Is the Church in China Predominantly Pentecostal?

Author’s Preface
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: The House Church Networks
Part 3: Gaining Perspective: A Contextual Assessment

PneumaReview.com reader ISC wrote:

Actually, I don’t think the True Jesus Church [discussed in “Is the Chinese Church Predominantly Pentecostal? Part 3: Gaining Perspective“] was directly influenced by Pentecostal Truths (Wuxunjie zhenlibao). I had a chit-chat with Prof. Bays during the break time at a symposium in 2013, I asked him how he made the conclusion that Pentecostal Truths influenced the TJC? This periodical reflects a quite strong Holiness Pentecostal perspective while the TJC has its root in Oneness Pentecostal missionary Berntsen. He said to me that leaders from the TJC told him this way when he visited its general assembly in Taichung, Taiwan many years ago.

According to what I have known, many TJC folks do not know that Classical Pentecostals can be divided into Holiness, Finished work, and Oneness. Most of them think all the Pentecostals believe in salvation and Spirit-Baptism identical experiences as what Oneness Pentecostals do. To put it simply, most of them do not know that Pentecostals mostly believe in “subsequence” except Oneness Pentecostals. So, it’s not necessary for them to look into what type of Pentecostal sub-traditions the Pentecostal Truths actually carried.

According to some more overall field investigations, churches in China including those with Pentecostal characteristics mostly feel uncomfortable with being called “Pentecostal” or “Charismatic”. I think one should be cautious of using a Western-made term such as Pentecostal or Charismatic to describe Christianity in the global south.

Furthermore, leaders from the five largest house church groups in China such as Zhang Yinan tend to avoid identifying themselves as Pentecostal or Charismatic. Rather, they would like to learn from various Christian traditions.

Robert Menzies responded:

First, let me say that I appreciate the reader’s interesting comments and informed suggestion with respect to the origins of the TJC.  Nevertheless, I still have to side with Daniel Bays on this one.

Although the TJC was a oneness Pentecostal group, this does not preclude its early leaders from being influenced by the Pentecostal Truths (Wuxunjie zhenlibao) as Bays argues. One can see how both the Pentecostal Truths and Berntsen both exerted influence.  Pentecostals tended to feature Acts, so a oneness perspective flowed from this literalistic (and I would add, in the case of oneness Pentecostals, myopic) perspective.

In response to the reader’s comments about attitudes toward the terms, “charismatic” or “Pentecostal,” in China, I offer the following. While it is true that the term “charismatic” (lingen) often has pejorative connotations in China, the term “Pentecostal” (wunxunjie) is generally viewed favorably. Some groups are quite willing to accept this label. Leaders of the Fangcheng group, for example, emphasize their Pentecostal beliefs. Other groups that are not “classical” Pentecostal but accept most of the features of Pentecostal theology and praxis, may be more cautious in using the label. I suspect that the language they use often depends on the context and with whom they are speaking.

Have you posed this question to Dennis Balcombe? I believe Dennis has had more first-hand experience with these groups than any person I know. I’m confident that Dennis would affirm my conclusion, based on my own experience with leaders from various house church groups (as well as a written survey – see my ”Pentecostals in China,” in Vinson Synan and Amos Yong, eds., Global Renewal Christianity: Spirit-Empowered Movements Past, Present, and Future, vol. I: Asia and Oceania [Lake Mary, Fla.: Charisma House Publishers, 2015], 67-90).

I would add that to suggest that the term, “Pentecostal,” is Western, is simply wrong. Most Pentecostals today do not live in the global West. Furthermore, the term is biblical and flows from the Bible. While I hope we all want to learn from the various Christian traditions, this should not blind us to the Pentecostal character of much of the Chinese house church movement. Perhaps the more important question is, how do we define the term, “Pentecostal”? I have been careful to clearly define this term in my writings and I do believe that the term must be understood theologically, not simply phenomenologically.

Robert Menzies

New Testament scholar Craig S. Keener speaks with PneumaReview.com about his new book, Spirit Hermeneutics.

PneumaReview.com: Please define for our readers what you mean by “Spirit Hermeneutics.”

Craig S. Keener: Spirit hermeneutics is listening for God’s voice and heart in Scripture. Obviously I do believe in doing our homework, exploring cultural background and understanding the context as best as we can. But at the end of the day, it’s not just an academic pursuit separated from life. We want to submit our lives to be transformed by Scripture’s message. Otherwise we’re like someone who sees their face in a mirror and goes off forgetting what they look like.

PneumaReview.com: One theme that you stress in the book is the importance of reading biblical texts in their contexts. In view of its importance why do you think that many Christians do not read the Bible this way?

