Renewal Ecclesiology In Empirical Perspective

Renewal Ecclesiology In Empirical Perspective

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PNEUMA 36 (2014) 5–24

Renewal Ecclesiology in Empirical Perspective

Mark J. Cartledge

Department of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom

m.j.cartledge@bham.ac.uk

Abstract

Recent discussions in ecclesiology have highlighted the difference between abstract models and concrete ethnographic studies. It is all too common for these two different approaches to be self-contained without any interaction between them. In the light of this context, this study considers recent Pentecostal ecclesiology and identifies two strands of thought, namely, ecumenical and retrieval approaches. Both of these approaches are classified as blueprint approaches and neither of them draws upon concrete studies of congregations. In order to address this weakness, and make a constructive proposal, the discussion draws on studies of congregations to provide empirical perspectives with which to engage. The outcome is a recommendation that renewal ecclesiology should be understood as a distinct strand that includes four core features, namely: the location of pneumatology as central rather than peripheral, the importance of relationality, the rediscovery of sacramentality, and the impact of doxology for mission.

Keywords

ecclesiology – congregation – ethnography – renewal – pneumatology

Introduction

In recent years there has been an increased interest in the study of church congregations. They have been understood as significant social institutions that contribute to local communities and broader civic life. Much of the early approaches to the study of congregations were, however, conducted by

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2013 | doi: 10.1163/15700747-13360101

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anthropologists and sociologists.1 They continue to do much valuable work and I shall draw on their insights in this study, but they do not seek to construct ecclesiological accounts of the churchesthat they research.This is because they come to the study of these congregations with a very different set of concepts and theories compared to theological ones. More recently, there has developed a genuine interest in the study of congregations for the sake of theological understanding.2 This has been followed by an interest in ethnography as an approach to Christian theology and ethics.3

Given this research context, this article intends: (1) to offer an overview of recent pentecostal and charismatic approaches to ecclesiology that takes a largely chronological trajectory; (2) to consider four of the most recent empir- ical contributions to what might be called concrete ecclesiology from both practical theology and social science; and (3) to outline the implications of this discussion for the contribution of a renewal strand to ecclesiology. I shall suggest that four core features can be identified as essential for “renewal-type” ecclesiologies that transcend mere local expression. By “renewal” I mean the distinctive contribution and insights drawn from the pentecostal and charis- matic movements. I suggest that “renewal” can be considered a distinctive ecclesiological strand of Christian tradition that can play alongside other eccle- siological traditions.

It will become clear that behind this discussion lies something of the debate between whether ecclesiology should be constructed using ideal categories from Scripture, church history, or contemporary theology; or whether contem- porary ecclesiology should concern itself primarily with concrete categories that emerge from real, live communities today. This debate was initiated in terms of historical enquiry by Roger Haight, who advocated an historical eccle- siology from below, but now it has been transposed into a contemporary key.4

1 See, for example, Matthew Guest, Karin Tusting, and Linda Woodhead, eds., Congregational

Studies in the UK: Christianity in a Post-Christian Context (Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2004);

and Helen Cameron, Philip Richter, Douglas Davies, and Frances Ward, eds., Studying Local

Congregations: A Handbook (London: SCM Press, 2005).

2 See the collection of essays in Patrick Keifert, ed.,Testing the Spirits: How Theology Informs the

Study of Congregations(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009).

3 See the collection of essays in Christian Sharen and Aana Marie Vigen, eds., Ethnography as

Christian Theology and Ethics(London: Continuum, 2011); also Pete Ward, ed.,Perspectives on

Ecclesiology and Ethnography(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2012).

4 Roger Haight,Christian Community in History, Volume I: Historical Ecclesiology(London: Con-

tinuum, 2004);Christian Community in History, Volume II: Comparative Ecclesiology(London:

Continuum, 2005).

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To cite Nicholas M. Healy: “Ecclesiology is not a doctrine theory that can be worked out without close attention to the concrete life of the church.”5 There- fore, this article seeks to bridge this gap in the literature by bringing two distinct kinds of literature into dialogue.

Pentecostal Ecclesiology

A survey of the literature on the subject of pentecostal ecclesiology reveals two strands of scholarship. The first strand represents those scholars who have made a contribution toward ecclesiology in dialogue with broader ecumeni- cal currents. They may be Pentecostals (or former Pentecostals) but they have constructed their theology by means of an interaction with non-pentecostal sources and have brought out the distinctiveness of their contribution (often couched in terms of pneumatology) via the dialogue. The second strand repre- sents those scholars who have sought to retrieve their own distinctive tradition from the early sources available to them. As such, it is an historical retrieval of specific and, usually, classical pentecostal traditions. It feeds into the enter- prise of re-envisioning the pentecostal tradition. I shall consider both of these strands in turn and discuss their contributions in chronological order.

The Ecumenical Strand

In this section I consider the work of pentecostal and charismatic scholars who have utilized resources beyond their own tradition, sometimes in dialogue with specific bilateral pentecostal conversations.

Miroslav Volf’s significant book on the subject of ecclesiology is often used as a launch pad for pentecostal ecclesiology.6 While this is undoubtedly because of Volf’s pentecostal heritage, it is also because of his focus on the central notion of communion and in particular his engagement with the Orthodox theologian John D. Zizioulas, who argued that ecclesial communion with God is derived from the communion between the persons of the Trinity and that it is

5 See Nicholas M. Healy, Church, World and the Christian Life: Practical-Prophetic Ecclesiology

(Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 50.

6 Miroslav Volf, After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity (Grand Rapids, MI:

Eerdmans, 1998). For a Roman Catholic response in relation to Pentecostal Theology, see Ralph

Del Colle, “Communion and the Trinity: The Free Church Ecclesiology of Miroslav Volf—A

Catholic Response,”Pentecostal Theology22, no. 2 (2000):

303–327.

