What is most distinctive of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches is the belief in and practice of speaking in tongues (or glossolalia) as a current manifestation of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In general, Pentecostals will say that all those baptized in the Spirit will speak in tongues (differing among themselves whether this baptism is a first, second, or third work of grace), while Charismatics will say that some who are baptized in the Spirit will speak in tongues. Additionally, both are distinguished by a belief in and practice of gifts of prophecy and healing today. They are generally credo-baptist and premillennial.
A minority of Pentecostals (roughly 10%) are not Trinitarian. They are known as Oneness Pentecostals. One of the largest Oneness Pentecostal denominations is the United Pentecostal Church International (their headquarters is in Weldon Spring, MO and their college and seminary is in Wentzville, MO).
History
Noteworthy figures in this tradition include Charles Parham, William J. Seymour, Aimee Semple McPherson, Oral Roberts, Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Chuck Smith, John Hagee, and Paula White.
Charles Parham - He began as a Methodist minister. He opened Bethel Bible College in Topeka and in 1900 he and his students sought the baptism of the Spirit, expecting the gift of tongues as the sign of such baptism. Eventually, one of the students began to “speak in tongues” an hour before the new century after he laid hands on her. The experience spread. The college closed, and he moved around the region, establishing a Bible school in Houston in 1905. His influence declined after he was charged with sodomy in 1907.
William J. Seymour - He began as a student of Parham. He was called to pastor a Nazarene church in Los Angeles, which then rejected his teachings on the baptism of the Spirit (he had taught that those who had not spoken in tongues had not been baptized by the Spirit). As he led a small group that became the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission, people began to speak in tongues, starting the Azusa Street Revival. It went on continually for three years, attracting many people who went out to spread the teaching and experience to the world.
Church of God - The Church of God denomination was founded gradually from 1886 to 1907 as a holiness church in the Southeast. Instances of speaking in tongues had occurred before the Azusa Street Revival, but it took on greater significance due to the influence of that revival and its teachings, and the Church of God became a Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Cleveland, TN. It has 9.2 million members worldwide and perhaps around 900,000 members in the USA. There are many related denominations with the same name or similar names, like the Church of God (Huntsville), the Church of God in Christ (with predominately African-American membership), and the Church of God of Prophecy.
Assemblies of God - The Assemblies of God was founded in 1914 in Hot Springs, AR by those in the Apostolic Faith Movement, Chicago Pentecostals, and CMA Pentecostals. Its headquarters is in Springfield, MO. Its General Council condemned Oneness Pentecostalism (e.g. UPCI) in 1916. It has a mixture of congregationalist and presbyterian government. Its four core beliefs are Salvation, Baptism in the Holy Spirit (tongues being the sign of it), Divine Healing, and the Second Coming of Christ, and it lists 16 doctrines in its Fundamental Truths.
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (aka The Foursquare Church) - The Foursquare Church was founded as an evangelical Pentecostal denomination by Aimee Semple McPherson in 1923 in Los Angeles. The term refers to the “foursquare gospel” of Jesus as Savior, Healer, Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, and Soon Coming King. Before its founding, McPherson had been an evangelist in the Assemblies of God. She was a celebrity preacher that used mass media, led a mega church, and conducted faith healing demonstrations.
Oral Roberts - Oral Roberts is an example of a Charismatic televangelist. He promoted Prosperity Gospel theology and “seed-faith” - “planting a seed” by giving in faith, expecting a miracle. He was a minister in the Pentecostal Holiness Church (1936-1968) and then the United Methodist Church (1968-1987), and then independent (1987-2009). He founded Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK. Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, and Ted Haggard attended Oral Roberts University.
Charismatic Movement - In the 1960s, Pentecostal ideas arose within existing denominations (e.g. Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, etc) without necessarily causing people to leave them. And rather than equating the baptism of the Spirit to speaking in tongues, speaking in tongues was seen as just one gift of the Spirit.
Calvary Chapel - Calvary Chapel churches began with Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, CA led by Chuck Smith, which broke away from the Foursquare Church and became the hub of the “Jesus movement” (e.g. the Jesus people). They led the way in rock-style contemporary Christian music. They also emphasized verse by verse expository preaching. They hold to biblical inerrancy and evangelical theology while holding to the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second experience, with tongues and prophecy as among the current gifts of the Spirit, to be carefully used. They do not ordain women. Their churches are basically independent and their pastors are not accountable to anyone but God. The Vineyard Movement sprung from a couple Calvary Chapel churches.