PneumaReview.com: Why do Christians frequently have difficulty hearing God speak to them through the Bible?

Spirit Hermeneutics: Reading Scripture in Light of Pentecost (Eerdmans, 2016), 550 pages. Publisher’s page.

Craig S. Keener: Some Christians don’t realize that this is partly what the Bible is for, but sometimes also we don’t recognize that God can speak to us in a lot of different ways. We should pray that we will hear Him, then read the Bible (in context, etc.) to see what we can learn about God and how He acts in real human situations. Some of those will surely relate to us and to the world we live in. Some passages do show us His heart more than others, or perhaps in more concentrated ways; we find that most clearly in the message of the gospel, the message about Jesus’s death and resurrection for us. What the Spirit speaks to us will be consistent with His heart as already revealed in the gospel; the Spirit helps activate that in our lives. (Of course, I am not saying that the Spirit does not guide us in day-to-day ways as well. But being grounded in Scripture helps us recognize His voice and His character.)

PneumaReview.com: Please give a couple of examples from Scripture to demonstrate that biblical texts are meant to address and have application to situations outside of their original context.

Craig S. Keener: For one example, continuing the above-mentioned topic: the Spirit tells Philip to run up to the chariot where the African court official is (Acts 8:29). That fits a consistent theme in the Book of Acts: the Spirit leads the church across cultural barriers. Ancient historians and biographers wrote to communicate accurate historical information, but information that was framed in a way that also taught moral, political, or even theological lessons. One lesson here should be pretty obvious from Luke’s inspired vantage point: we need to continue to depend on God, and God will lead us to cross cultural barriers to bring the gospel to others. Many of us live in communities where God has brought people from other cultures to us, some of them unevangelized in their homelands. Okay, that was just the first example that came to my mind; it might not actually be one of the examples in the book!

How should we lead the church?

A Pneuma Review conversation

Over several issues, from Summer 2010 through Winter 2012, The Pneuma Review heard from theologians and pastors from around the world about how we should lead the local church.

If you could write a letter to church leaders everywhere, what would you say?

Join us as we ask of each other, “How should we lead the church?”

Andrew D. Clarke (Summer 2010)
New Testament scholar Andrew D. Clarke imagines what it would be like to interview the Apostle Paul about church leadership today.
An Interview with Paul: What might the Apostle say about the church today?

Tony Richie (Fall 2010)
Pastor-scholar Tony Richie discusses what having good leadership means for a local church.
Leadership in the Local Church: Discerning Practical Value and Developing Theological Foundations

Victor H. Cuartas (Winter 2011)

How to expand the vision of the local church to reach the world.
How to Lead a Missional Church that Expands God’s Kingdom

Woodrow E. Walton (Spring 2011)

The humility and anonymity of true servant leadership.
The Case for Anonymous Leadership

Aldwin Ragoonath (Summer 2011)

In this Pneuma Review conversation, preacher and international instructor Aldwin Ragoonath asks, what is hindering church growth in North America? How can we can lead towards growth in the church in the Twenty-first century?
Leading a Church in the Twenty-first Century: An International Perspective

Eric Scalise (Fall 2011)

In this Pneuma Review conversation, Christian counselor, Dr. Eric Scalise answers this question by saying that ministry leaders need to recognize how pastoral ministry causes stress and how they need to develop a plan for self-care.
Healthy Leadership and the High Cost of Caring

John Lathrop (Fall 2011)

In this Pneuma Review conversation, Pastor John Lathrop says that New Testament leadership should be scripturally based, marked by servanthood, Spirit-empowered, and equipping everyone for ministry.In this Pneuma Review conversation, Pastor John Lathrop says that New Testament leadership should be scripturally based, marked by servanthood, Spirit-empowered, and equipping everyone for ministry.
Principles of Church Leadership

Of course, there are many more articles at PneumaReview.com that seek to answer the question, “How should we lead the church?” For example, I invite you to read and practice what Steven Fettke has to say about every member ministry and “Forming a Community of the Spirit.” We would also love to hear from you about your story of effective, biblical leadership. Please leave comments underneath the articles or Contact Us.

Please join us to continue this conversation …

PneumaReview.com speaks with Becky Halstead—the first woman general to lead in combat at the strategic level*—about faith, leadership, and how churches can support the men and women who serve in the military.

PneumaReview.com: Please tell us about where you come from and why you aspired to become an officer, and ultimately a Brigadier General, in the US Army.

Retired Brig. General Becky Halstead, the first female commanding general in the U.S. Military history to lead at the strategic in combat operations.

