_
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The Mission of the Church
Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective
purified inwardly and to be empowered for witness.” The coming of the Spirit was the first installment of the Kingdom and a witness to its reality. It was also a witness to the con- tinuation of God’s redemptive mission, which is driven for- ward to the “regions beyond’ with relentless fervor and sus- tained by the deployment of the gifts.23
As was stated earlier, Pentecost is crucial to the self- understanding of Pentecostals. Not only is it an event of sig nificance in salvation-hist
oryf
but the Pentecostal gift itself provides deep implications or a discussion of the Church and its mission: It is linked both to the formation of the Church’s mission of proclamation of the good news and its mission to create redeemed patterns of living that would testify to changed lives.24
LUKE’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE MISSION
Luke’s development of this crucial connection between Spirit baptism and effective Church mission can be seen in the interrelatedness of at least three texts in Luke and Acts.
Luke
24:49
yields a mission perspective in its focus on the need of empowerment for the task that lies ahead: “ ‘I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’ ” This theme of empowerment for mission is picked up again in Acts 1:8, when Jesus, about to ascend to the Father, reaffirms to His disciples, “ You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ ” The promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost and is recorded in Acts 2. Spirit baptism with its outward evidence of speaking in other tongues is vital to the fulfillment of the promise we see traced through all three texts.Peter’s inspired words following the Pentecostal outpour- ing show that he received a significant clarification of the mission Christ came to introduce. Speaking by the Spirit, Peter identified the apostolic implications in the prophecy of the ancient prophet Joel. Peter clearly saw the coming of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost as a confirmation that the “last days” had arrived (Acts 2:14-2 1). That is, the Church Age,
“Frank B. Stangcr, The Cburcb Empowered (Grand Hapids: Francis As- bury Press, 1989), 33. Newbigin, Sign of the Kingdom, 4 1.
“Murray W. Dcmpstcr, “The Church’s MOd Witness,” Puruclete 23 (Winter 1989): 2.
Power for the Mission 577
the age of the Spirit, is the last age before the return of Christ CHAPTER to establish His kingdom on earth. There will be no other agebefore the Millennium. Peter further explained that the com-
17
ing of the Spirit made it clear that Christ’s work was victorious The Mission ,and His place as Lord and Christ assured (Acts 2:34-36).L5 of the
Peter then experienced a most important result of empow- Church erment through Spirit baptism: He became the mouthpiece
of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the good news of forgiveness through Jesus Christ and issued an appeal for people to be reconciled to God. He was empowered to announce the good news of reconciliation with God. At the same time, Peter led people to understand that an obedient response to the mes- sage of reconciliation results in their becoming the com- munity of people who vividly display, through a new re- demptive order of humanity, what it means to be reconciled to God (Acts 237-40). The remainder of chapter two gives a small glimpse into the first church. We see how believers attempted to embody the Spirit baptism’s call to be a com- munity born of the Spirit, commissioned to bear witness by the Spirit to Christ’s ongoing ministry.
A Pentecostal theology of Church mission must take seri- ously that Spirit baptism is a promise fulfilled. Luke’s line of argument throughout the Book of Acts shows the nature of the Spirit’s role in God’s redemptive plan. The structure in Acts shows the intent of this empowerment to move God’s people across geographical and cultural landscapes with the good news of the gospel. The Church breaks out of the myopia of the Old Testament people of God and begins to reflect the universal nature of God’s eternal redemptive plan.‘”
Pentecostal empowerment makes possible the varied expressions of ministry that appear in Acts. The Holy Spirit is the director of mission. Not only does the Spirit enable people to witness, He also directs when and where that wit- ness is to take place.
Vast cultural boundaries were crossed as the gospel went beyond Jerusalem (Acts 8). The Christians who left Jerusalem
z*What Peter said was not a sermon in the ordinary sc’nsc’ of the word but a manifestation of the gift of prophecy. “Addressed” (Gk. upepbtben- xato, Acts 2:14) is a form of the same verb translated “cnablcd” (Gk.
upopbtbengestbai), when they spoke in other tongues as the Spirit “cn- abled” them. A. ‘I’. Lincoln, “Theology and Ilistory in the Interpretation of Luke’s Pcntccost,” Expository Times 96 (April 1985 ): 204-C).
LhDcmpstcr, “Moral Witness,” 3. Donald Senior and Carroll Stuhlmucllcr, The Riblicul Founuhtionsfor Mission (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis 1kx)k.s. 1983), 259.
