Vibrancy of the Pentecostal Movement

This morning I was reading an article from Christianity Today and I was encouraged by 7 prayers the author offered at the end of the article. I encourage you to read Pentecostals: The Sequel. The Pentecostals have been one of the fastest growing social movements in the last 100 years. They are passionate about Christ and serious about reaching the lost.

Here are the 7 prayers:

1. That we may keep Christ and his commission at the center. May we remember the admonition of William Joseph Seymour to lift up Christ and "try to get people saved," because, as Luke wrote: "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear" (Acts 2:32-33). May we trust God, as the editors stated in the first issue of The Apostolic Faith, "for a mighty wave of salvation among the unconverted."
2. That we maintain the dual dynamics of Word (exegesis) and Spirit (experience) as necessary equipping for mission. "There is no need to choose between a passion for souls and a desire for spiritual gifts," said Donald Gee, one of early Pentecostalism's most respected leaders. "They are mutually inclusive, not exclusive. ...Therefore, we must hold fast to rightly understanding the gifts of the Spirit as a divine equipment for the work of world evangelization."
3. That we lift up holiness of character and turn from the carnal display of human charisma. Pentecostal/charismatic celebrities--some preaching a false gospel of peace, power, and prosperity--need to get back behind Seymour's shoebox pulpit or get off the platform. Missions historian Gary B. McGee has it right: "The Azusa Street revival illustrated the fundamental truth about the acquisition of spiritual power: The desire to love others and win the world for Christ [must] begin with brokenness, repentance, and humility."
4. That we get the life-giving, socially transforming gospel of Jesus Christ out of our sanctuaries and into the streets. As an urban specialist and social historian, Augustus Cerillo Jr. recounts the amazing growth of Pentecostals in the world's cities, yet laments that without a divine miracle, the proportion of Christians in the world's great cities will continue to decrease in the foreseeable future. In an introspective statement both self-critical and self-affirming, Vinson Synan said before the 1987 General Congress on the Holy Spirit and World Evangelization in New Orleans, "We've been in the upper room with our spiritual gifts. But we are supposed to go to the streets with our tongues and healings and prophecies. We believe Pentecostals and charismatics have been raised up by God as shock troops for the greatest final assault on the Enemy."
5. That we humble ourselves and acknowledge all partners in the harvest. Pentecostals and charismatics are not sole possessors of the gift or the Giver. Together with the entire global Christian community, may we prayerfully unite for the power to witness (Acts 1:8).
6. That the Azusa Street centennial will not only be a cause for celebration, but also a time for solemn reflection. We need to think deeply about the awesome task remaining before us and humbly petition our God for another great move of his Spirit in our time.
7. That we will be more excited about the glory of God than about our own accomplishments and growth. After all, where did our "accomplishments" come from? One of the most oft-quoted passages in Pentecostal preaching is Zechariah 4:6: "'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty."

Categories: God, Church, Missions