituality (New York and
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), pp. 553-554. Many of the terms lavished on Pietists by
Ca rt er Lindberg in The Third Reformation? Charismatic Movements and the Lutheran Tradition
(Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1983), pp. 131, 153,167, 170ff., are relevant here. See also
Otto Weber, Foundations of Dogmatics, vol. 2, tr. and annotated Darrell L. Guder (Grand Rapids,
MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983), p. 265.
5
1be society of specialists known as Encuentro Pentecostal Latinoamericano is not accident-
ly so named. Juan Sepolveda stressed the term "encounter" at Brighton'91, while Japie Lapoorta,
leader of Relevant Pentecostal Witness, and Anthony Lim, member of a charismatic Roman
Catholic community in Malaysia, used it quite naturally. Roger Cabezas, who also participated in
Brighton '91, authored "The Experience of the Latin American Pentecostal Encounter," Pneuma
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 319

The absence of an official pentecostal response to BEM is a commentary

both on the multiplex reality of global Pentecostalism and the shortcomings
of BEM in relation to the whole of Christendom. 6 Faith and Order has
acknowledged marginal utility of the 1982 text for parts of the Third World,
even though the attempt to achieve relevance was symbolized by convening
the conference in Lima, Peru. 7 Circumstances prevailed against an active role
in the proceedings by Juan Sepi lveda, who was unable to participate in the
process even though his Chilean denomination, the Mission Pentecostal
Church, has been a member of the W.C.C. since 1961. Responses prepared by
the World Evangelical Fellowship to BEM (in 1989) and to Confessingthe One
Faith 8 (in 1992) are dominated by evangelical agenda. Despite the contribu-
tion of Dr. Miroslav Volf, it is difficult to discern a distinctive pentecostal
impact on the published W.E.F. text. 9 In the meantime, the International
13 (Fall, 1991): 175-188. See Leonard Lovett, "Black Origins of the Pentecostal Movement," in
Vinson Synan, ed.,A spectsofPentecostal-Charismatic Origins (Plainfield, NJ: Logos, 1975), p.140.
It makes one wonder if Emil Brunner's The Divine-Hunan Encounter had any bearing on the
interest in Pentecostals displayed by Dr. Eduard Schweizer. The axiom of Johann A. Bengel,
"Apply thyself wholly to the text; apply the text wholly to thyself," is at home in the Pentecostal
Movement. As succinctly put by Raymond Pruitt, Fundamentals of the Faith (Cleveland, TN:
White Wing Press, 1981), p. 2, "Worship, evangelism, and Christian service have generally taken
precedence over theology in our tradition, and that is as it should be."
6
1n terms of global diversity, this point has been made frequently by Walter J. Hollenweger
and his graduate students since the completion of his ten-volume magnus opus, "Handbuch des
Pfingstbewegung," in 1965. However, David Barrett has undoubtedly stretched the canvas too
tight when reclassifying countless groups and swelling the already tortured count of current
Pentecostals.
7
The F. & O. reference is from the Draft Report, 3:9. See Anton Houtepen, "Towards an
Ecumenical Vision of the Church," One in Christ, vol. 25, no. 3 (1989), pp. 217, 226.
$
Confessing the One Faith: A n Ecumenical Explication of theA postolic Faith as It Is Confessed
in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381), rev. ed., Faith and Order Study Paper 153 (Geneva:
WCC Publications, 1991); hereafter cited as C.O.F.
9
Septiveda's denomination did conduct a study of BEM and decided to adopt much of its
contents. Unfortunately, this has yet to be stated in print (correspondence from Juan Sepolveda,
August 2, 1990). Lic. Septilveda explained that, although he is a member of the W.C.C. Commis-
sion on Faith and Order, the health of his wife had prevented him from participating in various
projects. Dr. Peter Kuzmic, a pentecostal scholar from Croatia, is chair of W.E.F.'s Theological
Commission. The W.E.F. responsewasreleased in theEvangelicalReviewofTheology 13 (October,
1989): 291-313. No major pentecostal denomination in the West has, at this writing, laid claim to
this document as their perspective on BEM. Kinnamon, in Truth and Community, p. 40, mentioned
Pentecostals in a list of contributors to the original Lima text. However, Faith and Order Paper
31 from Budapest (August, 1989), p. 2, noted Pentecostals as not having "participated in the work
of Faith and Order." In any event, it is encouraging to read here of "concerted efforts" being made
to involve Pentecostals "at the earliest possible point." A similar sentiment is echoed in Paper 32
from the same conference (p. 2), which included Dr. Cecil M. Robeck, Jr. Such may account for
his appointment to the W.C.C. Faith and Order Plenary Commission and the creation of a position
for an executive secretary of Church and Ecumenical Relations in Geneva, who will actively seek
pentecostal involvement in conciliar affairs. Recently installed as the general secretary of the
W.C.C., Konrad Raiser wrote "The Holy Spirit in Modern Ecumenical Thought" (Ecumenical
Review 41 [July, 1989]: 385) in the shadow of Canberra, acknowledging the pentecostal-charis-
matic presence. A good travel narrative of pentecostal interaction with the conciliar movement is
told by Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., in "Pentecostals and Ecumenism: An Expanding Frontier," in
Jean-Daniel Pluss, ed., CrossingBorders (papers from the Conference on Pentecostal and Charis-
matic Research in Europe, Kappel, Switzerland, July, 1991). Pentecostals will keep a wary eye on
320 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

Roman Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue convened during the summer of 1992

in Rome for their eighteenth annual symposium, seven of which have been
held in Rome. The 1990 report, "Perspectives on Koinonia," deserves a wide
reading not only in the academic community but also by ecclesiarchs with robes
of varying colors who should be stimulated by these informed challenges.'°
This introduces the elusive nature of a satisfactory definition of that which
is "pentecostal." In contrast to the sometimes advertised monolithic character
of Pentecostalism, it is the considerable diversity that complicates the process
of clearly identifying that which is "pentecostal." The ubiquity of the interna-
tional pentecostal-charismatic movement as it launches into the twenty-first
century outdistances current attempts of classification and clarification. At-
tempts at inclusive categories for pentecostal positions are akin to unearthing
"the" Protestant view. Even if the focus were limited to the U.S.A., no single
pentecostal denomination/fellowship/communion/association can speak au-
thoritatively on behalf of all Pentecostals. Although the Assemblies of God is
the most popular typology in current use, the danger of being narrow in scope
is illuminated by looking at the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America
(P.F.N.A.), the North American Renewal Service Committee (N.A.R.S.C.),
and the Society for Pentecostal Studies (S.P.S.). Great elasticity is evident
when dealing with the Pentecostal World Conference (P.W.C.), Euro-Flame,
the International Charismatic Consultation on World Evangelization
(I.C.C.O.W.E.), the Conference on Pentecostal and Charismatic Research in
Europe (C.P.C.R.E.), the Asian Charismatic Theological Association
(ACTA), the Society for Pentecostal Theology in South Africa, and Encuentro
Pentecostal Latinoamericano (EPLA). Pentecostalism is an amorphous mass,
constantly evolving around the world, which lacks a common confession.11
Brighton '91 conclusively demonstrated the elusive definition of that

the current division in the conciliar movement between continued intramural conversations versus
interreligious dialogue. Apprehension may be exacerbated by the growing number of premier
bilateral and multilateral talks in which dialogue partners return to churches that are fragmenting.
See the "Dublin Text," or "Towards Koinonia in Faith, Life, and Witness," published in 19 pp. as
"Draft of a Working Document, Dublin, Ireland, April, 1992," Ecumenical Trends 21 (July/August,
1992):105.
See Jerry L. Sandidge, "Roman Catholic and Classical Pentecostal Dialogue," in Stanley
M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee, eds., Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988), pp. 240-244 (hereafter cited asD.P.C.M.). " Perspectives
on Koinonia," along with varying reactions, was reproduced in Pneuma 12 (Fall, 1990). See also
Jean-Jacques Suurmond, "Recensies: `Perspectives on Koinonia," Bulletin voor Charismatische
Theologie, no. 27 (1991), pp. 45-46. The only Protestant charismatic to stay on past the first
quinquennium was Howard Ervin (American Baptist Convention). Some related issues are
discussed by Peter Hocken in "Dialogue Extraordinary," One in Christ, vol. 24, no. 3 (1988), pp.
202-213.
11
Randall Balmer, in MineEyesHave Seen the Glory: A Journey into theEvangelical Subculture
in A merica (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 229, chose "patchwork
quilt" to capture a range of Evangelicals that includes Pentecostals. A related schema by Paul
Gritz, "Church' in the History of Pentecostalism," unveiled in a paper presented to the
N.C.C.C.U.S.A.-Pentecostal Dialogue, tried out the word "rainbow." Robert K. Johnston acknow-
ledged such metaphors as kaleidescope, mosaic, and umbrella, while placing Pentecostals under
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 321

which is "pentecostal." The summer of 1991 saw 150 scholars, most of whom
were pentecostal or charismatic in full fellowship with their respective com-
munions, from six continents and every prominent tradition convene in Brigh-
ton, England. Professor Jurgen Moltmann was the keynote speaker of the
gathering, which was unprecedented in its international and ecumenical char-
acter. As was reported in special issues of Ecumenical Trends (March and
April, 1992) and Tychique (January, 1992), established conciliars such as the
W.C.C., pan-continental organizations serving pentecostal and charismatic
scholars (EPLA, ACTA, C.P.C.R.E., S.P.S.), and other international groups
of some notoriety (W.E.F., Lausanne, P.F.N.A., P.W.C., EPTA) were amply
represented. The publication of the Brighton papers by Sheffield Academic
Press, A ll Together in One Place, should lay to rest a vast array of myths that
frequent prominent academic societies. Chief among them is the complaint
that serious scholarly work is absent from the movement. This conference
illustrates both why Pentecostalism is not properly classed as a subcategory of
(at least North American) Evangelicalism and the fact that many Charismatics
are not accurately described as Protestants.
Concrete evidence of social awareness was demonstrated by the input of
the Relevant Pentecostal Witness, exposing self-criticism of their failure
adequately to confront apartheid in South Africa. Orthodox participation
evoked the possibility of setting up an Orthodox-Pentecostal dialogue. Profes-
sor Jan A. B. Jongeneel told of the eventual formation of endowed chairs for
Pentecostalism at Utrecht University and the now-occupied slot filled by
Martin Parmentier at the Free University of Amsterdam. Also announced
were the newly initiated scholarly pentecostal journal (Journal of Pentecostal
Theology) and a monograph series from Sheffield Academic Press. An EPLA
conference that convened in Brazil late in 1992 mentioned joint sponsorship
by the W.C.C. and C.L.A.I.
Classical Pentecostalism in North America has rightly been described as
an expression of popular religiosity. A social history of the Church of God by
Mickey Crews casts the populist shadow over the early years. Specializing in
various facets of turn-of-the-century indigenous Appalachian religiosity, Deb-
orah McCauley has enumerated the particulars of "oral religious tradition" as
worship (preaching, singing, and prayer, along with conversion narratives),
testimonies, visions, dreams, and trances. Clarke Garrett's Spirit Possession

