Since I have many American and Canadian friends within the COG, I’m almost ashamed to say it was my first time in a COG church. I can perhaps redeem myself with the fact that my feet have walked on the holy ground of Cleveland, TN—Lee University and Pentecostal Theological Seminary, both COG schools.

Church of God?

If you’re not familiar with the COG, you may be surprised to learn that this Pentecostal denomination was formed in 1886, well before the 1906 revivals at Azusa Street in Los Angeles and the Hebden Mission in Toronto. Even more surprising, to some, will be the fact that about 130 people spoke in tongues at revival meeting they held in 1896 in North Carolina. The group adopted the name “Church of God” in 1907. Their name usually includes “(Cleveland, TN)” to distinguish them from the non-Pentecostal denomination the Church of God (Anderson, IN).

As a Pentecostal church, the COG holds to the “full gospel” of Jesus as Saviour, Healer, Baptizer (in the Spirit), and Coming King. In addition, as representatives of the “Pentecostal Holiness” tradition, they also emphasize Jesus’s work as “Sanctifier.” Historically, they emphasized that a believer needed to experience sanctification before they could be baptized in the Holy Spirit. A common rationale was that the Holy Spirit couldn’t fill a dirty vessel.

Today the COG (Cleveland) has around 1 million adherents in the USA and about 7 million worldwide (my numbers are a little dated). Many in Canada will not have heard of them, even though they have around 140 churches in Canada, with about half of those churches in Ontario. I hear that many are Caribbean-majority churches.

Sights and Sounds

I appreciated the time of worship at the COG church. We walked through the double-glass doors of the church and immediately heard boisterous sounds coming from the hall to our left. I recognized the sounds as a pre-service prayer meeting—the sanctuary was to our right.

This was no-mega church. The sanctuary has maybe a dozen rows with about a dozen chairs per row. But the church was up-to-date with burgundy padded chairs, contemporary grey carpet, and colored lights shining on the wall at the back of the stage. Unlike the mammoth pulpit I had previously experienced at a United Pentecostal Church (no, the COG are not Oneness), they had a sleek, metal lectern that the preacher could not hide behind.

There were only thirty or forty (if I’m generous) people in the congregation that morning, but the room was still full of life. I was surrounded by mostly black worshippers, with a few Asians and white folk. There was no doubt that we were in church. I may have heard “praise the Lord” and “amen” more frequently than I would hear swearing at a construction site.

Sadly, the drum throne behind the drum set sat empty that morning, so I wondered if they might “need” me to play—not that they would know. Unfortunately for me, perhaps, they had replaced the drummer with the upbeat sounds from a drum module controlled by the keyboard player who also led worship. Accompanying her was only a guitar player, but along with the four additional singers who swayed and shuffled across the front of the stage, the worship music sounded full. The worship leader had the voice of a Grammy-award-winning singer who expressed the soul of someone who had just welcomed home her child who was away studying at college for the past year.

Theology in Worship

It wouldn’t be quite fair to say that we (I do say “we,” because I was one of them) were fully dancing, but we were definitely moving our whole body to the music. This reminded me of the emphasis that I heard on a few occasions in the SPS meeting, that Pentecostals often engage their whole bodies in worship, consistent with their belief that salvation is for the whole person, sometimes including physical healing in this life, if not eventual healing in the future resurrection.

I did not recognize the first few songs but one theme became readily apparent. We reminded one another that even though Satan is “attacking everyday,” we could have joy in our soul, because “God is in control.” The same song declared repeatedly, “this means war, this means war.” And in the next song, we didn’t just testify that “there is power in the name of Jesus,” we also actively prayed/sung repeatedly the simple phrase, “break…chains…break…chains.”

Now take an brief energizing break to get a small taste of what I experienced .

At one point it struck me that the songs and other words spoken from the stage were individualistic. That morning (I make no assumptions about other weeks), I did not hear a concern for any world suffering or an emphasis on how God empowers us for mission. Instead, the emphasis was on my choice to worship Jesus and how he would help me navigate life.

At the same time, no one could accuse this church of falling into what scholars call “moralistic therapeutic deism” (a belief in a god who wants us to be good and happy, but who isn’t all that involved in our lives). Rather, we sung that God would lead us to victory in the cosmic spiritual battle. While there may have been an overemphasis on spiritual warfare imagery, I appreciated the reminder that the world is not spiritually neutral ground.

There was one moment during the worship service when it was clear that the church was not only concerned with how God would help them as individuals, and it came during the announcements. This small congregation had distributed 60 food boxes the day before, and they were preparing to do so again next month.

Continuing to Encounter God

The pastor’s sermon was filled with personal testimonies that illustrated the need for us to pray to God to know his will and the challenges that might come if we disobey. I realized that this congregation didn’t need anyone to convince them that God still speaks today—this was obvious to them.