Retired Brig. General Rebecca Halstead: I was born and raised mostly in upstate New York. Our little town of Willseyville (where I lived) and Candor (where I went to school) had no traffic lights. We were considered mostly a dairy area, and the majority of our time was spent in school, church and community activities. My father worked for IBM, and my mother was a dental hygienist. I loved playing sports and wanted to be a physical education teacher. However, in 1976 my mother read in the newspaper about the military academies opening up to women. My mom thought I was the perfect fit for what they looking for and she encouraged me to apply. My mom and dad were loving, strong and disciplined Christian parents. I reluctantly agreed to put my nomination packet together. After visiting several of the Academies, I decided if I was going to attend, I wanted West Point for its rich history and discipline.

In the late spring of my senior year of high school, 1977, I received my acceptance letter from West Point. I began my military journey just a few days after high school graduation in July 1977. Before leaving for West Point I had key people in my life sign my Bible: youth group leader, Sunday school teachers, Pastor and his wife, parents, and some best friends. During my four years at West Point I read their words of encouragement hundreds of times. My goals were simple: don’t quit, don’t let my family and friends down, and pray to graduate.

Upon graduation in 1981, I was commissioned an officer in the United States Army. I was a Second Lieutenant. There was never any intent on my part to serve more than my mandatory five years after graduation. However, as the years unfolded, God blessed me with opportunities after opportunities, and numerous promotions. Again, I never aspired to become a General Officer, but after 16 different duty assignments and 23 years of serving and leading America’s sons and daughters, I was promoted in 2004 to Brigadier General.

With my promotion to Brigadier General came orders for combat. In 2005, my command in Germany was selected to deploy to Balad, Iraq for one year. In Iraq I had 20,000 soldiers in my command and we provided distribution of all the logistics for the 250,000 coalition men and women stationed there. It was the hardest, most challenging year of my life, but it was also the most rewarding. I grew as a leader, both personally and professionally. My faith walk was tested and strengthened as I dealt with tragedy and disappointments, complex missions, and the very worse, yet the very best at times, of mankind.

Becky Halstead’s first book, 24/7: The First Person You Must Lead Is YOU.

I returned to the United States in 2006 and took my last command in the army at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. I was responsible for all the military training associated with men and women in the Ordnance Corps—the second largest branch in the Army. Unfortunately, I was dealing with a personal illness, chronic fibromyalgia, and after thoughtful prayer and consideration, submitted my retirement in 2008. I was only 49 years old, and I hated to leave the military that I come to love, especially because of the men and women I served with and led. I have always believed and practiced that God places nothing in front of us that He is not willing to help us through. So, I considered this a new mission and by retiring I could wrap my arms around the disease and figure out what was next.

An interview with Andrew Schmutzer about The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abused, and part 1 of the chapter, “A Charge for Church Leadership: Speaking Out Against Sexual Abuse and Ministering to Survivors” as appearing in Pneuma Review Winter 2014.

 
A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse—Part 1 A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse—Part 2

 
 
A Charge for Church Leadership—Part 1 A Charge for Church Leadership—Part 2

Interview 1 Interview 2

Note from the Editors: Beginning a conversation about sexual abuse is uncomfortable, but we feel strongly that this topic is something the church needs to address. We believe the testimonies of authentic recovery can help us embrace the pain of the hurting and make openings for God to bring healing.

Pneuma Review: Do you appreciate how Nason-Clark and McMullin invite church leaders to speak out against sexual abuse as an opportunity and not as an obligation?

Andrew J. Schmutzer discussing The Long Journey Home in 2011, by Lulu Hé. Courtesy of Moody Bible Institute.

Andrew Schmutzer: To their credit, I think they were trying to cast a positive vision for making change, rather than framing the needs negatively or sternly. When there’s so much education to do to train church leaders, adopt appropriate policies for survivors, and then actively address their needs in church services—I think they put these tasks in a more positive light.

The reality is that “opportunity” sounds socially welcoming to pastoral leaders and those interested in social justice, whereas “obligation” sounds impersonal today, adding to the “deadweight” of unachievable tasks. That said, the role church leaders have—as first-responders—is an ethical and ecclesiastical responsibility to speak for those who’ve been denied a voice. I see their message being an opportunity to have an impact of a dynamic relational and spiritual kind…obligations per se, belong on check lists. Opportunities exist for those willing to be relationally vulnerable.

PR: Please share with us a testimony of speaking out against sexual abuse.

