Pentecostal Leaders Research Articles

Modern/charismatic Pentecostalism as a form of ‘religious’ secularisation in Africa

This paper argues that although Pentecostalism seems to be reviving Christianity in Africa, judging by the number of people attracted to this brand of Christianity, there is an extent to which its practices and beliefs are secular. Perhaps it is this ‘secularisation’ that remains a pull factor of this kind of Christianity. To do so, the paper begins with a brief review of the secularisation theory, reaching a conclusion that secularisation involves people’s concern with proximate (this worldly) issues rather than ultimate (post-mortem) issues. With this understanding of secularisation, the paper then discusses beliefs and practices of charismatic Pentecostal churches that this author believes make Pentecostalism a form of ‘religious’ secularisation. The focus will specifically be on Zimbabwean charismatic Pentecostal leaders’ discourses of wealth and health.

Two Theological Battle Lines of Early Pentecostal Leaders, Charles F. Parham and William H. Durham

Two Theological Battle Lines of Early Pentecostal Leaders, Charles F. Parham and William H. Durham

Religion, leadership and struggle for power in Nigeria: A case study of the 2011 presidential election in Nigeria

The crisis of leadership today in Nigeria provides a formidable challenge to political and other social scientists. Between 1999 and 2015 several elections have been held with many leaders elected and sworn into office; with interactions between religion and politics the ongoing subject of academic analysis (Abubakar 1984; Igboin 2012; Kukah 1998; Oguntola-Laguda 2008; and so forth). Political office holders often drew on religious ideas, practices and symbols as a tool of negotiation with the electorate during political campaigns. As a result, candidates were often selected based on their religious rhetoric and affiliations. Thus the debate about Muslim/Muslim or Muslim/Christian tickets emerged as a key issue in the elections. Religious leaders are often political actors in the elections. There were several media allegations that some religious leaders were complicit in compromising and corrupting the electoral process. Many prophetic statements preceded the 2011 elections. For example, the prominent Pentecostal leader and presidential candidate, Pastor Kris Okotie, the general overseer of Household of God Church in Lagos, prophesied (unsuccessfully) that he would be sworn in as president after the election. In this paper we will examine how political leaders managed (or manipulated) their religious claims and allegiances in the pre- and post-election periods in 2011, against the backdrop of a religiously pluralistic setting such as Nigeria, and the resultant contradictions. Particular attention will be paid to the concepts of power and authority, as these are central to both worlds of religion and politics. Additionally, I will discuss the varying differentiations of the religious and political domains in the political process, campaign speeches, sermons and prophecies, perceptions of individual politicians, as well as media and popular opinion.

Modern/charismatic Pentecostalism as a form of 'religious' secularisation in Africa

This paper argues that although Pentecostalism seems to be reviving Christianity in Africa, judging by the number of people attracted to this brand of Christianity, there is an extent to which its practices and beliefs are secular. Perhaps it is this ‘secularisation’ that remains a pull factor of this kind of Christianity. To do so, the paper begins with a brief review of the secularisation theory, reaching a conclusion that secularisation involves people’s concern with proximate (this worldly) issues rather than ultimate (post-mortem) issues. With this understanding of secularisation, the paper then discusses beliefs and practices of charismatic Pentecostal churches that this author believes make Pentecostalism a form of ‘religious’ secularisation. The focus will specifically be on Zimbabwean charismatic Pentecostal leaders’ discourses of wealth and health.

A Ascensão Política dos Pentecostais no Brasil na Avaliação de Líderes Religiosos

Este artigo analisa a percepção de líderes pentecostais sobre a política brasileira e a atuação dos legisladores deste segmento confessional nas últimas três décadas. Após uma breve apresentação das principais transformações ocorridas a partir da redemocratização do país nas esferas política e cultural, examinam-se as opiniões destas lideranças sobre a importância da política no contexto contemporâneo e a relação dos grupos religiosos com esta esfera. Em seguida, discute-se a avaliação destes líderes acerca do comportamento parlamentar dos pentecostais. Àguisa de conclusão, argumenta-se que embora existam concepções diferenciadas de política, predomina a visão minimalista da participação política. Sugere-se também que é hegemônica a ideia de que, como toda e qualquer minoria, este segmento religioso tem que se fazer presente nas instâncias de poder para influenciar no ordenamento da sociedade.