the evangelical label ("American Evangelicalism: An Extended Family," in Donald W. Dayton

and Robert K Johnston, eds., The V ariety ofA merican Evangelicalism [Knoxville, TN: University
of Tennessee Press; Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1991], pp. 252-272). In sharp contrast
to the early years when holiness leaders bitterly denounced Pentecostalism, such scholars as
Donald Dayton, Melvin Deiter, and Timothy Smith have gone out of their way to claim Pentecos-
talism as a holiness phenomenon. Deiter, in "The Wesleyan/Holiness and Pentecostal Movements:
Commonalities, Confrontation, and Dialogue" (from the 1988 session of the Society for Pentecos-
tal Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY), went as far as to impose the imagery
of "twins," suggesting perhaps even identical, but at least fraternal, twins. The most prominent
pentecostal historians have yet to adopt views expressed above.
322 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

and Popular Religion shows the prevailing mass appeal of the Great Awaken-
ing. Paul Gritz (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) has outlined an
overlap of Baptist and pentecostal traditions that surfaces the popular reli-
gious perspective. It is no small wonder that the W.C.C. would publish
Sepulveda's treatment of Pentecostalism as popular religion, inasmuch as
noncreedalism has remained a constant agitation in putting together the BEM
document and the reinterpretation of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
(for example, C.O.F. ).12
Publishers' preference for histories that are reformed and intellectual in
orientation accounts, in no small measure, for the scorn heaped on popular
religion, past and present. 13 Although the Faith and Order Commission of the
W.C.C. has made considerable progress toward the elimination of various
societal barriers, it remains possible that BEM encompasses remnants of an
unintentional socioeconomic bias (See M:V, #50). The Pentecostal Move-
ment represents different layers of socioeconomic strata from those of the
creators of BEM. The paucity of scholars available to respond to BEM is
something of an acquiescence to the socioeconomic realities familiar to
nonwhites in the Third World. Sepulveda describes magisterial Protestantism
12
See Mickey Crews, The Church of God: A Social History (Knoxville, TN: The University of
Tennessee Press, 1990); Deborah Vansau McCauley, "Appalachian Mountain Religion," un-
published Ph.D. dissertation (Columbia University, 1990), pp. 3, 377; Peter W. Williams, Popular
Religion in America (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1989), pp. 5-6, 144; Clarke Garrett,
Spirit Possession and Popular Religion: From the Camisards to the Shakers (Baltimore, MD, and
London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987); Gritz, "Church' in the History of Pentecos-
talism"; Kinnamon, Truth and Community, p. 94; Juan Septiveda, "Pentecostalism as Popular
Religiosity," International Review of Mission 78 (January, 1989): 80-88; Jim Manney, "The
People's Movement at Age 25,"New Covenant 21 (February, 1992), pp. 7-13; Houtepen, "Towards
an Ecumenical Vision," pp. 226, 230-233; Everett A. Wilson, "Passion and Power. A Profile of
Emergent Latin American Pentecostalism," in Murray A. Dempster, Byron D. Klaus, and
Douglas Petersen, eds., Called and Empowered: Global Mission in Pentecostal Perspective (Pea-
body, MA. Hendrickson Publishers,1991), pp. 68,73,83,85; David Stoll, IsLatinA merica Turning
Protestant? (Berkeley, CA. University of California Press, 1990), pp. 318-319; David Martin,
Tongues of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in Latin America (Oxford, and Cambridge, MA.
Basil Blackwell, 1990); Christian Lalive d'Epinay, Haven of the Masses (London: Lutterworth
Press, 1969); Randall Balmer, "Local Religion In America," a paper read at the American
Academy of Religion in November, 1990; Donald W. Dayton, "Yet Another Layer of the Onion,
or Opening the Ecumenical Door to Let the Riffraff In," The Ecumenical Review 40 (January,
1988):88, 94-96; and Steven J. Land, "Pentecostal Spirituality- Living in the Spirit," in Louis Dupre
and Don E. Saliers, in collaboration with John Meyendorff, eds., Christian Spirituality III: Post-
Reformation
13
and Modern, World Spirituality (New York. Crossroad Publishing Co., 1989), p. 485.
Douglas A. Sweeney provided an excellent introduction to this issue in his informative
article entitled "The Essential Evangelicalism Dialectic: The Historiography of the Early Neo-
Evangelical Movement and the Observer-Participant Dilemma," Church History 60 (March,
1991): 70-84, which is summarized in his "The `Strange Schizophrenia' of Neo-Evangelicalism: A
Bibliography," Evangelical Studies Bulletin 8 (Spring, 1991):6-8. It contrasts the "people's history"
proposed by Dayton and others in the Holiness camp over against the Reformed model utilized
by scholars such as George Marsden, Joel Carpenter, Mark Noll, Donald Bloesch, and Bernard
Ramm. Pentecostal leaders have been known to respond with their own application of K. L.
Billingsley's title: From Mainline to Sideline: The Social Witness of theNational Council of Churches
(Washington, DC: Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1990; distributed by University Press of
America, Lanham, MD, and London).
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 323

in Chile as advocating "extreme rationalism and exalting an erudite reading

of the Bible inaccessible to the humble. "14
There is irony in the scholarly disdain heaped on the myths that are part
of the fabric of Pentecostalism. Many of these same scholars esteem highly
sections of canonical materials that they judge to be mythical. The inconsis-
tency of valuing one set of myths while unilaterally condemning all such things
when associated with Pentecostalism may demonstrate an ethnocentric view
of reality. Analysis of the belief systems of ordinary people has often been held
in disrepute by intellectuals and has always provided an easy target. Ridicule
of popular religion is sometimes thinly disguised, as was made clear by Peter
W. Williams in Popular Religion in A merica. 15 The lack of interest in popular
religiosity can be measured by the level of disinterest among theologians
toward teachings prevalent among their own conclaves. Voices from the pew
have been muffled or conveniently not heard. Theological tomes, erudite
expositions, and conciliar documents virtually eliminate any concern for
interacting with grassroots thinking.
Pentecostal ecclesiarchs should have some fears allayed by the healthy
respect for scripture evident in BEM and the absence of any trace of an and
academic enterprise of disaffected intellectuals. C.O.F.'s depiction of Nicene
thought as "doxological" and "confessional" fits well in categorizing Pentecos-
tals over against the "historical-critical" preoccupation of Modernity. Tension
between Pentecostalism and Modernity has given rise to labels such as "pre-
critical" and "submodern." The theological orientation of pentecostal schol-
ars unveiled at Brighton '91 may constitute a constructive theological
proposal on equal footing with more widely publicized perspectives. A de-
scriptive account of such would give voice to new insights for handling racism,
sexism, socioeconomic oppression, the environment, etc. Judging by Post-
modern Theology: Christian Faith in a Pluralist W orld, 16 the Brighton scholars
14
Juan Septiveda, "Pentecostalismo y Teologica de la Liberacion: Dos Manifestaciones del
Trabajo del Espiritu Santo por la Renovacion de la Iglesia," paper read at Brighton '91, p. 11.
Other pertinent comments: "It is known that pentecostalism is more than a doctrine or a
confessional tradition; it is a particular way of living ..." (p. 2); "...faith stops meaning a mere
adhesion to doctrine and becomes a personal encounter ..." (p . 10). Notice BEM responses from
Lutheran and Reformed leaders about implications of the occasional lack of theologically trained
pastors noted in "F. & O. Draft Report," 3:46. Cf. Kinnamon, Truth and Community, p. 94;
Septiveda, "Pentecostalism as Popular Religiosity," pp. 80-88; and Houtepen, "Towards an
Ecumenical Vision," pp. 226, 230-233. Specifically including Pentecostals, Gerald T. Sheppard
said, "We might consider many of these massive representatives of contemporary theology as
`submodern,' marginalized from the major public forms of modern debates by reason of classism,
racism, and, in some cases, educational deprivation" (in his "How Do Neoorthodox and Post-
Neoorthodox Theologians Approach the `Doing of Theology' Today?" in John D. Woodbridge
and Thomas E. McComiskey, eds., DoingTheology in Today's W orld [Grand Rapids, MI: Zonder-
van, 1991], p. 442). In drawing parallels between Segundo/Gutierrez and pentecostal praxis,
Douglas Petersen expressed the frustration of the marginalized with "academically bound theol-
ogy" (in his "The Kingdom of God and the Hermeneutical Circle: Pentecostal Praxis in the Third
World," in Dempster, Klaus, and Peterson, Called and Empowered, pp. 45, 47).
15
16 See n. 12, above.
Frederic B. Burnham, ed., Postmodern Theology: Christian Faith in a Pluralist W orld (San
324 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

may model a legitimate postmodern agendum. Primary dissenters will be

sympathizers of Altizer's ethnocentric scheme's narrowly defining postmod-
ern culture as marked by a noticeable absence of God. Part of the rationale
for utilizing this descriptive category is because postmodernity is a polyglot
term that admits that determinism, scientific hegemony, etc., have given way
to contingency and relativism. It is not difficult to support Robert Bellah's
multilingualism over against the meta-language of science. The Brighton'91
model figures in because it is not unrelated to Peter Hodgson's material norm
identified as liberation.17
It is possible to view some sections of BEM as not having arrived at higher
ground rising above the battlefields of times gone by. However, on the whole
it would not seem fair to share the judgment that controversial points have
been illicitly silenced in the text. 18 The unity issue is surfaced in "Perspectives
on Koinonia," #32-36, #54, and #65, without gaining much ground. Left
unresolved are biblical references to the Holy Spirit as the source not only of
unity but also of diversity. Likewise reduced to mere comment is the consid-
erable chasm between Roman Catholicism and Pentecostalism on the ec-
clesiastical ramifications of how Christ's church is proclaimed. Although the
document does not sidestep legitimate criticism (for example, see Section 79),
the discussions were mercifully void of references to conflicts between Roman
Catholics and Pentecostals in Latin America. North American Pentecostals
who have thought this ordeal one-sided have lived without benefit of the kind
of revelations unleashed by David Stoll in Is Latin A merica TurningProtestant?
Space limitations prohibit an adequate treatment of facets of the internal
makeup of Pentecostals that generate tensions with the conciliar movement. 19
No t to be ignored, however, are issues such as age and substance. The Classical
Francisco:
17
Harper & Row, Publishers, 1989).
See Peter C. Hodgson, "Constructive Theology: A Revisioning," unpublished class lec-
tures, Vanderbilt Divinity School (Fall, 1992), p. 19; Jurgen Moltmann, The Spirit of Life (Min-
neapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1992), chap. 5; and Diogenes Allen, "Christian Values in a
Post-Christian Context," in Bu rn ham, Postmodem Theology, pp. 20-25. In keeping with significant
black influences on the whole of Pentecostalism and its imposing black component, relevant here
is the treatment by James H. Evans, Jr., of the African-American disavowal of Modernity.
"African-American Christianity and the Postmodern Condition," Journal of the A merican A cad-
emy ofReligion 58 (Summer, 1990): 207-222. See also Russell P. Spittler, "Theological Style among
Pentecostals and Charismatics," in Woodbridge and McComiskey, Doing Theology in Today's
W orld, pp. 299-300; and Sheppard, "How Do Neoorthodox and Post-Neoorthodox," p. 457, n. 14.
Sheppard acknowledged adapting his term from James Washington's attempt to depict marginal-
ized Blacks. Cf. Donald R. Wheelock, "Spirit Baptism in American Pentecostal Thought,"
unpublished
18
Ph.D. dissertation (Emory University, 1983), pp. 151-152.
See "F. & O. Draft Report," 3:17; and Paul Schrotenboer, ed., "An Evangelical Response
to Baptism,
19
Eucharist, and Ministry," Evangelical Review of Theology 13 (October, 1989): 297.
See Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., "Pentecostals and the Apostolic Faith: Implications for Ecu-
menism," a paper read at the Consultation Confessing the Apostolic Faith from the Perspective
of the Pentecostal Church, held at Fuller Theological Seminary, October, 1986, co-sponsored by
the David du Plessis Center for Christian Spirituality and the Commission of Faith and Order,
N.C.C.C.U.S.A. This was subsequently published in Pneuma 9 (Spring, 1987): 61-84. See Jeffrey
Gros, "An Ecumenical Perspective on Pentecostal Mission," in Dempster, Klaus, and Peterson,
Called and Empowered, pp. 285-298; Marta Palma, "A Pentecostal Church in the Ecumenical
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 325