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actualized within members of the eucharistic community.7 This has resonated strongly with recent pentecostal communitarians, as have Volf’s strong Free Church leanings. But the book cannot with all seriousness be regarded as a contribution toward pentecostal ecclesiology as such; rather, it is an attempt to ground ecclesiology in the persons of the Trinity and the communion between them. It stands in the neo-Cappadocian tradition associated most obviously with Jürgen Moltmann.8 Its impact has been to relate social trinitarianism to ecclesiology explicitly.

In many ways Simon Chan follows in the Moltmann-Volf tradition because of his interest in engaging a wider conversation, but in Chan’s case he does not cut loose from the pentecostal tradition as Volf does.9 His initial contri- bution locates pentecostal ecclesiology in the context of the broader Christian spiritual tradition.10 He uses the historic metaphor of “mother” for the church, following Cyprian, Calvin, and others, and sees the church as traditioning its members into its community and adopting an ecclesial pneumatology rather than an individualistic one. Communion with God cannot exist apart from communion with others in the life of the church. In this matter he draws fairly heavily on the work of Volf, in which communion is mediated primarily via all its members rather than through hierarchical ecclesial structures. From this background, Chan argues for, first, a dynamic catholic community driven by the Spirit and relating to the whole body of Christ; second, a healing community characterized by reconciliation and wholeness; and third, a truth-traditioning community, as an extension of the Christ who is the truth. These features are subsequently placed within an eschatological horizon that sees the Spirit con- stituting the church as belonging to the “last days” and marking the inaugura- tion of the kingdom of God and the church’s future orientation. Biblical images are also used to supplement this understanding, for example, “body of Christ,”

7 John D. Zizioulas,Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church(Crestwood,

NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1985), 81.

8 See, in particular, Jürgen Moltmann, The Trinity and the Kingdom of God (London: SCM

Press, 1981).

9 In a response to Harold D. Hunter’s chapter on Pentecostals and the church, Miroslav Volf’s

piece is entitled “A Protestant Response,” see Jürgen Moltmann and Karl-Josef Kuschel,

eds., Concilium: Pentecostal Movements as an Ecumenical Challenge (London: SCM Press,

1996/3), 17–21; 37–44.

10 Simon Chan, Pentecostal Theology and the Christian Spiritual Tradition (Sheffield, UK:

Sheffield Academic Press, 2003). The chapter is also reprinted as Simon Chan, “Mother

Church: Toward a Pentecostal Ecclesiology,”Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pente-

costal Studies22, no. 2 (2000): 177–208.

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which for Chan is more than a metaphor because it has “ontological” reality. As a corollary, the church is a communion because its members are incorpo- rated into the body of Christ via baptism and eucharistic participation, and the focus of ecclesial life is koinōnia characterized by agapē.11 The church is also the “temple of the Holy Spirit” and complements and fulfils the images of “people of God” and “body of Christ” because it is as Spirit-filled believers on the day of Pentecost that they were constituted as the body of Christ and replaced the earthly Christ, thus embarking on a mission to be “Christ” for the world.12

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen discusses the relationship between Christology and pneumatology in ecclesiology.13 He draws principally on three dialogue part- ners, John D. Zizioulas, Wolfhart Pannenberg, and Karl Rahner, because he does not wish to construct a “charismatic” ecclesiology but rather seeks to con- tribute to the role of the Spirit in classical traditions (Orthodox, Protestant, and Roman Catholic). The result is an ecclesiology that is constituted onto- logically by the Spirit, as well as by Christ, understood in trinitarian terms, and having a basic charismatic structure that leads to openness. This approach is developed in relation to the Pentecostal—Roman Catholic dialogue, and he proposes that pentecostal ecclesiology be understood as a communion of par- ticipating, empowered believers.14 The fellowship or koinōnia of persons lies at the heart of pentecostal ecclesiology because fellowship language among Christian siblings in the church has predominated pentecostal ecclesial dis- course from the very beginning of the movement.15 From this starting point, Kärkkäinen argues that the distinctive feature of pentecostal ecclesiology is a “charismatic fellowship,” where each member of the community participates via thecharismatain a deep and sustainedkoinōnia.

11 Simon Chan, Liturgical Theology: The Church as a Worshipping Community (Downers

Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006), 27–29.

12 Chan, Liturgical Theology, 34, 40.

13 Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen (ed. Amos Yong), Toward a Pneumatological Theology: Pentecostal

and Ecumenical Perspectives on Ecclesiology, Soteriology, and the Theology of Mission(Lan-

ham, MD: University Press of America, 2002). Haight, Christian Community in History,

Vol. II, appears to base most of his comments on pentecostal ecclesiology from Kärkkäi-

nen; see pp. 452–477.

14 Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, “Church as Charismatic Fellowship: Ecclesiological Reflections

from the Pentecostal—Roman Catholic Dialogue,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 18

(2001): 100–121.

15 Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical & Global

Perspectives(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 75.