To Live the Biblical Narratives

When early Pentecostal leaders tried to understand certain religious experiences they referred to the narratives of Acts. Yet the narratives of these leaders came also to function as interpretations of the biblical narratives. In this process narrative patterns were shaped that have been important, yet also problematic, to Pentecostalism. In this essay two such features are discussed: Spirit baptism as a moment of crisis that leads to a passage from one level in the life of a Christian to a new and higher level, and the traits that should characterize the experience and confirm that it really is a baptism in the Spirit.

Salt and Light or Salt and Pepper

Ethno-religious violence has plagued northern Nigeria in the last thirty years and has specifically affected Plateau State during the last decade. This article examines the attitudes and responses of pentecostal leaders in Plateau State toward violence and peace. Their attitudes are also compared to those of mainline Christian leaders in northern Nigeria and pentecostal leaders in southern Nigeria, a region that has not been affected by ethno-religious violence. The methods used included observation, questionnaires, and interviews. The research found that pentecostal leaders have a more positive attitude toward Muslims than do mainline leaders overall. There was no difference between pentecostal and mainline leaders in attitudes toward violence. However, there is a wider difference in attitudes toward violence and peace among Pentecostals than among mainline Protestants. Furthermore, pentecostal leaders in Plateau State demonstrated a greater involvement in peace-making initiatives than mainline leaders.

Bargaining with Patriarchy?

The status of women remains contested. While women constitute the majority of members in literally all religions, the top positions tend to be monopolised by men. An array of historical, cultural, theological and socio-economic reasons has been proffered to account for this anomaly. New religious movements have often promised women liberation and emancipation. In Africa, Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal movements have accorded women leadership roles as they interrogate missionary Christianity. This study examines women’s notable rise to influential leadership within the Pentecostal movement in Zimbabwe. While the older Pentecostal churches of the 1970s and 1980s were male dominated, the 1990s ushered in the phenomenon of women leaders within the Pentecostal movement in Zimbabwe. Notable examples include Apostle Eunor Guti, Apostle Petunia Chiriseri, Dr Faith Wutawunashe and others. However, these women Pentecostal leaders tend to be married to charismatic founders of Pentecostal ministries. This study interrogates their status within the Pentecostal movement. On the hand, it contends that these women must be accepted as leaders in their own right. It argues that they have appropriated the religious significance of women in indigenous culture and have applied it to the Pentecostal movement. They are leaders of specific ministries and are not mere appendages of their husbands. However, on the other hand, the study argues that their position as wives of Pentecostal leaders needs to be approached critically. It has tended to generate a moderate position on feminist issues within the Pentecostal movement. The study concludes that women Pentecostal leaders in contemporary Zimbabwe tend to bargain with patriarchy. They are unwilling to challenge patriarchy and promote a biblical hermeneutics that is subservient. It suggests that gender within the Pentecostal movement in contemporary Zimbabwe requires a liberating biblical hermeneutics.

Subverted Hierarchies: Towards a Biblical Theology of Leadership

Something that is done surprisingly rarely within Christian leadership literature is the attempt to draw together biblical raw materials into a grand biblical theology of leadership. Similarly, it is astounding how little the various theologies of Old and New Testaments have to say about leadership as an aspect of biblical theology.This article seeks to answer the question then, what does a biblical theology of leadership look like? I will be looking for the broadest possible brush strokes yet taking care with the text that it is allowed to speak on its own terms within its own cultural and theological urgencies. The outcome will doubtless affirm many existing teachings on religious leadership, such as the time honoured emphasis on issues of personal integrity and servanthood, yet there may also be a few surprises or reminders, especially when we come to consider the outspoken ministries of the Old Testament prophets.In sketching out such a theology I will suggest some possible reasons why, despite our professed expertise at it, we as Pentecostals and Charismatics have such a poor track record of leadership within our churches, denominations and organisations, and to recommend what might be done to better train the Pentecostal leaders of tomorrow.