Pentecostal Movement in North America is less than a century old. Pentecos-

talism is not a historical anomaly and is arguably heir to prior groups that could
be labelled Enthusiastic Pneumatomania (see M:III, #33). Using an ec-
clesiological paradigm, Paul Gritz has counted first the Roman Catholic
tradition, then Magisterial Protestantism, then the Believers' Church tradi-
tion. Gritz painted Pentecostals as a vanguard of the third force within
Christianity who are heirs of the Pietist-Puritan revival thrust manifested in
the Believers' Churches. 20 While the three prominent Enthusiastic Pneuma-
tomania of the twentieth century (Classical Pentecostalism, Anglo-Protestant
Charismatics, and Catholic-Orthodox Charismatics) move well past adoles-
cence, the twenty-first century could prove fertile ground for an eruption of
another kind.
Answering the question about "the extent to which your church can
recognize in this text the faith of the Church through the ages" (BEM, preface)
should be conditioned by the 1986 Faith and Order clarification that this is
meant "to challenge the churches to look beyond their own tradition when
evaluating and responding to BEM. "21 Of profound relevance is the theologi-
cal diversity contained in the canonical record itself. Ernst KLsemann brought
to the 1963 Montreal conference on Faith and Order his publicized view that
Movement," The Ecumenical Review 37 (April, 1985): 223-229; Jean-Jacques Suurmond, "Van de
Beek, Reiling in `The Ecumenical Review," Bulletin voor Charismatische Theologie, no. 26 (1990),
pp. 52-64; Jerry Sandidge, "Journey toward Ecumenism," and Eileen W. Linder, "Ardorvs. Order
Revisited: Pentecostals and Conciliar Ecumenism," papers delivered to N.C.C.C.U.S.A. Faith and
Order-Pentecostal Dialogue in Lakeland, FL, in November, 1991; and Henry I. Lederle, "The
Spirit of Unity: A Discomforting Comforter—Some Reflections on the Holy Spirit, Ecumenism,
and the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements," The Ecumenical Review 42 (July-October, 1990):
279-287.
20
Gritz, "Church' in the History of Pentecostalism," p. 21. Also see Donald F. Durnbaugh,
The Believers' Church: The History and Character of Radical Protestantism (New York: The
Macmillan Co.; London: Collier-Macmillan Ltd., 1968; repr.—Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press,
1985). A similar sentiment is expressed in Garry Nation's unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, "The
Hermeneutics of Pentecostal-Charismatic Restoration Theology: A Critical Analysis" (South-
western Baptist Theological Seminary, 1990), esp. pp. 7, 61, 117. Cf. Eric H. Ohlmann, "Baptists
and Evangelicals," in Dayton and Johnston, V ariety, pp. 148-160. This approach, which merits
further investigation, has points of contact with sundry attempts to pull the historical threads
together. See Harold D. Hunter, Spirit Baptism: A Pentecostal A lternative (Lanham, MD: Univer-
sity Press of America, 1983), chap. 1; idem, "What Is Truth?" Presidential Address, in J. Rodman
Williams, ed., Toward a Pentecostal/Charismatic Theology (papers of the S.P.S. meeting in 1984 at
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, So. Hamilton, MA); Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., "Montanism:
A Problematic Spirit Movement," Paraclete 16 (Summer, 1982): 21-25; Martin Marty, "Pentecos-
talism in the Context of American Piety and Practice," in Synan,A spectsofPentecostal-Charismatic
Origins, p. 200; John J. McNamee, "The Role of the Spirit in Pentecostalism: A Comparative
Study," unpublished Ph.D. dissertation (University of Tubingen, 1974); and Howard A. Snyder,
of the Spirit (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1989).
Signs 21
Faith and Order Consultation on BEM (Venice, 1986), quoted in "F. & O. Draft Report,"
3:12. It is in this context that Kinnamon aptly defined tradition as".. . not a collection of static
tenets but the living reality of God's revelation in Christ, passed on in the community of the faithful
and always measured by the plumb line of the apostolic witness as recorded in Scripture" (in his
Truth and Community, p. 44) Cf. Basil Meeking and John Stott, eds., The Evangelical-Roman
Catholic Dialogue on Mission, 1977-1984: A Report (Exeter, Devon: The Paternoster Press; Grand
Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1986).
326 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

the New Testament canon does not dismiss but in fact contains ". .. the basis
for the multiplicity of the confessions." 22 Coping with the additional realities
of diverse cultural and social contexts strengthens the argument of Moltmann
that the church should not be seeking "uniformity but should be working
through the ecumenical movement to expand its range of unlikeness." The
Lund conference on Faith and Order in 1952 has been likened to the Coper-
nican revolution, because unity was centralized in the hope of mutually
growing closer to Christ. 23 The concerted effort by Faith and Order to reckon
seriously with the community of the faithful deserves respect by Pentecostals
everywhere.
The Pentecostal Movement's universal predilection for oral narrative and
praxis is not incidently related to the belief that pneumatic experience subject
to extensive analysis can become entombed in layers of theological formulas
that do not stimulate the faithful. 24 Emil Brunner saw the roots of dogmatics
in the struggle against false doctrine, catechetical instruction, biblical inves-
tigation, and the character of scripture that calls for systematization. These
ingredients seem to be part of the mix that continues to make the International
Roman Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue relevant. An unplanned by-product
has been the systematization of beliefs previously known primarily in Pen-
tecostal sermons, testimonies, tracts, minutes, and the like. Likewise unex-
pected is that some pentecostal scholars reading "Perspectives on Koinonia"
will at times find themselves more sympathetic with the posturing of the
Roman Catholics than the positions identified with the Pentecostal Move-
ment. The explosion in mainstream academia of investigations into various
facets of the oral dimension of early Christianity is instructive. The axiomatic
antithesis between reflective theology and expressive narrative has been suc-
22
Ernst KAsemann, "The New Testament Canon and the Unity of the Church," in his Essays
on New Testament Themes (E.T. — London: SCM Press, 1964; orig., 1951), p. 103; quoted by James
D. G. Dunn in his Unity and Diversity in the New Testament: A n Inquiry into the Character of Earliest
Christianity (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1977), pp. 122 and 376. This compares favorably
with Dunn's view that "there was no single normative form of Christianity in the first century" (his
emphasis, in Unity and Diversity, p. 373). Cf. William G. Rusch, Ecumenism: A Movement toward
Church Unity (Philadelphia: Fortress Press,1985), chap. 1; Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue,
pp. 19-20; and Houtepen, "Towards an Ecumenical Vision," p. 235.
2
Kinnamon, in Truth and Community, chap. 1, notes these developments and moves on to a
fruitful discussion of the tensions between truth and manifest pluralism.
24A not distant echo of the crux of the matter is found in comments made by C. S. Lewis
about writing The Problem of Pain (New York. The Macmillan Co., 1944) while having terrible
toothaches: "This is our dilemma—either to taste and not to know or to know and not to taste . .
• As thinkers we are cut off from what we think about.. . The more lucidly we think, the more we
are cut off: the more deeply we enter into reality, the less we can think. You cannot study Pleasure
in the moment of the nuptial embrace, nor repentance while repenting.. ." (from C. S. Lewis, God
in the Dock Essays on Theology and Ethics, ed. Walter Hooper [Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 19701, p. 65; quoted by Paul F. Ford in "Putting Away the Fear of
Uselessness: An Apology for the Reading of Fiction by the Clergy with a Little Help from C. S.
Lewis," Theology, News and Notes, December, 1991, p. 13). See also Cecil M. Robeck, "A
Pentecostal Perspective on Apostolicity," prepared for a future Eerdmans volume in its
N.C.C.C.U.S.A.-F. & 0. series; and Karla Poewe, On the Metonymic Structure of Religious
Experiences: The Example of Charismatic Christianity (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1989).
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 327

