Essay On Christianity And Pentecostalism

Christianity is transforming from the inside out. The charismatic movement, with its global numerical growth, is the most rapidly growing element within Christianity today. With its growth in Asia, Africa, and South America, what started as a fringe movement in Kansas and California at the turn of the 20th century has turned into a global movement that has had a profound impact on mainstream Protestantism. As Robert Owens writes, “What began at this Azusa Apostolic Faith Mission in April of 1906, can be described either as the greatest Christian revival in American history or as the most influential religious event since Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany.” The influences of this revival are still being felt …show more content…
This does not mean that there are not some similarities, but that within the similarities are differences that distinguish Pentecostalism creating tension with main stream Protestantism and creating a distinct stream within the Christian tradition. Pentecostalism has undergone three distinctive waves that each have increased the influence of the charismatic movement on Protestantism. Each movement further legitimized Pentecostalism and forced mainstream Protestantism and Christianity to take …show more content…
The Azusa Street revival had firmly established the centrality of baptism in the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in tongues, but that was not the only distinguishing factor that would set Pentecostalism apart creating tension with and influencing the rest of Christianity. Freedom in the Spirit meant drastically different worship from mainstream Christianity. As Grant Wacker writes, “Any service – indeed any part of any service – that looked like it had been planned seemed a sure sign of nominal Christianity.” Later he