Pentecostalism and Ecumenism: Past, Present, and Future (Part 5 of 5) by Amos Yong
As Pentecostals, we need to ask ourselves what the Holy Spirit is doing in the world (Rev. 2-3, passim). As people led by the Spirit, how can we discern what God is doing in the Church and how that work affects the Church’s witness to the world? The world has seen enough denominational strife, abstract theological speculation, futile doctrinal disputes, and Christian polemics. What the world needs is the love of God. Pentecostals, more than others, should know what it means to have been touched by the love of God in ways that while not marginalizing theology and doctrine, certainly do not exalt its place either. And, far beyond intellectual activity, Pentecostals emphasize the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for mission. As David Bundy puts it in the closing sentences of his paper on ecumenical Pentecostalism, “there is less of a concern among Pentecostals for a unity of theological opinion…than for common activity for the Kingdom of God. In other words, ecumenism for mission has precedence over ecumenism for koinonia.”26 So, the question that remains is this: what is the Holy Spirit doing to break down the barriers between Christians, and how can we as Pentecostals be involved in this essential task of taking the love of God to the world?
PR
Read also:
Pentecostalism and Ecumenism: Past, Present, and Future (Part 1 of 5)
Pentecostalism and Ecumenism: Past, Present, and Future (Part 2 of 5)
Pentecostalism and Ecumenism: Past, Present, and Future (Part 3 of 5)
Pentecostalism and Ecumenism: Past, Present, and Future (Part 4 of 5)
Notes
22 Here, I follow Raymond R. Pfister’s typology: “The Ecumenical Challenge of Pentecostal Missions: A European Pentecostal Perspective for the 21st Century,” unpublished paper presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, Kirkland, Washington, 16-18 March 2000. Pfister is a French Pentecostal who directs the equivalence of a Teen Challenge center for recovering alcoholics and teaches at a Lutheran pastor’s training institution, both in Hamburg, Germany.
23 Information about these groups is only a few clicks away: see the “Academic Societies” section of the Pentecostal-Charismatic Theological Inquiry International homepage: http://www.pctii.org.
24 The results of the Pentecostal-Roman Catholic dialogue can be perused in the pages of Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. The first three sessions (1972-1976, 1977-1982, and 1985-1989) are found in vol. 12:2 (1990); the fourth session (1990-1997) is reported in vol. 21:1 (1999); the fifth session has not yet concluded. For an overview of the Pentecostal-WARC dialogue, see Frank Macchia, “Reformed/Pentecostal Dialogue,” in Stanley M. Burgess, et al., eds., Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, revised ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), forthcoming.
Category: Ministry, Pneuma Review, Winter 2002
Followers
Fans
