Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches and Ecumenism: An Interview with Mel Robeck

 

Fourth, many historic congregations are actively involved in a variety of social concerns. They feed the hungry, offer temporary housing for the homeless, and work toward greater community development among the poor and the marginalized. Pentecostals, too, take seriously some of these points, but often they don’t see them as being linked with their expression of faith. It seems to me that this is an area that Pentecostals and Charismatics need to study, and then find a role to play in it.

 

PneumaReview.com: How can a believer be involved in dialogue with other churches?

Mel Robeck: Ecumenical dialogue may be undertaken at many different levels. The level of dialogue that is most common is an informal one. It is one that may be found within families in which at least two different faith traditions are present. During the past generation, we have watched as the children of many Christians have married across denominational lines. It has become quite common for a Catholic boy to marry a Pentecostal girl, for a charismatic man to marry a non-charismatic woman. Once this occurs, you have an ecumenical household. The situation gets more complex when you include the immediate family of the bride and groom or when the new couple has children. Sometimes the differences that emerge between them can be very intense. Beliefs are lifted up with great feeling. Left unresolved, the potential for division in this young marriage may be very high. Yet, many families have learned how to love one another across these ecumenical divides, and most frequently, they have arrived at the decision to love one another precisely because they have been willing to sit down with one another around a common table and get to know one another. Ecumenical dialogue is like that.

The ecumenical dialogues that have been initiated between Pentecostals and the Roman Catholic Church, between Pentecostals and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and as part of the Joint Consultative Group recently initiated between Pentecostals and the World Council of Churches are all dialogues that have as their stated purpose, greater understanding. They are theological discussions that require participants with specialized training to communicate across theological divides.

The dialogue with Roman Catholics as well as with the Reformed Churches have stated explicitly in their published reports that they are not in discussion for the purpose of merging with one another or with negotiating institutional unity. They recognize that they are coming together with very difficult histories and they need to find a way to talk with each other. “Evangelization, Proselytism, and Common Witness,” released by the International Roman Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue in 1999 stated, “The goal is not structural unity, but rather the fostering of this respect and mutual understanding between the Catholic Church and classical Pentecostal groups. (Introduction, ¶2).” The final report of the first round of discussions with the World Alliance of Reformed Church, published under the title “Word and Spirit, Church and World,” set three goals for the Dialogue. They were to (1) increase “mutual understanding and respect,” (2) seek ways to strengthen one another by identifying areas of “theological agreement, disagreement, and convergence,” and (3) explore “various possibilities for common witness” (Introduction, ¶5). In the case of the Joint Consultative Group, the discussion is too new to have yet published any results.

 

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Category: Ministry, Winter 2003