cessfully challenged. It is ironic to see a scholar celebrate the rediscovery of

the "narrative innocence" of pre-Hellenistic Christianity while spurning his-
torical and contemporary manifestations of the same phenomenon.
Many of the movement's pioneers in the U.S.A. exerted considerable
energy in removing what they saw as debris of artfully worded yet irrelevant,
if not damaging, creeds that had led most of Christendom astray. Pentecos-
talism has unwittingly been radically influenced by Gutenberg's invention,
which made possible the worldwide parade of Bibles, along with the prolifera-
tion of defiant commentators spawned, in part, by Luther's idea of direct access
to God. However, when current pentecostal leaders examine such documents
as the Apostles' Creed, they often find themselves unable to fault the contents.
They unconsciously give merit to the description of the Nicene-Constan-
tinopolitan Creed as providing the church "East and West, Catholic and
Evangelical alike, with its one authentically ecumenical Confession of
Faith. " 26 The framework and content of this creed, utilized so effectively in
C.O.F., more closely approximates "testimonies" familiar to pentecostal ears
than the anglo-catholic orientation of BEM.
Note the findings of an official dialogue between the Evangelical Free
Church of Finland and the Finnish Pentecostal Movement:
In Pentecostal circles there has always been a desire to hold to a direct and
immediate manner of Bible exposition uninfluenced by confessions or
doctrinal definitions. In preaching and teaching the direct influence of the
25
Emil Brunner was not only professor of dogmatics at the University of Zurich, but he also
held professorial rank in the department of preaching. A former student turned dogmatician
commented: "Dogmatic theology, therefore, arises out of the preaching of the church. In fact, the
church existed for nearly two hundred years without such a discipline as dogmatics.... the
discipline of dogmatics is not an end in itself. Its purpose is rather to clarify the message that the
church proclaims" (Paul K. Jewett, God, Creation, and Revelation: A Neo-Evangelical Theology
[Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 19911, p. xviii). Consider the well-known
linkage of dogmatics to preaching by Karl Barth in his life and writings. Jean-Daniel Pluss, in his
Therapeutic and Prophetic Narratives in W orship: A Henneneutic Study of Testimonies and V isions
(Frankfurt a/M: Peter Lang, 1988), pp. xxiii-9, et al., marshals weighty evidence that overturns
mainstream scholarly disdain for the oral narrative fixation of Pentecostalism. It may be noted that
pentecostal seminary professors readily draw from a range of Roman Catholic authors—charis-
matic or not — for theology and spirituality. E.g., claims of Kilian McDonnell in Kilian McDonnell
and George T. Montague, Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Collegeville, MN:
Liturgical Press, 1991), are generally seen as overdrawn.
6
Thomas F. Torrance, The Trinitarian Faith: The Evangelical Theology of the A ncient
Catholic Church (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1988), p. 2. In a paper read to the North American
Academy of Ecumenists in Washington, DC, in September, 1990, Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., drew
attention to the view expressed in the early days that creeds create "unscriptural lines of fellowship
and disfellowship" thereby giving rise to sectarianism ("The Holy Spirit in the Pentecostal/Charis-
matic Tradition," p . 12). Spittler has noted the pentecostal proclivity toward theology that edifies
while being quick to avoid "enlightened" criticism and controversy (in his "Theological Style
among Pentecostals and Charismatics," p. 300). See Gerald T. Sheppard, "The Nicean Creed,
Filioque, and Pentecostal Movements in the United States," in Theodore Stylianopoulos and S.
Mark Heim, eds., Spirit of Truth: Ecumenical Perspectives on the Holy Spirit (Brookline, MA: Holy
Cross Orthodox Press, 1986), pp . 174ff.; Balmer,Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, chap. 8; and Mark
E. Chapman, "The Spirit and the Magisterium: Authority in the Community of Freedom," The
Ecumenical Review 42 (July-October, 1990): 268ff.
328 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

Holy Spirit has been sought. In practice this aim has usually led to the habit
of responding to doctrinal questions and other questions relating to faith
by giving a great number of different Bible passages without exact clarifica-
tion of their background, context or meaning. However, Pentecostal teach-
ing is clearly guided by a certain prior understanding, that is, a strong oral
tradition of doctrine and the authority of recognized leaders. The pluraliza-
tion of the general religious situation and the spread of indefinite syncre-
tism, however, oblige the Christian churches and organizations, including
the Pentecostal Movement, to express clearly their confessional basis.27

Attempting to rise above controversies of the past has generated some

discussion about Helmut Thielicke's use of Cartesian and non-Cartesian
categories. Building on an insight of Karl Barth, Thielicke has defined Car-
tesian theology as being anthropocentric. Non-Cartesian theology, by con-
trast, starts with the Holy Spirit who turns us away from self and directs us to
the Word. 28 Mature publications of length by Pentecostals are in an embryo-
like stage. Since the Pentecostal Movement is in an inexorable transition from
dependence on oral tradition to exploring theological treatises, it is past time
for pentecostal scholars to be widely received. The movement has a right to
chart its own course, rather than being towed around by freighters. Although
scholarly theologizing has not been the hallmark of this stream, the surge in
research has already created a clamor 29 for reputable publishers. The current
appetite of the scholarly world for the viewpoint of the nonparticipant can at
27
"Results of the Discussion," in Dialogues with the Evangelical Free Church of Finland and
the Finnish Pentecostal Movement ( Helsinki: Church Council for Foreign Affairs, Ecclesiastical
Board, 1990), p. 60; also see p. 53. See C.O.F., pp. 4-5. Cf. Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue,
pp. 22-24, 32.
28
Helmut Thielicke, The Evangelical Faith, vol.1— Prolegomena: The Relation of Theology to
Modem Thought Forms, tr. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), e.g., pp. 54-55, 171-173. Ontically, God's being in Godself
precedes and transcends God's self-determination as my God, but noetically it is appropriate to
begin with the work of the Holy Spirit if we are going to stay away from speculative metaphysics
and other false trails. Of related interest is the endorsement of Karl Barth for a Spirit-to-Word
approach, which, in turn, has been declared non-Cartesian. See Robert K. Johnston, "Of Tidy
Doctrine and Truncated Experience," Christianity Today 21 (February 18, 1977): 10-14; idem,
"Pentecostalism and Theological Hermeneutics: Evangelical Options," in Harold D. Hunter, ed.,
Pastoral Problems in the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement ( papers from the S.P.S. meeting in
1983, held at the Church of God School of Theology, Cleveland, TN), pp. 14-15 (reprinted in
Pneuma 6 [Spring, 19841: 51-64); and John Davis, Foundations of Evangelical Theology (Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1983), chap. 5.
2
The D.P.C.M., released by Zondervan late in 1988, went through four printings by 1991.
The inaugural issue of a pentecostal journal and the first installment of a monograph series came
out in late 1992 from Sheffield Academic Press. Hendrickson Press, once ignored by the elite, has
quickly gained prestige. Unfortunately, this is the only major publisher of its kind. National
A.A.R.-S.B.L. meetings can no longer caricature Pentecostals without being challenged. The
volume of pentecostal manuscripts sent to the evangelical trinity in Grand Rapids (Eerdmans,
Zondervan, Baker) has increased dramatically. Other publishers routinely contacted include
InterVarsity Press, Fortress, and Thomas Nelson. Scholarly journals are few in number, starting
with Pneuma, EPTA Bulletin, the Journal of Pentecostal Theology, andAzusa. A serious loss came
with the demise of Theological Renewal, which was primarily charismatic in orientation. Cf.
Spittler, "Theological Style among Pentecostals and Charismatics," pp. 302, 313.
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 329

times fall prey to assumptions inherent in a modern perspective quite alien to

the movement under analysis. The objectivity of a nonparticipant is ad-
vantageous, and insights can be born out of prejudiced criticism; however,
some writers have gained notoriety by dispensing disinformation about Pen-
tecostalism.
A meaningful synthesis will best be achieved by the interaction of sym-
pathetic scholars, informed critics from outside the movement, and capable
scholars who participate in recognized traditions. In the meantime, there is
material of quality being withheld from expectant audiences, despite the fact
that very few pentecostal scholars who are in communion with their fellow-
ships are given opportunity to carry on writing projects. Seminaries sponsored
by Classical Pentecostal denominations tend to be praxis-oriented, thus crip-
pling the scholarly potential of faculty members. If a pentecostal scholar
survives the anti-intellectual environment, she or he must then face the
institutional preference for perpetuating its own kind in matters of doctrine.
Should a pentecostal scholar complete a manuscript, she or he need not be
concerned with being courted by a major publisher.

Baptism

The Meaning of Baptism (BEM, B:II)

Since it is not difficult to provide colorful commentary for mutually
exclusive views of water baptism among Pentecostals themselves, it becomes
incumbent on them to give a careful reading of approaches that differ in
substance. Pentecostals would benefit from exercising restraint in procreating
slogans that reduce a comprehensive theological system to nonsense. Thus,
while Pentecostals at large will not own a view of sacramental efficacy that is
determined to promote self-contained efficacy independent of the partici-
pants' faith, they can broaden their acceptance of water baptism at variance
with their own views. Feelings on this matter run so deep that some pentecos-
tal denominations have been hesitant to use the term "sacrament" in reference
to water baptism and the eucharist. The term "ordinance" has often been
better suited to defenses stressing that compliance with these religious rites
fulfills a command of Jesus. 30 Pentecostals can learn that it is not necessary to
deny that salvation is conveyed ex opera operato, given the delicate handling
30
1n a paper prepared for the 1988 session of the International Roman Catholic-Pentecostal
Dialogue, Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., and Jerry L. Sandidge could find only one book in English on
water baptism by a Classical Pentecostalist. James Beall is mentioned, but his place in the Latter
Rain Movement has made him most congenial to nondenominationally aligned Charismatics. G.
C. Oosthuizen has contributed a great deal to our knowledge of Indian Pentecostals in South Africa
and African Indigenous Churches, although he is not a Pentecostal. See Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., and
Jerry L. Sandidge, "The Ecclesiology of Koinbnia and Baptism: A Pentecostal Perspective,"
(Roman Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue, Emmetten, Switzerland, August, 1988), p. 24. A revised
version of this paper was published as "The Ecclesiology of Koinbnia and Baptism: A Pentecostal
330 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

of fundamental biblical themes in theological systems once summarily dis-

missed because of post-apostolic motifs. Trinitarian Pentecostals, at least,
should look with renewed interest on the subject in light of the following
consensus achieved by the 1977-1984 Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue
on Mission:
We agree that baptism must never be isolated, either in theology or in
practice, from the context of conversion. It belongs essentially to the whole
process of repentance, faith, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and member-
ship of the covenant community, the Church...
We rejoice together that the whole process of salvation is the work of
God by the Holy Spirit. And it is in this connection that Roman Catholics
understand the expression er opere operato in relation to baptism. It does
not mean that the sacraments have a mechanical or automatic efficacy. Its
purpose rather is to emphasize that salvation is a sovereign work of Christ,
in distinction to a Pelagian or semi-Pelagian confidence in human ability.31

There is a significant exception to the aforementioned pentecostal em-

phasis. One prominent school of thought among Oneness Pentecostals has
been able concretely to link water baptism with salvation. This influential
version of the ordo salutis theologically binds together faith and repentance
with water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by immersion and
initial evidence of Spirit baptism. 32 Although such a system precludes infant

Perspective," J.E.S. 27 (Summer, 1990): 504-534. The dearth of scholarly sources on the topics
analyzed here is evident by the fact that subsequent parts of the present essay will interact with
the Robeck-Sandidge paper. Although this lacks any formal ecclesiastical endorsement, it is an
important paper by pentecostal scholars of influence. Indication that an imprimatur will not be
quickly forthcoming is seen in the Robeck-Sandidge reach for virtual redefinition of some
pentecostal teachings, rather than seeking to find mutually gratifying ways of converging pentecos-
tal and Roman Catholic views on paedobaptism. See Harold D. Hunter, "Pentecostal Ordi-
nances," in D.P.C.M., pp. 653-654; Robeck and Sandidge, "The Ecclesiology of Koinonia and
Baptism,"
31 pp. 18ff.; and Dialogues with the Evangelical Free Church, pp. 61-62.
Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue, pp. 57-58. In this connection, Robeck mentioned
the anxiety about magic, a fear about justifying an "unbelieving episcopacy" and making "the Spirit
reside in the office and in the sacramental act apart from the priest or bishop, a Spirit which is
entirely tamed by the confines of ecclesiastical office" (in his "The Holy Spirit in the Pentecos-
tal/Charismatic Tradition," pp. 10-11). See also Dialogues with the Evangelical Free Church;
Robeck and Sandidge, "The Ecclesiology of Koinonia and Baptism"; and Hunter, "Pentecostal
Ordinances,"
32
pp. 653-654.
David A. Reed, in "Oneness Pentecostalism," in D.P.C.M., pp. 650-651, classed this as the
sacramental group over against Oneness soteriology that places the new birth, water baptism, and
Spirit baptism in terms more compatible with established trinitarian concepts. Reed clarified that
the "sacramentalists" circumvent the eschatological problem of condemnation by interjecting
means by which others might achieve eternal bliss. This important nuance is missing in the report
of Robeck and Sandidge, "The Ecclesiology of Koinonia and Baptism," pp. 16-17. For pertinent
information on Oneness Pentecostals, see Jeffrey Gill, ed., Papers Presented to the First Occasional
Symposium on A spects of the Oneness Pentecostal Movement (conference held at Harvard Divinity
School, Cambridge, MA, in July, 1984); David Arthur Reed, "Origins and Development of the
Theology of Oneness Pentecostalism in the United States," unpublished Ph.D. dissertation
(Boston University Graduate School, 1978); Manuel Gaxiola-Gaxiola, "The Unresolved Issue: A
Third-World Perspective on the Oneness Questions," in Ron Kydd, ed., ProbingPentecostalism
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 331

baptism, it does merge with some themes stressed by those who advocate
baptismal regeneration.

