The Doctor's Casebook

It’s Time to Talk

dr. peter rowe Ph.D., D.R.Phil., M.Th., B.Min.

I am writing about something close to my heart today and hope I can impart that same passion to you through these few words. Let me know what you think.

During my recent five-year sojourn in Australia I dearly missed my group of fellow teacher friends – including Paul Anderson Walsh – in Chiswick, London, and how we would regularly gather together for lunches - that would often last until four – whiling away the afternoon discussing ‘Paul’, ‘grace; ‘Pentecostalism’ ‘tithing’ and a whole range of issues. During these wonderful times of exchanging views I began to realise that I had previously been indoctrinated with an almost unshakeable Pentecostal dogma, much of which did not pass the test of sound exegesis.

Closed Minds

As a so-called ‘Pentecostal’ I had that sense of superiority, that sense of ‘we have it and they don’t’; you know what I am saying, I’m sure. Gradually, I began to discover the possibility that Pentecostals are not ‘omniscient’ after all! It is just that we have been wearing blinkers which have not allowed us to see with sufficient breadth; that refuse to see the validity of someone else’s opinion unless it lines up with our accepted canon of Pentecostal thought.

I find it so hard to have a decent conversation with many Pentecostal leaders. They seem to have made up their minds about just about everything. I try to discuss things further but they just get this superior, closed look on their faces, waiting to respond with the same line of argument they heard from their own pastors all those years ago, or to flow into a rehash of what they preached last Sunday. It’s time to put down our defences and talk!

What amazes me is that these same closed-minded people get subjective ‘revelation’ from the word then teach it as doctrine; I am continually amazed at some of the things I hear preached from various pulpits. One of the greatest miracles of all time is the fact that I have grown stronger in faith despite all the error and spiritual abuse I have had to endure at the hands of ‘omniscient’ preachers.

The Need for Dialogue

If Pentecostal Christians do not enter into dialogue with one another and with other charismatics/evangelicals to discuss both social issues as well as church and theological matters, they will continue to believe that they hold the monopoly on truth. Unchallenged thinking is one of the reasons why so many church leaders condemn their flocks from the pulpit each Sunday. How long can preachers continue to issue legalistic drivel to the people God loves:

“You who are living together will go to hell unless you separate.”

“Don’t think you can hide your sin from God”

“It is time to get right with God, church”

“God cannot move unless you move first”

“You must submit to the man God has placed over you without question”

“I expect you all to take a week of your vacation for the church conference”

How many single mothers have pledged beyond their means for some church building programme and are still waiting for the promised prosperity years later? I have heard it so many times; ‘if you want to prosper then you have to give more… and more’! Meanwhile the poor congregation gets gradually poorer while the church and the pastor get richer and richer. Giving money is often linked to receiving healing – Pay for healing! – that’s divine health insurance. I wonder if God does off peak specials?

They have a cute expression in Cockney London, ‘a nice little earner’. The logic is if you want money, ‘give me/the church what you have then God will bless you? Now I am not at all against giving – to the contrary – but what I see is an emotional blackmail that condemns those who attempt to think for themselves.

If anyone leaves one of these controlling Pentecostal churches – it is most often because they are ‘disobedient’, this church is always the best one, it can’t be our fault. I would love to hear one of these pastors say, I am losing people: I must ask God where I am going wrong! Folk are continually bullied from the pulpit and go home feeling guilty because they have not evangelised, worshipped, attended sufficiently, lived right or given enough. Let me add that I am talking from personal experience here!

What I am saying here is serious. I am not just having a whinge: these issues must be addressed! People are leaving churches in droves. Spiritual abuse is a crime against God’s people and is so prevalent in the so-called Pentecostal movement. It’s time to talk!

A Lack of Proper Education

We have gone from epis-copalianism to ‘any-copalianism’. What I mean by that is that almost anyone can start a church these days, many of them with no theological or proper ministry training, and spend the rest of their ministerial lives hurting people. For those who argue that we do not need Bible schools and point to the New Testament where there were no Bible Colleges, I would say ‘read 1 Corinthians, read Colossians; read 1 John, and so-on’. Paul would have given his right arm to have all his people properly grounded in sound doctrine. The error in the church was a nightmare to him: it’s time to learn and be fully equipped.

The New Apostles

I fully believe that we are in an era of apostolic restoration but many of the new apostles have no foundations in the truth relying more on revelation from the Scripture than on the actual words of the Scripture interpreted in the normal way. Much apostolic fellowship concerns discussing revelation rather than, as was the case in the early church, providing a forum for discussing doctrine.