When the sermon ended, the words “Altar Service” were displayed on the two large-screen TVs that were mounted to the wall on each side of the stage. The pastor invited people to come stand in front of the pulpit if they wanted prayer as they seek to hear and obey God’s will. Before he had finished speaking, two ladies walked to the front—they didn’t need to be coaxed—and three others surrounded them and laid their hands on them. And then the pastor prayed.

This reminded me of another SPS presentation—this one on a theology of preaching—that observed how Pentecostal preaching does not simply aim to inform or even motivate the congregants, but also to facilitate a life-transforming encounter with the Holy Spirit.

I imagine that not every week is the same at this COG church. And I’m sure that my experience that Sunday is not representative of every COG congregation.

How a person worships is not the key marker of their spirituality (see chapter 7 in my book Simply Spirit-Filled). Nevertheless, it is clear to me that many who lifted their hands in praise that morning were not there to simply fulfil a religious ritual. And perhaps more importantly, they expected that they would continue to encounter God during the week after they walked back out the double-glass doors.

You might also be interested in these posts:

• Tales of Visiting a Oneness United Pentecostal Church
• 3 Lessons and Questions from my Visit to a Tourist Church
• 3 Lessons from My Visit to a Pentecostal Church
• 4 Lessons from Worship in Liturgical Churches

Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author/editor of six books, including Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit. He is Professor of Theology at MCS and Horizon College & Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on X.

The post Tales of my First Visit to a Church of God (Cleveland) Pentecostal Church appeared first on Andrew K. Gabriel.

In this video I interview Dr. Josh Samuel from Master’s College & Seminary in Ontario, Canada. A fair amount of our discussion focused on how we can facilitate authentic experiences of the Holy Spirit in corporate worship.

You might also be interested in these posts:

• 4 Lessons from Worship in Liturgical Churches
• Pentecostal-Charismatic Theology of Worship
• 5 Surprises About “the Anointing” in the New Testament

Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.

The post Experiencing the Holy Spirit in Corporate Worship Services appeared first on Andrew K. Gabriel.

You can take a look at the lyrics here.

Here is another song that many people will love to listen to over and over again…even though some aspects of it seem biblically problematic.

What’s on our Hearts

I get it. The song “Plead the Blood” connects with our hearts. Chris Davenport, Brandon Lake, and Cody Carnes express our desires, fears, and longings to the Lord.

The song is a plea for the well-being of “my children,” “my family,” “my future,” and “my body.” And in the midst of a crazy world (yikes!), it’s also a plea for “our schools” and “our cities” (too bad for the rural towns… ha ha… you will have to write your own songs).

I care about these things too. And, frankly, I believe God will receive the song as a prayer for these things, even if there might be some theological issues in the song. But that doesn’t mean we should overlook these issues.

But There’s so Much Good!

To complicate things, the song plays a dirty little trick (I’m exaggerating) by adding in some lyrics from an old hymn. This will move the hearts of those who have been around the church for decades, and perhaps convince them of the song’s worth.

The song includes lyrics from “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus.”

I recognize and celebrate that we “who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Praise the Lord! And the hymn speaks of the blood of Jesus just like the Bible does—within the context of our salvation. That is, Jesus’ blood washes “away my sin,” “makes me whole again,” atones for our sin, and, therefore, give me “hope and peace” for “my future.”

These aspects of the old hymn and the new “Plead the Blood” song are great.

Similar to the old hymn, “Plead the Blood,” correctly recognizes that in Christ’s blood, “my freedom’s been purchased in full” (verse 3). Good work, Chris Davenport, Brandon Lake, and Cody Carnes! (I think maybe just Davenport wrote the song.)

At Least They’re Not Applying the Blood

Another thing that the song “Plead the Blood” has going for it is that it isn’t trying to “apply the blood” of Jesus. As I’ve written previously, the Bible doesn’t teach that we can do anything with the blood of Jesus, like “apply” it. Instead, it is only God who does anything with the blood of Jesus. So it is wishful thinking to suggest we can “apply the blood” of Jesus.

And at least the song “Plead the Blood” doesn’t go there.

Good Pleading?

This might surprise you, but the idea of “pleading the blood” of Jesus is no where in the Bible. Not even in the King James Version … or The Passion Translation.

Nevertheless, “pleading the blood” could be okay at times. Unlike applying the blood, pleading the blood doesn’t necessarily suggest that we are attempting to do something with Jesus’ blood.

In addition, it could make biblical sense to “plead the blood” if we speak of the blood of Jesus in the context of our salvation, like the Bible does. For example, we might say something like, “I am not condemned. I plead the blood of Jesus, which has saved me.”

Missing Key to Spiritual Warfare?

If we don’t plead the blood of Jesus, are we missing out of one of the most important weapons of spiritual warfare? Are we giving up some spiritual power that we should take hold of?

No.

As I said above, the Bible never—not ever—speaks of pleading the blood of Jesus.

And what about Ephesians 6? It teaches us about the “whole armor of God.” And yet it does not mention Jesus’ blood in spiritual warfare. Perhaps Paul forgot to mention it in that chapter.

Don’t we Overcome by the Blood of the Lamb?