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Amos Yong similarly argues for a pneumatological ecclesiology and dis- cusses the work of Chan and Volf, suggesting that Pentecostals have drawn uncritically from the Free Church tradition.16 He then suggests, before dis- cussing postliberal contributions, that insights might be derived from classical and Free Church traditions. Pentecostals, Yong contends, should reflect criti- cally on the marks of the church, and here he engages with the ideas of unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity in the light of a discussion of relevant texts in Luke-Acts. He subsequently discusses the future of pentecostal ecclesi- ology as a “charismatic fellowship of the Spirit,” which includes baptism, liturgy, preaching, and the Eucharist. In some respects this contribution resonates strongly with the work of Frank D. Macchia, who applies the metaphor of Spirit baptism to the church and seeks to read the biblical models of the “people of God,” the “body of Christ,” the “temple of the Spirit,” and the marks of the church (unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity), as well as the reformed marks of preaching and the sacraments, supplemented by charismatic fullness.17

Clark Pinnock’s contribution to systematic theology from the perspective of pneumatology suggests that the church be understood as indwelt by the Spirit, who is present sacramentally and charismatically in order to empower it for mission in the world.18 This initial pneumatological reflection was supple- mented some years later when he addressed pentecostal ecclesiology directly. He proposed that it should be defined in terms of (1) an anointed herald of God’s kingdom, (2) a trinitarian society, (3) a church oriented toward mission, (4) a continuing charismatic structure, and (5) an institution.19 These ideas are continued in the work of Peter Althouse’s proposed pentecostal ecclesiology, which draws from the usual suspects (Volf, Chan, Macchia and Yong), as well as from Murray Dempster,20 to argue for the trinitarian basis of the church as

16 Amos Yong,Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibilityof Global Theol-

ogy(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005). This model is further developed in relation

to disability inclusion and hospitality in Amos Yong, Theology and Down Syndrome: Re-

imagining Disability in Late Modernity(Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007), 193–225. 17 Frank D. Macchia, Baptized in the Spirit: A Global Pentecostal Theology(Grand Rapids, MI:

Zondervan, 2006).

18 Clark H. Pinnock, Flame of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-

Varsity Press, 1996).

19 Clark H. Pinnock, “Church in the Power of the Holy Spirit: The Promise of Pentecostal

Ecclesiology,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology14, no. 2 (2006): 147–165.

20 Murray W. Dempster, “Evangelism, Social Concern and the Kingdom of God,” in Murray

W. Dempster, Byran D. Klaus and Douglas Petersen, eds., Called and Empowered: Global

Mission in Pentecostal Perspective(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991), 22–43.

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a sent and sending community and, as such, participating in the missional life of the Trinity.21

Chris Green offers a reflection on pentecostal ecclesiology in the light of Robert W. Jenson’s systematic theology.22 He draws on the communio-eccle- siological tradition to suggest that participation in Christ is via participation in the Eucharist. He suggests that Christ is present to the church in the sacra- ment and that Pentecostals need to recover the centrality of the Eucharist for their ecclesiology. This suggestion is developed much more fully in his doctoral thesis published in 2012.23 In a somewhat different manner, Wolfgang Vondey also engages with the Eucharist as essential for ecclesiology, but he suggests that eucharistic hospitality and spiritual discernment can be suitable starting points from which to construct a pentecostal ecclesiology.24 It is with respect to the second point that Vondey highlights the role of ecclesial “story-telling” within pentecostal and charismatic spirituality as individuals and communi- tiesrecountthetransformingpoweroftheHolySpirit.Inthisrespect,theWorld Council of Churches’ document The Nature and Mission of Church (2006) is critiqued for not taking into account such concrete and transformational sto- ries.25

Finally, Andy Lord’s proposal for pentecostal ecclesiology is constructed in dialogue with Yong’s trialectical theological method of the Spirit, the Scrip- tures, and the community of the church.26 He uses the concept of “network”

21 Peter Althouse, “Towards a Pentecostal Ecclesiology: Participation in the Missional Life of

the Triune God,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology18 (2009): 230–245.

22 Chris E. Green, “‘The Body of Christ, the Spirit of Communion’: Re-Visioning Pentecostal

Ecclesiology in Conversation with Robert Jenson,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology20, no. 1

(2011): 15–26.

23 Chris E. Green,Toward a Pentecostal Theology of the Lord’s Supper: Foretasting the Kingdom

(Cleveland, TN: CPT Press, 2012).

24 Wolfgang Vondey, “Pentecostal Ecclesiology and Eucharistic Hospitality: Toward a System-

atic and Ecumenical Account of the Church,”Pneuma: Journal of the Society for Pentecostal

Studies 32, no. 1 (2010): 41–55. Also see Wolfgang Vondey, People of Bread: Rediscovering

Ecclesiology(New York / Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2008).

25 Volfgang Vondey, “Pentecostal Perspectives on The Nature and Mission of the Church:

Challenges and Opportunities for Ecumenical Transformation,” in Paul M. Collins and

Michael A. Fahey, Receiving “The Nature and Mission of the Church”: Ecclesial Reality and

Ecumenical Horizons for the Twenty-First Century (London: T & T Clark, 2008), 55–68 (at

58).

26 Andy Lord, Network Church: A Pentecostal Ecclesiology Shaped by Mission(Leiden, Nether-

lands: Brill, 2012).

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in order to organize three main features. First, he uses trinitarian reflection to suggest that ecclesial networks should be seen as having their source in “a mission movement of self-giving love and a structure beyond the congre- gation that is integrally (perichoretically) related to congregations and other networks both inside and outside the church.”27 Second, he considers the con- cept of catholicity as “dynamic universality” (Congar) and expresses it in terms of shared trinitarian essence and outward movement, which has both inner theological and spiritual elements and outer visible, concrete expressions such as sacramental life. Third, he appropriates the notion of partnership shaped by mission concerns and argues that this notion of partnership can be applied to global pentecostal networks. These partnership networks exist both inside and outside of the church and both are necessary for its mission.

The Retrieval Strand

In this section I consider the work of pentecostal and charismatic scholars who have utilized resources from among their own distinctive tradition.