African Pentecostalism in Intercultural Linguistic Context

Words do not carry meanings. John Locke's notion that people are blank slates is misleading. What is inside people engages actively with inputs from their environment. If African ‘slates’ are not blank but are different from those of their Westent fellows, why are such differences not being catered for in theological education programmes for Pentecostal leaders in Africa? Is the traditional belief by some African ethnicities that God is a force who provides material prosperity being reinforced and perpetuated by contemporary practice of mission? After a consideration of these and other related questions, this author advocates that some western missionaries should minister in Africa using local resources and languages.

Nearer, My God, to Thee

Nearer, My God, to Thee

“The Saints Go Marching”: Black Pentecostal Critical Consciousness and the Political Protest Activism of Pastors and Leaders in the Church of God in Christ in the Civil Rights Era

Abstract Although black Pentecostal leaders are known for their emphasis on holiness and spiritual empowerment, they are not renowned for having led and spearheaded political protest struggles during the Civil Rights movement. In this paper I discuss black Pentecostals’ postures toward political protest struggles, and I analyze reasons why some black Pentecostals participated in the Civil Rights movement while others did not. My central argument is that critical consciousness formation played an integral role in motivating a minority of Church of God in Christ (COGIC) clergy and leaders to engage in Civil Rights protest struggles. That is to say, many black Pentecostals who took part in the movement reconciled their strivings for spiritual empowerment against evil with critical reflection upon complex social, political, and economic realities. They recognized the utility of opposing structures of oppression through direct, nonviolent means.

Pentecostal and Catholic migrant churches in London – the role of ideologies in the language planning of faith lessons

The former British Labour Government acknowledged that religious practices play an important role in the development of children's identities [DCFS. (2009). Your child, your schools, our future: building a 21st century schools system. London: HMSO; DfES (2007). Curriculum review: Diversity and citizenship. London: HMSO]. However, little is known about the ways in which these identities develop in faith settings. This article aims to address language planning in faith lessons of ethnic churches and to reflect on how their language planning dynamics create (or not) opportunities for the children to develop their cultural, linguistic and religious identities. With this purpose, the article reports on part of two investigations of religious settings in the development of children's literacy and identity. The specific language ideologies of these migrant churches are explored mainly through an examination of the qualitative semi-structured interviews with their faith leaders, and comparisons are made to Pentecostal and Catholic leaders of Brazilian migrant groups; newcomers to the UK and with numbers on the rise. It is argued that, although a group's theological orientation is linked to the language ideologies of faith leaders, linguistic and cultural identities play an important role in the (unplanned) language planning of ethnic churches.

J.H. King’s ‘Expansive’ Theology of Pentecostal Spirit Baptism

Bishop J.H. King, an early twentieth-century Pentecostal Holiness Church leader, in some respects explained Spirit baptism in more ‘expansive’ terms than characterized Classical Pentecostal tradition in the United States in his time and later. In his theological and devotional writings are some of the same ‘expansive’ emphases Frank D. Macchia enunciates in his 2006 groundbreaking work on Spirit baptism, Baptized in the Spirit: A Global Pentecostal Theology. Although King’s Spirit-baptismal theology was traditionally Pentecostal in important ways, there are some interesting thematic parallels between Macchia’s ‘expansive’ Spirit baptism theological proposal and the very modest (in comparison) treatments of the topic by King. The similarities relate to the baptism in the Holy Spirit as a Trinitarian act, as an infilling of divine love, and in connection with the latter, as a generator of a rich ecclesiastical corporate life of koinonia.

