Don't Call Me That!
With the celebration of 100 years since the Azusa Street revival, Pentecost has become a buzz word. I saw this article link on Yahoo! homepage. There is also a blog entry about someone's Pentecostal heritage.
After reading both of the above mentioned writings, I felt out of place. I tell people that I'm Pentecostal; I attend United Pentecostal Church of Greenville. However, I'm not sure if that's how I want to be labeled. The article from Yahoo! groups all Pentecostal (oneness and Trinitarian) together, whether they are charismatic, Church of God, Assembly of God, UPCI, etc. The blog states that many Pentecostals are eccentric racists.
I'm not all of those things. Eccentric, at times, yes. Racists?? Definitely not. Charismatic...No. Does the word Pentecost kill my witness? Will that one label cause people to immediately tune me out?
I use to think that Pentecost was the right label. By saying I was Pentecostal, I assumed people interpreted it to mean: I believe in holiness and speaking in tongues. I believe in the necessity of tongues and being baptized in Jesus Name. My doctrine firmly stands on Peter's teachings at the Day of Pentecost. I guess I was wrong. The Pentecostal religion obviously covers a whole gamut of ideas and thinking.
I don't have a religion; I have an experience. A religion to me is a belief. What I have is a total lifestyle. I sleep, eat, and breathe my convictions. I dress a certain way, do certain things, act a certain way because of Jesus. It's not something I do on Sundays; it's something I do everyday.
Maybe it's the fact that I hate labels. I refuse to call myself a republican or a democrat. Both parties have ideas that I agree and disagree with. That's why I opt for independent. I want people to know that I can see both sides. I guess that's the way I am with my "religion." I don't want to be labeled something that I'm not. If Pentecost has a bad connotation, then I'm up for a name change.
I suppose as humans, we need a name. We have to have a word to connect things. So if I had to characterize myself, I guess I would have to call myself a Christ follower, a Christian. That's what I am. Yes, it's broad term in today's society, but it's so general that no one can tie me to one aspect. Maybe that will open up an avenue for me to give someone more information about what I believe?
After reading both of the above mentioned writings, I felt out of place. I tell people that I'm Pentecostal; I attend United Pentecostal Church of Greenville. However, I'm not sure if that's how I want to be labeled. The article from Yahoo! groups all Pentecostal (oneness and Trinitarian) together, whether they are charismatic, Church of God, Assembly of God, UPCI, etc. The blog states that many Pentecostals are eccentric racists.
I'm not all of those things. Eccentric, at times, yes. Racists?? Definitely not. Charismatic...No. Does the word Pentecost kill my witness? Will that one label cause people to immediately tune me out?
I use to think that Pentecost was the right label. By saying I was Pentecostal, I assumed people interpreted it to mean: I believe in holiness and speaking in tongues. I believe in the necessity of tongues and being baptized in Jesus Name. My doctrine firmly stands on Peter's teachings at the Day of Pentecost. I guess I was wrong. The Pentecostal religion obviously covers a whole gamut of ideas and thinking.
I don't have a religion; I have an experience. A religion to me is a belief. What I have is a total lifestyle. I sleep, eat, and breathe my convictions. I dress a certain way, do certain things, act a certain way because of Jesus. It's not something I do on Sundays; it's something I do everyday.
Maybe it's the fact that I hate labels. I refuse to call myself a republican or a democrat. Both parties have ideas that I agree and disagree with. That's why I opt for independent. I want people to know that I can see both sides. I guess that's the way I am with my "religion." I don't want to be labeled something that I'm not. If Pentecost has a bad connotation, then I'm up for a name change.
I suppose as humans, we need a name. We have to have a word to connect things. So if I had to characterize myself, I guess I would have to call myself a Christ follower, a Christian. That's what I am. Yes, it's broad term in today's society, but it's so general that no one can tie me to one aspect. Maybe that will open up an avenue for me to give someone more information about what I believe?
Comments
Thank you for visiting and commenting on my site. I found your site through a mutual friend--Rachel Lugo--who said that I would appreciate reading what you have written.
I agree that Pentecostalism, in its rawest form, is, and always has been, an experience. But, as you mentioned in this post, there is obviously baggage attached to the label.
As you have identified, the problem is not with the experience, nor with the some of the central elements, but with the current image.
Many "Pentecostals" and charismatics have become too comfortable with the political right. Therefore they are seen as homophobic, pro-war, and in favor of a white-male agenda. Also, doctrines concerning "health and wealth", "name it and claim it", and so forth have crept in. Pentecostalism began as a "other-side-of-the-tracks" move of God. Now it is mainstream, which means it is bound to lose some of what made it so amazing in the first place.
As concerns being eccentric, we must remember the words of Gamaliel, which I feel apply here, when he warned those who opposed the early church that if this work is of God then no one can stop it, if it is of man it is bound to be exposed. The same with worshipers can be said. If God is in the midst, then so be it. If it is an eccentric display of "weirdness", then people will catch on. Never-the-less, we should not seek to duplicate previous experiences as much as we should seek to have our own. If we seek to duplicate, we will follow a set model, and in following a pattern we may find the Spirit is not involved at all. If we seek the Spirit, I have no doubt odd things will happen. But at least they are because of God.
I would hope that my posting would be understood as a positive critique rather than a negative one. I am not foreign to Pentecost, and if I had to choose a "denomination", "movement", or "tribe" of Christianity to align with, then I would say I was Pentecostal. But being a follower of Jesus means that we align with who he is. That label is the one we should seek. If speaking in tongues, experiencing miracles, and so forth cause others to label us "Pentecostals" then so be it. But when they label us, let is be seen that we are living the way of Christ.
But then the other side of me shies away from just saying "Pentecostal" because, as you said, the term also carries negative associations and includes many groups that indeed do not share all the same beliefs as I do.
But then, in the end, I end up just saying "Pentecostal" because of the centrality of the Pentecostal experience to my life (i.e. receiving the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues). And I figure if people want to put a label on me, they're going to do so whether I say "Pentecostal" or "Christian" or "Holy Roller." lol.
I was surfing through the blogs and found yours. I understand what you are saying about the identity. When people ask me what religion I am I usually say Apostolic. This may help you. Most people do not know what this means, so it opems the door for me to explain it. However, naming your religion, does not seem to really identify, the experience and relationship that we have with Jesus.
I would have to say that the world is so caught up in brand name. Gucci, Nike, Dell. They can't understand that the concept doesn't extend to spiritual beliefs.
God Bless,
Nicole