Empowered to Serve: an interview with French L. Arrington

Pneuma Review: How do you feel the Pentecostal/charismatic church today is doing at understanding and effectively communicating the teachings of the Bible? What can leaders do to improve?

French Arrington: Generally speaking Pentecostal/charismatic preaching and teaching is not substantive in biblical content. In making this observation I must ask, however, what sector is being evaluated—North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, etc.? The different parts of the world are not on the same page when it comes to Christian education. For the most part, there is a dearth of knowledge of the Bible in evangelical churches. It may be that Pentecostal/charismatic churches are farther behind the curve of evangelical churches for these reasons: (1) Extreme emphasis is placed on praise and celebration at the expense of teaching the Word of God. (2) Some churches no longer have Sunday School or use the Sunday School hour to study subjects other than the Bible or Christian doctrine. (3) Many pastors do not preach expository and doctrinal sermons nor sermons that are solidly rooted in the Scriptures. (4) Some make a practice of selecting a few popular issues in which to focus in a year’s preaching rather than providing some balance in their preaching.

I think there are a number of things church leaders can do to help their congregations to be more biblically literate: (1) cultivate a climate of serious Bible study packaged in a way that appeals to contemporary churchgoers. Such a climate begins with the pastor and other leaders who take seriously the Word of God in their preaching and teaching. (2) use visual aids (chalkboard, bulletin inserts, projector, computer, etc.) in preaching and teaching: (3) employ language that is understandable and meaningful to the congregation. I know that language can be a problem, especially in communicating the teachings of Scriptures to a younger generation. (4) encourage the reading of the Bible by distributing a weekly guide for family Bible reading and devotion. (5) teach the people how to study the Bible and how to lead a small group Bible study.

Let me make a few more observations. There is a real need for pastors to be biblically and theologically informed. Such pastors will recognize the importance of following the church calendar or some other guide to ensure that in preaching and teaching the congregation gets a “balanced diet” of the Scriptures. They will be equipped to focus their preaching not only on personal needs in the congregation but also on the great truths of the faith. Furthermore, they will be able to discern heretical teachings masquerading as authentic Christianity and the authority of Scripture being sacrificed on the altar of pragmatism or political correctness.

PR: Do you think that the use of spiritual gifts is on the decline in North America? The rest of the world?

Arrington:The emphasis on gifts does not seem to have declined, but the gifts themselves have declined, at least in a number of churches that I have observed. I think a survey of popular Pentecostal/charismatic materials will support this. The Third Wave movement is expanding and these groups (Vineyard and others) have a strong emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit, but whether this emphasis has resulted in an increase in spiritual gifts is debatable.

There is a lack of the manifestation of the gifts in their diversity. What we see is the operation of certain gifts among a few believers in congregations. The rich diversity of spiritual gifts do not seem to be flourishing among God’s people. The reasons for this are many: materialism, institutionalization, and the contemporary view of diversity, which has a way “flattening out” experiences and differences. No one is distinctly different. At least one’s distinct differences no longer matter. This mindset does not create a church environment in which a large variety of spiritual gifts is celebrated and can thrive.

I should also state that the decline of spiritual gifts corresponds to the decline of prayer and worship. Too much emphasis has been placed on a few gifted leaders rather than on a gifted congregation praying and ministering. The need is to reclaim the historic Pentecostal experience. The Brownville revival and others have emphasized Spirit baptism and the gifts of the Spirit. But for the most part, we are still comfortable. Comfort breeds complacency and lessens our felt need for the supernatural. I am convinced there will be no sustained revival of Spirit baptism and gifts of the Spirit until we see large numbers of God’s people praying.

PR: What do you think would be a good posture for the church’s anticipation of the return of Christ?

Arrington: The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the beginning of the twentieth century restored a sense that God was at work in history. This outpouring confirmed to Pentecostals and charismatics the belief that they were living in the last days and that Christ could return at any time. The anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ gave rise to speculation, which has not served the church well. Many of the early Pentecostals were excited about the return of Christ and grasped the urgency of evangelism in light of the Second Coming. Their excitement and enthusiasm have waned. They have become more affluent and feel comfortable in their homes on the earth.

But the Pentecostal church began as a radical counter-culture movement that was uncomfortable in this world. Those believers saw the Second Coming as delivering them from this fallen world. In short, the dual effect of acculturation to life in this world and the pressure to be tolerant of what had been intolerable in the past blunted the church’s sense of tension between this world and the world to come. The posture the church should take is to reclaim the vision of that city whose builder is God and the sense that God is moving history and the church toward the Second Coming. This posture should include a Christian lifestyle of evangelism and social ministry.

PR: What can Pentecostal/charismatic leaders do to promote a more irenic dialogue with non-charismatics?