Incorporation into the Body of Christ (B:II-D, #6)

As to the matter of water baptism's actually incorporating the initiate into
the body of Christ (see C.O.F., #158, #238), North American (trinitarian)
Pentecostalism has tended to tie the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to union
with Christ and thereby to consider the believer united to the entire body of
Christ. 33 The Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue on Mission drew atten-
tion to the Evangelical inclination to "see conversion as the means of entry
into the invisible church and baptism as the consequently appropriate means
of entry into the visible church." 34 In practice, many Pentecostals, in the
U.S.A. at least, carry on with this first belief but link the latter with a public
confession of faith before the congregation when one enters into a church's
membership.
Anglo-catholics, who make a strong case for our mutual bond's being
through baptism, also emphasize an explicit connection to the reception of
the Holy Spirit. The lack of unanimity among these thinkers about whether to
associate the giving of the Spirit with "the water rite itself ... [or] with chrism
and/or the imposition of hands" (B:IV-B, #14; see B:II-C, #5) suggests
latitude sufficient to search out the worth of the intersection of these theologi-
cal themes.

Baptism and Faith (B:III, #8)

Pentecostals will appreciate the dispelling of magical ingredients some-
times pressed into this sacrament by declaring water baptism to be "both God's
gift and our human response." In so doing, Pentecostals will have a natural
inclination to hold in juxtaposition the understanding of faith as an intellec-
tual assent to pertinent propositions and an obedient walk of the believer in
an attitude of trust and commitment. 35 If Evangelicals have defended the
primacy of the spoken word as a means of grace while "high church" tra-
ditionalists have put more emphasis on sacramental acts, Pentecostals have
been inclined, in practice, to look to multiple manifestations of deity.
(papers from S.P.S. meeting held at Regent University's School of Theology, Virginia Beach, VA,
in 1987); and David K. Bernard, "The Oneness View of Jesus," in Manuel Gaxiola-Gaxiola, ed.,
Old and
33
New Issues in Pentecostalism (papers from S.P.S. meeting held in Fresno, CA, in 1989).
Robeck and Sandidge, in "The Ecclesiology of Koinonia and Baptism," p. 37, seem to state
their own views otherwise. Ambiguity burdens their reference to water baptism's bearing witness
to a "time of incorporation into a new relationship, the Body of Christ." On the other hand, the
view affirmed here is espoused by the W.E.F. response as edited by Paul Schrotenboer ("The
Evangelical Response," p. 298).
^35aEvangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue, p. 59.
Cf. Rusch, Ecumenism, p. 48; Dialogues with theEvangelical Free Church, p. 62; Kinnamon,
Truth and Community, p. 27; Houtepen, "Towards an Ecumenical Vision," p. 230; Schrotenboer,
"The Evangelical Response," p. 312; and Hunter, "What Is Truth?"
332 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

Baptism of Believers and Infants (B:IV-A)

The lack of infant baptisms by pentecostal denominations headquartered
in the U.S.A. fits well with their diatribes against paedobaptism. However, the
International Pentecostal Holiness Church officially endorses infant bap-
tism,36 and hopeful signs are present elsewhere that increasing numbers of
Pentecostals can esteem the BEM concept of "baptism as part of a process of
Christian nurture that includes (a) the growth of the child within a supportive
Christian community, (b) a personal, public confession of faith at an ap-
propriate age, and (c) faithful discipleship" to follow. 37 Considering the
number of failures from churches who baptize infants alongside churches who
exercise believer's baptism exclusively, it is appropriate for Pentecostals to
review themes used in their dedication service for infants (see B:IV-C, # 16).
Since this interfaces with other traditions on an important dimension of the
discussion, it invites a rethinking by Pentecostals. The pentecostal paper
submitted to the 1988 edition of the International Roman Catholic-Pentecos-
tal Dialogue urged the relevance of community faith exercised, at times, by
Pentecostalists seeking healing to help justify the extension of faith ap-
propriate for infant baptism.38
An additional interference for Pentecostals will be related to the BEM
and C.O.F. (#248, #252) assertion that the New Testament underlines a fact
of baptism by enabling "a cleansing of the heart of all sin" (BEM, B:II-B, #4).
Although the term "original sin" is present in some pentecostal literature, by
far the greatest concern has been placed on sins actually committed. Pentecos-
tals will resonate with C.O.F. when it says, "God does not override the
independent actions of his creatures, but God's judgments are inescapable if
the sinner does not repent" (#59). Pentecostals might query paedobaptists on
the eschatological implications of the baptism of an infant who does not
survive the cradle. Put bluntly, do all or only baptized infants who die in infancy
36
In a telephone interview (October 9, 1990), Vinson Synan confirmed that through the first
half of this century the Pentecostal Holiness Church discipline made provision for infant baptism.
Synan himself, however, had no direct knowledge of any actual infant baptism service carried out
in the U.S.A. The 1902 and 1908 P.H.C. disciplines carried a ceremony for the baptism of infants.
The 1911 constitution (reflecting the merger of the P.H.C. and the Fire Baptized Holiness Church)
is void of any theological reflection on this deviation from the North American Pentecostal norm.
The 1989 Pentecostal Holiness minutes and manual do not make reference to such a practice.
However, since the measure has not been voted down, it can be considered to remain in effect.
This became particularly acute during the denomination's successful affiliation talks with the
Methodist Pentecostal Church in Chile. See Constitution and General Rules of the Pentecostal
Holiness Church (1911), pp. 4-5; Discipline of the Pentecostal Holiness Church (Franklin Springs,
GA. Advocate Press, 1957), pp. 60, 64; Pentecostal Holiness Church Manual (Franklin Springs,
GA. Advocate Press, 1973), pp. 71, 78-79; D. J. Wilson, "Church Membership," in D.P.C.M., p.
197; and correspondence (May 21, 1991) from Smith Haley.
37
Cf. Kinnamon, Truth and Community, p. 45.
38
Robeckand Sandidge, "The Ecclesiology of Koinonia and Baptism," p. 38; they then argued
that a pentecostal congregation could now accept a person baptized as an infant and not require
rebaptism but, rather, offer a service of (covenant) renewal whereby baptism is understood to be
appropriated anew.
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 333

enjoy eternal bliss ? 39 This kind of question might seem wrongheaded, but for
some Pentecostals it is not unrelated to how one sees general and special
revelation as well as how one determines the status of the severely mentally
impaired.
Pentecostal evangelists have exhibited what amounts to an inbred drive
to separate adults and children from sin. These evangelists have been known
to inveigh against conscious and deliberate sin, not allowing excuses, including
any claim to an innate fallen nature. This produces the divine drama wherein
an evangelist implores listeners to eschew evil and abide by sundry moral
codes. Witness the teaching found among Holiness Pentecostals that a sanc-
tified Pentecostal enters a sphere where the faithful believer no longer sins.
This preoccupation will accentuate the gap between believer's baptism and
infant baptism, since Pentecostals are prone to dismiss the culpability of
children prior to their ability to make a profession of faith. This pentecostal
slant owes something to the constant insistence on a living experience of vital
faith.

B:IV -A , #13 and C.O.F., #243

The question of rebaptism is clouded by the fact that some pentecostal
leaders have not been able to count infant baptism and perceived "indis-
criminate baptism" as actual baptisms. Major pentecostal denominations in
the U.S.A. practice rebaptism for reasons ranging from reported improper
trinitarian formulas (as is done by Apostolic Pentecostals) to a mode judged
to be inadequate. 40 The decision to rebaptize a believer from another Chris-
tian tradition is especially easy for those Pentecostals who do not hesitate to
rebaptize people baptized and discipled in their own community over such an
issue as "backsliding." This is clearly an area where BEM can advance the
pentecostal appreciation of circumspect systems that do not deny the contents
of the Commentary on B:IV-A, # 12. The cautious prodding of C.O.F. (p. 94,
Commentary on #252) should not be lightly dismissed:
If all can accept that God has already been acting graciously in some way
to bring the person to baptism, if all can acknowledge that the act of baptism
39
The annihilation teaching of Charles Parham was not adopted by the Pentecostal Move-
ment. See James R. Goff, Jr., Fields W hite unto Harvest: Charles F. Parham and the Missionary
Origins of Pentecostalism (Fayetteville, AR, and London: University of Arkansas Press, 1988), p.
153; and idem, "The Theology of Charles Fox Parham," in Gary B. McGee, ed., Initial Evidence
(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991), p. 60. Also see C.O.F., p. 99. Cf. Dialogues with
the Evangelical Free Church, p. 40; and Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue, p. 40.
40
Hunter, "Pentecostal Ordinances," p. 654; and Robeck and Sandidge, "The Ecclesiology
of Koinonia and Baptism," pp. 11-13. Robeck and Sandidge (ibid., p. 34) threwdown the proverbial
gauntlet: "Wherever members of the Body of Christ stand against other members of the Body of
Christ who have been baptized, or whenever members of the Body of Christ refuse to accept as
valid, the baptism of other Christians, there is a failure to understand fully the corporate nature
of this unique event." Cf. "Perspectives on Koinonia," sect. 58. Meanwhile, what judgment befalls
the Anglican "Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows"? See The Book of Common Prayer (New York.
Seabury Press, 1977), pp. 413-419.
334 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

itself is an effective sign of God's grace evoking the response of our faith
within the Church and that God continues after baptism to act graciously
towards the baptized, then the remaining differences need no longer be
taken as contradictory.