_ 578 Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective Power for the Mission 579 CHAPTER proclaimed the gospel “wherever they went” (v. 4). Verses
17 S-8 record Philip’s announcement of the gospel to the Sa- The Mission maritans and the resultant powerful encounters in which the
of the gospel triumphed and brought “great joy.”
Church Acts 10 shows how the Church was made to realize that the Gentiles were to be included in the kingdom of God. The Church must include all peoples and actively bear witness to the fact that the gospel is for all nations. The angelic visitation and dreams also seem to indicate that the supernatural may in fact have been quite the&m in this redemptive plan of God as He made it known to the Gentiles.
Acts 11: 1526 reveals the gathering of numerous Gentiles into the church at Antioch. Barnabas was sent to help them and evaluated this growing church as truly legitimate. The result was a genuine multicultural church that embodied both the fact that the gospel should be preached in power to the
“ends of the earth,” and that those who have heard should respond with genuine change in the way they lived and in their relationships to one another. The fact that “the disciples were called Christians at Antioch” first (v. 26) shows others recognized the change.
This unique testimony to the powerful movement of the gospel across cultural and geographical boundaries bore great fruit when Antioch became an international, multicultural, missionary-sending church. Acts 13:2-3 records its selection and confirmation process, as it sent out its first missionaries, Paul and Barnabas. Acts 134 shows that the Holy Spirit, be- sides prompting the church at Antioch to send out these missionaries, also sent them to specific destinations. Such missionary activity, guided by the Holy Spirit, continued to move in ever-enlarging circles, surmounting cultural barriers.
Acts 15 recounts the guidance of the Holy Spirit to afhrm that the gospel of Christ is all-inclusive and not exclusively Jewish.
The Spirit-guided decision of the Jerusalem conference caused Paul, Barnabas, and others to achieve even greater barrier crossings.
In the subsequent chapters of the Book of Acts, Luke con- tinues his charting of the redemptive plan of God superin- tended by the Holy Spirit through Spirit-empowered servants.
Clearly Luke emphasizes the point that these apostles and believers in the Book of Acts received empowerment and direction from the Spirit in much the same way that Jesus did in His earthly ministry.”
“James B. Shelton, Mighty in Word and Deed (Peabody, Mass.: I Ien- drickson Publishers, 199 1 ), 12 5-26.
Luke’s alignment of Spirit baptism with the empowerment CHAPTER for Church mission may be succinctly summarized: “Glos-
solalia[,] as an indigenous part of the experience of Spirit
17 baptism in Acts 2, represented a verbal participation in the
Spirit’s empowerment and . . . the Spirit’s creative power to
Th~~~~~n initiate Christ’s redemptive order of life.“28 Church
In Acts 10 and Acts 19 this experience is also explicitly mentioned and in several other cases implied (Acts 4 and Acts 8). It is a crucial part of the theology of Acts to link speaking in tongues with the Spirit’s power to initiate a person and a group as witnesses, taking part both individually and corporately in the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ.
In both Acts 11 :17 and 15:8, Peter relates the fact that inclusion of Gentiles in the redemptive community is con- nected to a common experience in Spirit baptism. When he says that God “ ‘showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us’ ” (15:8), he cate- gorically aligns Spirit baptism with the intent of the out- pouring on the Day of Pentecost. He essentially says to all those listening to his recounting of that significant day at the house of Cornelius that Spirit baptism with the evidence of speaking in tongues is an indigenous part of that spiritual encounter with God. This encounter with God clearly signals the lordship of Christ: He is in charge. He is giving evidence of His authority by creating in us a new language, thereby demonstrating He is not only the Creator but also the re- Creator. He is the God who is incorporating some from every tribe and language and people and nation into His kingdom, and the gates of Hades cannot prevail against such an en- deavor (Matt. 16:18; Rev. 5:9). The same encounter with Jesus Christ today empowers us to bear witness to the Kingdom’s message and to creatively participate in a redemptive com- munity that shouts to the world “be reconciled to God” (2 Cor.
5:20).29
In conclusion, several issues must be reiterated concerning the importance of Pentecost for the development of a the- ology of Church and mission. The connection between Spirit baptism given on the Day of Pentecost and our understanding and implementation of Church mission are intrinsically bound together. “Pentecost means that God’s own eternal and su-
‘““Speaking in tongues,” from the Greek @Gssq “tongue,” and Luliu,
“speaking,” “speech.” Dempster, “Moral Witness,” 3.
