Tag Archives: Pastors

Politics

The Dangers of Baptizing Our Politics

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A couple of days ago, President Donald Trump met with a group of inner-city pastors to discuss policy (especially regarding the criminal justice system). Interestingly, most of the pastors present at this meeting were Pentecostal and Charismatic, and they praised the president during the meeting.

Here at PCPJ, we are deeply critical of President Trump’s policies. We have discussed many of them at length, and we even wrote (and I co-signed) a letter criticizing the president several months ago. In this article, I do not want to beat a dead horse and simply further criticize the Trump administration on policy. However, I do want to address a much larger issue — the baptizing of our partisan politics.  Continue reading The Dangers of Baptizing Our Politics →

Gender Equality

#ChurchToo, Good Shepherds and Beloved Community

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Shortly after the #MeToo movement, another movement surfaced, #ChurchToo.  #ChurchToo is about sexual harassment and abuse within the body of Christ.  I am so grieved about the #ChurchToo movement as it hit’s at the vision for beloved community in Christ.  And I have begun to ask the question, how do we live out the beloved community in Christ between men and women working together for the sake of the Kingdom of God?  I have a couple of thoughts but first I want to lay out some Biblical support.

Ezekiel 34 tells the story of evil shepherds and good shepherds.  Essentially, the evil shepherds have been feeding on the sheep instead of feeding the sheep.  While the sheep are bleeding, hungry and suffering on the mountains, the evil shepherds are getting fat.  And the Prophet asks the question, who will care for and bind up the wounds of the sheep?  The answer is, the good shepherd.  The good shepherd is, of course Jesus, the coming one who will bind up the wounds of the sheep, and tend to them in the sheepfold where they will flourish. 

The prophet is helping God’s people to understand that the task of leaders and shepherds is the task of tending and caring for the sheep.  I think the #ChurchToo movement is surfacing this issue in the church today so that we might become more whole as leaders and so that our communities might flourish.  As those who long for the beloved community, we must be aware of the human lust for power, ego issues and self-gratification when in ministry.  I want to lay out some principles that could help us move closer toward a healthy and safe community within which men and women are respected, and the sheep are fed.  Continue reading #ChurchToo, Good Shepherds and Beloved Community →

Gender Equality

Why Aren’t There More Female Pentecostal Pastors?

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by Cecil M. Robeck Jr. Originally published here, reposted with permission.

The modern Pentecostal movement is a child of the radical wing of the Holiness movement, which championed the doctrine of sanctification as a second, definite work of grace. The Holiness movement was very active in works of social justice, including but not limited to various compassionate ministries, interracial work, temperance, and women’s suffrage. Especially from 1850 onward, it produced a number of women who ministered as evangelists, Bible study leaders, and even a bishop. Mrs. Alma White had been a popular Methodist preacher who participated in the Metropolitan Church Association, one of many such Holiness associations. Ultimately, Alma left both groups and founded the Pillar of Fire Church. She was consecrated a bishop by the Holiness evangelist William Godbey.

With this kind of backdrop to the Pentecostal movement in the United States, it would seem likely that women would play a significant role. And so they did. Charles Fox Parham trained women for ministry in his Apostolic Faith Movement from 1900 onward. His sister-in-law, Lilian Thistlewaite, held meetings of her own throughout the midwest and appeared alongside Parham in extended meetings elsewhere. Parham commissioned a number of women to establish church plants and serve as pastors.

The African American preacher William Joseph Seymour brought the Apostolic Faith Movement to Los Angeles in 1906. His Azusa Street Mission quickly became known as an interracial congregation led by an African American pastor, with capable women and men providing leadership and outreach. The Mission was even ridiculed on the front page of the Los Angeles Evening News, July 23, 1906, for violating Paul’s command in 1 Corinthians 14:34 regarding the silence of women. Continue reading Why Aren’t There More Female Pentecostal Pastors? →