Baptism — Chrismation — Confirmation (B:IV-B, # 14)

Part of the past indifference of trinitarian Pentecostals to the immediacy
of water baptism is because Spirit baptism has taken center stage—literally
and figuratively. An obvious exception to this is the approach undertaken by
the Apostolics mentioned earlier. The theologizing of Spirit baptism most
widespread among (trinitarian) Pentecostals has more in common with some
traditional versions of chrismation and confirmation than the isolated event
of water baptism.41
In response to the Commentary of B:IV-B, #14, it should be noted that
Pentecostals in the U.S.A. are not known to administer the eucharist to
infants. Neither are they given to frequent celebrations of the eucharist or of
seeing it as an extension of forgiveness of sin. The older pentecostal practice
still observed in many quarters is to join footwashing with the Lord's Supper.
An erudite monograph puts forward the thesis that the footwashing service as
observed by Pentecostals recaptures an aspect of the original Johannine
community frequently lost in church history. John Christopher Thomas has
argued that an informed analysis of the Judaistic milieu of early Christianity
rediscovers the teaching that footwashing extends the affects of water baptism
by providing cleansing for post-baptismal sins. Thomas, therefore, sees pen-
tecostal misjudgment not in the appropriation of contemporary footwashing
but by addressing this theological problem in such a way that multiple water
baptisms are seen as the proper approach. Challenging those traditions that
find the answer in the eucharist, Thomas sees one baptism and multiple
footwashings as the correct approach.42
41
James D. G. Dunn's Baptism in the Holy Spirit (London: SCM Press Ltd.,1970) promised
to put to an end the twin deficient teachings of Classical Pentecostal Spirit baptism and Roman
Catholic confirmation. Frederick Dale Bruner entered the fray with his A Theology of the Holy
Spirit (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970). Bruner's later The Holy
Spirit: The Shy Member of the Trinity (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg,1984), coauthored with William
Hordern, continued to ply Pentecostals with criticism, while Dunn sought to reconstruct the
pentecostal approach in his Jesus and the Spirit: A Study of theReligious and Charismatic Experience
of Jesus and the First Christians as Reflected in the New Testament (London: SCM Press, Ltd.;
Philadelphia:
42
Westminster Press, 1975).
John Christopher Thomas, Footwashing in John 13 and the Johannine Community (Shef-
field: Sheffield Academic Press, 1991). Exegetes can no longer simply state their preference for
interpreting footwashing in the canonical accounts as hygiene, hospitality, and/or humility. The
author's conclusion from this extensive analysis, that the Johannine community actually practiced
footwashing as a religious rite, must be considered seriously. Specialists in related fields will reap
a ripe harvest. Even historical theologians who decide the author runs ahead of the evidence will
find a valuable correction to having ignored such a vital passage. Along debate, however, can be
expected over the author's connections between footwashing and the cross. In terms of ecclesias-
tical implications, the hundreds of church bodies—including Pentecostals of all stripes—that
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 335

The Celebration of Baptism (B:V)

#17
Use of the trinitarian formula in conjunction with water baptism is
obviously not practiced by all Pentecostals. Illustrating the context of the
International Roman Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue, "Perspectives on Koi-
nonia" relegated comment on Oneness Pentecostalism to a footnote (#6).
Would the dialogues have survived the first quinquennium had the doctrine
of the Godhead been central to the discussion? Authentic ecumenism within
the Pentecostal Movement can hardly dispatch this question with such ease.
This is well known in the Society for Pentecostal Studies, Encuentro Pentecos-
tal Latinoamericano, and the Conference on Pentecostal and Charismatic
Research in Europe, along with being evident at Brighton '91. Matters of
hermeneutics, pentecostal personalities, and historical matrix provide some
of the mix that accounts for the exclusive pronouncing of the name of Jesus at
water baptism for Apostolics.
It is ill-advised to forget that Pentecostals are not alone in their espousal
of deviate trinitarian formulas (see C.O.F., #8). Further, a development of the
trinitarian dogma in the canonical record exacerbated the dilemma of the
earliest centuries that witnessed much wrestling with this theological task. If
Faith and Order can counsel the replacing of an external rite for spiritual
baptisms by the Friends and Salvation Army, then there should be room for
devout believers who chafe under post-apostolic elucidations of trinitarian
dogma. Perhaps many thinkers among the Oneness Pentecostals could affirm
the W.C.C.'s constitution when it confesses "the Lord Jesus Christ as God and
Saviour according to the Scripture" and seeks to bring glory to "the one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. " 43 Since Apostolics occupy a distinct subculture

practice footwashing as a religious rite will want to probe the theological boundaries of this study.
Not a little controversy will be stirred in the author's own camp, inasmuch as his findings elevate
the status of water baptism beyond that commonly accepted among Classical Pentecostal denom-
inations in North America. What is to be understood by "sin" and "forgiveness" (and, is cleansing
rightly equated with forgiveness?) when it is suggested that footwashing served as a sacramental
extension of water baptism for the cleansing of post-baptismal sins in the Johannine community?
Does the author recommend reconstructed liturgies where confession of sin precedes (the
not-optional-for-the-disciples) footwashing, which, in turn, precedes the eucharist? Cf. his "The
Significance
43
of Foot-Washing," Pentecostal Minister 8 (Summer, 1986): 54, 65.
It was in response to a demand of the Eastern Orthodox churches that the explicit trinitarian
reference was added. See Konrad Raiser, "The Holy Spirit in Modem Ecumenical Thought," The
Ecumenical Review 41 (July, 1989): 377. Manuel J. Gaxiola-Gaxiola has balked at securing a
Spanish synonymy for the nontranslatable "Oneness." He leaned (in his November, 1990, S.P.S.
Presidential Address at Christ for the Nations, Dallas, TX) toward a term such as "uni-pentecos-
tals." See Symposium on Oneness Pentecostalism.1988 and 1990 (Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame
Press, 1990); David K. Bernard, The Oneness of God (Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame Press, 1985);
and The United Pentecostal Church and theEvangelical Movement (Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame
Press, 1990). Bernard lifted up thinkers described as modalistic monarchians. A nonretractable
stand is taken on the doctrines of monotheism and the deity of Christ. John Bertolucci (in
"Baptism," New Covenant 21 [October, 1991]: 6) conceded early-church use of the differing
formulas in Mt. 28:19 and Acts 2:38-39.
336 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

in North America, it may be helpful to classify them as pre-Chalcedonian

Christians who missed the Enlightenment.
C.O.F. carries an expanded treatment of trinitarian issues. The specific
question posed by Apostolics is absent, but attention is given to Pneuma-
tomachianism (#10) as well as to Jews and Muslims (#8). When C.O.F.
acknowledges criticism of traditional formulas' being too speculative and
modern terminology's confounding ancient terms (for example, substance,
essence, person) from within the trinitarian fold, it lays good groundwork to
explore afresh relevant data (#6-22, #115-117, #121, #201, #211).

#18
The mode of baptism is not as uniform among Pentecostals as is often
thought. Officially allowed but rarely practiced by the International Holiness
Church, aspersion is known among Pentecostals in at least South America and
Eastern Europe. However, immersion is the unquestioned practice of choice
for the majority of Pentecostals, because it is understood to comply with New
Testament precedent and to enrich the imagery of dying and rising with Christ
Jesus. Triple immersion is a rare occurrence in pentecostal circles

#23
There might be an unexpected alignment of this text with pentecostal
interests. First, Pentecostals have been consistent in their practice of making
water baptism part of public worship. In fact the noisy enthusiasm expressed
by Pentecostals on many river banks has earned the appellation "sacred
theater of the Spirit possessed." Second, criticism that Pentecostals disallow
a sense of urgency about water baptism is put into perspective, somewhat, by
the BEM suggestion of tying this sacrament to a major Christian festival. It
has often been a question of logistics that delayed water baptism for pentecos-
tal converts of the past. Once pentecostal churches were built with baptis-
teries, pastors have been known to baptize a new believer almost immediately
following his or her profession of faith. In any event, Pentecostals share the
judgment of the Lima text that the scriptures do not know unbaptized Chris-
tians.

44
Hunter, "Pentecostal Ordinances," p. 654; and Robeck and Sandidge, "The Ecclesiology
of Koinonia and Baptism," pp. 7-10. Synan (in October 9,1990, telephone interview) mentioned
dealing with the elderly and special requests as the most common calls for sprinkling.
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 337

Eucharist

The Institution of the Eucharist (E:I)

The eucharist, more commonly referred to as (Holy) Communion or the
Lord's Supper in pentecostal churches, has not been seen by pentecostal
leaders as a source of forgiveness of sins. The pentecostal position on this issue
is not unlike that noted by the Roman Catholic response, which sees the "state
of reconciliation" as a precondition for partaking of the elements. 45 Roman
Catholics understand this to be accomplished through the sacrament of pen-
ance, while Pentecostals have a less liturgical version of how a believer is
absolved of trespasses —perhaps not incompatible with C.O.F., #246.
It would appear unlikely that Pentecostals en masse would be given to
accept the eucharist as "the central act of the Church's worship." Despite the
Faith and Order Clarification 46 that this is inclusive of both "word and
sacrament," no major pentecostal denomination in the U.S.A. is moving
toward a weekly obse rvance of the eucharist (cf. E:III, #31). This relates to
the pentecostal preference for discerning the presence of Christ not in the
elements (Commenta ry on E:II-B, #13) but among the devotees. In the
"universe of meaning" identified by Faith and Order 47 as including an assem-
bly gathered for prayer, Pentecostals would readily add the display of spec-
tacular charisms and may reverently concede the eucharistic presence of Christ
to be unique (#13).

The Eucharist as Anamnesis or Memorial of Christ (E:II-B)

#8
The concept of sacrifice related to the Lord's Supper is largely under-
developed in Pentecostalism. Perhaps this is due to the fear of anything
thought to compromise the uniqueness of the death of Christ on the cross.
However, sufficient room may be accorded pentecostal thought in the 1989
Faith and Order Elucidations. 48

#10
Pentecostals concur with the recent Faith and Order concession that BEM
should "have been more explicit about adequate moral and spiritual prepara-
tion for sharing in communion." 49 While this may be linked to the "whole
45
46
"F. & 0. Draft Report," 3:32.
47
"F. & 0. Draft Report," 4:5.
"F. & 0. Draft Report," 4:7.
^"F. & 0. Draft Report," 4:8.1. Pentecostals can resonate with Gritz when he said of
Believers' churches: "The Eucharist or Lord's Supper is viewed as a symbolic testimony not only
recalling to one's memory the sacrifice of Christ, but demonstrating one's own pledge before others
to follow Christ and proclaim salvation through his sacrifice for our sins" (in his "Church' in the
History
4
of Pentecostalism," p. 10).
`F. & 0. Draft Report," 4:9. Also see "Perspectives on Koinonia," sect.101.
338 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

world" (E:II-D, #20), it is doubtful that Pentecostals at large will be easily

persuaded to see any of this "in communion with all the saints and martyrs"
(E:II-B, #11).

The Eucharist as Invocation of the Spirit (E:II-C)

#14
The conjoining of anamnesis and epiklesis may not prove problematic for
Pentecostals as long as the latter is devoid of a deficient Spirit-Christology
(see C.O.F., #113) and magical connotations relative to the elements. The
argument for a literal transformation of the elements predicated on "... the
overwhelming
"50
tradition of Christianity, and to the scriptures as there inter-
preted.. would not be compelling for Pentecostals since this view is not
compatible with their belief system and is foreign to historical developments
they judge authentic.