The dominant pentecostal tradition represented in the stream of retrieval is from the Wesleyan stable. It was initiated by Steven J. Land in his important book on pentecostal spirituality,28 which was followed by the programmatic presidential address given by John Christopher Thomas in 1998.29 Thomas sug- gested that the Wesleyan pentecostal fivefold gospel paradigm (Jesus as savior, sanctifier, baptizer in the Spirit, healer, and coming king), provides an agenda and structure for authentic pentecostal theology in the twenty-first century. The second half of this address outlined the possibility of a pentecostal eccle- siology that uses fivefold gospel themes. Some years later, this agenda came to fruition in an international conference held in Bangor, Wales, the proceed- ings of which were published in 2010.30 This collection of essays conceives the church as a redeemed, sanctified, empowered, healing, and eschatological community.

27 Ibid., 125.

28 Steven J. Land, Pentecostal Spirituality: A Passion for the Kingdom(Sheffield, UK: Sheffield

Academic Press, 1993).

29 John Christopher Thomas, “Pentecostal Theology in the Twenty-First Century,”Pneuma:

The Pentecostal Theology20, no. 1 (1998): 3–19.

30 John Christopher Thomas, ed., Toward a Pentecostal Ecclesiology: The Church and the

Fivefold Gospel (Cleveland, TN: CPT Press, 2010).

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In a similar fashion, Dale Coulter sought to address the reception of dispen- sational eschatology found among the Church of God (Cleveland, TN) and the Assemblies of God in the USA.31 He suggests that early Pentecostals used their eschatology to express their ecclesiology because they were inescapably linked in the pentecostal mind. He subsequently discusses the early pentecostal eccle- siology among the Church of God (Cleveland, TN) in order to demonstrate that early pentecostal ecclesiology did actually exist and assertions to the contrary should be revised.32 This ecclesiology considers the work of R.G. Spurling and A.J. Tomlinson and suggests that both of them considered the church as a visi- ble organization with a given structure instituted by Christ and constituted by the Spirit. Coulter also suggests that the Free Church ecclesiology so frequently espoused in the pentecostal-ecumenical approaches could be modified by giv- ing attention to the vocational identity of Christ, in which the church now continues. Since Christ can be understood as constituted by the Spirit as savior, sanctifier, Spirit-baptizer, and healer over the course of his earthly ministry, the church continues in the same vocation as his body. Charisms and offices (in- cluding episcopacy) are part of the esse of the church because they ensure the continuity of vocation between Christ and the church by means of the Spirit.33

Shane Clifton’s methodological proposal for Pentecostalism as a diverse movement adopts an historical (if not empirical) concrete ecclesiological method and uses both theology and the human sciences.34 The aim of the concrete method is to capture the narratives of particular churches and move- ments, including their explicit and implicit understandings, and their transi- tions. This approach is exemplified in his published doctoral thesis in which he applies this methodology to the Assemblies of God denomination in Aus- tralia. In this study, Clifton offers an historical account of the concrete mis- sionary movement of early Pentecostalism to the present-day denomination. He concludes by identifying key social values associated with these concrete expressions, namely: the priesthood of all believers, charismatic leadership, community orientation, local autonomy, and shared sense of mission.

31 Dale M. Coulter, “Pentecostal Visions of the End: Eschatology, Ecclesiology and the Fasci-

nation of the Left Behind Series,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology14, no. 1 (2005): 81–98. 32 Dale M. Coulter, “The Development of Ecclesiology in the Church of God (Cleveland, TN):

A Forgotten Contribution?”, Pneuma: Pentecostal Theology 29, no. 1

(2007): 59–85.

33 Dale M. Coulter, “Christ, the Spirit, and Vocation: Initial Reflections on a Pentecostal

Ecclesiology,”Pro Ecclesia19, no. 3 (2010): 318–339.

34 Shane Clifton, Pentecostal Churches in Transition: Analysing the Developing Ecclesiology of

the Assemblies of God in Australia(Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2009).

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Finally, I note Tommy Davidsson’s analysis of the Swedish Pentecostal pio- neer Levi Petrus, and his ecclesiological contribution using Roger Haight’s transdenominational approach.35 From an analysis of the concrete ecclesi- ology of Petrus, Davidsson suggests that an understanding of pentecostal ecclesiology can be based on a fundamental concern with spirituality. He argues that it is this feature that constitutes the inner logic of global Pen- tecostalism and provides the unifying dimension amid a plethora of diverse expressions of the movement. “If Pentecostalism is understood as a particu- lar form of spirituality that is based on common religious values,” he states, “a comparative analysis of the ecclesiology of those who adhere to such a form of spirituality becomes possible. Such a transdenominational definition of Pentecostalism will be purposefully broad and inclusive in order to avoid excluding ‘fringe Pentecostals’ on historical, theological, and perhaps even sociological grounds. Yet it will not be so broad that the term ‘Pentecostal’ loses its meaning altogether.”36 Given this transdenominational approach to pentecostal ecclesiology based on an analysis of core spirituality and essen- tially the value placed upon it, Davidsson subsequently offers some analysis of contemporary pentecostal ecclesiological proposals using the dual polar- ities of radical/moderate and above/below. Radical ecclesiology from above, which ignores contextual issues completely, includes the work of Althouse, Vondey, and Pinnock; it views pentecostal ecclesiology as “static, homoge- nous, and inherently deficient.”37 Moderate ecclesiology from above tends to highlight undesirable concrete characteristics from below before turning quickly to categories from above; this includes the work of Chan, Kärkkäinen, Macchia, Archer, Green, and Lord. Moderate ecclesiology from below pays attention to the formative and concrete contexts before employing normative analysis and includes the work of Cartledge and Land. Radical ecclesiology from below addresses pentecostal ecclesiology in its own terms with little or no normative prescription and includes the work of Clifton as a mild expres- sion of it, as well as Chan again (from a different publication than the one cited above).38

35 Tommy H. Davidsson, “Lewi Petrus’ Ecclesiological Thought 1911–1974: A Transdenomina-

tional Pentecostal Ecclesiology,” PhD thesis, University of Birmingham, 2012. 36 Ibid., 286.

37 Ibid.

38 Obviously this characterization is open to dispute, especially the final category, which

seems rather artificial to me.

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In summary, this survey of contemporary pentecostal and charismatic eccle- siology indicates that there are two distinct strands of thought, one that empha- sizes an ecumenical engagement with sources and one that emphasizes a retrieval of early twentieth-century pentecostal sources. These two strands also share some common themes across the two strands, such as spirituality, com- munion with God, and mission.

Empirical Perspectives

All of the contributions surveyed above have used literature from biblical, historical, and contemporary sources in order to construct their contributions to pentecostal ecclesiology. The insights from empirical congregational studies, however, have been noticeable by their absence within blueprint studies. In this section I address this gap in knowledge by selecting four key studies from empirical research. I focus on texts that have engaged in fairly rigorous ethnographic engagement with mostly single congregations in the pentecostal or charismatic traditions. I analyze explicit ecclesiology where this has been articulated, but in most cases the ecclesiology has been derived from implicit categoriesembedded in the descriptions of each church and its life.

Stephen E. Parker’s study of the process of discernment and decision making in a local International Holiness Pentecostal congregation in North Carolina provides a useful starting point.39 From the description of the church and its activities, it could be suggested that this church is a pneumatic worshipping community because of the use of thecharismataduring worship, and because of the way in which the leading of the Spirit is sought throughout the service. “A ‘move of the Spirit’ can be defined as a time in which there is a heightened awareness of the Spirit’s presence and an openness and freedom is given for people to express their feelings, praise, and devotion, often accompanied by charismatic manifestations. There are times, accompanied by high levels of emotion and energy, when Pentecostals feel that the Spirit is almost visibly present.”40 Indeed, it is expected that a member will hold the “key” to the ser- vice, which means that by speaking up he or she releases openness to greater engagement with the Holy Spirit in the congregation. This member also signals the direction in which the service should go. Full participation by members

39 Stephen E. Parker,Led by the Spirit: Toward a Practical Theology of Pentecostal Discernment

and Decision Making(Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996).

40 Ibid., 93.

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under the prompting of the Spirit is expected via the sharing of prophecies, speaking in tongues, Bible verses, testimonies, and prayer. The congregation may also be called a holy community in the sense that there is a stricter moral code of conduct for members compared to nonmembers, as well as an assump- tion that the Holy Spirit works primarily among the members. The members are expected to show greater piety than nonmembers by their attendance at a monthly home prayer group meeting in addition to regular worship atten- dance. Thisdifferentiatednature of the church is especially prominent when it is discovered that all of the three paid ministers are male, so there appears to be a clergy and gender divide. Differentiations, such as they are, however, are brought into harmony on a quarterly basis as the sacramentality of the church is demonstrated via the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and foot washing. The congregation is to some extent a missionary community because a few of its members engage in outreach by means of a regular team that follows up wor- ship attendance by visitors to the church.

Gerardo Marti’s study of Oasis Christian Centre, LA, which is described as a “nondenominational charismatic church distinguished by a particular blend of Holiness/Word of Faith theology that mixes a charismatic emphasis on the Holy Spirit with a practical emphasis on relational and financial wellbeing.”41 From my analysis of this text I identified three distinct but interrelated themes. First, the congregation sets itself apart from the Hollywood society in which it is set because of its sense of being called to be holy unto God. It is a holy fam- ily. But this sense of holiness, of course, is not in isolation, and in the context of huge mobility what is required is a sense of home from home or, more pre- cisely, a new family to belong to and through which to be formed, sustained, and nurtured along with other Christian siblings in Hollywood society. The pastors of the church function as surrogate parents for the displaced, vulner- able, and yet hugely talented and mostly younger people in their twenties and thirties. It is these people who are coping with the balancing act of how to be faithful to their Christian calling and yet relevant in a “godless” society. Second, being described as a neo-pentecostal church, this congregation is acharismatic community. Its lively worship services enable attendees to bond with God and with one another, and its high energy Holy Spirit-type activities such as the use of the charismata and its optimistic overrealized eschatology connect it very clearly to the pentecostal strand of corporate pneumatic religious experience. The Word of Faith dimension resonates deeply with the aspirations of people to

41 Gerardo Marti,Hollywood Faith: Holiness, Prosperity, and Ambition in a Los Angeles Church

(New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2008), 3.

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succeed and fulfill their dreams within the purposes of God. Third, this congre- gation is clearly an inculturated missionary movement among the celebrities of Hollywood. It seeks to beat Hollywood at its own game by providing “suc- cessful” actors and entertainers in order to provide a platform for evangelistic efforts. Talented and ambitious individuals are willing to harness professional abilities to their personal faith commitment in order to evangelize and possibly even reform the “godless” society that is Hollywood; and that means embracing and legitimizing material prosperity as a religious good and one that is inextri- cably linked to the Christian gospel message.