Andrew Schmutzer: It’s understood when working with abuse survivors, your story is your story and their story is their own. So while I’m aware of many abuse stories, and have a growing army of friends learning to live on the other side of abuse, I’m not comfortable speaking of others’ personal stories.

What I can say is that I’ve conducted some very meaningful chapels at Moody, where I teach. Several weeks out, I have students submit their personal abuse stories to me by email. They know their story will be used anonymously. Having collected around 20 individual stories, I have two students volunteer to read portions of these stories, which the survivors knew would be done. With mics located in the back of the auditorium, the male student reads the other male stories submitted, and he alternates with a female reader reading portions of women’s stories. This testimony part is one of the most powerful parts of these chapels, as students hear some very painful stories from their own peers! Written prayers of lament, responsive readings, prayer circles, candles, oil, and other meaningful rituals can be woven into these student chapels. Would you believe, they can’t wait for the next one the following semester!

An interview with Andrew Schmutzer about The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abused, and part 2 of his chapter, “A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse: Creation, Evil, and the Relational Ecosystem” as appearing in Pneuma Review Fall 2013.

 
A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse—Part 1 A Theology of Sexuality and its Abuse—Part 2

Interview 1 Interview 3

Note from the Editors: Beginning a conversation about sexual abuse is uncomfortable, but we feel strongly that this topic is something the church needs to address. We believe the testimonies of authentic recovery can help us embrace the pain of the hurting and make openings for God to bring healing.

Pneuma Review: You wrote, “Christian theology has historically separated culture from nature and nature from theology, which unfortunately has dichotomized the temporal from eternal, material from the spiritual, and so creation from redemption.” Please give us some examples of this.

Andrew Schmutzer:

Andrew J. Schmutzer discussing The Long Journey Home in 2011, by Lulu Hé. Courtesy of Moody Bible Institute.

My point here is to inform the reader of how common dualisms are in Western theology (e.g., body vs. soul, etc.). These polarities are more anesthetizing than energizing and this has had a devastating effect on a theology of personhood (what is called anthropology). Western Christianity as a whole has emphasized a highly individualized salvation. Eschatologically separated from creation and community, salvation, as it has traditionally been taught, has scorned the physical world and with it human embodied sexuality. In practice, it has been part of Christian pietism to associate sexuality with the “world, the flesh, and the devil,”—all bound to sinful humanity. Waiting for this world to just “burn up” and a better one to begin does not welcome people to live now. An isolated salvation has resulted in an isolated life, a simplistic human being, and a simplistic view of trauma.

An emphasis on a “deeper” spirituality has been code for ignoring the complexities of embodied life, on the one hand, and declaring “victory” over suffering, on the other hand. Along with a minimization of the physical realities of life, this world view can loom so large that there is little if any basis for physical and relational consequences of sin in relationships. When grace becomes perfectionistic, the raw pain of an abused teenager can be easily dismissed with reminders that “one day we’ll all shuck this physical container, anyway.” As a survivor, I’ve heard such statements as: “Just move on to victory,” “Just submit to the Holy Spirit,” “All things are new in Christ Jesus,” and others. Making such statements to a victim—especially from a non-survivor—actually rejects their pain, informs them they can’t be frustrated with God, and ignores the embodied realities of their suffering (e.g., dissociation, panic attacks, cutting, gastro-intestinal illnesses, etc.).

Abuse tears apart the wholeness of a person. Abuse does not merely objectify a person, it coldly approaches and latches on, hobbling its victim with complex wounds. As such, sexual abuse de-personalizes because it tears out pieces of the person that are intimately connected to the larger fullness of being. This violation does not extinguish life, it deadens life along a spectrum of security and terror, respect and shame—wholeness and brokenness.

Pneuma Review: What was it like growing up in a household where your parents had such a distinctive ministry? Please tell our readers about your own journey and how you came into prophetic ministry.

R. Loren Sandford: There were strong positives and strong negatives. It wasn’t just that the ministry was distinctive, but that it was also pioneering in three areas (the charismatic movement in general, inner healing and the prophetic) not well understood or received in the early days. This drew persecution both from the local congregations my father pastored and from the wider body of Christ. As children (I’m the eldest of their six) we felt it and were deeply wounded by it. It drew a lot of energy from our folks which often left them with a deficient awareness of how it affected us. Those were lonely years for me at a time when I was really too young to understand or process what was coming at us.

