Estudio financiero

This section includes a brief synopsis of the Pentecostal-Charismatic theology of the charismata. The preceding sections have demonstrate a shift from the isolated, separatist, spiritual experiences of early Pentecostals to a functional application of Pentecostal spirituality that comes to bear on virtually every aspect of daily life, especially in the context of the global Pentecostal-Charismatic movements. Pneumatological foundations of such theology are briefly explored as well. Insofar as it is relative to the broader questions of this thesis, it is prudent to develop a sense of how Pentecostals and Charismatics view the charismata and how it relates to the work of the church and Christian life. This section serves as a bridge to an exploration of the operational expression of Pentecostal-Charismatic theology in the final section of this chapter.

David Du Plessis argued that the distinctive feature of Pentecostalism was not

35 _{Kärkkäinen strengthened this position by referencing to A.H. Anderson (1992), Bazalwane:}

African Pentecostals in South Africa. University of South Africa: Pretoria.

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evangelical zeal nor physical healing but Holy Spirit Baptism with the manifestation of spiritual gifts (as noted by Kärkkäinen 2002:96). Two characteristics distinguish the Pentecostal-Charismatic movements from broader Christendom are the doctrine of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and an emphasis on spiritual gifts. The doctrine of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was the primary theological concept that distinguished Pentecostals and Charismatics from other Christian denominations and sects. Pentecostals and Charismatics generally view the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as a distinct event subsequent to the event of regeneration (salvation). Regeneration or “new birth” is a central tenant of the broadly diverse movements within Evangelicalism. For Pentecostals and Charismatics, the event of Holy Spirit Baptism empowers adherents to live a victorious Christian life of service to God and the world. Lederle (1994:28) declared that the Pentecostal-Charismatic ideal of “life in the spirit” is an “existence between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’, filled with expectation but not with guarantees”. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit as an empowering experience is foundational to the Pentecostal-Charismatic conception of spiritual gifts.

Routinely, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is realized by Pentecostal-Charismatic adherents through a four-step process. First, the believer must demonstrate a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. Second, the believer must demonstrate a commitment to the possibility of personally appropriating the experience of Spirit Baptism. Third, the believer must demonstrate faith that God would answer a prayerful spirit. Fourth, the believer must yield to the gifts of the Spirit at the moment of prayer for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. According to this formula, when an individual asks in pure faith, he or she receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Generally, the effects of Spirit baptism are regarded as greater peace and joy, and often accompanied by speaking in tongues and other spiritual gifts. The process is conducted primarily within a community of believers praying and laying hands on the “Spirit seeker” (Williams 2002:358).

Spiritual gifts (the charismata) are another distinguishing characteristic of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movements and were secondary to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Culpepper (1977) referred to the baptism of the Holy Spirit as the

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“gateway” to spiritual gifts (79). Spiritual gifts were described in the New Testament, primarily in First Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4. There exist within the Pentecostal-Charismatic movements various opinions as to the number of spiritual gifts. British Charismatic author Michael Harper (1968) contended that there are five New Testament words (primarily in 1 Corinthians 12) to refer to spiritual gifts: pneumatika, the supernatural endowments, charismata, gifts of unmerited favor, diakoniai, the services, energemata, the powers, and phanerōsis, the manifestations (20-21). The distinction of gifts is important only insomuch as each set of gifts are considered different in their usage, purpose and origin. The diversity of praxis within the Pentecostal- Charismatic movements warrants only recognition that spiritual gifts are acknowledged and encouraged; everything from the gift of tongues (in the classical Pentecostal sense) to claims to Apostolic authority are identifiable in the global Pentecostal-Charismatic movements.

It is more important to recognize that Pentecostals and Charismatics generally affirm a literal contemporary operationalization36 of the spiritual gifts found in the New Testament. While non-Charismatic Christians in diverse denominations affirm some of the charismata found in the New Testament as contemporarily operational, they tend not to literalize the New Testament in the same way that Pentecostals and Charismatics do. This is particularly true concerning spiritual gifts such as miracles, divine healing, prophecy, and speaking in tongues (Macchia 2002:1137). It is through the experience of Holy Spirit baptism and the appropriation of spiritual gifts that Pentecostals and Charismatics develop their unique identity and worldview. The idea of empowerment and “spiritual gifting” for engagement with the outside world is perhaps most vivid in the teachings of John Wimber of the Vineyard movement, a latter stage in the evolution of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movements.

36 _{That is, spiritual gifts become functional in the life and work of the individual and of the} church. I will explore this concept in greater detail in the final section of this chapter.

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Margaret Poloma observed that through spiritual gifts Pentecostals have demonstrated an “anthropological protest against modernity” by “providing a medium for encountering [the] supernatural” to thereby “fuse the natural and supernatural, the emotional and rational, the charismatic and institutional in a decidedly postmodern way”. Further, Poloma characterized the Pentecostal- Charismatic movements by their “belief in and experience of the paranormal as an alternative Weltanschauung for [an] instrumental and rational modern society” (as cited by Cargal 1993:163).37 By appropriating spiritual gifts and engaging supernatural experiences, Pentecostal-Charismatic adherents emerged from social and ecclesial isolation with a very different way of viewing the world around them. With this alternative vision, Pentecostals and Charismatics are able to operationalize the charismata and put their theology of spiritual empowerment and spiritual gifts to practical use in the world.

2.9 Operationalization of Pentecostal-Charismatic