Cory E. Labanow offers a study of a Vineyard Church in the UK.42 The pseudonym given to the church is Jacobsville Vineyard church. In many re- spects the church follows the ecclesiological pattern of standard Vineyard churches, with paid pastors, a simple threefold service format (sung worship, sermon, followed by a response) held in a hired civic or church hall, with rented or purchased church offices for staff and small group meetings. Many of the Vineyard churches around the UK would fit into this general pattern. It is an ecclesiology that travels light. This means that it focuses on aspects that are appealing to contemporary culture and in this case positions itself in the emerging church movement. In this context the ecclesiological themes that emerge are as follows. There is an emphasis upon the relational aspects of church life and the strength of their personal connectivity. It regards itself first and foremost as a community church, a place in which deep relationships are formed: “a group of people ‘doing life together.’”43 Of the five expectations placed upon members, four of them are communal in nature: attending Sun- day services, joining a small group, serving with others, and praying with and for others, where membership is “active belonging.” Linked to this value is the stress on transparency and openness: people are invited to take off their masks and express doubt. In this sense Christian spirituality and growth are commu- nity activities as the Christian journey is lived out and developed in the context of growing relationships. Given its Vineyard affiliation, it is not surprising to see thepneumaticfeature as certainly identifiable, if not as strongly presented as in other pentecostal and charismatic contexts. The presence of the Holy Spirit is invoked at the beginning of sung worship, and there is prayer ministry for needs and healing as part of the service format. The church seeks to be missiological by being socially engaged and culturally relevant. Overt evangelism is replaced by a softer version whereby members invite others to be learners of Christ in

42 Cory E. Labanow, Evangelicalism and the Emerging Church(Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2009). 43 Ibid., 63.

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order to “out-live outsiders” not “out-argue” them. Instead, practical projects such as furniture restoration, toy distribution, job training, and childcare are ways of engaging with the wider community. In this context of engagement, the church istolerantof a variety of perspectives and indeed encourages honest and open dialogue about issues in Christianity and contemporary culture. But it does expect atransformativeexperience as people mature in this understand- ing of faith: people can come as they are but cannot stay as they are because it is expected that Christ will change them. In this sense the church advocates a pilgrim approach to the Christian faith that is self-consciously experimental in terms of worship, liturgical resources, spirituality, and discipleship. This is because an experimental posture is regarded as a better means of communicat- ing the message in a postmodern post-Christian context in which the church itself is on a pilgrimage into an unknown but exciting future in which seekers are most welcome.

In my most recent book, I present an account of a concrete ecclesiology from a study of ordinary theology among members of an Assemblies of God congregation in Birmingham, UK.44 In this study I suggest five themes that characterize the nature of this ecclesiology. First, the church is atempleofpraise because members are themselves God’s temple, that is, God’s Spirit lives in them, and they are therefore sacred (1Cor 3:16; cf. Eph 2:21–22). When this is allied to the day of Pentecost and the fact that the first disciples, having received the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:4), declared the wonders of God in other tongues (Acts 2:11), we have a focus on praise as the primary action of the living tem- ple of the church. Second, the church is the household of healing, since the household of faith should be engaged in prayer specifically for the sick (Jas 5:13–14). If humanity’s problem is sin-sickness, alienation, and frailty, then the pentecostal answer is to understand that Christ’s atoning sacrifice provides the means for not just the forgiveness of sins, which is a narrow understanding of salvation, but a holistic full gospel that revolves around healing and rec- onciliation, including the “acquisition of God’s life and deliverance.”45 Third, the church is comprised of members of ministry as part of the body of Christ (1Cor 12:12–13; Rom 12:5). The one Spirit has baptized believers from many dif- ferent backgrounds into one body and has given each “the one Spirit to drink” (1Cor 12:13, NIV). Therefore the many different members are united pneuma- tologically into this one body. Each member needs the other for the healthy

44 Mark J. Cartledge,Testimony in the Spirit: Rescripting Ordinary Pentecostal Theology(Farn-

ham, UK: Ashgate, 2010).

45 Dale M. Coulter, “‘Delivered by the Power of God’: Toward a Pentecostal Understanding of

Salvation,”International Journal of Systematic Theology10, no. 4 (2008), 447–467 (at 449).

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functioning of the whole body (1Cor 12:14–17, 19–21). It is God who has designed the body just as it is and has given the different roles to the different parts of the body (1Cor 12:18). Every member of the church is a member of this body, which is the body of Christ (1Cor 12:27); and each member has a function or ministry in, with, and to that body. Fourth, the church is acommunity of hospitality, since the early church devoted itself to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship (koinō- nia), the breaking of bread, and prayer.46 They witnessed signs and wonders, were together and held everything in common, giving to those in need, and the “Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47, NIV). Fifth and finally, the church is comprised of pilgrims of hope, who are on a journey of discovery (Luke 24:13–35). It is only at the end of the Emmaus jour- ney that the presence of the resurrected Christ is revealed, even though he had accompanied them all along. When this is brought alongside the narrative of the day of Pentecost, it can be recognized that the presence of the Holy Spirit mediates to the disciples the presence of the resurrected Christ, but now in a universal sense: “Pentecost is Easter for everyone.”47 It is this pilgrimage toward the consummation of the eschaton that characterizes Pentecostals as people, or indeed pilgrims, of hope.48 They are on a soteriological journey into the very presence of God: a via salutis.

The Renewal Strand in Ecclesiology

Given the ecclesiological and ethnographic traditions represented in the liter- ature above, it could be asked in what way these accounts connect and suggest ways in which they mutually inform each other. How might this literature sug- gest a “renewal strand” to inform ecclesiological discussion?

It should be stated at this juncture that I regard the insights from pentecostal and charismatic studies as something that can inform different ecclesial tradi- tions. The features discussed below are not inextricably tied to a single polity. Rather, I believe that these core features could legitimately permeate different ecclesial structures, whether they are Free Church or State Church, Reformed

46 Graham H. Twelftree, People of the Spirit: Exploring Luke’s View of the Church (London:

SPCK, 2009), 128–132.

47 Thomas A. Smail, “Spiritual Renewal and the Resurrection of Christ,”Theological Renewal

8 (1978): 2–6 (at 2); Mark J. Cartledge, “Theological Renewal (1975–1983): Listening to an

Editor’s Agenda for Church and Academy,”Pneuma: Journal of the Society for Pentecostal

Studies30, no. 1 (2008): 83–107 (at 98).

48 Chan, “Mother Church,” 193–196.

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or Roman Catholic, Classical Pentecostal or Independent charismatic. This is because renewal ecclesiology does precisely that, it renews existing ecclesial traditions in the light of pentecostal and charismatic practices. Therefore, I would like to suggest four features for any construction that takes seriously the insights from the scholarship noted above.

First, one of the most obvious points is that the person and role of the Holy Spirit are located centrally in the beliefs and practices rather than peripherally. This statement, it seems to me, is an almost universal presupposition for Pen- tecostals and Charismatics. But this is not just about discussions of baptism in the Spirit, whether as a dimension of a fivefold Wesleyan paradigm (Thomas) or as a coordinating metaphor within a broader construct (Macchia). Very often pneumatology can be compartmentalized even by Pentecostals. Rather, pneu- matology is rooted in the spirituality that permeates the life of this tradition in all its diversity (Land) and in particular the value that is placed upon it (Davidsson). As such, it complements the christological center so often found in ecumenical ecclesiology (Kärkkäinen) as well as in ordinary pentecostal dis- course. From a renewal perspective this means that pneumatology, previously marginalized from traditional forms of ecclesiology or restricted to conversion or sacramental theology, moves from the periphery to the center in order to complement christocentric models.

Herein lies a tension. Even within so-called pentecostal denominations there can be a tendency to restrict pneumatology and, on occasion and quite oddly, to push pneumatology to the periphery. Margaret Poloma and Stephen Green’s study of the Assemblies of God has highlighted this institutionaliza- tion at the expense of charisma or, in my terms, the move from the center to the periphery. They identify four different types of Assemblies of God con- gregations from their research: (1) traditional congregations, which maintain classical pentecostal emphases; (2) evangelical congregations, which obviously do not (!); (3) renewalist (charismatic) congregations, which are less interested in classical pentecostal identity markers and are most interested in broader charismatic revivalist networks; and (4) alternative congregations, which tend to follow the seek-sensitive model or emerging church model, perhaps at the expense of overt charismatic ecclesiology.49 They suggest that type two has clearly marginalized experience of the Spirit while maintaining the pentecostal label. It would seem that the renewalist type is the most unstable in denomi- national terms because these are the congregations more obviously pursuing

49 Margaret M. Poloma and John C. Green,The Assemblies of God: Godly Love and Revitaliza-

tion of American Pentecostalism(New York: New York University Press, 2010), 23–44.

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revival among a broader network outside of Classical Pentecostalism.50 One such example is Bethel Church, Redding, California, a former Assemblies of God church, which is now a center of a revivalist network that the denomi- national structures could not contain. Ironically, some might see it as the epit- ome of a pentecostal church, even though a classical pentecostal denomination seemed unable to provide a suitable structure. Is it possible for a congregation to be too pentecostal for a so-called “pentecostal” denomination? Perhaps this was also a case of the pneumatological center ousting the pentecostal struc- tural periphery? Historically, it was more common for the institutional center to oust the pneumatological periphery!

A second feature is one that has emerged equally as strongly across the material surveyed, namely, the communal dimension of congregational life. As noted above, the communio dimension connects the divine community of the Trinity with the human community of the church by means of the Spirit, who both mediates the presence of the Father and the Son and draws humanity into the divine life (1John 1:3). The relationality at the heart of the Trinity is mirrored in the concrete congregational life, such that the “bond of love” in the community becomes a mark of the authentic ekklēsia. This mark is often missing from existing ecclesiology because of other historic concerns, but for renewal ecclesiology it also moves to the center. It is supported by the notion of the church as a family, whereby members are not merely “members” of a religious club with similar interests and mindset, but are in fact brothers and sisters in a divinely constituted family. This identity means that the community is distinctive and cannot be replaced or imitated, and such union with the trinitarian reality of necessity means that the church is holy because such union could not exist without the presence of theHolySpirit. It also means that there will be both unity and diversity, which reflects the concrete expressions of church across time and place, but always with tension. As the saying goes: “You can choose your friends, but not your family”! It is inevitable that renewal ecclesiology will exhibit a plurality of organizational structures, and indeed, as Andy Lord has shown, the preference for network structures (as opposed to denomination ones) would seem to hold out important possibilities for

50 This illustrates the point made by Wolfgang Vondey that many Pentecostals have rejected

denominationalism in favor of a “movement-ecclesiology,” such that their ecclesiality is

located in their liminality and ecumenical character; see “The Denomination in Classical

and Global Pentecostal Ecclesiology: A Historical and Theological Contribution,” in Paul

M. Collins and Barry Ensign-George, eds., Denomination: Assessing an Ecclesiological Cat-

egory(London: T & T Clark, 2011), 100–116 (105, 111).

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the future of pentecostal and charismatic Christianity. But any structure that marginalizes the key experience of loving relationality will be but a shadow of an authentically renewed ecclesiology.