#15
Seeking parity with unleavened bread, Pentecostals have been known to
use substitutes like (unsalted) crackers. However, Classical Pentecostal de-
nominations in the U.S.A. have formulated ecclesiastical dogmas that prohibit
the use of anything stronger than grape juice for the fruit of the vine. Pentecos-
tal teachings stressing abstinence from alcoholic beverages have permitted
interpretation of pertinent biblical passages as supportive of this practice (see
Commentary on E:III, #28).

The Eucharist as Communion of the Faithful (E:II-D)

#19
There is no small irony in the fact that BEM can link "the whole Church"
to eucharistic celebrations, whereas intercommunion remains a serious point
of controversy (E:III, #33). This is aptly noted in the Lima text itself: "Insofar
as Christians cannot unite in full fellowship around the same table to eat the
same loaf and drink the same cup, their missionary witness is weakened at both
the individual and corporate levels" (E:II-E, #26).51

#20
A certifiable ecclesiology must cope with the remarkable summation
captured in the original Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed when it sets off
marks of the church as "one, holy, catholic and apostolic" (C.O.F., #216-241).
Although not always faring well when peering into this looking glass, Pen-
50
"F. & 0. Draft Report," 4:7. Cf. Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue, p. 61; and Em-
s1 Clapsis, "The Holy Spirit in the Church," The Ecumenical Review 41 (July, 1989): 345.
manuel
Cf. Evangelical-Roman Catholic Dialogue, pp. 87-88.
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 339

tecostals have at times been trailblazers in the fight against racism. No

contemporary example illustrates this better than the struggles of Frank
Chikane and the Relevant Pentecostal Witness, both of whom know well the
reckoning of "kairos" (C.O.F., #174) as they push South Africa into a post-
apartheid society. 52 On the other side are those Pentecostals who move from
Zionist premises to targeting Arabs (cf. BEM, M:I, #1; and C.O.F., #149,
#223).

The Eucharist as Meal of the Kingdom (E:II-E, #22)

In pentecostal circles, "the final renewal of creation" has most often been
interpreted in apocalyptic terms. Here, a strict discontinuity between the "here
and the hereafter" has been widely maintained. 53 However, African Indig-
enous Churches in Zimbabwe have shown more acumen than their Western
counterparts by working toward the "salvation of all creation." Professor M.
L. Daneel of UNISA gave a mesmerizing account at Brighton '91 of African
Indigenous Church converts in Zimbabwe racing around monstrous bonfires,
then being confronted by prophets over environmental sins in a sacramental
context. A thorough review of C.O.F.'s treatment of "Creation and the Triune
God" ( # 78-89, #198) and "Living Our Hope" ( # 274-278) could move
Pentecostals — particularly those in the West — toward a void in their pneu-
matology that was loudly trumpeted in documents preparing delegates for the
seventh assembly of the W.C.C.. Indeed, the integrity of creation should flow
out of humankind's responsibility for creation while avoiding the "sacraliza-
tion of nature" (#205).

The Celebration of the Eucharist (E:III)

#29
It is common practice in North American pentecostal churches for Holy
Communion to be administered by an authorized minister.

52
See Frank Chikane, No Life of My Own: A n A utobiography (London: Catholic Institute for
International Relations; Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988); A Relevant Pentecostal W itness
(Durban: Relevant Pentecostals, 1988); Japie Lapoorta, "The Necessity fora Relevant Pentecos-
tal Witness in South Africa," EPTA Bulletin, vol. 10, no. 1 (1991), pp. 25-33; Nico Horn, "The
Possibilities of the Rediscovery of the Black Roots of Pentecostalism for South African Theology,"
A zusa, vol. 1, no. 1 (1990), pp. 19-42; idem, "Crossing Borders in Southern Africa," in Pluss,
Crossing Borders; "A Declaration of Solidarity with the Relevant Pentecostal Witness in South
Africa," EPTA Bulletin, vol. 10, no. 1(1991), pp. 34-35; and Murray Dempster, "Pentecostal and
Charismatic Scholars Call for End to Apartheid," Transfo»nation 9 (January/March,1992): 32-33.
53
This is to be distinguished from the point made by Land: "Eschatological (already-not yet)
fusion ... in the Spirit joins space and time in such a way that Christ's resurrection and second
coming are fused with his coming in pentecostal power, tongues and proclamation, praise and
petition are one" (in his "Pentecostal Spirituality," p. 486). Among the parallels between Autoch-
thonous Pentecostal Churches and base ecclesial communities identified by Sepdlveda is that "for
both movements, salvation is not a purely immaterial question; it is a concrete reality in the here
and now of real life" (in his "Pentecostalismo y Teologica de In Liberacion," p. 7).
340 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

#32
It is difficult to imagine support by American pentecostal ecclesiarchs for
the concept of adoration of the species (see Commentary on E:II-C, #15).
Pentecostal defaming of the anglo-catholic view of the sacraments may owe
something to evangelical influence. American Evangelicals have been known
to ascribe an almost mystical attachment to the Bible. Language born out of
inerrancy disputes has promoted some detractors to accuse Evangelicals of
bibliolatry. Relevant here is the radically different way in which the "altar"
nomenclature is used by Pentecostals and those from the anglo-catholic
stream. Pentecostals have sought to find the partaking of grace not in such an
objective rite but in the spiritualized notion of the altar (or "mourning bench")
as the focus for miracles wrought in the lives of those who manifest the will of
God. S4 The constant misspelling of altar as "alter" by pentecostal evangelists
has become an unintentional declaration of design.

Ministry

The Calling of the Whole People of God (M:I)

It does not require threading delicate political corridors to heap praise on
M:I, #1-6. The question concluding #6 seems to be an excellent point of
reference, even if Faith and Order would later concede a lack of balance 55struck
on the relationship between the ordained ministry and the community. This
concern should be obvious to any observer of the Pentecostal Movement
because of its theology of spiritual gifts. In contrast to much publicized
exceptions, the community of the faithful is an important part of the pentecos-
tal process of discernment. A theological component of #5 is developed more
fully in C.O.F., #213-215. Pentecostals have espoused a "realized eschatol-
ogy" of the sort t hat proclaims deliverance now from evil.56
54A lucid argument illustrating a pragmatic alignment on cause and effect between Pentecos-
tals and Roman Catholics is made by Peter D. Hocken in "Signs and Evidence: The Need for
Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue on the Relationship between the Physical and Spiritual," Pneuma
11 (Fall, 1989): 123-133. Cf. Joseph K. Byrd, "Formation of a Classical Pentecostal Homiletic in
Dialogue with Contemporary Protestant Homiletics," unpublished Ph.D. dissertation (Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary, 1990), pp. 114 -115; and Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory. It
is not unusual for a pentecostal church to have a distinct table with an appropriate inscription for
the eucharist, in addition to a bench or rail combination for kneeling. When it comes to scripture,
Pentecostals more readily identify with the pietistic concept of apostles as inspired persons over
against a hypostatized word of God. See C. John Weborg, "Pietism: Theology in Service of Living
toward God," in Dayton and Johnston, Variety, p. 170. Convergence with this restorationist lineage
places Pentecostals also in proximity to an aspect of Peter Hodgson's revisionary constructive
theology. To those of us for whom Schleiermacher is a pleasant memory, this, then, is good news.
Cf. Hodgson, "Constructive Theology," pp. 118, 13, 106. Also see Peter Staples, "Ecumenical
Theology and Pentecostalism," in Jan A. B. Jongeneel et al., eds., Pentecost; Mission, and Ecu-
menism:
55
Essays on Intercultural Theology (Frankfurt a/M: Peter Lang, 1992), pp. 261-271.
"F. & 0. Draft Report," 4:10. Cf. Houtepen, "Towards an Ecumenical Vision," p. 224.
56
The argument of Miroslav Volf, in "Materiality of Salvation: An Investigation in the So-
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 341

The Church and the Ordained Ministry (M:II, #7)

Many pentecostal leaders could work easily with the definitions of "char-
ism," "ministry," and "ordained ministry" presented here. Explication by
C.O.F., #208, #214, and #215 on charisms corresponds well to the findings
of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Apparently not prepared to adopt the
word "priest" for a minister (see M:II-C, #17), this ecclesiastical designation
is proving less problematic in the interest of ecumenical gains (see Commen-
tary on # 17). Pentecostals who have surrendered the egalitarian use of
"brother/sister" in favor of entrenched ranks of clergy trumpeted with such
salutations as "Reverend," "Bishop," and "Doctor" have, in any event, for-
feited the judgment seat.
An agitation for observers of Pentecostalism is the resolve constantly to
explore the theological concept of Spirit baptism. Significantly, pentecostal
academicians are turning away from mere obsession with lines of demarcation
tied to initial evidence and moving to the stuff of Spirit baptism. An incarna-
tional model of Spirit baptism realized in addressing human rights among
refugees in Costa Rica was given at Brighton '91 by a pentecostal _professor
from the widely respected Seminaro Biblico Latinoamericano. 57If BEM
(Commentary on M:III-A, #21c) can permit enough latitude not to exclude
a priori African Christians who replaced water baptism with Spirit baptism
accompanied by the laying on of hands, then there should be enough breathing
room for most Pentecostals. It seems that the creators of C.O.F. (Commentary
on #208) made a particular effort to do just this.