“Howard M. Ervin, Conversion-Initiation and the Buptism in the Holy Spirit (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1984), 41-42.
_ 5 8 0
Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective
CHAPTER
17
pernatural life overflowed upon the Church and that God himself, in His own divine being and power, was present in its midst.“30
The Mission of the Church
The empowerment that is present in Spirit baptism is meant to move God’s people across geographical and cultural land- scapes with the good news of the gospel. “The mission of the Church is the continuation of the mission of Jesus Christ”:
Just as the Holy Spirit was given to Jesus for the fulfillment of His mission (Luke 3:22), the Spirit is given to His dis-
“Bu
ciples (Acts 193; 2:4) to contin e that same mission (of rec- onciliation)-and that in a charismatic fashion.3’
THE GLOBAL CONNECTION
“Worldview” is a term anthropologists use to describe what lies at the heart of every culture. Worldview is a network of interrelating perceptions that guide every facet of one’s life.
It is the manner in which the human universe is perceived and understood by members of a given society. It provides guidelines for our use of time and our assumptions about the material world. Worldview asks such questions as What causes things? What power lies behind this action? What forces are at work in the universe? What results do they bring, and are these forces personal, impersonal, or both?
The Pentecostal worldview reflects an understanding that embraces the reality of all aspects of life-natural and super- natural. Prophecy, divine guidance, visions and dreams, heal- ings, and other miracles are seen not as static examples of what Christ did, but as anticipated present-day realities that allow God’s greatness and glory to be displayed. The fact that the Holy Spirit wants to be powerfully at work in and through the life of every believer can make each day new and exciting.
This empowerment opens the door for the Spirit to give the Christian a sense of what must be done and the capacity to do it. Pentecostal believers not only aflirm that Christians are entitled to experience the supernatural involvement of God’s Spirit, but they also expect God’s power to permeate their lives.
We cannot understand the essence of Pentecostalism with-
~““I’. F. Torrance, “‘The Mission of the Church,” Scottish Journal of The- ology, 19 (June 1966): 132.
.“Arnold Bittlinger, “‘lhe Significance of Charismatic Experiences for the Mission of the Church,” Internutionul Review of Mission, 75 (April 1986):
120.
The Vision of the Mission
out acknowledging that our dynamic view of causality shapes our understanding of the Church’s mission and the conse- quent expression of our ministries for Christ. The lens through which Pentecostals see so that they may act is labeled with the ancient prophet Zechariah’s declaration, “ ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’ ” (Zech.4:6).
Pentecostals take part in the mission of the Church with the affirmation that God is as good as His word. His reconciliatory purposes are unswerving and His power to bring those purposes to.pass are resident in Christ’s resurrection. We also a.tIirm that Pentecost is the guarantee that Christ’s redemptive mission continues intact through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The doorway to such a Pentecostal worldview is Spirit baptism as described in Acts 1:s and 2:4.52
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The Mission of the Church
While all Christians must look to the Bible as their final authoritative source, encounters with a living God certainly impact our view of the Church’s mission and even our in- terpretation of biblical texts. Although responsible Pentecos- talism will never advocate spiritual experience as an end in itself, we do affirm that a genuine encounter with the living God will leave an emotional impact. This is what may be called “Christ-centered experience-certified theology.“33 The worldview, and therefore the presuppositions Pentecostals have as they reflect on the Church and its mission, cannot be removed from this encounter with God, for it is central to our identity. At no time is this more evident than when we attempt to express conceptually what we are to actualize through Church mission.3’*
THE VISION OF THE MI S S ION
EARLY THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION
The history of Pentecostalism cannot be properly under- stood apart from its missionary vision. The emergence of the
32These concepts were originally part of a group writing project, a part of graduate course work offered in the summer of 1990 by the Costa Rica Study Center, in San Jose, Costa Rica. This center is part of masters level course work offered on-site in Costa Rica by Southern California College, an Assemblies of God college in Costa Mesa, California. ‘The participants in this project were Bob Abair, Kathleen Jingling, and Denise Johnson-Ryan.
Faculty supervisors were Byron D. Klaus and Douglas Petersen.
33William MacDonald, “A Classical Viewpoint,” in Perspectives on the New Pentecostalism, Russell P. Spittler, ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book llouse, 1976) 6.
34Roger Stronstad, “Pentecostal Experience and 1 lermeneutics,” Puru- cfete 26 (Winter 1992): 16-17.
