Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches and Ecumenism: An Interview with Mel Robeck
PneumaReview.com: Why do so few ecumenical documents reach pastors and congregations?
Within the Pentecostal and Charismatic tradition lies the fact that virtually any move toward greater ecumenical understanding or cooperation is viewed with extreme suspicion.
Part of the reason that these documents are not more widely received is the fact that they are often technical in nature. All divisions that separate Christians have come about at some point in history, in many cases these divisions may have taken place centuries ago. Many ecumenical documents presuppose a certain level of understanding of the historical factors that led to these divisions as well as historical developments that have taken place since the original break. At the beginning of the 21st Century, few Pentecostal or charismatic leaders possess the level of training in church history (with the possible exception of their own), that is necessary to enable them to interact meaningfully with what appears in many ecumenical documents. Insofar as potential readers do not know that history they are disadvantaged.
Similarly, the authors of most ecumenical documents are the Church’s theologians who pay close attention to the language of division. Like those who work in any trade or profession, these specialists have sometimes developed and employed a jargon that functions as an in-house form of shorthand. As a result, their work does not always communicate clearly to the person in the pew. Reading some ecumenical documents is like reading through some legal documents. The experts know what they mean, but ordinary lay people do not. In the case of Pentecostalism, where education has seldom received the support it deserves even in the preparation of pastors and other church leaders, some of these documents are largely incomprehensible. The theological vocabulary is simply above their ability to engage it.
We are suspicious of these documents, suspicious that they may be documents of compromise.
Category: Ministry, Winter 2003