Arrington: As I understand it, the aim of such dialogue would be to enhance mutual understanding and respect, to identify a number of areas of theological agreement and disagreement, and to explore the possibilities of common witness. Charismatics and Pentecostals can do a number of things to promote dialogue.

First, care should be taken not to make non-Pentecostal/charismatics to feel or believe that they are unsaved. Spirit-filled Christians should recognize that the Holy Spirit is at work in all Christians. For one reason or another some believers have not been filled with the Spirit. Many of them have been called to ministry. Because of their prayer life and devotion to the work of ministry, they have had effective ministries. Pentecostals/charismatics cannot have good relations with such believers if they question their salvation or depreciate their ministry.

Second, Pentecostal/charismatics should heed the warning against spiritual elitism. They need to resist spiritual pride, feelings of superiority, and obsessive denominationalism. Such attitudes create ill will and alienate evangelicals. All that we have in Christ is a matter of grace, including Spirit baptism and the gifts of the Spirit. To take that seriously should be conducive to humility before others.

Third, an appreciation of the great traditions of the church would promote good relations with historic churches. Many Pentecostal/charismatics have been strongly anti-traditional and have failed to take seriously the contributions of the great traditions to the church. They need to leave behind the “sect mentality” and recognize that they are a part of a living, vibrant, Spirit-filled body of Christ and strive to promote the unity of the faith, which is one of the great works of the Holy Spirit.

Fourth, those within the Pentecostal/charismatic movement should recognize that a number of believers outside the movement are in fact charismatic. Many of the historic churches have experienced the gifts of the Spirit. With regard to worship and immediate communion with the Spirit, the Pentecostal/charismatic paradigm has won the day (see Harvey Cox’s Fire from Heaven).

PR: Do you agree with adopting secular models to achieve ministerial goals?

Arrington: Here a qualified answer must be given. God is sovereign over the secular world as well as the sacred (cf. Romans 13). That is, through His common grace, God has infused practices, procedures, and organizations for the efficient running of the world. On the other hand, we need to ask ourselves does the Bible teach a culture of relationships for the special community called the church. For example, the Scriptures call for the ordering, the submission, and conduct for the family; but if such is not in vogue at the time, what is the church to do? At this point the church needs to say that it is a different community from that of the world, with different values and different ways of relating to life.

At times the church seems to be too pragmatic, willing to do whatever works to attract crowds and raise money. What difference does it make if we succeed in building hundreds of megachurches if the people who attend them have no real loyalty to Christ and the kingdom of God, and reject the traditions and morality that make one a Christian? The people of God may use secular models for teaching, evangelism, organization, etc. and may draw from secular wisdom, but the church should ask itself this question: are such models and ideas compatible with the teaching of God’s Word and the church’s loyalty to Christ? Too often Pentecostal/charismatics have adopted methods of modernity without theological reflection. Success driven models need to be replaced with spiritual, biblical ones.

PR: Among Pentecostal/charismatics, there is a lot of emphasis today on the demonic. Where do you think the emphasis should be centered? How would a healthy emphasis on demonology affect the use of spiritual gifts?

Arrington: Too much emphasis has been placed on the demonic by Pentecostals and charismatics. They have a fascination with demons in their deliverance ministries and theologies. Blaming evil spirits for most of the problems of life, they tend to deny human responsibility. Paul recognized the reality of the demonic, but he also emphasized the power of sin. More emphasis needs to be placed on the human condition as fallen and consideration given to many mental problems as the result of the human condition. The need is to recognize that much so-called demon activity is emotional and psychological in nature.

True biblical reflection will show that esoteric knowledge about demons and their activity cannot be found in Scriptures. From the Word of God we can understand the nature of the powers of darkness. No doubt, in experience the demonic can be irritating and frustrating. Yet demons are under the sovereign rule of God, as was “a messenger of Satan” that tormented Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7). Satan can be used by God as an instrument of discipline.

Jesus is the model for dealing with demons. When He came across a demon, He took care of business. He did not take the powers of darkness lightly nor did He go around looking for demons. Unlike some Pentecostal/charismatics, Jesus was never obsessed with thoughts about the demonic. He would rather speak about the fall and the defeat of the chief of demons, Satan.

It is imperative, however, that Spirit-filled believers take seriously the biblical doctrine of demons and be able to exercise the authority of Christ to set people free from demonic oppression or possession. The gifts of the Spirit, especially the gifts of discernment and exorcism, are crucial in meeting the needs of those under the influence or control of demonic powers. In the New Testament a number of the demon-possessed manifested symptoms of physical illness. By exercising the gift of discernment a believer would know to whether to pray for physical healing or to prepare to cast out demons.

Pentecostal/charismatics believe strongly in the spiritual realm and should advocate spiritual warfare when appropriate. The heavy emphasis should not be on the demonic, but on Christ’s triumph over Satan and the extension of this victory to the believer.

PR