What We Have in Common
With many Pentecostals and Charismatics, such as those in the Assemblies of God and Calvary Chapel, we share a belief in the Trinity, Christ, inspiration of Scripture, sin, repentance and faith, and that we are saved by grace through faith on account of the death and resurrection of Christ. We can appreciate their zeal for evangelism and a recognition of the supernatural in a materialistic age.
Where We Differ
Some of these churches are very fringy, even cultish, especially those that emphasize prosperity gospel, faith healing, and unaccountable self-appointed leadership. Some of them simply do not preach the gospel, even if they do not explicitly reject it. Some Pentecostal churches (UPCI) are not Trinitarian, and are thus not Christian.
Even in the case of the better churches of this tradition, we differ with their distinctives concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the continuing gifts of speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing (although we do recognize God’s providence and his freedom to work with, against, above, and without means). We also differ with prosperity gospel teachings like seed-faith, word of faith, and the like.
Concerning Pentecost
The outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost (Acts 2) inaugurated a new era, not a second work of grace in the life of the believer. It was a unique, transitional event. The Spirit was given in a new way, and going forward, this baptism of the Spirit would be received by all believers (1 Cor. 12:13). We are filled with the Spirit in our baptism by the Spirit, and continue to be filled with the Spirit.
The gift of tongues was given to the whole church on Pentecost, but after the initial outpouring, it was given as a gift to some members for the benefit of the church and a sign to unbelievers (1 Cor. 12, 14). It was the ability to speak foreign languages previously unknown to the speaker, not the free vocalization passed off as tongues speaking today.
The significance of speaking in many languages was that the new covenant church would include all nations. This was a joy to believing Jews, but it was a judgment against those who rejected the gospel (1 Cor. 14, Is. 28:11-12). The gift of tongues ceased after the apostolic age since it marked that period of transition and what it symbolized has been fulfilled. The church was established by the apostles among the nations, so that the church does speak the languages of the nations.
Another reason the gift of tongues has ceased is that the revelation of the gospel given through the apostles and prophets has been delivered to the church and is recorded in Scripture (Eph. 2:19-21, 3:5, Heb. 1:1-2, 2:1-4). Their work was accomplished, and so no additional revelation is given. Since revelation is complete, and speaking in tongues was a form of revelation from God, therefore speaking in tongues has ceased. Also, the “sign gifts” like the gift of healing, which confirmed the word being revealed, also ceased.
Charles Parham - He began as a Methodist minister. He opened Bethel Bible College in Topeka and in 1900 he and his students sought the baptism of the Spirit, expecting the gift of tongues as the sign of such baptism. Eventually, one of the students began to “speak in tongues” an hour before the new century after he laid hands on her. The experience spread. The college closed, and he moved around the region, establishing a Bible school in Houston in 1905. His influence declined after he was charged with sodomy in 1907.
William J. Seymour - He began as a student of Parham. He was called to pastor a Nazarene church in Los Angeles, which then rejected his teachings on the baptism of the Spirit (he had taught that those who had not spoken in tongues had not been baptized by the Spirit). As he led a small group that became the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission, people began to speak in tongues, starting the Azusa Street Revival. It went on continually for three years, attracting many people who went out to spread the teaching and experience to the world.
Church of God - The Church of God denomination was founded gradually from 1886 to 1907 as a holiness church in the Southeast. Instances of speaking in tongues had occurred before the Azusa Street Revival, but it took on greater significance due to the influence of that revival and its teachings, and the Church of God became a Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Cleveland, TN. It has 9.2 million members worldwide and perhaps around 900,000 members in the USA. There are many related denominations with the same name or similar names, like the Church of God (Huntsville), the Church of God in Christ (with predominately African-American membership), and the Church of God of Prophecy.
Assemblies of God - The Assemblies of God was founded in 1914 in Hot Springs, AR by those in the Apostolic Faith Movement, Chicago Pentecostals, and CMA Pentecostals. Its headquarters is in Springfield, MO. Its General Council condemned Oneness Pentecostalism (e.g. UPCI) in 1916. It has a mixture of congregationalist and presbyterian government. Its four core beliefs are Salvation, Baptism in the Holy Spirit (tongues being the sign of it), Divine Healing, and the Second Coming of Christ, and it lists 16 doctrines in its Fundamental Truths.
