Defining Pentecostals

May 18, 9:53 AMColumbus Pentecostal ExaminerBurton Campbell

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The term "Pentecostal" can mean different things to different people. In it's broad sense, however, being a Pentecostal means believing in the present-day work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who follow Jesus, including the operation of spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament.  Such gifts would include miracles, healing, prophecy and tongues (among others).

The gift of tongues (the ability to speak in a language unknown to the speaker, or in an ecstatic language perhaps known only by God) is often a particular emphasis.  The first Biblical occurrence of this gift is in Acts 2, an account of how the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early disciples of Jesus ten days after His ascension into Heaven.  This event is known as "Pentecost," and is still honored and celebrated as part of the Christian liturgical calendar.  The Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, and thus those who believe in a modern day, on-going outpouring of the Spirit are labeled "Pentecostals."

Pentecostals generally trace their roots to the Azusa street revival of 1906 in Los Angeles, California.  Led by William J. Seymour, this revival featured a historic "return" of the gift of tongues to the church in addition to accounts of numerous other ecstatic experiences.  Over the next few years, thousands of people from across the county would come to be part of this new work of God.  Many would then go on to take this encounter, this new infilling of the Spirit, and spread it across the United States and throughout the world.  Today, there are more than 500 million Pentecostals world-wide, and Pentecostalism, in it's broad defining sense, continues to be the fastest growing segment of Christianity.

Within this generalized definition of Pentecostals, there remains a variety of sub-categories.  The smaller labels are not as widely known, and are an attempt by scholars and others to classify the variety of beliefs and practices in Pentecostalism.  This is an important step, as often someone might be tempted to attribute a particular behavior or belief set to Pentecostals as a whole, when it actually may only reflect a specific sub-group.  Such smaller classifications include: Classic Pentecostals, "Holiness" Pentecostals, "Oneness" Pentecostals, Neo-Pentecostals, Charismatics, Word of Faith believers, and the Third Wave (or Neo-Charismatics).  Of course, these descriptions are not meant to be hard and fast, and many individuals and churches may straddle more than one category.  The distinctives of these sub-groups, however, will require separate posts of their own.