Third, one cannot escape the importance of sacramental theology: it is sig- nificant for Protestant and Catholic ecclesiologies in the broadest sense. On the whole it would appear that pentecostal sacramentality is underdeveloped, although this is beginning to change. From the empirical studies it can be seen that sacramental practices are important in shaping ecclesial identity, even if the range of signs and symbols could be said to have expanded to include things like foot washing and charismatic phenomena, such as falling over under the power of the Holy Spirit.51 The positive approach to embodiment and mate- riality within Pentecostalism has great potential for the appreciation of sacra- mental practice more generally, although this has not really been explored in any detail. Where there is a problem it is often over the subject of baptism, or paedobaptism (infant baptism), to be precise. It has been shown that the prac- tice of baptism varies enormously among global Pentecostals, but persuading some (those who practice believer’s baptism) that they belong to just a sector of Christianity on the matter has, in my experience, proved disappointing.52 This, in turn, raises the broader issue of sacramental validity and the ecumenical engagement with issues surrounding the orders of ministry. For many Pente- costals and Charismatics this is a non-issue, but from those on the other side of the ecumenical divide it is often a critical matter. The nature of the sacraments is, in fact, linked to the gospel because they are signs and seals of the promises contained in the gospel itself. The preaching of the gospel always accompa- nies and authenticates the signs and the signs illuminate and symbolize the message. Therefore, preaching may be seen as the flip side to sacramentality; hence the phrase in Anglican circles, “the breaking open of the word.” In many pentecostal churches this insight from the Reformationhas been unknown, for- gotten, or lost. Indeed, it could be argued that any renewal ecclesiology should be open to its own renewal in the light of the gospel and the preaching of the Scriptures as part of the sacramental practices of the church.53

51 See Mark J. Cartledge, “Interpreting Charismatic Experience: Hypnosis, Altered States of

Consciousness and the Holy Spirit?”, Journal of Pentecostal Theology 13 (1998): 117–132 (at

132).

52 Cecil M. Robeck and Jerry L. Sandidge, “The Ecclesiology of Koinōnia and Baptism: A

Pentecostal Perspective,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies27, no. 3 (1990): 504–534. 53 See Mark J. Cartledge,Charismatic Glossolalia: An Empirical-Theological Study(Aldershot,

UK: Ashgate, 2002), 195–197, for a discussion of how Calvin’s sacramental theology can be

used to interpret glossolalia.

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Fourth and finally, the church has always been a missionary community and Pentecostalism is very much the epitome of such a movement.54 In order to appreciate the nature of this missionary impulse and its outworking in reality we need concrete studies of congregations to understand better how mission is carried out on the ground. The empirical studies highlight the issues surrounding outreach into the local community and the ways in which in- vitation and hospitality are regarded as methods of engaging the other who is outside the church. There are inevitable tensions between gospel and cul- ture, and the gospel is always clothed in cultural garb and it has ever been the case. But this does not means that there are no criteria for discernment or that anything goes as long as it brings in the numbers. There is a constant dialec- tic within missionary movements between issues of identity and relevance. Moltmann noted this dialectic in his discussion of the theology of the cross, which for him marks out authentic Christian identity.55 Very often groups maintain their identity by becoming exclusive and sectarian; thus they are separated from the surrounding culture, or at least they like to think so. But then there are others who communicate very effectively in their host culture, such that in a sense they have baptized what might be considered external cul- tural values. This point has missiological significance for ecclesiology because the church is engaged in a mission to society, sometimes with but sometimes against the prevailing cultural norms.

From the perspective of a renewal strand in ecclesiology, it could be argued that the day of Pentecost narrative becomes the criterion of identity. This is because as the Holy Spirit comes upon people, they are transformed and understand their true identity as the liberated people of God. Their new exodus liberation leads them to declare the wonders (mega-things) of God (Acts 2:11). In true worship believers take their eyes off themselves, their possessions, status, and social context and gaze upon the Lord and giver of life. In so doing, they discover themselves renewed and transformed, so they see themselves and the world with new Spirit-given spectacles. They have been made anew in the glory of Pentecost. This experience of worship fundamentally dethrones idolatry, renews the church, and provides the greatest missionary impulse the world has ever seen! A renewal ecclesiology by its very nature calls people back to true worship in the presence of the Spirit. This will be uncomfortable because when those refining fires get to work and purge us of the idolatry within they also make us conscious of the idolatry in wider society. The key

54 Vondey, “The Denomination,” 107.

55 Jürgen Moltmann,The Crucified God (London: SCM Press, 1974), 7–25.

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to authenticity is “both/and”: an identity rooted in the narrative of Pentecost and a missionary impulse and action that is relevant within given cultural and social contexts.

Conclusion

This study has mapped out the ecclesiological literature among contemporary pentecostal and charismatic scholarship, but it has also added something to the mix. It has attempted to interject into the abstract systematic and histori- cally oriented theological discourse from concrete empirical studies. Such an interjection has not been straightforward because of the need to read the con- gregational studies through the lens of ecclesiology and make explicit what is implicit in their descriptions. Nevertheless, it is contended that some impor- tant insights have been obtained. There is certainly some continuity between the blueprint and concrete accounts (even if those concrete accounts required theological transposition), but there is also some discontinuity. How far one paradigm in ecclesiology can travel remains a constant issue, especially given thepluralityofglobalPentecostalism.Iamintenselyconsciousthatallofthelit- erature cited in this study comes from either North America or Europe, which is, of course, a weakness. Yet, I cannot do everything, and since most of the leading ecclesiologists in the pentecostal and charismatic movements are from these regions it feels fairly inevitable. But if this study were to be extended, it would become increasingly obvious that we are looking at a loose cluster of renewal-type ecclesiologies that have certain core features, but beyond them we are looking at very different kinds of expression of church. I also want to sug- gest that the four features could be considered as essential for a discussion of renewal ecclesiology and that they have some measure of transcontextual pur- chase. In other words, the possibility exists that these features have the capacity to travel beyond the boundaries of North America and Europe. Of course, this proposition needs to be tested, so let the experiment begin …!

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