Revelation 12:11 reads, “And they overcame him [Satan] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”

Yes, the verse mentions Jesus’ blood. But, like the rest of the Bible, it does not suggest we should plead the blood.

Actually, if you look at the context of this verse, you will see that it has nothing to do with the way we pray or what we say about Jesus’ blood. Instead, it teaches that “they overcame” because of what Christ had already done on the cross, not because of how they prayed about Jesus’ blood.

So, what’s the problem?

1. Well, one problem is that the song goes beyond what the promises of scripture.

As I said above, one could make the case that we could plead the blood for our salvation, since that’s what Jesus’ blood does. But one can not make the same case for pleading the blood regarding other things, like protection, since the Bible no where—never—promises that Jesus’ blood protects our children, our cities, etc.

BUT, we can of course pray for God to protect these things!

So, what does it matter?

2. The lyrics of the song imply that if we say the right words, namely “plead the blood,” then certain things will happen. Not that they might happen, but that they will happen. This seems to imply that there is something special about pleading the blood. It seems that “pleading the blood” is more spiritually effective than other types of prayers. (…Do you think that?)

I understand that not everyone who “pleads the blood” thinks this way. Great! BUT, this is what this specific song implies. It’s very present in verse one and two.

The opening words of the song state that we can “draw a boundary” that will protect us from “the thief and his plans” and will cause him to “turnaround” when we “plead the blood.”

When we plead the blood, the song claims, “the enemy can’t take my family.”

Pleading the blood, it seems, is always effective. It makes things happen!

Even if it is unintentional, the song strikes me as having a hint of prosperity theology, but covered in more familiar and Christianeze—that is, if we use the right words and “plead the blood,” everything will go well.

Prayer Trusts in God

Unfortunately, the Christian life is not that certain. No matter what we claim, decree, declare—or plead—stuff happens. Life doesn’t go as we pray or desire. And it isn’t because we aren’t saying the right things.

Unlike such practices, when we pray, we trust in God. We certainly ask for what we want, and at times we might even plead for what we want. But, in the end, prayers are requests of God, not demands. And when we pray, we trust that God will do what is best. And when things don’t go as we pray, we trust that God will continue to be with us, giving us the strength and comfort we need to carry on.

Maybe the Song is Okay…? 

I’m not in a rush to sing this song, as moving as it is.

At the same time, I do see hints in the song that “pleading the blood” still involves trust in God and a recognition that it won’t always go as we plead.

For example, those who sing the bridge plead the blood not only over their family, but even “over our schools and over our cities.” And they can’t seriously think that one instance of pleading is automatically going to bring safety and protection to every city or school they have in mind as they are singing. Does that mean pleading the blood isn’t always effective?

Also, if pleading the blood is always effective, then I don’t think we would need to “claim it over and over again,” as the bridge claims.

Perhaps, in the end, “pleading the blood” in the song is just another way to pray. Perhaps the song is only expressing hope or a desire that God will act in the way that we plead. And surely all of our prayers should involve placing our hope in God.

Perhaps every time the song says “I plead the blood,” we could simply replace it with the words, “I pray for.” If this is the case, then I have many questions and am confused by the meaning of verses 1-2, since they contradict what I am saying here. If my “perhaps” is correct, then the opening verses shouldn’t speak with such certainty. They should, instead, be more honest—honest with ourselves, and honest with God, while still rightfully placing our hope and trust in God.

And the song certainly shouldn’t make it seem like we need to (or should) plead the blood to do these things. Because the practice of pleading the blood isn’t in the Bible. But praying is.

(If you are frustrated by my blog post, please remember that it is about a specific song, so it might not apply to you.)

Click here to comment on this post, but before you accuse me of being unspiritual, please pause and ask God if there might actually be some truth to what you have read above.

You might also be interested in these posts:

• There is Power in the Tongue, but Not for Declarations and Decrees
• 10 Bible Verses You Can Legitimately Declare Over Your Life
• Stop “Applying the Blood of Jesus”…Because You Can’t

Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.

The post Plead the Blood: Questions about a New Song by Cody Carnes, Brandon Lake, and Chris Davenport appeared first on Andrew K. Gabriel.

Today, worship songs that refer to having “freedom” seem to be increasing in popularity. One common refrain is a biblical quotation: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Ideas of Freedom

Some worship songs that mention “freedom” make only a vague reference to “freedom,” but without giving much of a sense of what that “freedom” actually is. This leaves each worshiper to their own imagination to determine in their own mind what they mean by “freedom.” For some it might simply mean “freedom to express emotionally my appreciation for God in this moment” (as one of my friends put it).

Contemporary society likes the idea of “freedom.” We like the idea of having freedom from obligations so that we can do whatever we want. And so, we gain “freedom” when we retire or go on summer vacation. And many people today also want to be free to determine for themselves what is right and wrong.

I don’t imagine too many Christian worship artists have this in mind as they write songs about freedom. And this certainly doesn’t cohere with what the Bible means by freedom.

Freedom or a Servant?