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (aka The Foursquare Church) - The Foursquare Church was founded as an evangelical Pentecostal denomination by Aimee Semple McPherson in 1923 in Los Angeles. The term refers to the “foursquare gospel” of Jesus as Savior, Healer, Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, and Soon Coming King. Before its founding, McPherson had been an evangelist in the Assemblies of God. She was a celebrity preacher that used mass media, led a mega church, and conducted faith healing demonstrations.
Oral Roberts - Oral Roberts is an example of a Charismatic televangelist. He promoted Prosperity Gospel theology and “seed-faith” - “planting a seed” by giving in faith, expecting a miracle. He was a minister in the Pentecostal Holiness Church (1936-1968) and then the United Methodist Church (1968-1987), and then independent (1987-2009). He founded Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK. Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, and Ted Haggard attended Oral Roberts University.
Charismatic Movement - In the 1960s, Pentecostal ideas arose within existing denominations (e.g. Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, etc) without necessarily causing people to leave them. And rather than equating the baptism of the Spirit to speaking in tongues, speaking in tongues was seen as just one gift of the Spirit.
Calvary Chapel - Calvary Chapel churches began with Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, CA led by Chuck Smith, which broke away from the Foursquare Church and became the hub of the “Jesus movement” (e.g. the Jesus people). They led the way in rock-style contemporary Christian music. They also emphasized verse by verse expository preaching. They hold to biblical inerrancy and evangelical theology while holding to the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second experience, with tongues and prophecy as among the current gifts of the Spirit, to be carefully used. They do not ordain women. Their churches are basically independent and their pastors are not accountable to anyone but God. The Vineyard Movement sprung from a couple Calvary Chapel churches.
What We Have in Common
With many Pentecostals and Charismatics, such as those in the Assemblies of God and Calvary Chapel, we share a belief in the Trinity, Christ, inspiration of Scripture, sin, repentance and faith, and that we are saved by grace through faith on account of the death and resurrection of Christ. We can appreciate their zeal for evangelism and a recognition of the supernatural in a materialistic age.
Where We Differ
Some of these churches are very fringy, even cultish, especially those that emphasize prosperity gospel, faith healing, and unaccountable self-appointed leadership. Some of them simply do not preach the gospel, even if they do not explicitly reject it. Some Pentecostal churches (UPCI) are not Trinitarian, and are thus not Christian.
Even in the case of the better churches of this tradition, we differ with their distinctives concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the continuing gifts of speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing (although we do recognize God’s providence and his freedom to work with, against, above, and without means). We also differ with prosperity gospel teachings like seed-faith, word of faith, and the like.
Concerning Pentecost
The outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost (Acts 2) inaugurated a new era, not a second work of grace in the life of the believer. It was a unique, transitional event. The Spirit was given in a new way, and going forward, this baptism of the Spirit would be received by all believers (1 Cor. 12:13). We are filled with the Spirit in our baptism by the Spirit, and continue to be filled with the Spirit.
The gift of tongues was given to the whole church on Pentecost, but after the initial outpouring, it was given as a gift to some members for the benefit of the church and a sign to unbelievers (1 Cor. 12, 14). It was the ability to speak foreign languages previously unknown to the speaker, not the free vocalization passed off as tongues speaking today.
The significance of speaking in many languages was that the new covenant church would include all nations. This was a joy to believing Jews, but it was a judgment against those who rejected the gospel (1 Cor. 14, Is. 28:11-12). The gift of tongues ceased after the apostolic age since it marked that period of transition and what it symbolized has been fulfilled. The church was established by the apostles among the nations, so that the church does speak the languages of the nations.
Another reason the gift of tongues has ceased is that the revelation of the gospel given through the apostles and prophets has been delivered to the church and is recorded in Scripture (Eph. 2:19-21, 3:5, Heb. 1:1-2, 2:1-4). Their work was accomplished, and so no additional revelation is given. Since revelation is complete, and speaking in tongues was a form of revelation from God, therefore speaking in tongues has ceased. Also, the “sign gifts” like the gift of healing, which confirmed the word being revealed, also ceased.
I have written more about Pentecost, tongues, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit here:
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