Let the Pentecostals Stand Up and the Reformed Sit Down: A Few Things Nigerian Reformed Christians Must Learn From their Pentecostal Counterparts – Part 1
by: Moses Jesutola
Introduction
X (Twitter) has fostered endless dialogue between Nigerian Reformed Christians and Nigerian Pentecostal Christians at large. The conversation has been sometimes convivial, other times rife with graceless tensions, and many times futile. Besides, online debates between Christians of the Nigerian Reformed and Pentecostal persuasions have been ongoing on Facebook even before young people took to X to engage in such debates.
However, the general mood of Nigerian Reformed people in most online debates is that of those who have nothing to learn from their Pentecostal counterparts. We’ve consistently communicated with our body language etc. that we have more to teach rather than learn from our Nigerian Pentecostal/charismatic counterparts. This article serves as a corrective to such an approach. I argue that Nigerian Reformed Christians have much to learn from their Nigerian Pentecostal/charismatic counterparts.
Nigerian Reformed Christians may raise their eyebrows at some of the points I raise in this article, arguing that they seem unwarranted at first because, whether in or outside Nigeria, Reformed people affirm some of the elements of the strengths that Pentecostals exhibit. However, in many hard Reformed circles – and particularly among the most vocal representatives of the movement online and in public discourse – there’s often a lack of engagement with these things (i.e., prayers, awareness of the unseen spiritual realm, etc.) with the same rigour, fervency, depth, or emphasis that characterise the Pentecostal movement.
A Brief History of the Reformation
The Reformation of the 16th century was a call to biblical fidelity in the face of the corruption that has consumed Roman Catholicism. Luther nailed his 95 theses on the Castle Church door at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517 and consequently ushered in an era of endless pursuit of faithfulness to the Protestant Bible. Figures like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli were influential in what is now known as the Protestant Reformation.
In Nigeria, there’s a great deal of research work to be done with respect to the emergence of the Reformed movement on her soil. Nonetheless, to the best of my knowledge, Calvinism which is a signature of the Reformed movement has been on our soil long before the ongoing spread of Reformed Baptist churches across the country. Presbyterian churches have also been established in Nigeria as far back the 19th century.
That said, early in the 20th century, Pentecostalism, with 2nd century Montanist movement as its forebear, would take shape in the world.
A Brief History of Pentecostalism
Primarily, the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles led by William Joseph Seymour would significantly register the Pentecostal movement in the world of evangelical Christians. The early 20th century saw the emergence of Pentecostalism with its distinctive emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s power and presence, especially with the evidence of speaking in tongues. John Wesley’s Methodism and the Keswick “Higher Life” movement, with the former’s stress on “heart purity” and the latter’s stress on “enduement of spiritual power for service,” served as precursors to Pentecostalism.
In Nigeria, Pentecostalism dates as far back as the 20thcentury as well. The country would witness the emergence of the Aladura movement, Joseph Babalola’s revival, and the impacts of influential preachers like the late Benson Idahosa etc. An honest assessment of Pentecostalism in Nigeria cannot miss the syncretistic practices of some parts of the movement. Notwithstanding, there are imitable strengths resulting from some of the strongest emphases of the movement.
Pentecostalism as Renewal
While there are panoply of heretics and heresies within the Pentecostal/charismatic movement, it is unmistakably clear that the desire out of which the movement was borne was at best noble, and at worst mixed. The Pentecostals desire the outpouring of God’s Spirit especially in the manifestation of his power in a Pentecost-like way. Pentecostals, as it is obvious in classical Pentecostalism, desire something dynamic as opposed to the dead orthodoxy that can sometimes ravage orthodox denominations like the Reformed movement in general. In my view, nothing is inherently unorthodox in this desire.
That said, I see Pentecostalism as a renewal in slightly the same way that Matthew Barrett sees the Reformation as renewal. Classical Pentecostalism is a call, or maybe an invite, to a genuine consideration and passionate desire of the active and dynamic role of the Spirit in the church today. Barrett sees the Reformation not as a call to something new but as a return to the faith once delivered unto the saints; Pentecostalism – classical Pentecostalism at least – is a call to the power and presence of the Spirit as it was in the 1st century church. It goes without saying that the presence of heretics in the movement doesn’t invalidate the legitimacy of such desire. The Reformed movement itself is not without its controversies which sometimes border on heresy.
Continued here
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