The biblical authors actually aren’t as concerned with “freedom” as we are in contemporary society. In fact, depending on the Bible translation you search, you might even find the word “freedom” less than 10 times in the Bible.

More importantly, the apostle Paul does not shy away from referring to himself as a “servant” or “slave” of Christ (the Greek word doulos).

“ Paul does not shy away from referring to himself as a “servant” or “slave” of Christ.

Those who are followers of Christ are not free to do as we please. We are to become “slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18) and slaves of Christ (1 Corinthians 7:22), and even servants of one another (2 Corinthians 4:5). Clearly, our freedom is not an absolute freedom.

Freedom from Sin

At the same, in some sense a Christian is free in that they are “no longer a slave, but a child” of God (Galatians 4:7, similarly Romans 6:22). Jesus said that “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). By this he meant that a free person will no longer be “a slave to sin” (verse 34).

But what is freedom from sin?

When Paul speaks of being freed from slavery to sin, he says that we should become “slaves to righteous living so that [we] will become holy” (Romans 6:19). So part of being freed from sin means that we will intentionally seek to live a righteous, holy life.

Another part of being “free from sin” is that we are freed from a consequence of sin, namely spiritual death (Romans 6:22-23). Instead, our freedom results in “eternal life” (verse 22).

Freedom from the “Veil”

In 2 Corinthians 3:17 Paul writes “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” The context of the verse indicates this freedom here means “the veil [of misunderstanding] is taken away” (verse 16). The result is that believers “have unveiled faces” and can truly “contemplate the Lord’s glory.” Moreover, just like being freed from slavery to sin, the result is that believers “are being transformed into his image” by the Spirit (verse 18).

Freedom from the Law

The other major emphasis we find in the Bible is that “the freedom we have in Christ” is a freedom from the Old Testament Law (Galatians 2:4). The result of this “freedom” is that Christians are not “obligated to keep the entire law” (5:1 & 3).

Throughout Galatians Paul is aiming to safeguard the reality that “in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith” (Galatians 3:26), rather than through the Law. By “the Law” he means the rites of Jewish religion and the practice of circumcision in particular (Galatians 2:3). Many preachers rightfully expand on this idea to say that we are free from the need to earn our salvation through religiosity, good works, or some other means.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we don’t need to obey God or that we can live however we please. With this concern in mind, Paul cautions his readers, “Don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13).

Freedom from the Law of Sin and Death

Within the context of another discussion of the Old Testament Law (Romans 7), Paul states “the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). Being free from the “law of sin” means that sin is not our master. Instead, we are enabled to live “according to the Spirit” (8:3-9).

The result of this freedom from the Spirit is expansive, including things such as “life and peace” (verse 6) rather than “condemnation” (verse 1). These are things that the Law could not provide.

And being free from the “law of death” (Romans 8:2) means that, like Christ, believers will receive eternal life at the resurrection (verses 10-11 and 23, cf. 5:21). Given this, we can say that some aspects of the believer’s freedom are future, since we have yet to fully “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (8:21).

“ Some aspects of freedom are future, since we have yet to fully “obtain the freedom…of the children of God.”

The book of Hebrews connects freedom and death as well. There we read that Jesus Christ died in part to “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:15).

What then is Freedom in Christ?

When the Bible refers to the Christian’s freedom, it is referring to some aspects of our salvation. In summary, our freedom comes because of Christ’s saving work and the Spirit that he gave us. Through this, Christians are freed from:

• the Law—following religious rites to achieve salvation (notably, circumcision)
• the metaphorical veil that keeps us from grasping the truth of the Gospel
• slavery to sin or the law of sin
• the law of death—the eternal death that results from sin
• fear of death.

And, as a result of this freedom, the Bible emphasizes that Christians:

• are children of God
• have no condemnation
• become slaves of Christ
• become slaves to righteousness, leading to holiness as enabled by the Spirit
• receive other benefits from living according to the Spirit, such as life and peace
• will be resurrected to eternal life.

Praise the Lord!

What Else?

This is what the Bible emphasizes when it comes to freedom in Christ. Yet it would likely be fair for us to add to these lists. For example, we might justifiably say Christ sets us free from shame (Romans 10:11), even though the Bible never explicitly says this.

But we must be careful. For example, the Bible wouldn’t agree that our freedom in Christ means that we should only expect blissful days of happiness (John 16:33) or that we should expect freedom from all sickness (1 Timothy 5:23).

Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure we are safe to say that Christians are free to dance, and run, and sing.

You might also be interested in these posts:

• Halloween, Tattoos, Yoga, and Alcohol: When Christians Disagree
• Is God For You…Not Against You?
• Ouija Boards and Sexual Intimacy: Issues of Freedom

Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor and VP of Academics at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.

The post What Does “Freedom in Christ” Actually Mean? appeared first on Andrew K. Gabriel.

First Impressions

As we turned into the church driveway, I thought that this could be just about any well-to-do evangelical Church in America. There was a large steeple in the middle of the sloped roof, the driveway was paved, and the brick building looked relatively new.

But when we walked up to the door, I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

I was greeted at the door with a handshake and a “Praise the Lord!” rather than the normal “good morning” that I was used to at my home church.

We found our way into the dimly lit sanctuary. It looked like a typical Pentecostal sanctuary, except that they hadn’t replaced the large wooden pulpit with a Plexiglas lectern or a flat, round, black table that one might find in a more “contemporary” church.

Though the service wasn’t going to officially begin for 5 or 10 more minutes, the room was already fairly full of people, and a full-on prayer meeting was in progress. The leader on the stage prayed into a microphone as most people in the room were also standing with their hands raised, praying fervently.

Sunday Dress

Once the lights came up, and the worship service started, I noticed that I was the only one in the room wearing jeans. There was not a hipster in sight. And every adult male had a tie on. I figured I was okay though, since they might think I was a heathen who had come in off the streets to get saved.

I was not surprised to see that every white woman—and little girl—I saw had a long skirt or dress on and had their hair pulled up in a bun—traditionally, they don’t cut their hair. I was surprised to see, however, that many of the black women (about 80% of the congregation was black) didn’t have their hair up. Perhaps this is a difference in Oneness subcultures.

Given the high emphasis on holiness in the Oneness tradition (some would argue, legalism), I was also very surprised to see that one of the worship leaders had a tattoo on her arm. After the service I learned that she came to faith later in life and that her tattoo was a reminder of her salvation out of the sins of California.

Praise Jesus!

When the music started, the place was alive!

As one would expect at a Oneness church, the songs were very Jesus-focused. This is, in part, because Oneness Pentecostals deny the historic doctrine of the Trinity—that God exists eternally as three distinct persons. Technically, they affirm the doctrine of the economic Trinity, but deny the immanent Trinity. Or, to use their own words, the Oneness emphasize that “there is One God, and Jesus is his name.”

Personally, I appreciated the focus on Jesus. At least then I knew who I was singing to or singing about. By contrast, some worship songs I’m used to singing are so vague that I can’t be sure if I’m singing about God or my dog when I sing, “You have been so, so, good to me . . . . . . yeah.”

“ Some worship songs are so vague that I can’t be sure if I’m singing about God or my dog when I sing, “You have been so, so, good to me . . . . . . yeah.”

The second song spoke of “the name of Jesus Christ my King.” I immediately recognized it as “What a Beautiful Name,” by Hillsong.” I didn’t recognize the first song, but the lyrics proclaimed, “In the name of Jesus, enemy is defeated.” I looked it up later and learned that this was another song by Hillsong called “In Jesus’ Name.”

I bet you didn’t even know that Hillsong Church is Oneness Pentecostal.

Active Worship

During the first song, one man walked back and forth at the altar as he danced. And he pushed his arms out in front of him as we sang of how “God is…pushing back the darkness.”

Another slightly older lady, danced alongside him, with her one hand raised and the other holding someone else’s baby. She smiled as she told us she was teaching the baby how to praise the Lord. And pretty much everyone else in the congregation was dancing and clapping or jumping up and down.

The congregation remained boisterous throughout the service. They were even shouting “Amen” and “Praise the Lord!” during the announcement that parents needed to look after their children during and after the service.

Tongues, Tongues, Tongues

Throughout the morning I heard a lot more speaking in tongues than I am used to hearing in a worship service. Some people would say that this should not happen because they think that no one should hear you speaking in tongues, unless it is followed by an interpretation. But I disagree.

“ Some people think that no one should hear you speaking in tongues, unless it is followed by an interpretation. #disagree

Yes, if a person is giving a message in tongues loudly with the intent that the whole congregation hears them, it should be followed by an interpretation (1 Corinthians 14:27). But if a person is speaking in tongues simply as a way of personally praying to God or praising God (verse 28), then I think it is actually good discipleship to let others hear you…at least a bit.

The problem is, if people never hear others speaking in tongues in church, they will likely think that no one in the church speaks in tongues, and this might lead them to conclude that they shouldn’t speak in tongues either. The first-century believers obviously heard each other speak in tongues at times or we wouldn’t find reports of hearing speaking in tongues in the book of Acts—and without any interpretation at that.

Baptized in Jesus Name

The sermon was about an hour long, but they did have a guest preacher that morning. I didn’t notice anything unusual, except for a reference to one key Oneness biblical text—Acts 2:38, where Peter proclaims the need to repent, be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ,” and the reception of the Holy Spirit.

During the sermon I did notice a few little waves in the baptismal tank. It was full and ready to be used in case a heathen in jeans walked in that morning and decided he was ready to convert.

Baptism is very important in the Oneness tradition. While I’m not sure of the theology of everyone in that church, it would not be unusual to find a Oneness Pentecostal Christian who would say that you are not born again if you have not been baptized in water “in Jesus name only” . . . and if you have not spoken in tongues (John 3:5).

I also noticed that there was no American flag on display in the sanctuary. I wondered if the UPCI is less patriotic than most American churches I have visited—perhaps because they were an officially pacifist denomination until 2012. But I asked a pastor after the service and learned that they had moved the flag out when they recently replaced the carpet and that it just hadn’t been brought back in yet.

More Spiritual?

We had such a rockin’ (no ‘g’ needed) good time that morning, that I was tempted to think that this Oneness Pentecostal Church is more spiritual than the Trinitarian Pentecostal churches I often find myself in.

But I had to remind myself of what I wrote in Simply Spirit-Filled—“Although the Spirit inspires worship, our spirituality isn’t dependent on how we worship—whether we prefer to be quiet and still, or loud and animated. …Being Spirit-filled ultimately means we become like Jesus by showing love toward God and others.”

P.S. Hillsong Church isn’t really Oneness.

You might also be interested in these posts:

• Spirit Baptism in Current Pentecostal Theology: Part 2 – Amos Yong
• 10 Bible Verses You Can Legitimately Declare Over Your Life
• Pentecostal Women in Ministry: Ambiguity and Affirmation in the PAOC

Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor and VP of Academics at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.

The post Tales of Visiting a Oneness United Pentecostal Church appeared first on Andrew K. Gabriel.

In today’s video, I interview theologian Dr. Mark Cartledge from Regent University (Virginia). I ask him about what makes Pentecostal and Charismatic theology of worship unique and what implications this has for worship leaders.

“ Check out this video on Theology of Worship in Pentecostal-Charismatic theology.

You might also be interested in these posts:

• What’s Wrong with Songs that Worship the Holy Spirit?
• Pentecostals and Altar Calls: An Evaluation
• 4 Lessons from Worship in Liturgical Churches

Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.

The post Pentecostal-Charismatic Theology of Worship [video] appeared first on Andrew K. Gabriel.

Photo credit: Tyler Milligan @TyMill6

A student recently knocked on my door, walked into my office, and sat down on my couch. He leaned forward and asked, “Is God’s love reckless?”

He was inquiring about a new song from Bethel Music called “Reckless Love,” a song that I had not yet heard.

I was impressed that he was thinking about what he was singing, even though his concern with the song no doubt ruined his worship experience the first time he heard it. Buy, hey. Our concern in worship shouldn’t only be about having a good time and feeling good. You don’t need worship to do that. From what I hear, you can do that with drugs.

The chorus of the song in question speaks of the “overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.”

I searched for the meaning of “reckless,” and Almighty Google tells me that “reckless” describes someone who acts “without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action.”

I tried the more respectable Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, and, similarly, it defines reckless as “marked by lack of proper caution: careless of consequences” and even as “irresponsible.”

I don’t think too many Christians would like to say that God is “careless” or that God’s love doesn’t “care about consequences.” Instead, God loves us with the clear and thoughtful intention “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“ God loves us with clear and thoughtful intention.

Some people try to make a distinction between saying “God’s love” is reckless vs. saying “God” is reckless. But that is a meaningless distinction. Theologians rightly suggest that you can’t separate God from his attributes. Or to use more biblical language, “God is love.”

The Reckless Shepherd Who Leaves the 99?

The song “Reckless Love” alludes to a parable that Jesus tells about a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to search for one lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:4-7). And when I went searching for other places that Christian’s refer to God’s love as reckless, I found a book that draws on the same parable to support its conclusion.

The book’s author suggests that the shepherd is reckless in the sense that the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep “open to wolf attacks, wandering bears, and robbers.”

This is incorrect. As New Testament scholar Craig Keener observes of this parable, “A shepherd could leave his own flock with the other shepherds with whom he worked, who would be watching over their own flocks.”[1]

No carelessness for this shepherd. At least not in this case.

Reckless Christianize

Even though I’m not so poetic myself, I try to be generous toward poetic language in Christian songs. So it doesn’t really irk me so much when Christians want to set things on fire—whether it’s our hearts, the church, or our love.

So, I did some more searching. And I also asked some friends who are more into poetry than I am.

Apparently “reckless” has entered Christian vocabulary more than I realized.

I found another book. This one is called The Reckless Love of God. For this author, it appears that “reckless” just means “passionate” given his subtitle: Experiencing the Personal, Passionate Heart of the Gospel.

For some other people I talked too, “reckless love” simply meant “extravagant love.”

So, I figure “reckless love” is probably just Christianeze.

I’m guessing (I do admit) that non-Christians would probably never use the word “reckless” this way. Outside of Christian circles, I can’t think of any way that a person would use “reckless” without it having negative connotations. Consider

• “Reckless driving.”
• “Spending money recklessly.”

Reckless Heresy?

I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to say that it is heresy to refer to God’s love as reckless. To be charitable, whenever someone says something that sounds heretical, I always want to ask, “what do they really mean?”

“ Whenever someone says something that sounds heretical, I always want to ask, “what do they really mean?”

So, for example, if someone describes the Trinity by saying that God is three substances, I probably (…probably) won’t consider them a heretic, because they are trying to express the correct theological intuition that God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Now, there are some true heretics out there (I’ve taught some of them ;). But I doubt that the author of the song “Reckless Love” is a heretic because I don’t think the theological intuition behind his use of the word “reckless” is heretical.

From the song, I gather that the author simply means that God’s love “chases me down” and “fights ’til I’m found.” And God’s love will climb mountains, kick down walls, and tear down lies, to come after us.

I think the author meant that God’s love is relentless. But “relentless” has three syllables, not two, so it wouldn’t have fit so well in the song. “Passionate” also has three syllables

So, what should we do? I see no need to completely abandon singing an otherwise perfectly good song. That might be reckless.

At my church I noticed that we sing another song from Bethel Music called “Forever.” It also speaks of God’s “reckless love,” but when we sing the song, we sing about God’s “perfect love” instead. (I’ve noticed that most places the song lyrics are found online only say “perfect love.”)

So, my suggestion is to sing of God’s “perfect love” instead of “reckless love.” Or, perhaps even better, for the context of the song in question, we could sing of the “steadfast love” of God (it even has two syllables!).

However, I’m not sure we can change the title of the song on the screen. Hmm…

Perhaps I have missed something. That’s why I first went around and asked some of my friends what they thought.

You might also be interested in these posts:

• Experiencing the Holy Spirit in Corporate Worship Services
• Plead the Blood: Questions about a New Song by Cody Carnes, Brandon Lake, and Chris Davenport
• What’s Wrong with Songs that Worship the Holy Spirit?

Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author/editor of six books, including Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit. He is Professor of Theology at MCS and Horizon College & Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on X.

[1] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1993), 93.

The post God’s Love is not Reckless, Contrary to What You Might Sing appeared first on Andrew K. Gabriel.

(*Not the actual Church we visited)

Upon entering their worship space, I got the suspicion that this was probably a hip church—the stage had a backdrop made up of colorful circles that I guessed would be changed come fall. My suspicions were confirmed when the young pastor started to talk about how much he liked “good coffee” and how he wrote his sermons in a local coffee shop. Plus his jeans were tight.

(Full disclosure: I don’t drink coffee or wear tight jeans, but I have friends who do.)

A Unique Church

Throughout the service I noticed that the people on stage made a few comments to ensure that we all knew that we were at “X Church.” “Welcome to X Church.” “If you are visiting today, I hope you enjoy our unique culture here at X Church.” “Here at X Church we…”

My sense was that the pastor and others who made such comments wanted people to feel like their church is special, perhaps even better than other churches.

I didn’t, by contrast, get the sense that this church was part of the wider, world-wide, church of Christ. Rather, I was at “X Church.”

This concerns me for two reasons. First, the church might get prideful about how they might (think they) do things better than other churches.

Second, and conversely, the church members might get an inferiority complex since they might only think of themselves as part of little X Church. That is, they might not grasp the significance of the fact that they are part of a worldwide movement that includes millions of people and that accomplishes much more than X Church alone can.

Lesson 1: Don’t focus too much on promoting your church’s brand.

What’s With All the Noise?

When the musicians first began to play, I felt out of place. In part, I didn’t recognize the songs. Therefore lesson 2 might be that all churches should only sing songs that are at least 10 years old and written by Chris Tomlin or Hillsong—that way more visitors would feel welcome.

Another thing that made me feel a little out of place was that at the end of every song there were numerous people loudly saying “yeah!”, cheering, or the like. (I heard no “Amens” or “praise Jesus” though—that would probably be too old-school.) The extent of the enthusiasm seemed a little put on to me—of course, I can’t be sure.

By contrast, the next Sunday when I worshiped in a quiet non-Pentecostal evangelical church, I confess that I wondered why everyone was so quiet . Didn’t these people care? I guess I can’t be pleased. At least they sang Hillsong songs that I knew.

Of course, I know that people can worship God quietly or loudly. Nevertheless, it made me think that at the latter church, someone who is genuine in their loud expressions might feel hindered in their worship of God. In either case, whether loudly or quietly…

Lesson 2: Be authentic in your worship.

We Are Here to Meet With God

Lest you think that I drank skeptical juice for breakfast that morning, there were things I appreciated about the Pentecostal church we visited. For starters, the worship leader that morning, the person who prayed partway through the service, and the pastor who preached all made it clear that we had gathered to worship God, hear from God, and be changed by God. They told us as much, but it was also clear in their prayers. And that leads me to…

Lesson 3: Church leaders should intentionally and regularly encourage people to engage God during their services.

I left the church feeling encouraged and welcomed (some people talked to me afterwards). We then drove back to our camp site and made grilled cheese for lunch on our little BBQ.

You might also want to read about my 4 Lessons from Worship in Liturgical Churches.

The post 3 Lessons from My Visit to a Pentecostal Church appeared first on Andrew K. Gabriel.

Today I’m beginning a blog series called “Questions People Ask About the Holy Spirit”  (#HSQuestions). Thank you to everyone who submitted questions! You can still submit questions here. Today I’m answering two questions that people asked.