I yearn to get together with others to discuss the issues that we face today and frame a consensus response. At least the Anglicans have their synods where they have honest debate about the issues. Come on: let’s make it happen. It’s time to talk!

In a changing world where women have to work to pay off the mortgage, or just to survive, we have to understand that we cannot put the onerous burden of attending all those church meetings and placing further responsibilities upon the lives of families who are already ‘maxed’ out. To suggest that the occasional weekend off would be a good idea is greeted with derision and a cry of ‘lack of commitment’ in many of today’s churches. So many Pentecostals have almost reverted to the Catholic idea that attending church is part of salvation (Though I am not saying that attending church is not an important part of our Christian life).

Grace

I feel we need to see our apostles get together and discuss grace again. When Paul first established the doctrine of grace working through faith, he met with opposition from the legalisers. ‘If we preach too much grace then people will be able to do anything’, they argued. Today, trite mocking phrases such as ‘easy grace’ or ‘cheap grace’ are used to impose a controlling brand of legalism upon listeners. Well, the religious mind has always been scared of grace, preferring instead to keep people frightened enough to stay committed, or lest they stray into ‘sin’. Which begs the question: do the people exist for the vision of the church, or does the church exist for the people.

We are still far from consensus about the doctrine of grace anyway. Most ‘Pentecostals’ believe that we were saved from sins; past present and future. Good so far, but the idea continues that we must confess our sins on an ongoing basis to draw upon God’s provision of forgiveness. My answer to this is: what about the sins we forget to confess. Or is it only the more serious sins that need to be confessed and the ones we forget about don’t matter? Where is the line drawn? Almost everyone I speak to draws the line in a different place. The result – guilt: the Christian’s curse! Can we live a godly Christian life if we are constantly doing our book keeping; tallying up sins vs confession so we can stay right with God?

For several years I have felt like a lone voice against extreme Pentecostal doctrine. Are Christians in unmarried relationships going to hell, or are the babies of unbelievers damned (including the aborted ones), or do Christians who commit suicide forfeit their salvation? How many of us ask questions like: if someone in a far place, who has never heard the name of Jesus, reaches out to God and says ‘forgive me a sinner’ can he or she be saved? Are the Jews at the Wailing-wall who pray daily from their hearts to the same God as us condemned to a fiery hell? I don’t have all the answers but I am loaded with questions that we need to discuss – these are serious life or death issues – it’s time to talk!

Get our Priorities Right

Why do so many spend so much time prophesying the next revival – or what the church must do before God is able to send it (as if!) – when there are life and death issues that need to be faced right now? We need to confront the concerns of society in a more understanding way, not condoning sin, but listening, discussing, responding. Are we so caught up in dogma (dogma that varies from church to church?) that we have lost our hearts in the process?

My cry to apostles is to have conferences with other apostolic groups that go beyond ‘How to Make Your Church Grow’, ‘You Can be a Champion’, Prosperity is for All’ or guessing what God is going to do next. My cry to Christian Television is; please… stop preaching for a while and listen! We need to have forums with a studio audience with a panel of leaders from different Christian backgrounds debating the issues of life from their various perspectives. My cry to Pastors who are not theologically educated is: get trained up sitting under teachers who teach sound doctrine and ministry principles. I would not allow a surgeon to operate on me who was not a trained doctor, so why should I put my spiritual wellbeing in the hands of a person who is not qualified to do so. My cry to everyday Christians is to get grounded in sound doctrine and have discussions with mature believers about what you are learning.

We need to take our vocations seriously. I began studying for my first theology degree when only six-months a Christian. I have always studied by correspondence due to the constraints of ministry, finances and family. It has been hard work but infinitely worth it. In the colleges where I teach I give room for students to see things differently; we learn from each other. More often than not, I find myself adjusting my notes after teaching sessions as my own views are challenged.

I dare you to step out of the parameters of your current thought; Christians can think laterally too. Challenge your doctrines, have the courage to re-evaluate, to change, to be different, not for the sake of it but as a seekers of truth. Don’t destroy your theological heritage but build upon it: prayerfully think it all through.

If you have been blessed, challenged or even infuriated by this article then why don’t you share your thoughts on the subject on our forum and let’s open up the discussion: it’s time to talk…

God bless you.

Dr Peter

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