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The Mission of the Church
Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective
Pentecostal movement at the beginning of the twentieth cen- tury brought a surge in missions efforts. Even a cursory eval- uation of the early records of the Pentecostal revival leads to the observation that a very close relationship was forged be- tween speaking in tongues as the evidence of being clothed with power for Christian witness, a fervent hope in the soon return of Christ, and His command to evangelize the utter- most parts of the earth. Spirit baptism, viewed as the fU.ll- ment of Joel’s prophecy of the “last days,” served to energize early Pentecostals’ commitment to aggressive evangelistic ef- forts across both cultural and geographical barriers.35
William J. Seymour, the black Holiness leader at the Azusa Street revival, affirmed:
[The] one that is baptized with the Holy Ghost has the power of God on his soul and has power with God and men, power over all the kingdoms of Satan and over all his emissaries.
When the Holy Ghost comes and takes us as His instruments, this is the power that convicts men and women and causes them to see that there is a reality in serving Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit is power with God and man.36
The Apostolic Faith, a publication of the Azusa Street Mis- sion, repeatedly shows that early Pentecostal leaders viewed the outpouring of God’s Spirit as a fulfillment of Joel’s proph- ecy and consequently a greater reason for involvement in global mission efforts. They wrote: “Pentecost has surely come and with it the Bible evidences are following. . . . The real revival is only started, . . . laying the foundation for a mighty wave of salvation among the unconverted.“37
It is noteworthy that while the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues was the experience of countless people in the sovereign move of God in the early part of the century, and while many critics have labeled Pen- tecostalism as the “tongues movement,” early leaders like William Seymour were quite clear about understanding some-
“Gary B. McGee, “Early Pentecostal Missionaries-They Went Every- where Preaching the Gospel,” in AZUSU Street and Reyon~ ed., I-. Grant McClung, Jr. (South Plainfield, N.J.: Bridge Publishing, Inc.), 33.
“I. Grant McClung, Jr., “‘Truth on Fire: Pentecostals and an Urgent Mis- siology,” in Amsu Street and Reyond, 50.
“The Apostolic Fuitb (September 1006), 1; quoted in Gary B. McGee, This Gospel Sbull Be Preucbed vol. 1 (Springfield, MO.: Gospel Publishing
I louse. lc,Sc,), 44. ,
The Vision of the Mission 583
thing more significant in this gracious move of God. Seymour CHAPTER admonished people to “not go from this meeting and talkabout tongues, but try to get people saved.“38
17
Although excesses were certainly present, Seymour and other leaders focused much more on the Christological im-
Th~~~~on pact of the baptism in the Spirit. To exalt Christ was essential Church to receiving the experience. This Christocentricity must be
seen as a key reason for the revival’s fervent evangelism. The impact of Spirit baptism heightened this awareness. These early Pentecostals believed that the biblical evidence of tongues accompanying the baptism in the Spirit was a signal that “Bible days were here again.” They looked at the Book of Acts and saw the Spirit’s empowerment to be part of the ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ across cultural landscapes.
Their logic was simply to follow that biblical pattern, because they too had encountered the risen Lord through the baptism in the Spirit. This brought an ever-growing awareness that Christ’s reconciliatory mission and ministry were something they had now been commissioned into. Their eyes were open to the Spirit’s direction and these early Pentecostals were empowered to obey His bidding.
Stanley Frodsham, Azusa Street revival participant and Pen- tecostal historian, insisted that the essence of this early Pen- tecostal movement was not tongues, but magnifying the per- son of the Lord Jesus Christ?” This “experience-certified theology” led to fervent missionary effort both domestically and cross-culturally. The motive clearly originated in a deep and overwhelming encounter with Jesus Christ, compelling the participant to serve.
J. Roswell Flower, writing in 1908, summarized the mean- ing of Spirit baptism and its impact on the Church and its mission:
The baptism in the Holy Ghost does not consist in simply speaking in tongues. No. It has a much more grand and deeper meaning than that. It Iills our souls with the love of God for lost humanity.
When the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts, the missionary spirit comes in with it; they are inseparable. . . . Carrying the gospel to hungry souls in this and other lands is but a natural result [of being baptized in the Holy Spirit].40
‘“McClung, “Truth on Fire,” 50.
“Ibid., 5 1.
‘3. Roswell Flower, The Pentecost, editorial (August lC,OS), 4; quoted in McGee, This Gospel Sbull Be Preucbed vol. 1, 45-46.