Raw Journal: Why I am Still Pentecostal Pt. 1

Many have left. Why this pente-liturgical pastor is still here.

Rev. Irvin Rutherford aka Uncle Irv to me sharing and praying over our church as we dedicate it to the Lord and his plan for our city.

Today, we had a dedication for our new church building.

For the first 13 years, our church was renting space as a mobile church. We have rented 3 different locations over the last decade and finally finished the renovation of our new building this past May.

Over the years, our church has changed several times. Church culture has drastically changed over the last decade and our church has experienced that shift in several ways.

Both sides of my family come from Pentecostal roots. The services I remember as a young boy are marked by my Pentecostal upbringing.

Yet, this tradition was shaken for me in college. As a kid brought up in Pentecostal churches, I never knew anything but the positives of the Pentecostal Tradition. In college, I began to read the history and trends of our movement and saw how it good and bad it could be.

This is not the place to outline these successes and failure. That would be a lengthy engagement. To summarize, I became troubled with the pseudo-egalitarianism (claiming as a movement to support women in word, but rarely in deed), christian nationalism, denominational power grabs (even though we—my home fellowship the Assemblies of God USA—claim to be a voluntary fellowship), a lack of intentional liturgy and writing, a devaluation of theological education, a prioritization of experience over discipleship… Just to list a few….

I had so many friends in college—peers and those I looked up to—leave our movement and join other traditions.

Here is why I stayed: