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107
Pentecostal Looking Through
Spirituality: the Lens of Ritual
Daniel E. Albrecht*
.
Introduction
What does “ritual” have to do with
“pentecostal spirituality”?
Isn’t the
free
flowing spirituality
of the Pentecostals antithetical to the nature of
ritual? On the surface, these
questions appear
rhetorical.
However,
in
this article we maintain that ritual is an
important part
of
pentecostal
spirituality
and that the
study
of
pentecostal
ritual can be an informative
resource for the field of Pentecostal Studies; in particular, ritual studies
can
provide
a better
understanding
of
pentecostal spirituality.1
One
might question
whether the field of Ritual studies can be
very helpful
toward
understanding
the elements and
dynamics
of
pentecostal spiri-
tuality
since Pentecostals themselves have often
objected
to or reject the
term “ritual”
(and
its implied conceptualization) seeing it as representing
something “unspiritual” (i.e.,
mechanical
religion),
even “dead”
(i.e.,
meaningless).
At
least,
ritual is seen
by many
Pentecostals as too
restrictive,
potentially inhibiting
the
Spirit’s moving
and therefore not
conducive to the
spiritual experiences
that Pentecostals often
.
encourage
as a part of their services and
spiritual
life.2 The
reality
is
however,
that
*Daniel E. Albrecht is Associate Professor of Christian
ality
and
Religious
Studies at
Bethany College
of the
Spiritu-
Assemblies of God. Santa Cruz. CA 95066.
lThe analysis in this article is based on extensive field research in three American Pentecostal/charismatic churches. Of the three, one, is a “classical” Pentecostal church, one is a church heavily influenced by “neo-pentecosLal” trends, and one is a part
of the so-called “Third Wave” or “Signs and Wonders movement.” Our analysis, rooted in these congregational studies,
applies specific “tools” from the field of Ritual Studies. For a more
comprehensive from
and detailed treatment see the author’s forthcoming
Ph.D. dissertation
Berkeley, CA: The Graduate Theological Union, 1993.
Clearly, when we attempt to use general terms
such as “Pentecostals” or “pente- costal
spirituality”
we do a great
injustice
to the multitudinous forms of Pente- costalism around the world. Likewise, almost any general statement we make about Pentecostal ritual is inaccurate when compared to specific situations. In this article our illustrations and
claim
insights are drawn essentially from our field research, and can only accuracy
within these congregations. We do however, use terms that might imply gencral ization.
It remains for the reader to judge the true generalizability of our specific study.
2Pentccostals are not the only modem Westerners to question the value of ritual. Many
view ritual as or pre-modem, i.e., something that has been left behind from a
foreign
previous era, culture or religious tradition. Others see ritual as irrelevant, not really vital, because for them ritual means “a routinized act,” merely an external ges-
1
108
Pentecostals do
engage
in rituals,
though they
call them
by
other names,
e.g., “services,” “practices,” “distinctives.”
Ritual has
many definitions,3
but for the sake of this article our
gen- eral definition of ritual will be those actions, dramas,
performances
that a community
creates, continues and recognizes
as ways of
behaving
that express appropriateness given
the situation. In
particular,
ritual will refer to only one of the various
pentecostal rituals,
the
corporate
wor- ship
service.4 The
pentecostal
service is at the heart of the
pentecostal spirituality
and with its
attending
rites and
practices
is the most central ritual of
pentecostalism.
Ritual here is used to speak of the entire
pente- costal service. We will use the term rite when
referring
to a portion or phase
of the service
(e.g.,
the sermon, the
song service),
a
particular practice
or
specific
enactment
(e.g., laying
on of hands and
prayer, taking
an
offering, receiving
water or
Spirit baptism)
or a set of actions (e.g.,
various
types
of
altar/responses) recognized by
Pentecostals as a legitimate part
of their overall ritual.
We believe that the
pentecostal
ritual and its rites deserve
study
if we are serious about
comprehending pentecostal spirituality.5
We take
spiri-
turc void of internal cngagemcnt and commitment. This view sees all “ritual” as “ritualizcd ritual,” a barren symbol of empty conformity. Sec Mary Douglas, Nutural Symbols : Explorations
in
Cosmology (New
York: Pantheon, 1970,
1982). Such views of ritual arc too restrictive, if not wholly inaccuratc. Examples of a morc adc- quate pcrspcctivc
on ritual and a distinction between “ritualizcd ritual” and authcntic, vital ritual see Douglas, Symbols; Tom F. Driver, The Magic of Ritual: Our Need for Liberating Rites that Our Lives and Our Communities (San Francisco:
Collins
Transform
Harper Publishers, 1991); Ronald L. Grimes, Beginnings in Ritual Studies [BRS] (Lanham, MD: University
Press of Amcrica,
1982), Idem, Ritual
Briticism (RC] (Columbia: Univcrsity of South Carolina Press, 1990); Barbara G. Number Our
Mycrhoff, of
Days (Ncw York: Simon and Schustcr, 1978); B. Mycrhoff ct al. “Ritcs
in M. Eliade ed. The Encyclopedia of Religion [EOR], vol. 12
Passage, an Overview,”
York: MacMillan
Ritual
(New
and Anti-structure
Publishing Company, 1987) 380-86; Victor Turner, The
Process: Structure
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1969, 1977).
3See Grimes, BRS, 53-69, for a survey of definitions and a refined composite of definitions with a unique contribution toward a definition of (nascent) ritual.
4Examples of pentecostal rituals (service type) other than the normal weekly cor- service include:
porate worship prayer meetings, evangelistic meetings, home
Bible
group meetings, studies, Sunday School, youth and children’s services, camp meet- ings, retreats, conferences.
.
51n this article, we understand “pentecostal spirituality” to be a specific type of spirituality
within the broader category of Christian
spirituality.
Pentecostal
spiritu- ality
cannot be utterly unique for it shares in a basic Christian
experience. Pentc- costal
aims,
values and other characteristics are not in themselves
Dictionary of Pentecostal
and Charismatic Movements have correctly
peculiar. The editors of the
noted, “each of the [pentecostal] characteristics … has appeared before in the rich and colorful tapestry of Christian spirituality
through
the
ages.
But the combination is new “[emphasis mine]. Consequently, much of what we
say about pentecostal spiri-
and ritual, in this article,
applies to other Christian
traditions. We do not claim that our observations
tuality
are applicable exclusively to Pentecostalism, nonethe-
2
109
tuality
to be the lived
experience
which actualizes a fundamental dimen- sion of the human
being,
the
spiritual
dimension,
that is “the whole of one’s
spiritual
or
religious experience,
one’s beliefs, convictions, and patterns
of
thought,
one’s emotions and behavior in respect to what is ultimate, or God.,,6 Studying
the
pentecostal
“ritual
process”
as a spiri- tual
experience
then can
yield insight
into the
spiritual
dimension of Pentecostals. The
general
character of ritual itself is another clue for why
we should
study
it. The
very
nature of ritual is dramaturgic, that
is, ritual is grounded in symbolic-expressiveness. In
particular,
the
pente- costal rites dramatize an
underlying
ethos and
spirituality.
The
pente- costal rites are vehicles for
unique expressions
of essential
experiences. Studying
them, then, as
a portrayal of a spirituality, can
provide
a win- dow into the
pentecostal
ethos and
underlying spirituality. Finally,
we study
the
pentecostal
ritual because it is not
only
an
expression
of an inherent
spirituality,
it is itself a significant aspect of the
spiritual
life for Pentecostals.
So,
to ignore the
pentecostal
ritual would be to miss a very important
dimension of the
pentecostal spirituality.
The rites of Pentecostals are often vital, life
giving,
and
arguably responsible
in part for the
vitality
of the
pentecostal
movement, its
spread
and the
spiritual- ity
it encourages. And
though
it is true that
pentecostal spirituality
is not confined to its rituals, the rites of the Pentecostals are an
indispensable component
of
pentecostal spirituality.
For these reasons then we believe that
considering
the
pentecostal
ritual
process
can facilitate our under- standing
of pentecostal spirituality.
In this article we will select three sub-areas of ritual
analysis:
a study of the
ritual field
in order better to understand the “created context” in which the
pentecostal
ritual
process emerges
and in which Pentecostals encounter each other and their God;
secondly,
we will look at three modes of ritual
sensibility
with which Pentecostals animate and enact their rites and
through
which
they experienced
their
rites;
thirdly,
we want to consider some of the
consequences
of these animated rites within the
liminality
of the ritual field.7 We
begin by considering
the pentecostal
ritual field.
less, the focus of our observations and interpretations is pentecostal spirituality. See
McGee and Patrick Alexander, cds. Dictionary of Pentecostal and
Stanley Burgess, Gary
Charismatic Movements [DPCM] (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1988), 5.
6Anne E. Carr, Transforming Grace, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988) 201- 202. For an understanding of contemporary use of thc term “spirituality” see Sandra Schneidcrs,
in the Academy,” Theological Studies 50 (1989); for a sur- vcy
of definitions and “Spirituality the dcvelopmcnt of the term see Jon Alexander, “What Do Recent Writers Mean by Spirituality?” Spirituality Today 32 (1980): 247-57 and Sandra Schneidcrs,
“Theology
and Spirituality: Strangers,
Rivals, or Partners?” tlorizons I
3 ( 1986) 256-67.
7Within these three sub-areas of ritual analysis, we must be even more sclective. It is not possible in this article to cover even each sub-area in it deserving depth. As
3
110
1. The Pentecostal Ritual Field
Creating
a Ritual Context
Pentecostals create a “world,” a ritual context in which to express and experience
their forms of
worship.
The better we understand this con- text, “the ritual field,” in which Pentecostals
experience
each other and their
God, the better we will understand
the
spirituality
of the Pente- costals. It is within a ritual
field, shaped uniquely by Pentecostals,
that all
corporate pentecostal
rituals are
performed.
The ritual field is com- prised
of several
interacting
and
overlapping components:
ritual
space, ritual
time,
ritual
objects,
ritual sounds and
language,
ritual identities or roles, and
ritual
actions, behaviors
and
gestures.8 Together
these com- ponents help
to make
up
the context in which the ritual
process emerges. How Pentecostals
arrange, manipulate
and
negotiate
these contextual elements reveals some of the values
they cherish,
the aims of their
wor- ship practices
and their
spirituality
in general. The ritual field is the con- text in or out of which the ritual
process emerges
we
might
think of this process
as a dramatic ritual “conversation.”9 This conversation is not merely
limited to verbalization. It is a conversation that includes, for example,
the
kinesthetic,
the
visual,
the
felt,
and the
auditory
dimen- sions of communication. It is a conversation that is filled with drama and as such it interacts with the elements of the ritual field
(e.g., space, objects, time, identities).
Pentecostals create their own
specific
ritual field so that their
“species”
of the dramatic conversation
(e.g.,
ritual
per- formance) might
have a conducive context in which to
emerge. Pentecostals establish their
particular
context in order to worship as they wish.
They ritually shape
the field into a “world” of their own creation. This world then sustains their
interchange,
their
conversation, their dramatic ritual. The
dynamic plane
of this interaction is twofold; it is a conversation
among
the faithful and between the faithful ritualists and their God.
Here, we
will focus on the second
plane,
the interaction between the
congregants
and their God.
Ritual field, pentecostal
icons and encounter
While the
general
role of the elements of the ritual field is to provide a matrix for the
performance
of the
pentecostal ritual,
a specific function must be noted. For
Pentecostals,
the entire ritual field and the drama that emerges
within the ritual matrix is aimed toward an encounter. Pente-
a result, we will choose examples within each area that help illuminate particular fundamental characteristics of pcntecostal spirituality within the central ritual.
pentecostal
8SCC Grimes, BRS, 19-33.
9Sce Robert N. Bellah et al. Ilabils
of the Heart (Berkeley: University of Cali- fornia
Press, 1985). “Conversation,”
is the “stuff ‘ of which communities arc made. In the last section of this article we will consider community building as potential consequence
of the pentecostal ritual.
4
111
costals
speak
of
“meeting
God.” “We have
gathered
to meet
together with
God,” they say. Or,
“we
really
met God
tonight,” they assert,
after a service that was
exceptionally satisfying
for them.
When one considers the
practices
and rites of
pentecostal worship within the ritual
field,
one discovers a certain iconic
dynamic (i.e.
the dynamic
interaction between the human
being
and an
icon).
Pentecostal “icons” are not
holy painted
altar
pieces
or works
by pious
artists that surround the chancel. Their icons are of a different sort,
though
in some ways pentecostal
icons function within the ritual field
similarly
to icons of other Christians.10 Icons can be
thought
of as windows, or door- ways
into
prayer. They
have been seen as intersections between the human and divine. Pentecostals seek such intersections. The
prayer
and worship
of Pentecostals has a
particular
direction. Its movement is toward a
goal: coming
to a sense of the
presence
of the
Holy. Thus, elements within the
pentecostal
ritual field are often
judged,
to some extent, according to
their
assisting facility.
Do
they help
move the ritual- ists toward the valued human-divine encounter? If the elements of the ritual field facilitate the
congregation
in their movement toward
“coming into the
presence
of God”
they
are seen as
positive.
If the elements (e.g., music, preaching,
charismatic
words,
rites of
healing, etc.)
and dynamics
of the ritual field do not
support
this
goal they
will be questioned.
To illustrate our
point,
we will consider three
examples
of
pentecostal “icons” that function within the
pentecostal
ritual field. Each of these three
components
will be viewed
according
to its iconic function: Does it serve as an intersection for encounter? Does it provide a pathway into the
“holy
of holies”? We will consider the ritual sounds that surround the
pentecostal worshipper,
ritual
sights
that stimulate the
pentecostal ritualist and kinesthetic dimensions of the pentecostal ritual field. Sounds that Surround
Walking
into a pentecostal service for the first time one
might
well be struck
by
a cacophony of sounds.
However,
what is sonic dissonance to the
outsider, is
to the Pentecostal a symphony of
holy
sounds. These symphonic
sounds surround,
support
and
give
a sense of
security
to the pentecostal worshipers. They symbolize
an entrance into the felt
pres- ence of God.
Among
the
pentecostal
ritual
sounds,
music
especially functions as an
auditory
icon. It embraces the
pentecostal worshippers
,
1°For a brief but good discussion of the place of the icon in see Kallistos Ware, “The Spirituality of the Icon,” in Cheslyn Jones et al. The spirituality Study of Spirituality (New
York: Oxford
University Press, 1986) 195-198;
and Henri Nouwen, Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press,
1987). Here, we use “icon” in a restrictive sense (i.e., a window into prayer,
a connecting link in the human-divine relationship). We understand that the theology
and spirituality of icons, especially in the Orthodox tradition, is far richer and more nuanced than our usage.
5
112
Consequently,
of
pentecostal
musical
symbols
ad-
in an
analogous
fashion to the manner in which icons
visually
surround the Eastern Orthodox faithful in their sanctuaries. Pentecostals use their sounds,
particularly music,
to facilitate the creation of their ritual field.
the
manipulation
vances the entire ritual
process.
The music of the
pentecostal song
service
(often
called “the wor- ship”),
for
example,
is intended to
help
usher the
congregation
presence
of God.
Many
Pentecostals
into the report
that
during
“the
worship”
they
sense the
presence
of the
Holy Spirit
near and that the
reality
of close communion with the Divine is
heightened during
the
singing,
in the music and the other sounds of wor-
pentecostal
world of
worship
is
shaped by
the sounds that surround the
worshipper.
of the ritual
field, these
ritual sounds are one of the elements that
helps
to
produce
the matrix within which Pentecostals encounter their God and each other.
listening to,
and
participation ship.l
The
As
part
Sights
that Sinuclatc
typically
communion most
significant the
sight wood
service is comple-
It is true that
the
The
surrounding
iconic sounds of the
pentecostal
mented
by
ritual
objects
that serve
visually
as “icons.”
the
pentecostal sanctuary
is quite austere
reflecting
the
Zwing- lian tradition.
Nonetheless, pentecostal
believers
are,
in fact, stimulated visually
to
worship.
Of
course,
the traditional
protestant
ritual
symbols are
displayed
as a
part
of the ritual context: the
pulpit,
the
Bible, the
table and the altar
rail,
to name a few. But
perhaps,
and influential visual
symbol
in pentecostal worship is
of fellow
worshippers.
Instead of sacred icons fashioned on
and in
plaster
intended to draw the faithful into
worship, Pentecostals are encircled
by
fellow
believers, together they represent
embodied icons.
They
fill the ritual
space
with visuals that draw one another into an awareness of God. From the wor-
to the brother or sister across the
aisle, Pentecostals influence each other’s forms of
worship, gestures,
living,
active, human,
ship
leaders on the
platform
among
and
llThe sounds of
pcntccostal worship
arc not confincd to musical sounds. Vcrbalizations arc in abundancc within the ritual. Conccrt or
all
corporatc prayers (whcrc
pray at oncc), intcrludcs of praycr (between songs), oral sacrcd expletives or vocif- erations
(exclamations
such as
“hallelujah,” shouts,
even
whoops
of wordless sounds), interjected throughout thc service providc the mix of sounds that to costal ears
pente-
symbolizc thc gathcrcd community in thc presence of God. This is
others W. R.
why of
Hollcnwcgcr, Spittlcr and S. Land havc rightly notcd the
pentecostal spirituality.
Walter J. The Pentecostals
orality
Hollcnwcgcr, (Peabody, MS: Hendrickson
Pub., 1988); Russcll Spittlcr, “Spirituality,
Pentecostal and Charis- matic,” in DPCM; Stevcn J. Land, “Pcntccostal
Spirituality: Living in the in Louis Spirit,”
Dupre ct al. cds. Christians Spirituality: Post-Reformation and Modern, vol. III.
(Ncw York: Thc Crossroad Publishing Company, 1989).
Thcse pentecostal vcrbalizations rcprescnt, in part, both to and from God. in
hcaring
Thcy arc a main clcmcnt
thc
spcaking
grcat “ritual convcrsation” which includcs the
congregational mcmhcrs and thcir God.
6
113
behaviors as they participate together in their ritual enactment. It is not that
they
are
necessarily focusing
on or
actively watching
each other. Rather,
it is as
though they
see
through
their fellow
worshippers,
as windows.
They
look
beyond. They
see
deeper. They
see in each other their
Object
of
worship,
their God.
They
know that these human icons are not
God, yet
the
icon
of fellow
worshippers helps.
It acts as a lens through
which the reflection of God is seen more
clearly. Perhaps,
this notion of human icons in
worship
becomes more clear when we
recog- nize that
pentecostal
ritualists are not
statuesque.
No, Pentecostals move when
they worship. Consequently,
the kinesthetic dimension of the pentecostal
ritual field
may
best illustrate the iconic
dynamic among fellow
worshippers.
Kinesthetic Dimensions
The human
body
and its movement has another
important
iconic role in
pentecostal
ritual: the kinesthetic
(and tactile)
dimensions of
pente- costal
worship.
Enthusiastic
pentecostal
ritualists have been labeled “holy
rollers.”
Though derogatory,
this
epithet
does
betray
a certain reality recognized
even
by
detractors: a kinesthetic
approach
to worship.12
Contemporary educators, liturgists
and other
specialists
have noted the importance
of the kinesthetic, to their
respective
fields. Pentecostals have
intuitively engaged
in the kinesthetic. While
perhaps they
have not explicitly spoken
of their bodies and the
gestural
actions as icons of the Holy, they
have in fact functioned within this
understanding. According to
pentecostal
ritual
logic,
God is
expected
to
move, but
so are God’s worshippers.
Human
physical
movement is
closely
tied to the move- ment of the
Spirit. So,
one does not
praise
God with the mind
(or spirit) alone.
No, pentecostal praise
is more holistic. It is expressed in
motion, as well
as,
in words and
thoughts.
The faithful
may sway
or even dance as
they sing. They clap
to the music and use
applause
as a “praise offer- ing.” They
raise their hands
enacting celebration; join
hands in
prayer; extend hands toward those in need but distanced. At times
they
fall “under the
power.” They bow, kneel,
stand and sit all as a part of their kinesthetic
worship experience. They
move even as God moves.13 Pentecostal
gestures
and movements in
worship convey
a
particular understanding
of the movement of the
Holy Spirit.
Their kinesthetic experience speaks
of a spirituality that co-operates and participates in the movements of God. Pentecostals believe that
they experience
and express
the actions of
God,
the
movements, upon
and
through
the wor- shippers. They speak
of
“being
moved
by the Spirit.” They
can “resist”
12See Land, “Pentecostal Spirituality.”
13Even pentecostal parlance conveys an experience of God that is fraught with terms suggestive
of the kinesthetic and tactile dimensions: “I was moved,” “I felt the Spirit,”
“I know the touch of God,” “I felt warmth, like warm oil pouring over me,” “it was like electricity shooting through me.”
7
114
or
they
can
co-operate,
even
participate
in God’s
movings. Clearly,
in the
pentecostal
consciousness the kinesthetic dimension of
worship
is closely
linked to the
experience
of God.
Even a brief sketch of a few of the elements of the
pentecostal
ritual field
suggests
some of the values and aims of the
spirituality
of the ritual and
beyond
in the
daily spiritual
life. It is clear that the
pentecostal
ritual field is no accident. It is both a conscious and intuitive effort to con- struct a
sphere
in which a congregation together will be most
likely
to encounter their God.
Experiencing
God is the fundamental
goal
of the
pentecostal
service. This
experiencing
or
encountering
God is often
symbolized
as felt
pres- ence of the divine. The sense of the divine
presence
is a primary com- ponent,
an
aim,
of
pentecostal spirituality.
In the services this is evi- denced
by
the use of “pentecostal
icons,” chiefly
used to help the faith- ful “come into the
[felt] presence
of God.” Pentecostal efforts to develop and maintain
pathways
into the
presence points
to the
centrality
of the mystical
element in pentecostal spirituality, the
strong
desire and claim to
experience
God
directly
and
intimately. Although,
the
mystical encounter of God is
primary
to the
shaping
of the
pentecostal
ritual field, it must be noted in
passing
that the encounter has a social dimen- sion. As we look
closely
at the created
corporate
context in which Pentecostals
experience
their
God,
it is clear that
they experience
their God in a very social context. The
pentecostal
ritual
experience
is not a solo
affair,
each
worshipper
is greatly impacted and facilitated
by fellow worshippers. Sounds, sights
and movements,
primarily produced by other
ritualists,
are not incidental to the
(corporate) spirituality.
In the pentecostal
ritual
context,
the
presence
of and interaction with fellow worshippers helps
to intensify the rites and their effect on the ritualists. The social dimension of the
pentecostal
ritual
process
is foundational to the Pentecostals’
experience
of God.14 We will consider the social (liminal) dimension
further in the third section of this article, but now we turn to consider the modes of
pentecostal
ritual
sensibility
and the role
they play
in the ritual
process.
II. Modes of Pentecostal Ritual
Sensibility
In a complete ritual
analysis
it is important to ascertain the structure of the ritual,
namely,
to identify and
classify
the
practices
and rites of the ritual
process.
Because of limited
space
however, we
will not describe the rites
(i.e., practices and behaviors)
or their structure within the ritual service. This means that we will seldom mention even the
important
l4M?in
Marty has rightly discerned the social dimension of the pentecostal rites. He asserts for
example, that the pentecostal ritual “behavior is highly social” “the
must be A Nation Behavers
though The
experience pcrsonally appropriated.” of (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1976), 114. See chapter 5.
8
115
characteristic
pentecostal practices. 15
We will,
however,
focus on atti- tudes that orient and animate all of the
pentecostal
rites and
practices. Within
pentecostal
ritual
(and probably
within other Christian ritual expressions)
the rites and their structure are
however,
no more
impor- tant than the attitudes and sensibilities that animate the rites and
through which these
practices
are enacted and
experienced. Thus,
a realm of pentecostal
ritual that deserves
investigation
is that of “ritual
sensibility.” This ritual dimension is related to
though
not
necessarily
contained within the structure of the rites. In this section we will build
upon
a structural
understanding
of the
pentecostal
rites found elsewhere in order to focus more
directly
on the modes of ritual
sensibility
Our field research has identified at least seven modes or ideal
types
of ritual
sensibility,
that
pervade
the
pentecostal service, 17 Here, however, we will
only briefly
consider
three of the seven. Even a cursory look at these three modes,
though,
can
help
illuminate some of the features of the
pentecostal
ritual and reveal essential
components
of
pentecostal spirituality.
Explanation of Modes of Sensibility
“There is a
pressing
need in ritual studies for a set of distinctions among [modes]
of ritual
sensibility,” 18
asserts Ronald Grimes. These modes are not so much
types
of ritual or rites as they are
sensibilities,
or embodied attitudes within ritual. The modes of
pentecostal
ritual sensi- bility
are both the “filters”
through
which
worshippers experience
and express
their rites and the animators of the
pentecostal
rites. Various sensibilities
may
arise in the midst of ritual or in the course of a particu-
15An example of important characteristic practices of Pentccostals assumed but not dcveloped in this article is that of the Charismata (i.e., tongues, interpretation, prophecy, faith, healing, miracles, wisdom, knowledge, discernment). The tions” of these
“opera-
gifts of the Spirit are the hallmark of the Pentecostal movement. In our
treatment, we recognize the operation or practice of a gift of the Spirit as a kind of pentecostal rite (i.e., a practice or set of actions recognized by the community). As a rite the charismata are dealt with in this article
we will
only
Our focus (in part II) is the modes of sensibility. As discuss, modes of ritual indirectly.
scnsibility help orient and animate the various rites including the charismata. For instance, in rite that be animated a
speaking modes of sensibilities including the modes of celebration may
tongues can be seen as a pentecostal
of
and
by variety
can operate as an expression in the mode of celebration as
contemplation. Ton- for
gues speech,
easily
as it can function example, in a contemplative mode. The “rite” of tongues is the same in both cases, but the attitude and orientation between the two is quite different.
16For a fuller discussion of the pentecostal rites and their structure see Albrecht, Dissertation.
17Although examples of an “ideal type” (a singular, unmixed sensibility)
of a pentecostal
ritual mode of sensibility may be uncommon in the actual practice of the rites, the “ideal” or “pure” category can fulfill a heuristic function.
lgGrimes, BRS, 35. According to Grimes, the usual structural and functional dis- tinctions among rites, are important but insufficient for complete ritual analysis. He proposes
to distinguish modes of ritual sensibility from the structural characteristics.
9
116
lar rite.
Theoretically, any
rite could be matched with
any
mode of embodied
attitude, though
some sensibilities seem more
appropriate
to particular
rites than do other sensibilities. For
example,
a more
penitent attitude
might
be more
appropriate
to the altar call rite aimed at backslid- den members than a sensibility of celebration. Modes are seldom as pure as our ideal
types. They
are often mixed
together.
For instance, the modal
sensibility
of celebration
might
be mixed with the mode contem- plation.
If
however, one specific modal sensibility dominates, then, we can
speak
of it, for
example,
as a “rite of celebration”
indicating
the embodied attitude or orientation with which the
particular practice
is expressed
and
experienced.
During
our field research and
subsequent analysis
we have come to
distinguish
the
following
seven modes of ritual
sensibility
within pentecostal
services: celebration,
contemplation,
transcendent
efficacy, penitent/purgation, ecstasy, improvisation (ritualization),
and cere- mony.l9
To
give
a sense of these modes within the
pentecostal ritual, we have chosen to describe three
briefly: celebration, contemplation, and
efficacy.
Mode
of celebration
The mode of Celebration is central to pentecostal ritual and
worship.20 Almost from the
very beginning
of the service there is
typically
an attitude of celebration.
Perhaps
the broadest
range
of
characteristically pentecostal expressions
occur within the celebration mode in the ritual. Often the
beginning
of the
pentecostal
service is reserved for a cele- brative mode of
worship.
The
worship
leader asks “Are
you ready
to worship?”
There is a short
prayer, whereupon
the music
begins.
It is an “up-beat” song.
Most if not all the congregation
begins
to stand and
sing praises
as
they
celebrate their
gathering
and their God.
People
move their bodies to the celebrative
music,
some raise hands in praise, others lift their heads heavenward with smiles. Still others
sway
or dance in delight.
The ritual mode of
celebration,
as an ideal
type,
is rooted in the
l9Grimes identifies a series of modal categories. Although his categories are not meant to apply to pentecostal ritual (they are broad and seek to encompass types of sensibilities in varied even universal ritual his is for In
settings), general insight suggestive
pentecostal ritual.
the identification and description of pentecostal sensibilities, we have used Grimes’ foundational our set of seven modes of ritual sensibilities reflects an extension, a significant rearrangement and
insight. However,
adaptation
of Grimes’
conceptual
categories,
in order to make them
rites.
specifically applicable to the pentecostal
20The emphasis on the mode of celebration may be connected to or in part arise from the aspect of the American culture that Robert Bellah et al. have called “the expressive
culture.” This sub-cultural category is often linked to particular cultural expressions (e.g.,
the arts). Habits of the Heart and Bellah et al. The Good Society (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991). See also, Steve Tipton’s Getting Saved from the Sixties (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982).
10
117
action and attitude of
play.21
In celebration there is little or no
religious bargaining.
Nor is a
specific
result
pursued.
The
rooting
in
play
and lack of
“practical” emphasis place
this mode in
sharp
contrast to other pentecostal
modes that animate other forms of
prayer,
forms wherein there is a pragmatic
consequence expected.
The celebrative mode is an embodied attitude characterized
by expressiveness
and a
quality
of spontaneity.22
Pentecostals
praise
and
worship
in this mode with no ulterior motive, utilitarian results are not
sought.
Instead, the
people with
play-like
abandonment
praise
their God with
expressive
words and actions. In general, this mode
portrays
the kind of joyous attitude often experienced
in festal folk celebrations. The
play
of the celebrative mode is initiated when
people begin
to detach themselves from
ordinary prag- matic matters of
daily
life. Because
contemporary pentecostal worship services often
begin
in this
mode,
the mode itself functions to
separate the
pentecostal liturgical worship
from the world of the
commonplace (the mundane). Often,
the
worship
leader
encourages
the
congregation with,
“let’s shut out all the influences of the week, all the distractions of work and
family,
and
worship
the Lord.” Celebration then with its
play- like
quality helps
to set a
boundary
within which the
worship
of the community emerges.
So,
in a sense,
play,
that is playful
celebration, is essential to all of pentecostal ritual.
Mode
of Transcendental Efficacy
While the celebrative mode of
pentecostal
ritual is characterized
by
a sensibility
that is
playful, expressive, spontaneous,
and
free,
the ritual service as a whole is
normally
balanced
by
a mode of “transcendental efficacy.”
The transcendental efficacious mode lies at one end of the spectrum
of ritual attitudes and the mode of celebration lies at the other end. Transcendental
efficacy
refers to an attitude that
participates
in “pragmatic
ritual work”
particularly,
as it is related to a transcendental reality (i.e. God)
and to the
power
of that transcendental
reality
to produce
an effect. This
mode,
in contrast to the
pentecostal
celebrative mode, functions
with
practical goals.
It is characterized
by
a sense of
.
2lGrimes, BRS, 35-51, and idem, RC, 151.
22?e celebrative quality of pentecostal worship allows for an expressive, creative moment. Pentecostal
people
are oftcn encouraged to make spontaneous,
creative, expressions
of praise. Such moments of innovation might be thought of within the category
of improvisation. The freedom of improvisation avoids chaotic
within the boundaries of
worship by remaining pcntccostal ritual themes. Just as
in music has a freedom and playful attitude and yet remains attached improvisation to a melodic theme and to certain patterns within the music, so pentecostal ritual
remains connected to basic
improvisation
worship themes and patterns within pentecostal rites. This kind of creative
costal ritual
impulse helps to keep pentecostal ritual vital and dynamic. Pente-
improvisation, particularly within the celebrative mode is a mechanism that
ritualizing
helps to renew the ritual avoiding static rites.
.
11
118
utilitarianism and instrumentalism.23
expectancy.
When Pentecostals answer. Unlike the sensibilities
of
rites
per-
Among
Pentecostals,
formed in the transcendental efficacious mode strike a note of
pray
in this mode
they expect
an
celebration which
may freely play, enjoying
and
experiencing
the
meaning
of
symbols,
the mode of effi-
the
symbols,
them. The mode of
efficacy
reveals an attitude that is more concerned
than
meaning. Thus,
a ritual action with a transcen-
cacy employs
declaring
with
consequence
dental reference that
accomplishes
by Pentecostals,
as
“ministry.”
phase
how
things
work
by working
or seeks to
accomplish
a hoped for
spirituality
is clearly demon-
is often the final
empirical
result is within this mode of
sensibility.
It is often
designated
Rites of and
prayers
for
healing,
mira- cles, and Spirit baptism are examples
of this
pragmatic
mode within the pentecostal services,
rites and
spirituality.
The
pragmatic
dimension
of pentecostal
strated in the rite of
altar/response.
The
altar/response
of the
pentecostal liturgy;
it can be a time of
praying
for or
sup- porting
in other
ways persons
who have
responded
sermon or to another
impulse
from the
Spirit. Frequently, healing
rites and other ministries are
employed during
the
altar/response.
The altar/
then often dominated
by
the ritual mode of transcendental
to a “word” in the
response
is efficacy. Transcendental
efficacy
is an
attitude,
a ritual
sensibility,
that vitalizes
They
pentecostal actions, especially
those acts seen as empowered
ministry.
It is believed and stated
continually
in
pentecostal
services that God desires to minister to
people’s needs,
even the
ordinary, daily personal needs.
Understandably then,
ritualists are oriented towards
ministry.
are sensitized to one another’s needs and
they
look for
opportuni- ties to act
upon
this
sensibility. They
seek to be instruments or channels of the
Holy Spirit
in order to do the work of the
ministry-
to serve God and humankind.24
to ritual
Mode
of Contemplation
A third distinct ritual mode that we have identified as fundamental
service is
contemplation.25
by a sense of openness
to God, a deep receptivity.
the
pentecostal mode is characterized
cacy,
The
contemplative
23See Grimes, RC, 151. Spcaking of a mode analogous to transcendental cffi-
Grimes asserts that “the manipulation of symbolic means to achieve material ends” is in contrast to the “playful freedom typical of celebration.”
ship
24This attitude oftcn shapes the pcntecostal service. It is therefore not unusual for Pcntecostals to incorporate ritcs of ministry (e.g., healing rites) as a part of the wor-
service. The Charismata, spiritual gifts are often exercised within the transcen- dcntal efficacy mode of Gifts of faith, healing, and miraclcs are hoped for and often exercised within sensibility. this mode. We have also observed gifts, recognized as dis-
. ccrnment and knowlcdge, animated by the transcendental efficacious orientation as a
of a rite of healing. See notcs 15 and 26.
25″Contcmplation”
in this article is not used in a restrictive, traditional, or theo-
sense.
part
logical
12
119
The
pentecostal
ethos is
shaped by
this mode. In the rites of the
pente- costal service and as an ideal for all of life,
pentecostal people
seek to “be
open
to the work of the
Holy Spirit.”26 They
hold as an ideal and actively
cultivate
docility
before their God.27 In the
pentecostal
service the
contemplative
mode is often a sustained attitude that
permeates
the entire service. But this embodied attitude
frequently appears
as the dominant
congregational
mode
during specific
moments or seasons of the service.
During
our field research,
nearly every
service
attended,
a contemplative
mode
emerged during
“the
worship,” (the congregational singing during
the first
phase
of the
ritual). Usually,
the dominant con- templative
mode was
preceded by
a dominant celebrative mode. Both were
integrally
linked to the music,
particularly
to the
genre
of the “worship
chorus.” Often the
contemplative
mode
emerged again
as dominant near the close of the service,
during
the
altar/response phase. The
pentecostal contemplative worship
mode has a mediating function among
the other ritual modes. It helps to place in relationship the modes of celebration and transcendental
efficacy.
The
contemplative
attitude aids the alternation between these two
primary pentecostal
modes of sensibility.
The mode of contemplation itself
approaches
the divine in a reverent
interrogative
mood. While the mode of celebration
actively plays
and mode of transcendental
efficacy engages
in ritual work toward its pragmatic
goal,
the contemplative mode
attentively
waits. The attitude of the
pentecostal
mode of
contemplation
is to
“tarry
until,” that is, it waits as a
preparation
for what it cannot control. In each of the other two modes there is a sense of at least some human control. But in the mode of contemplation the
congregation
is aware and
participates
in the understanding
that
ultimately
it seeks the action and
presence
of the Other. The One that cannot be controlled. So
any symbolic manipulation is aimed at
fostering
an
expectant docility
that waits and listens. This docile
waiting
balances the free
play
of celebration and the
pragmatic ritual work of the efficacious mode.
These three
pentecostal
modes of ritual
sensibility
are
representative
of at least four other embodied attitudes
integral
to the
pentecostal
ritual and to the broader
pentecostal spirituality.
This
description
of
pentecostal
26Spiritual gifts, the charismata, may also operate with a sensibility of contem- plation.
Gifts that may be most suited to this contemplative orientation are
discernment
tongues (for “contemplative” prayers), (for perceiving
God’s
wisdom and knowledge (as a kind of hearing in the
promptings),
waiting mode) and “words” of wisdom, knowledge and prophecy (as “voice” of God to those docilely waiting and listening).
These are a few of the possibilities for the “gifts” operating within the contemplative
mode. See notes 15 and 24 for other possibilities on the exercise of the charismata in other modes of scnsibility.
270n the concept of “docility” as central to charismatic experience see Donald Gelpi,
Charism and Sacrament : A Theology of Christian Conversion (New York: Paulist Press,
1976) and Experiencing
God: A
Theology of Iluman Emergence (Lanham, MD: The College Theological Society, University Press, Inc., 1987).
13
120
modes
though
brief does
point
out several elements
important
to an understanding
of
pentecostal spirituality.
In
general, pentecostal
wor- ship practices, rites,
are not
merely
structured exercises
performed by detached individuals to
accomplish religious obligations.
On the con- trary,
while the
pentecostal
rites do have structure, the
key
to under- standing
the character of the rites is to penetrate the embodied attitudes or sensibilities that animate and mediate the
experience
of the rites. These sensibilities are embodied
by
human
beings
who enact their religious practices according
to the
particular
modal orientation that
they bring
to the rites. It might be
argued
that
pentecostal
ritual remains vital and authentic to the extent that its rites are infused with
appropriate
and spirited sensibility
that
embody
and enact the
congregation’s experience. The alternative is ritual that
may
have suitable structure but little life or meaning,
due to mechanical involvement that lacks the
authenticity
of appropriately engaged
sensibilities. The
vitality
of pentecostal ritual has less to do with the structure of the ritual than the embodied
attitudes,
the orientation,
with which
congregants engage
in the rites as structured. Salient sensibilities
appropriately applied
can
help
to
produce living, breathing, moving
ritual
performance
rather than lifeless acts of ritual.
In
particular,
let me
suggest
three
specific insights
into
pentecostal spirituality
from the
analysis
of the
pentecostal
ritual modes of sensibil- ity. First,
the
emphasis
on celebration
points
to a fundamental character- istic of
pentecostal spirituality
—
a spontaneous, joy-filled,
playfulness. This
playfulness encourages improvisation
within creative moments and produces
as innovative
spirituality . Secondly, pentecostal spirituality has a strong element of pragmatism that is oriented to demonstrations of power particularly
for
purposes
of
ministry (though
the demonstrations of
power
are
fundamentally symbolic
of the
presence
and interaction of the
divine). Lastly,
the dimension of
pentecostal spirituality
revealed in the embodied attitude that we have
designated “contemplation”
is a deep receptivity,
a particular kind of
vulnerability
to God that is encouraged by
Pentecostals. Their
spirituality
values a docility before God. We turn now from the modes of
sensibility
with which the rite are enacted and through
which the rites are
experienced
to consider some of the conse- quences
of pentecostal process.
III. Three
Consequences
of Pentecostal Ritual Pentecostal
Liminality: Matrix for
the positive consequences
The third area of
pentecostal
ritual studies to consider is the conse- quences
of the
pentecostal
ritual. Ritual is more than mere
symbolic expressions
that reveal and maintain static social and cultural values. It is true that ritual does involve
symbolic expressions, expressions
that dramatize the social
group’s
values, however,
ritual also has an inherent power.
There is an
efficacy
at work in authentic, vital, ritual. Ritual
per-
14
121
formance can be a potent agent of change, a means of transformation.28 A qualitative dimension of ritual that facilitates the
efficacy
of ritual is liminality. By liminality
we mean the
properties
of ritual that are most distinct from the
qualities, values,
norms, rules
of the
prevailing
soci- ety’s
social structure or status
system by
which the
society
defines and controls its institutions.29 For Victor Turner,
liminality
is a category or domain within ritual, a dimension found in but not restricted to rites of passage
or to a particular phase of ritual. Ritualists who
participate
in this domain
participate
in undifferentiated conditions that are “betwixt and between,” or “on the
edge
of the limits and standards of
society. The liminal conditions
may
consist of fleeting moments, intervals in the ritual that Turner calls “moments in and out of time and in and out of secular social structure.,,30 In
ritual liminality
there is a distancing of society’s
values and structures or
temporary suspension
of them. Such liminal conditions create an “anti-structure”31 where
“space”
is made for something
different to emerge. This anti-structural
space
is a dimension that makes “room” for
change
and innovation. Pentecostals
participate
in a form of
ritual liminality.
A liminal dimension within the ritual context is,
in
fact, created by
their
behaviors,
rites and
practices
that most contrast the norms of the
society (e.g.,
the
practice
of the
gifts
of the
Spirit).
These
contrasting, pentecostal practices, especially
when enacted in modes of
sensibility
that have their own liminal
quality (e.g.,
28For examples of works dealing with the efficacy of ritual see thc writings of Victor Turner especially Ritual Process, passim.: and Myerhoff, Number Our Days; idem, “Rites of Passage”; and Driver, Ritual, 131-191.
on van Gcnncp’s conccptualization of ritcs of passagc, Tumcr’s work concentrated on the elements 29Building of the middle or “liminal” phase. Turner recognized the liminal within ritual forms other than rites of passage. People that participate in this “in aspects
between,” liminal, dimension of a ritual or live in a statc of liminality are seen by Turner as a liminal people, e.g., people who live, at least at times, on or across the social boundaries of the larger society. Liminal people have
in
many things
common with the neophytes who participate in a rite of passage. Thesc similari- ties reinforce the connection between the type of
during
a rite of passage and the
liminality
of those who stand liminality experienced on the boundaries of the structures of society and thus are in a liminal relationship to the in prevailing Because such
society general.
people according to the larger society are out of place and surrounded are often
mystery they regarded as “taboo” or as anthropologist Mary shown
has
by
“polluted.” Despite
their liminal
position
and taboo state, liminal Douglas
people can be sources of
renewal, innovation, and creativity. See Arnold van The Rites of Passage, Trans. Monika B.
frequently
Vizedom and Gabrielle L.
Gennep,
Caffee, University
of
(Chicago:
Chicago Press, 1960). Turner, Ritual Process, 94-130; Driver, Ritual, 158-162, Myerhoff et al.,” Rites of Passage.” “Taboo” and
in
Mary Douglas, Purity
and An
Analysis of
the
“pollution” arc discussed
Danger: Concepts of Pollution
and Taboo, (New York and London: Ark Paperbacks, 1966) passim. ‘
3°Turner, Ritual Process, 96. 3
Victor Turner’s term “anti-structure” does not mean “no structure.” It is a kind of structure within a ritual, normally connected to the liminal dimension, that defines itself in contrast to the structure of the largcr society.
15
122
contemplative) produce heightened
moments of
liminality
within the ritual
process. Thought
of
together,
these liminal moments
merge
into a dimension of
liminality
within the service. It is a dimension or domain where the standard values of the
society
and those of the
pentecostal ritualists stand in greatest contrast.
The liminal dimension of the
pentecostal
ritual can be seen within some the elements of the ritual that are in clear contrast to the “rules” that society prescribes
for normal behavior. In a sense “normal behavior” is rejected
in
pentecostal liminality.
In its
place
there
emerges
a code of conduct that is ritually
acceptable.
These ritual behaviors
(e.g., tongues speaking,
ecstatic
dancing,
charismatic
pronouncements
and demonstra- tions,
healing rites,
and familial forms of
affection)
not
readily accept- able in
society
are
encouraged
in
pentecostal
ritual.
They
are encour- aged,
in part, because of their effects on the ritual and the ritualists.
In the first
part
of this
article,
we described the ritual field as a created world meant to
encourage pentecostal worship,
a context for divine encounter. While the
liminality
of the
pentecostal
ritual field facilitates a sense of divine
presence
and communion, it also fosters the efficacious functions of the
ritual, what
we are
calling
the
consequences.
In
short, Pentecostals
encourage ritual liminality
because
they intuitively recog- nize that it
helps
to create the environment that acts as a matrix out of which
positive consequences
can
emerge.
These
consequences
are in a very
real sense
gifts
from ritual to the
pentecostal congregation.32 Here we consider three such
consequences: communitas, reflexivity, and transformation. We
begin
with the
gift
of communitas.
Creating community through
communitas
To understand the ritual
consequence
of communitas we look to the noted
anthropologist
Victor Turner who first
applied
the term.33 Turner described communitas as the relations
among people
under liminal conditions.
During liminality
the ritualists are
living
outside the norms fixed
by
the social
system. They
are “betwixt and
between,”
in the “interstices” of the
prevailing
structure states of the
society. Partially
due to this
marginality
and to their common
plight,
a feeling of
solidarity often arises
among
the liminal
people.
This
unity
and sense of oneness is “communitas.” There
emerges
a group bonding as people within the matrix of ritual liminality share in their common
plight.
The conditions and
dynamics
of a liminal
phase,
then, can facilitate the
community
32D?ver designates the ritual consequences as “gifts,” Ritual, 131-133.
33For
examples
of Turner’s ideas
applied
to Pentecostalism see
Bobby
C. Alexander, “Pentecostal Ritual Reconsidered: Anti-Structural Dimcnsions of Posses- sion,” Journal of Ritual Studies 3 (1985): 103-109; see also, Alexander’s Victor Turner Revisited: Ritual as Social Change (Atlanta: Scholars Press. Academy Series, American Academy of Religion, no. 74, 1991); and Salvatore Cucchiari, “The Lords of the Culto: Time
through
Place in Sicilian Pentecostal
Ritual,” Journal
Transcending
of Ritual Studies 4 (Winter 1990): 1-14.
16
123
building process.
Often a
consequence
of
pentecostal ritual liminality and anti-structure is communitas. Within the
liminality
of the
pentecostal ritual a direct,
egalitarian
encounter,
a
fellowship
between
people
as people frequently
occurs. Pentecostal ritual not
only brings
its
people together
in a physical
assembly,
it
helps
to unite them
emotionally
and spiritually.
The
performance
of the
pentecostal
rites,
as much as
any- thing
else in their
spirituality,
creates and sustains the
community
of believers. There is a dynamic of
community building
at work in pente- costal ritual.
This is partially due to the
implicit
call for a high level of mutual
par- ticipation
in the
pentecostal liturgy.
Pentecostal rites are
particularly interactive and social.34 It is expected that each believer will
engage
in the
worship
service,
spectators
are
essentially
outsiders. This
high
level of
participation
in the rituals enhances the
solidarity among
those who perform
the rites
together.35 Feelings
of union with other members of the
congregation especially during
the more liminal
phases
of ritual are typically reported by pentecostal
ritualists. The
temporary suspension
of the
society’s
social and status structure,
during ritual liminality opens up the
possibilities
for new and different social relations and the
resulting communitas. The liminal dimensions of
pentecostal
ritual then become “bearers of communitas,” And, communitas is a force for
building
and sustaining
the
pentecostal community.
So, communitas can be a conse- quence
of pentecostal ritual.
Pentecostal Ritual
Ref lexivity
Another
consequence
of the
pentecostal
rites and their orientation is reflexivity. By reflexivity,
here,
we mean a self-conscious
questioning, examination and/or
exploration
that
may
arise within
ritual liminality
or within other
marginal
situations. The dominant
society’s categories, social boundaries, and
symbols
can within
liminality’s
anti-structure be questioned,
altered,
renewed or in other
ways investigated. According to
Turner,
liminal
qualities
of ritual can
help
to free
participants
to become reflexive.36 Such reflexivity is encouraged among, even
34See Marty, Behavers, 113-114.
35 At least since the time of Durkheim social scientists have recognized that mutual ritual performance reinforces the unity in the given community. This spirit of unity
and mutual belonging is, according to Driver, frequently the result of “rituals of high energy,”
see Driver, 154, 164. The pentecostal ritual performance is a
of who the
symbolic expression congregation is as a people. It is an expression of the self group’s
identity, a demonstration of its values and beliefs. This symbolic expression, in turn acts to
shape
the
identity,
the common
understanding
of the
these
community. Together, dynamics strengthen solidarity.
36The dynamics of re(lexivity however, are not necessarily confined to the of the ritual boundaries or to the liminal
safety
phase(s) alone. Turner saw that could
spread from the liminal conditions into the regressive phase of ritual
reflexivity after
(the
the liminal
phase
period) where the people are integrated back into the larger group and/or structured society. Herein lies the potential transformative force of the liminal
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124
ritual
participants.
ively. suspended
docility
Reflexive awareness
may service, or it
may
even
per-
expected of, pentecostal
occur at
any
moment within a pentecostal
vade the entire service. The ritual
parameters,
the
liminality
of the
pente- costal ritual in
particular, permits,
even
stimulates,
a free
reflexivity.
In a sense, the
security
and
familiarity of
the ritual context
(and the
possi- ble
communitas)
facilitates a freedom to
explore
and
question
reflex-
Social and
personal categories
can be
played with, inverted,
even
within the
liminality
of the
pentecostal
service.3?In
part,
the reflexive
consequence
of the
pentecostal
rites is a result of
pentecostal orientation to “contemplation”
(see above).
Rites
experienced
within the mode of contemplation are marked
by an
attitude of deep receptivity and
toward God. In accord with this
sensibility
the
potential
for an arousal of self-conscious
questioning,
is actualized. In
fact,
pentecostal ritual
participants repeatedly report being
moved to the
edge
of profound
and
exploration
which in turn,
frequently
moves them toward moments of conversion and
spiritual changes.
The reflexive
is a
gift
of the
pentecostal
transformation.
self-investigation
consequence consequence, Traayforniation
insight recognized
ritual and a
key
to our last
function
in a Pentecostal mode
Victor Turner’s work
concerning
the
potential
transformative of ritual is especially informative to Pentecostal Studies. Turner’s basic
in ritual a dynamic
potential
for transformation. He demonstrated that the ritual
performance
municating
the values of a community,
ritual is to effect
change.
The transformative
mance on its
participants
not
only changes
the individual
the broader life of the ritual
community
and the
larger society
impacts beyond.38
is not
only dramaturgic,
com- but that the most vital work of
impact
of ritual
perfor-
ritualists,
it
transformations
during
their rites.
Pentecostals have
long
claimed
Pentecostal
spirituality,
in
fact, actively
pursues
transformation. The Pentecostals meet
together
to be changed,
transformed,
they disperse
in order to
change
the world. The
spirituality
seeks for conversions and transformations of
individuals,
communities of faith and the world in general.
The
pursuit
of
spiritual
transformation
than in the
pentecostal
ritual. An
underlying
intent of the ritual itself is
is nowhere more clear
reflexivity. According to Turner, liminal reflexivity is often responsible for produc- ing transmutations of categorics, symbols, or valucs bom in the liminal phase and carried
into the regressive phase and
elements of the anti-structure
finally into the larger social structure. So that,
shaped through reflcxivity, in the communitas of limi- nality become transformative influences in the structured states of society, the states out_side the ritual.
37Myerhoff suggests that the underlying paradoxcs of human life are exposed and accentuated in rituals where there is a certain safcty within the familiar
“Ritcs of
boundaries,
Passage,” EOR, vol. 12, 382.
38Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger.
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125
the desire for transformation. The
yearning
for conversion and trans- formation is demonstrated in the
language
and other
symbols
of
pente- costal ritual. Transformation
symbols permeate
testimonies services, pentecostal hymnology,
sermonic illustrations and altar calls, to name a few. Each of these witness to the
centrality
of the transformed life, the converted
life-style.The
ritual
consequence
of transformation is inte- grally
linked to the
pentecostal sensibility
that we
designated
earlier as “transcendental
efficacy.”
This mode of
pentecostal expression
and experience
is an orientation toward
doing pragmatic
ritual work. It is less concerned with the
meaning
of the
attending symbols
as with the consequence.
Transcendental
efficacy
is an embodied
attitude, filled with
expectancy,
that often animates rite and
prayer
for
healing,
con- version,
Spirit baptism,
and others. This
sensibility
looks to God in anticipation
of transformation while it seeks to do what it understands to be effective in the
way
of ritual work. Pentecostals know that their
prac- tice of the
healing rites,
for
example,
does not heal. God heals. But their ritual work
inspired by
a mode of transcendental
efficacy
is a kind of participation
with God in the
consequence
of transformation.39
In
summary,
Pentecostal ritual creates a liminal dimension which together
with the ritual
process helps
to
produce
a
uniquely
ordered social
group,
which often has the marks of a communitas. The
liminality of the ritual also works toward a
“space”
for
personal
and collective reflexivity,
which,
in turn,
provides
a basic stimulus toward transfor- mation, namely, personal conversions, healings, empowerments, Spirit baptisms
and dedications to missions, consistent with Pentecostals’ understanding
of the
gospel.
This initial look
through
the lens of
pente- costal ritual has allowed us to focus on several attributes of
pentecostal spirituality.
Our consideration, of course, is
only
a
beginning,
a feeble first
step.
We
hope, however,
that some interest in the
study
of
pente- costal ritual and
spirituality
has been
piqued, despite
the limitations of our treatment.
,
39pentecostals
recognize that the transformation they seek is not the result of thcir own
works, it is through the gracious action of their God. Thcy do, howevcr, participate
in the process of their uansformation(s). They come to (and
shape)
the liminal context, they stimulate one another toward certain sensibilities of that orient them toward God and toward an encounter with God. The encounter worship itself, symbolized
in the immediate presence of God, is communal, and it is responsible for effecting
transformation.
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