An Alternative Approach To The Sacraments Among Pentecostal And Charismatic Churches

Although Pentecostals typically worship in a free style, they are by nature sacramentalists. They usually view sacramental actions as channels of divine power; however, they refuse to precisely define sacraments. Recently, some Pentecostal churches have adopted liturgies for use in their services and moved to a higher view of the sacraments.

Pentecostals are by nature sacramentalists. Anointing with oil, prayer cloths, laying on of hands, feetwashing, and other symbolic acts have been standard features of the movement since its inception, and its first major conflict involved an argument over the mode of baptism. The Pentecostals have always had a difficult time in either completely identifying or contrasting themselves with evangelicals. They never seem to completely fit, despite their desire to do so. Actually they are closer to the Eastern churches in many of their theological presuppositions than they are to either Roman Catholic, evangelical, fundamentalist, or liberal Protestant churches. Pentecostals are mystics. They do not like to be pinned down on the specifics of where, how, and when grace is communicated. They usually go further than the evangelical idea of symbolism, and tend to see sacramental actions as channels of divine power. Popular Assembly of God pastor and writer Tommy Reid, speaking at the Communion service of a meeting of independent Pentecostal pastors, noted that in the Old Testament, after an animal was sacrificed, the blood was then sprinkled on the worshipers with the hyssop. He went on to say that while Evangelicals were right in believing that the sacrifice of Christ is once and for all offered in the heavenlies and could not be repeated, that they failed to recognize the Lord's strong words, "?this is my body, this is my blood.?" "?At the Lord's table,?" he said, "?the blood is brought down from the sacrifice and sprinkled on the worshipers. We participate in that sacrifice by faith.?" These would likely be strong words for believers from many evangelical traditions, but caused barely a ripple among Pentecostals. He was safe as long as he did not insist on a formal definition of real presence. Pentecostals, like Eastern Orthodox Christians, prefer experience to analysis. That is both their strength and their weakness. This sort of thinking is having quite an impact on Pentecostal churches, however. Even though sacramental actions are not alien to the movement, Pentecostals have only lately begun to formally develop their theology on the sacraments, and how they are to be practiced within the life of the church. One independent assembly, Christ Church, in Nashville, Tennessee, is a large Pentecostal church that works in a loosely knit network of several hundred like-minded assemblies. It has formally embraced a sacramental theology. The church has labored to keep alive its Pentecostal heritage, while recognizing the significance of formal rites. The church recognizes as sacraments water baptism, Communion, marriage, ordination, confirmation, the dedication of infants, the washing of feet, and the anointing of the sick. In the actual rites themselves, the church has borrowed rather freely from The Book of Common Prayer and other sources, but has also developed ceremonies they believe to be compatible with their own heritage. Communion is served in the smaller chapel once a week and in the larger service once a month. On special occasions, such as Christmas Eve and Maundy Thursday, the sacraments are performed with a good deal more formality than at other times. A major theological influence on Christ Church and its related congregations has been the catechism Understanding God and His Covenants compiled by Patricia Gruits and Bethesda Christian Church in Detroit, Michigan. It is a church which also has roots in Pentecostalism but which has long been an advocate of sacramental theology and practice. Other major sources have been For the Life of the World by Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann, The Book of Common Prayer, and C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. Lewis may seem out of context here, but his explanation of sacramental life was a vital turning point for many Pentecostals in their understanding of what transpires during sacramental acts. Christ Church, like most Pentecostals involved in liturgical renewal, does not feel constrained to copy the style of older churches, though it gratefully acknowledges its debt to them. The music, art, and language of the rites of the church are adapted to meet the mood and need of the assembly. They use well-known Black gospel music, rhythm and blues, and Southern Gospel as well as more traditional music to accompany the rites and ordinances of the church. They have discovered that Pentecostals rarely complain about the use of liturgy or a shift in theology concerning the sacraments, if they can worship with music styles with which they are accustomed and if they are led into worship that brings them into the presence of God. The leaders of the church attempt to prepare the worshiper for the sacraments by discussing often their worldview. They contend that a Christian worldview is one which views this universe as a small isolated part of a much larger one. Sin separates our human race from interacting with the broader universe, but the sacraments are "?windows in the wall?" that allow us by faith to see and experience that place in which we will soon live. These experiences are life changing because they encourage the development of our eternal selves. A song often sung at the church during Communion says it all:

We come to your table Lord, praying for living word.

We on the earth, with heavenly host, gather to praise Thee. Walls cannot separate in this most sacred place Time now suspends, world without end, let it begin. We lift up this bread to Thee, Lord of all majesty. Father on bended knee, we pray for our unity. Spirit breathe through this wine, pierce through the walls of time, heaven now waits, we take our place, Kingdom of grace. This is a timeless space a kingdom of boundless grace. Saints gone before bow to the Lord, give praise with the living. Join now to celebrate, death cannot separate Life we receive, Lord we believe, grant us your peace. "?Kingdom of Grace?" by Dan Scott and Nathan Digesare [Star Song Music/Forefront Communications] The Pentecostal movement as a whole is beginning to notice that a new generation of leaders are very attracted to a higher view of the sacraments in both theology and practice. While this sometimes worries older leaders of the movement, it is becoming apparent that for the most part those who are concerned with liturgical renewal in the movement have no intention of leaving behind their Pentecostal heritage. In fact, a growing understanding of the sacramental aspects of their faith represents to them a further development of seminal ideas which have been in the movement all along.