PENTECOSTAL FORMATION
The Essence of Pentecostal Discipleship
by Clay Bishop
James P. Bowers discusses the essence of Pentecostal discipleship in his article, Wesleyan Pentecostal Approach to Christian Formation.[1] He notes that Pentecostals have been prone to a pragmatic and theologically naïve approach to discipleship ministry, and that a spiritual-theological approach to discipleship ministry rooted in Pentecostal spirituality is needed. In developing our understanding of the essence of Pentecostal discipleship, Bowers traces the theological history leading up to Pentecostal traditions beginning with Horace Bushnell. His ideology which posited that children ought never grow up knowing themselves as anything other than Christian began modern American Christian education. From John Dewey, to Randolph Miller, to Shelton Smith we see the movement of Christian education in America which seems often polarized between the ‘social science approach’ and a ‘theological approach’. Christian discipleship, especially from a Pentecostal perspective, begins with our wrestling with theological questions. Our perspectives may come to be included, but it must begin with the fundamental issues of Christian spiritual identity.
The distinctive of the Wesleyan-Pentecostal vision of the Christian life is its call to life in the Spirit. Our walk with God is understood in the context of a dynamic experiential relationship with God through the power of the Holy Spirit. We encounter God’s Word through the Holy Spirit and come know Christ as our Savior, Sanctifier, Baptizer, Healer and Coming King. The fullness of the Spirit plays a major role in Christian formation and discipleship. We are being sanctified and continuing in moral transformation and we are Spirit-baptized and thereby empowered as witnesses enabled for holy service and living, equipped with the gifts of the Spirit. Discipleship is a life-long process of formation into the image of Christ, but as Dr. Jackie Johns has said, “transformation should be so normative it becomes formative.”
There are major objectives in discovering the essence of Pentecostal discipleship as not by Bowers in His article. (1) is to lead persons into an experiential knowledge (head, heart, life) of Jesus Christ as the basis for life in the Spirit. Discipleship is not behavior modification but transformation through a holistic relationship with God: head, heart, hands. (2) Discipleship is understood as a lifelong process beginning at conversion moving through to sanctification, Spirit baptism and so on. Salvation when merely looked at as positional justification is shallow at best and deceptively destructive at worst. We must lead disciples through the Christian process of continuing transformation. (3) A responsive heart must be cultivated in disciples in the order to receive the grace to walk in holiness that the Word and Spirit require and enable us to walk in. (4) Disciples are to engage the world around them prophetically in response to what the Spirit is doing in them. (5) Disciples are developed and nurtured in the context of a community of faith. To be a Christian disciple is to never be removed from the body of Christ at large. We are intricately connected to one another. (6) We train disciples in a spiritual-relational hermeneutic or a ‘hidden curriculum’ in which the leading of the Spirit, covenant of the church, and a life of love are understood. (7) Disciples are equipped in order to fulfill their mission and calling by God in their homes, churches, and throughout the world. The community of faith aids them in recognizing their particular gifting’s and callings enabling them to fulfill that which has been given them. (8) The essence of Pentecostal discipleship entails a cultivation of a kingdom centered eschatological vision which shapes their approach to Christian life and ministry. The kingdom of God is ‘already’ and ‘not yet’.
[1] James P. Bowers, Wesleyan Pentecostal Approach to Christian Formation. Journal of Pentecostal Theology 6. 1995. pg. 55.
The distinctive of the Wesleyan-Pentecostal vision of the Christian life is its call to life in the Spirit. Our walk with God is understood in the context of a dynamic experiential relationship with God through the power of the Holy Spirit. We encounter God’s Word through the Holy Spirit and come know Christ as our Savior, Sanctifier, Baptizer, Healer and Coming King. The fullness of the Spirit plays a major role in Christian formation and discipleship. We are being sanctified and continuing in moral transformation and we are Spirit-baptized and thereby empowered as witnesses enabled for holy service and living, equipped with the gifts of the Spirit. Discipleship is a life-long process of formation into the image of Christ, but as Dr. Jackie Johns has said, “transformation should be so normative it becomes formative.”
There are major objectives in discovering the essence of Pentecostal discipleship as not by Bowers in His article. (1) is to lead persons into an experiential knowledge (head, heart, life) of Jesus Christ as the basis for life in the Spirit. Discipleship is not behavior modification but transformation through a holistic relationship with God: head, heart, hands. (2) Discipleship is understood as a lifelong process beginning at conversion moving through to sanctification, Spirit baptism and so on. Salvation when merely looked at as positional justification is shallow at best and deceptively destructive at worst. We must lead disciples through the Christian process of continuing transformation. (3) A responsive heart must be cultivated in disciples in the order to receive the grace to walk in holiness that the Word and Spirit require and enable us to walk in. (4) Disciples are to engage the world around them prophetically in response to what the Spirit is doing in them. (5) Disciples are developed and nurtured in the context of a community of faith. To be a Christian disciple is to never be removed from the body of Christ at large. We are intricately connected to one another. (6) We train disciples in a spiritual-relational hermeneutic or a ‘hidden curriculum’ in which the leading of the Spirit, covenant of the church, and a life of love are understood. (7) Disciples are equipped in order to fulfill their mission and calling by God in their homes, churches, and throughout the world. The community of faith aids them in recognizing their particular gifting’s and callings enabling them to fulfill that which has been given them. (8) The essence of Pentecostal discipleship entails a cultivation of a kingdom centered eschatological vision which shapes their approach to Christian life and ministry. The kingdom of God is ‘already’ and ‘not yet’.
[1] James P. Bowers, Wesleyan Pentecostal Approach to Christian Formation. Journal of Pentecostal Theology 6. 1995. pg. 55.