Transformational Power
Why is it that the Pentecostal churches are exploding in growth across the world while churches with more standard theology are declining? Why is it that the Presbyterian attempt to establish a church in a community can struggle at best while independent Hispanic churches pop up all over?
Is there a relationship between this above phenomenon and the lack of transformational impact that our mainline churches have on their membership? People can attend a Presbyterian worship service and leave feeling good but not having their life transformed in any way. Does anything happen that causes them to turn their life around? A friend recently mentioned that mainline churches are afraid to be too specific about what salvation means.Twenty-five years ago, Karl Menninger asked “Whatever Happened to Sin?” in challenging mainline churches. Why is it that there is no appreciable difference between the lives of mainline Christians and those of non-Christians in our society when it comes to ethics?
The problem in Pentecostal churches is that salvation is such an individual experience and their leadership depends so much on the charisma of a particular leader. Yet they are able to reach the individual whose life is in despair and give him or her hope. If the Pentecostals have the ability to transform despair into hope, is it possible for mainline churches to build on that transformation and bring hope to the community nature of our world? Can we learn to bring hope out of despair in the more corporate aspects of our world? Can we learn to worship in a way that brings our members into contact with the great mystery that can touch their lives beyond the rationale. Is there a way that we can blend the rationale of our “proper” theologies with the emotional power of the Pentecostal experience?