There are not a lot of worship songs directed to the Holy Spirit. And most songs that we do have in both history and contemporary music are prayers for the Spirit to come, but not actual worship of the Spirit.

You can sometimes find worship to the Spirit when it is directed to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

Is this lack of worship of the Spirit justified?

The Bible never says we are to worship the Holy Spirit. This might seem to settle the question, but….

For the early Church, the answer was clear. In the fourth century, some heretics were arguing that the Holy Spirit was not fully divine. To reject this claim, the church responded by confessing in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381) that the Spirit is “the Lord and giver of life.” As stated in the creed, this implies that, “with the Father and the Son together [the Spirit] is worshipped and glorified.”  

When we wonder if it is okay to worship the Spirit it reveals that our doctrine of the Trinity is probably confused. When understood correctly, this historical doctrine of the church affirms that there is one God who exists as three persons or three distinct expressions.

“ When we wonder if it is okay to worship the Spirit it reveals that our doctrine of the Trinity is probably confused.

So we can start with the affirmation that the Spirit is personal (more on that in a later post!) and fully divine and that there is only one God. The Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son, but not a different being.

Is the Spirit God? Yes. Should we worship God? Yes.

On the other hand, it is natural that we don’t have so many songs to the Spirit. The Spirit is what one theologian calls the shy member of the Trinity. (I’ll write more about the place of the Spirit in the Trinity in a future post.)

That is, the Spirit points us to Jesus and the Father. The Spirit reminds us of Jesus’ teachings (John 14:26) and leads us to confess “Jesus is Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:3). And we “worship the Father in the Spirit” (John 4:23).

So, yes, we can worship the Spirit, but, at the same time, the Spirit enables our worship of the Father.

You can still submit questions here, and I will answer many of them in this blog series.

The post What’s Wrong with Songs that Worship the Holy Spirit? appeared first on Andrew K. Gabriel.

Pentecostals and Experience

There is no doubt that at the core of Pentecostalism are experiences of the Spirit (p. 48-51) and that these experiences are vital to success in mission (71-72). In light of this I was challenged and challenge you to consider:

• Do Pentecostals today sufficiently prioritize experiences of the Spirit (68, 103)? A return to Sunday evening services with a focus on the altar call probably won’t happen anytime soon; however, if Pentecostals cannot find new ways of facilitating and encouraging people to be open to experiences of the Spirit as Pentecostals gather in community or in everyday life (80, 104-6), will they still be able to call themselves ‘Pentecostals’?
• Historically the experience of the Spirit brought unity and community among Pentecostals (43). But, are Pentecostals making sufficient space in leadership for all who have experienced the Spirit? One author observed, in the past and today “the path for Pentecostal women in leadership was neither easy nor uncomplicated” (53), and I’m sure this is also true of indigenous people, immigrants, and visible minorities within Canadian Pentecostalism. If I have learned anything about leadership (FYI—I prefer learning about theology ), it’s that a team with diversity (racial, gender, personality types, ages) is usually stronger than a homogeneous team.

Eschatology and Charts

Similar to comments that were made in the earlier PAOC book, Authentically Pentecostal (see my observations here), I found again in NEXUS an uncertainty regarding dispensational eschatology and was reminded that eschatology is not about end-times charts (58), unless it is, perhaps, a simplified chart (see p. 66). Rather, eschatology offers a source of hope as we look to the future (57, 59) and an explanation of our current experience of the supernatural as the age to come (the ‘not yet’) is manifested in the present (the ‘already’) (64-66).

Real and Ideal Pentecostalism

At times I got the feeling that authors of the essays in NEXUS may have been too optimistic about Pentecostals, writing more about what they desired Pentecostalism to be, rather than what it currently is. I suppose these are just signs of Pentecostalism’s good days and bad days. For example:

• Pentecostals and the Mind: I read signs of Pentecostals who value theology and study as guides for mission ( 74), and I read that Pentecostals can hold an experiential faith without abandoning the intellect (50). However, I also read of a history of Pentecostals who read the Bible without adequately considering biblical scholarship and commentaries (13-15) and whose default approach to interpreting Scripture is sometimes simply asking for divine help (“Lord speak to me”—p. 12).
• Pentecostals and Community: I read about how Pentecostals value community (40-43) and of the value of this community for guiding and discerning legitimate interpretations of Scripture (26-27). However, I also read that among Pentecostals the place of the community in interpreting Scripture has been “all too frequently set aside in favour of the private interpretation of a persuasive individual” (16).

Music and Theology

Finally, and on an entirely different note, I receive this challenge: “If we agree that there is a growing gap between ‘theology’ and ‘music,’ I would love to see pastors and theologians be the ones who take up the leadership challenge of building bridges with our artists” (96). So, in closing, I ask, can we be intentional about encouraging, equipping, and empowering the musicians and worship leaders among us (98)?

NEXUS is available (only $4) to order from Wordcom online or by calling 905-542-7400.

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As requested, her is a picture of the table of contents.

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