The new dawning day for Christians

Thousands of Pentecostal Christians gathered in Malaysia recently for the triennial meeting of the Pentecostal World Conference. The delegates came from 73 countries. The people who came were predominantly young, energetic and confident.

Fifty years ago, the number of Pentecostals was almost statistically insignificant in the world community of Christian denominations. Today, Pentecostals are the fastest-growing segment of confessing Christians and make up 25 percent of all Christians in the world. They are loosely organized and have been operating under mainstream Christianity’s radar. There was almost no press coverage of the gathering in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Yet, one of every 12 persons on the face of the earth is now a Pentecostal Christian.

Pentecostals are usually known for their practice of Spirit Baptism, speaking/praying/singing in tongues and physical healing. Their worship gatherings resonate with emotions and are enlivened with exciting music. Historically, they have not been known for political activity or for demands of justice for all. Apparently, that is changing.

One of the keynote speakers for the conference was Billy Wilson, the new president of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. Wilson challenged the delegates to be “graced with a passion for justice on earth.” Other speakers called delegates to become involved in “what breaks the heart of God.” The conference had many workshops on a broad variety of topics. A call for attention to the poor and the marginalized people of the world was a recurring theme. While still centered on the spirit-filled life, Pentecostalism was presented as the new face of Christian social engagement. The call for justice among Pentecostals apparently arrived in Malaysia.

My attention to the gathering in Malaysia was the result of reading a report in The Christian Century by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson. I took special note because of what is taking place in other Christian communions. My mind quickly went to Pope Francis and the Roman Catholic Church. I believe Pope Francis has ushered in a new day for the Roman Catholic Church with his special commitment to the poor and the disadvantaged. His call for justice in this world has become the new public mantra of the Catholic Church.

Roman Catholicism and Pentecostalism have been competing forces in many areas of the world, especially Central and South America and Central Africa. Neither appears to be budging from their traditional beliefs, but both are now calling for justice for all in the name of Jesus. Douglas Miller in his book “Jesus Goes to Washington,” gives the same call for justice in the name of Christ, but to yet a different audience. His targeted audience is Evangelicals. My own thinking has been greatly influenced by William Herzog’s book “Jesus, Justice and the Reign of God.” It seems that everywhere I look, the call for justice jumps full in my face.

No one would deny that Martin Luther King Jr. was a significant theologian of the 20th century; however, he will go down in history for his call for racial and social justice.

With King leading the way, it appears that a big shift of thinking has and is taking place among Christians of every stripe. It is not simply a movement that calls for justice; it is a shift away from Christianity’s obsession with personal purity.

What is Christian faith about? This is the great debate that is now taking place among Christian believers. Is Christianity about people becoming acceptable to God through purification rituals, correct theological confessions, proper dress and diet and prescribed behavior? Or is Christianity about bringing justice to a world that needs healing, love and wholeness? This is not a new debate. The argument runs through Old and New Testaments. It was the central theme in the stories that Jesus told and in the life that he lived.

Jesus was notorious in breaking the purity traditions of Judaism. This was a primary charge that was brought against him by those who controlled the Jerusalem Temple and the rituals that were performed only at the Temple. Jesus ate with and made friends with people who were considered unclean and unworthy of the embrace of a stern and unbending God. Jesus chose to identify himself with the poor, who were the outsiders in one of history’s richest and most powerful empires, the Roman Empire. To get a snapshot of Jesus’ perspective, a person need only to review the story that Jesus told about Lazarus and the rich man. The gulf between the two was insurmountable. Lazarus was in Abraham’s bosom. The rich man was not.

I strongly believe that the No. 1 problem in today’s world is the gap that has developed between the rich and the poor. The demands for livable wages for the poor and for limits on the unearned wealth of the rich are fast becoming the world’s most urgent problems.

The move of world Christianity toward justice for all may well be our best antidote to the unbridled sin of today’s greed.

The Rev. Howard H. Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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