The turning point came in 1988 when John Paul Jackson prophesied over me in a pastors’ meeting that my own prophetic calling was not my father’s calling and that the fear of my father’s calling had kept me out of my own prophetic destiny. I began to pay attention to things I simply “knew” in ways I cannot describe. Even so, twenty-five more years would pass in a dark night of the soul designed to crush and break me to conform more to His image before I came into what has now unfolded. I began to realize that I had so often been right when others had been wrong. While much of that error was born in dreams, visions and mystical experiences, I just knew things in my spirit. It wasn’t until about five years ago, however, that the Lord told me clearly to put myself on the line and go public with the things I was hearing from Him in that simple rational knowing.

Pneuma Review: What kind of experiences does the Lord use to train and mature the truly prophetic person?

Sandford: Character formation and wholeness are everything. These can only be accessed through what Paul described as, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:2). In Romans 12:14-15 he called us to, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.” There must be a dying before there can be a resurrection. This is more than positional. It’s a real experience that more often than not involves some pain.

Executive Editor, Raul Mock, asked some questions of a recent subscriber.

What you have been studying lately?

Lately, I have been studying church planting and church growth strategies.  I’ve been studying Pentecostal & Charismatic history in the last two-thousand years, Revivals through history especially modern ones (Shearer Schoolhouse, Welsh, Topeka, Azusa Street, etc.).  Also, I am doing an expository study of the Sermon on Mount.

What topics or conversations have inspired you or irked you recently?

I have been inspired recently of sudden re-interest in the Azusa Street Revival. I have been interested in Azusa for years and it’s nice to see it getting so much attention lately. I have been irked by conversations about Pentecostals & Charismatics are becoming institutionalized. I have been irked by secular news stories about Pentecostals & Charismatics and about some of our fallen leaders.

If you could sit down with a group of theologians and Bible teachers, what questions would you want to ask?

Where are we going as a movement? If we are going in a wrong direction, how do we get back on the right path. If we are going in the right direction, how do we maintain? I know the obvious answer is to trust and obey the Lord through the power of the Holy Ghost, and live a Spirit-filled life, keeping that in perspective what can we do as individuals, as churches, and as denominations.

Thanks for you time.

God bless you in Jesus’ name,

Pastor Ben

Francis: As far back as I can remember I believed in God. I went with my dad to church every Sunday. I was always serious about God and very intent on wanting to do His will.

David: How did that evolve into a call to be a Catholic priest?

Francis: It took a little time. I never was sure what I wanted to do with my life. It was only after graduating from Harvard and from Catholic University that Thomas Merton’s book, Seven Story Mountain, helped persuade me to become a priest. I was ordained a Dominican in 1956.

David: As a Roman Catholic priest, how did you become involved with Agnes Sanford and the healing ministry?

Francis: In 1967, I met Agnes Sanford at “The Camp Farthest Out” in Tennessee. I was fascinated with the idea that God still healed today and she prayed for me to receive the “baptism of the Holy Spirit.” She also prophesied that God would use me to bring healing back to the Catholic church, which largely came true.

A year later, I attended a school of pastoral care that was taught by Agnes Sanford, Tommy Tyson and John Sandford. I learned a lot in those days.

I then began to share the news about the baptism of the Holy Spirit while giving talks to different groups, especially to priests, and there would always be some who would ask to receive prayer for it.

Eventually, I became the president of the Catholic Homiletic Society in St. Louis—an organization of 1,100 Catholics. While there, I simply followed Matthew 10, where Jesus said to preach that the kingdom of God is at hand, to heal, and to cast out evil spirits. I wrote and spoke about this quite openly, and many asked me to pray for them.

David: Did your bishop approve?

Francis: It was amazing how well it was received. Many sisters got baptized in the Spirit during weekly meetings that were often attended by as many as 300 people. I’d give talks on the baptism of the Spirit, they’d receive it and take it back to their parishes. By the time I left St. Louis in 1980 there were 60 priests involved in 100 charismatic Catholic prayer groups in the city. It was extraordinary.

David: Were your audiences all Catholic or was it a mix?

Francis: It was a mix, but mostly Catholic. Frequently, however, we had ecumenical teams, often with Tommy Tyson. Ruth Carter Stapleton worked on a number of those teams before her brother got elected president. In the 1970s I took extensive trips to Latin America and Africa – perhaps 30 countries in all. At one retreat in Australia, almost all of the 220 priests asked for the baptism of the Spirit.

David: When did you write your first book?

Francis: I wrote Healing in 1974, which has gone on to sell about a million copies.

David: Judith, how did you meet Francis?

Judith: I was living in Jerusalem, running a house of prayer called Jerusalem House. My pastor, Dr. Robert Lindsey, was a respected scholar in the Southern Baptist Convention who had just experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He encouraged me to go to a meeting to hear Francis.