African Traditional Religion and Pentecostal Churches in Lusaka, Zambia: An Assessment

This study seeks to discover how African Traditional Religion (ATR) is viewed by Pentecostal church leaders in Lusaka, Zambia. The convenience sample focused on fourteen Pentecostal churches of various denominational affiliations within the city of Lusaka, Zambia. A thirty-one-item survey tool, the Assessment of Traditional Religious Practices (ATRP), was developed and administered to 128 leaders regarding the prevalence of traditional religious practices among their congregants. The ATRP also assessed how these leaders typically respond to concerns related to ATR within their ministerial context. Findings indicated that traditional beliefs and practices continue to persist, though at nominal levels, within these churches. More importantly, a majority of these leaders feel adequately equipped to handle issues related to ATR because they understand their ministerial calling in terms of spiritual empowerment. The study concludes that the challenges presented by ATR regarding Christian discipleship continue to persist in local Pentecostal churches. However, leaders have employed a practical theological understanding of Pentecostalism, allowing them to overcome many of these same challenges.

Outlook 2020: Results from a Real-Time Delphi Survey of Global Pentecostal Leaders

Abstract In the fall of 2011 a Real-time Delphi survey was conducted with members of Empowered21, entitled: “Outlook 2020: The future of Spirit-empowered Christianity.” The survey consisted of thirteen projections for the year 2020, ranging from positive statements, such as “The church will experience a fresh, historic outpouring of the Holy Spirit,” to negative ones, such as “There will be an increase of public moral failures among Spirit-empowered leaders.” Of the 132 members invited, 29 percent, or 38 participants completed the survey. Participants reached a consensus on eight of thirteen projections. The results show that Empowered21 leaders have high expectations for 2020 — that the church would experience a historic outpouring of the Holy Spirit, sustained by new leadership. Yet, this would be accompanied by an increasing divide between how emerging and established generations express their Spirit-empowered faith.

Eschatology and the Workplace

With a focus especially on Britain, the author seeks to show that the effects of the once widely held dispensational eschatology although not preached as much as in the past, has left a legacy that creates a ‘blindness’ toward the need for Pentecostal workplace people to be equipped by their local churches for the unique challenges that they face today in their daily work as well as the potentially key role they can play in bringing transformation to their nations. That potential is not as yet recognised by many Pentecostal church leaders. A number of Pentecostal academics have written that dispensationalism was counter intuitive to Pentecostal spirituality and diverted the movement away from its original transforming prophetic role to society and have presented revisioned eschatologies. Their intention is to see a more holistic view of mission. However, their views have not yet had an impact on widening the understanding of mission to include the workplace. The author suggests ways in which that might change.

Kenyan pastors’ perspectives on communicating about sexual behaviour and HIV

The article presents an analysis of in-depth interviews with 18 leaders of Christian churches in Nairobi, Kenya, regarding the content and context of messages they disseminate to their congregations about sexual behaviour and HIV. The content of messages was nearly consistent across the different denominations. However, three sorts of tensions were identified within pastoral communication about these topics: the need to discuss sex and HIV versus societal taboos against speaking about those issues from the pulpit; traditional cultural norms versus current lifestyles; and the ideals of abstinence and fidelity versus the reality of congregants’ sexual behaviour. Although some of the religious leaders accepted the idea of condom use, no denominational patterns were noted on that subject, except with respect to Catholic priests. Pentecostal leaders were notable for describing proactive strategies to address both the ideal/real dilemma and the tension between church norms and current media content about sexuality and HIV.

Alexander Boddy: Anglican Father of Dutch Pentecostalistm

Alexander A. Boddy's (1854-1930) influence on the rise of Pentecostalism in Great Britain is well known. Less known is his contribution to the development of Pentecostalism on the Continent. The Dutch Pentecostal leader Gerrit Polman referred to Boddy as his spiritual father. Between 1908-1912 Boddy visited Amsterdam four times. This paper examines Boddy's important role in the upcoming Pentecostal Movement in The Netherlands.

Migração e Religião: Padrões de Migração no Pentecostalismo Mais Antigo Brasileiro

Este estudo compara padrões de migração das duas igrejas do chamado pentecostalismo clássico brasileiro, Congregação Cristã no Brasil (CBB) e Assembleia de Deus. Ambas chegaram ao País por volta de 1910, trazidas por imigrantes (a CCB por um italiano, a Assembleia de Deus por dois suecos) que tiveram passagem pelos Estados Unidos, onde sofreram influência do líder pentecostal de Chicago, William Durham.