The Ordained Ministry (M:II-A, #11)

Emphasis by the Lima text on a ministry chosen and called by Christ
through the Holy Spirit is a point warmly embraced by Pentecostals. In fact,
teriologies of Liberation and Pentecostal Theologies," J.E.S. 26 (Summer,1989): 447-468, maybe
stood on its head. That is to say, rather than extending concepts of healing to justify social
responsibility, a more likely scenario is the sacralizing of things personal and corporate. This is
the opposite direction of the 1991 S.P.S. Presidential Address by Murray Dempster, who redefined
an eschatological maxim to reassert social responsibility. See Murray Dempster, "Christian Social
Concern in Pentecostal Perspective," in D. William Faupel, ed.,DecadesofEapectancy:1891-1900,
1991-2000 (papers from the S.P.S. meeting at Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God,
Lakeland, FL, in November, 1991); Miroslav Volf, "On Loving with Hope: Eschatology and Social
Responsibility," Transformation 7 (July/September,1990):28-31; Frank D. Macchia, "Spirituality
and Social Liberation: The Message of the Blumhardts in the Light of Wurttemberg Pietism, with
Implications for Pentecostal Theology," in Jan A. B. Jongeneel, ed., Experiences of the Spirit
(Frankfurt a/M: Peter Lang, 1991), p. 65-83; Donald W. Dayton, "Pentecostal/Charismatic
Renewal and Social Change: A Western Perspective," Transformation 5 (October/December,
1988): 7-13; and Matthias Wenk, "Christian Social Responsibility," EPTA Bulletin, vol. 10, no. 1
(1991), p. 12.
s
"Luis Segreda, in "La Evangelizacion y el Espiritu Santo en una Sociedad Urbana y
Multicultural: La Experiencia del Comite Ecumenico Pro-Detechos Humanos," a paper read at
Brighton'91, p. 8, called Spirit baptism a two-sided protest: as a communicative phenomenon and
as a social protest. Cf. McGee, Initial Evidence; and Manuel J. Gaxiola-Gaxiola, "Latin American
Pentecostalism: A Mosaic within a Mosaic," Pneuma 13 (Fall, 1991): 117.
342 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

the older version of this divine summons was understood to dispense with
extensive formal education (see M:V-C, #47). Although the movement has
always taken the study of scripture very seriously, it has yet to exalt the work
of theological specialists (see Commentary on #11). Perhaps this is most
understandable in the Third World where pentecostal adherents are still poor
and zealous evangelists, thus needing little more than an "organizer" to fit the
role of pastor.58

The Ministry of Men and Women in the Church (M:II-D, #18)

It is widely known that the Pentecostal Movement has long given prom-
inence to women in terms of such ministries as preaching. However, this has
not always been accompanied by the authority necessary to fulfill related tasks.
Many pentecostal churches, by either dogmatic decree or circumscribed prac-
tice, have eliminated women from those who ordinarily are permitted to
administer the sacraments or fulfill the duties of the episkope. 59 This incon-
sistency has been reasonably disguised in part because of the decreased
percentage of pentecostal ministers who are female. In reality, this is in stark
contrast to the movement's beginning, which saw the application of biblical
concepts of anointing, empowering, and gifting to include the founding of
pentecostal denominations by women. This is, then, not an area where Pen-
tecostals can gloat, but they must be willing to join others in contritely listening
to the Spirit. The Commentary on #18 notes the unwillingness of certain
churches to set aside "nineteen centuries of tradition against the ordination
of women." If the thesis tying the Pentecostal Movement to previous En-
thusiastic Pneuma-tomania is correct, it should be noted that most all such
groups have given unusual liberty to women in the exercise of gifts of the Spirit,
but women did not always enjoy authority at any significant level. This was
true despite the fact that the most prominent leader of many periods was a
woman.
C.O.F., #43-52, distinguishes the divine image—which is identified as
both masculine and feminine in canonical accounts—from the divine name
when opting to retain the priority of "Our Father" (over against "Our Moth-
er") and resisting the temptation to refer to the Holy Spirit as "she" (#202).

58
See Sepulveda, "Pentecostalismo y Teologia de la Liberacion," p.16: "The role of the pastor
is pretty much that of an organizer, a community leader who has no priestly prerogative, except to
administer the sacraments (water baptism and the Lord's Supper). But these, due to their
infrequency, have a lesser value beside the importance of the daily services and the task of
evangelization,
59
where no difference is made between pastors and laity."
"F. & O. Draft Report," 4:14, says that exercising episcope "is to have a function of pastoral
leadership, oversight and co- ordination in the church" and stresses that this occurs in "various
forms (M 53a) at all levels of the life of the church." The 1992 Anglican decision to ordain female
candidates was widely supported by charismatic priests. Yet, while this effort was spearheaded by
the charismatic archbishop, Dr. George Carey, it was resisted by the head of SOMA, Canon
Michael Harper.
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 343

Pentecostal feminism as advocated by Dr. Cheryl Bridges Johns and Dr. Edith
L. Blumhofer at Brighton '91 will accept no less.60

The Forms of the Ordained Ministry (M:III)

Major Holiness Classical Pentecostal denominations in the U.S.A. have
essentially episcopal infrastructures. Whatever label is hung on the Assem-
blies of God (presbyterial congregational?), the considerable authority of
Springfield, MO, is well known in this denomination. When guided by the
admission that the "New Testament does not describe a single pattern of
ministry which might serve as a blueprint or continuing norm for all future
ministry in the Church" (M:III-A, #19), Pentecostals should be able to
interact responsibly with the concept of a threefold ministry.
To whatever extent (M:III-C, #28) Pentecostals can embody constitu-
tional orders by giving sufficient expression to the threefold ministry (M:III-B,
#27), it is doubtful that this would extend to accepting the primacy of any
episcopal or patriarchal see. 61 Apostolic succession for most Pentecostals
would not reside in a projected historical continuity of episcopal succession
but particularly in conformity to the teachings of the apostles (M:IV-B, #35;
and C.O.F., #241).

Variety of Charisms (M:III-D, #32)

Pentecostals would answer with a hearty "Amen!" lifting up the com-
munity living "in the power of the Spirit ... characterized by a variety of
charisms" (#32). Tensions between the institutional and the charismatic have
appeared throughout biblical and church history. Although the Pentecostal
Movement is an obvious testimony to the belief in releasing charisms in the
community of the faithful, in reality many gifts have been suppressed by
dominating authority figures and structures. Most Pentecostals seem to deny
the continuance of special revelation unique to scripture, while owning con-
temporary charismatic insights and inspirations. This in turn has given risen
to bureaucracies and shibboleth monitors rivaling the older Roman Catholic
magisterium. The theological problem may differ little from that raised by the
existence of the "inerrant" Roman Catholic teaching office. Pentecostals must
rise above this internal struggle and reckon with the description of the World

6O
See Cheryl Bridges Johns, "Pentecostal Spirituality and the Conscientization of Women,"
a paper read at Brighton '91; and Edith L. Blumhofer, "Women in Evangelicalism and Pentecos-
talism," in Melanie A. May, ed., W omen and Church: The Challenge ofEcumenical Solidarity in an
A ge of A lienation, Faith and Order Series (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co.; New York: Friendship Press, 1991), p. 3-7.
61
"F. & O. Draft Report," 4:15. Cf. Houtepen, "Towards an Ecumenical Vision," pp. 224,
235; "Perspectives on Koinonia," sect. 85; and Robeck, "The Holy Spirit in the Pentecostal/Charis-
matic Tradition," pp. 8ff.
344 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

Council of Churches by its first general secretary as "essentially an attempt to

manifest the economy of the charismata. "62

The Meaning of Ordination (M:V-A, #40)

Pentecostals are known to understand the act of ordination as both an
"action of God and of the church that should include an invocation of the Holy
Spirit and the laying on of hands. "63 Pentecostals would, in this context, most
readily be drawn to the original meaning of cheirotonein over against any legal
connotation of ordo and ordinare (Commentary on #40).

Towards the Mutual Recognition of the Ordained Ministries (M:VI)

Significant stumbling blocks remain in the path of mutual recognition of
various ministries. Apostolic succession tied to episcopal continuity charac-
terizes Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Anglicanism, while apos-
tolic teaching is the focus for magisterial churches from the Reformation,
including Lutherans and Presbyterians, leaving apostolic restoration a theme
for the likes of Pentecostals. Although the actual numbers are lopsided, it is
true not only that people from various sectors of Christendom join pentecostal
churches but also that some raised in Pentecostalism have joined mainline
Protestant churches and Roman Catholicism. There is much room for im-
provement in this controversy often seen as either pentecostal proselytism or
imperialism of established denominations. Pentecostals ignore at their own
peril the invitation to join with C.O.F. in affirming:
Each local church is authentically the Church of God, when all it preaches,
celebrates and does is in communion with all that the churches in com-
munion with the apostles preached, celebrated and did, and with all that
the churches here and now are preaching, celebrating and doing in com-
munion with the apostles and under the apostolic gospel.64
62
W. A. Visser't Hooft, "The Economy of the Charismata and the Ecumenical Movement,"
in Paulus — Hellas— Oikumene (a 1951 ecumenical symposium in Athens to celebrate the 1,900th
anniversary of St. Paul's arrival in Greece), published by the Student Christian Association of
Greece; as quoted by Emilio Castro, in "Come Holy Spirit," The Ecumenical Review 41 (July,
1989): 321. Not unrelated to Leonardo Boff's depiction of base ecclesial communities as a
"reinvention of the church" (i.e., from the bottom up), Juan Sep6lveda said: "Pentecostalism, at
least in its formative stage, is a bearer of a vision of the church as community, whose principle of
structure or organization is the charismata. The church does not conceive itself as an institution
built on a hierarchy, but rather as an association or place of meeting of the converted" (in his
"Pentecostalismo y Teologia de is Liberacion," p. 15). See Adoniram Gaxiola, "Poverty as a
Meeting and Parting Place: Similarities and Contrasts in the Experience of Latin American
Pentecostalism and Ecclesial Base Communities," Pneuma 13 (Fall, 1991): 172 -173; and Robeck,
"The Holy Spirit in the Pentecostal/Charismatic Tradition," pp. 24-33.
63
See in "F. & O. Draft Report," 3:51. Gritz said: "Ordination is not the bestowing of the
charismata but the formal recognition of its presence in an individual's life. The role of a
spirit-filled, anointed pastoral leader is central to the Believers' church heritage" (in his "'Church'
in the History of Pentecostalism," pp. 20-21). Cf. Houtepen, "Towards an Ecumenical Vision,"
pp . 224,
64 229.
C.O.F., #226 (p. 84). Some North American Pentecostals might be positively influenced
Reflections by a Pentecostalist on Aspects of BEM 345

The production of BEM, important responses, and significant progress in

this direction, however, provide a renewed excitement about ground gained
and hope for more converging paths. Meanwhile, the Orthodox Church
accepts only an "ecumenical council" to address such issues as the filioque's
being absent from the original text of the Nicene Creed. C.O.F. (#2 10) ignites
hope even here. If a historic gathering were convened today, would the call
come from Rome and Istanbul? Would Anglicans and Lutherans be invited?
What would be Geneva's role? Would the observers include Pentecostals?
When will voices unite in the "Amen" (C.O.F., #279)?

by one of the official documents circulated in preparation for the Seventh Assembly of the World
Council of Churches, which said: "The transformation that the Spirit brings restores our com-
munion with God and one another. We are built up through the gifts of the Spirit into a people
empowered to do God's will, to share the good news, and to become a community of sharing"
(Come, Holy Spirit: Renew Thy W hole Creation [New York: Friendship Press, 1989], p. 8). Likewise
impressive is "Come, Holy Spirit" (special issue), The Ecumenical Review 41 (July, 1989): esp. 378,
340,391, 363ff. Cf. Dialogues with the Evangelical Free Church, pp. 58-59; and Evangelical-Roman
Catholic Dialogue, pp. 59-60. Pentecostals have invariably taken an evangelistic posture toward
other religions. However, the probing paper by Dr. Clark H. Pinnock at Brighton'91, "Evangelism
and Other Living Faiths," runs a parallel track to the discussion in C.O.F., #31-35, #200, #268.
Pinnock subsequently releasedA Wideness in God's Merry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992),
and "The Conditional View," in William Crockett, ed., Four V iews of Hell (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1992). During the 1992 meeting of the American Academy of Religion's Evangelical
Theological Group, Pinnock explored post-mortem conversion in his paper, "The Finality of Jesus
Christ in a World of Religions," p. 4.