First, I came out of this heritage prior to my reception into the Catholic Church, and in doing so I also acknowledge the positives of that heritage. Pentecostalism does have a rich spiritual legacy (at least as far as Protestant traditions are concerned) and not everything about it is bad. Many of the things it has as part of its identity (the reality of the spiritual gifts, vibrant spirituality, etc.) are things that are a part of the total Christian experience, including Catholic spirituality. I am probably a better Catholic as a convert because of my Pentecostal roots and not in spite of them, and thus that is something I feel God has personally ordered as a part of my own spiritual journey.
Second, much of what I am about to say doesn't affect Pentecostalism as a whole - there are many good, godly, and dedicated people both in the pews and pulpits of many Pentecostal churches across America, and I know a number of them personally as well as having many family members who are either active lay members of those churches or ordained ministers in them themselves. The focus of my commentary is directed rather at an insidious subculture of academic elitists who chair the Religion departments at many Pentecostal universities, and this group no more represents the whole of Pentecostalism than Beto O'Rourke represents Hispanics in Texas or Elizabeth Warren represents Native Americans. The evidence argues that many of these academic elites act as they do in spite of their professed Pentecostal identities, and I have heard and seen comments from these individuals oftentimes mocking and slandering their own denominational leadership as well as snubbing the devout laity in their denomination's churches across the nation. Much like the "Word/Faith" huckster televangelists (the subject of another upcoming article), these academic elitists often misrepresent Pentecostalism to the general public and hence do a disservice to their brethren. In the past, Pentecostals were often caricatured as "snake-handlers," but in recent years due to the visibility of these academic elites, they are now being characterized as cultural Marxists. The bulk of those whom this applies have identified with one group, an "academic" club called the Society for Pentecostal Studies, and let us first talk about that a little.
The Society for Pentecostal Studies (hereafter called SPS) was organized I believe in 1971 when a small group of professors from Pentecostal colleges from across the globe met at the Pentecostal World Conference being held that year. Many of those early scholars were real scholars too - they included people such as Dr. Vinson Synan, Dr. Russell Spittler, Dr. Gordon Fee, and others who for decades had shaped and guided myriads of young Pentecostal pastors in learning theology and Bible in order to make them more articulate in ministry. Many of those early participants in the SPS were also men of great integrity and also spiritual caliber - they reflected godliness in what they did, and saw their pursuits as more than just stuffed-shirt academic pursuits, but as an actual divine calling and a ministry. Those men were ministers first and academics second, in other words. For many years, the SPS was like that too - godly Pentecostal scholars who sought to show that Pentecostalism was not a mere fad, but is a vital Christian tradition worthy of study and inquiry. The SPS was also open to dialogue with the budding Charismatic movement that was taking root in other Christian traditions, and it contributed scholarship as well, including Dr. Howard Ervin (Baptist), Dr. J. Rodman Williams (Presbyterian), Fr. Peter Hocken (Roman Catholic), and Dr. Donald Dayton (Wesleyan-Holiness). That was the SPS I originally became part of in 1991, as a young Foursquare student at a Baptist college in FL, and that was an exciting time. My membership in the SPS was roughly for a couple of years (from about 1991 to around 1993), and during that time I learned a lot from many fine scholars in that group. As I began my own journey towards becoming Catholic in the mid-1990s though, and subsequentially graduated from Southeastern University with my B.A. in 1996, I was not as involved with the SPS, and had somewhat lost track of it. That is, until the end of 2010.
In the years following my involvement in the SPS, something began to happen in Pentecostal colleges as many of them obtained university status and their Religion departments began to be restructured from training ministers to basically mirroring their secular counterparts. A new generation of "Pentecostal scholars" in their 30's and 40's began to emerge in the early 2000s, and this group was vastly different from the old pioneers that had originally envisioned the SPS. Many of this younger new group were educated in secular or liberal Protestant universities, and they espoused worldviews which in many cases reflected their secular mentors. Seeing this would conflict with their conservative Pentecostal identities, these new academics began to formulate ways to fit their worldviews into a Pentecostal context, and in time it resulted in an iconoclastic restructuring of their definition of what "Pentecostal identity" is. In the ensuing years, this group rose to prominence in the SPS, and they dominated the Religion departments at many Pentecostal universities, and as they did so the radically reinvented convictions they espoused transformed the SPS from a scholarly society into an activist platform. Whereas in the past SPS talks and presentations at their meetings focused on Pentecostal theological distinctives or historical aspects of their movement, in recent years they are focused on socio-political issues which are agenda-driven. I saw this first-hand in 2012 when I was going to return to my alma mater to pursue my Master's degree, and much of what I saw compelled me to withdraw from my alma mater and continue my studies at a Catholic university instead. Although I have largely remained out of the loop regarding these developments, recently a few things got my attention, and I wanted to talk about them now.
Dr. Paul Alexander, former President of the SPS
The first of these involves one of the most prominent leaders of this new SPS group, a former Assemblies of God professor named Paul Alexander. Paul Alexander was at one time a capable scholar - he did at one time author some very excellent scholarly material on Pentecostal studies, and he also has impressive credentials. But, around about 2013 Alexander started losing his mind honestly when he actually defended homosexual behavior as well as voicing some rather heretical Christological statements in his address at the SPS that year. That rhetoric led to his dismissal from the Assemblies of God as a minister - which they were right to do - and his eventual divorce from his own Pentecostal affiliations (Jeff Walton, "Paul Alexander Dismissed from Assemblies of God Clergy," published 2/10/2014 at https://juicyecumenism.com/2014/02/10/paul-alexander-dismissed-from-assemblies-of-god-clergy/ - accessed 1/7/2019). But, his story didn't end there - just a couple of months ago he made another weird and radical move.
Although Alexander has been pro-homosexual agenda for a long time, and has even promoted "gay marriage" in his writings and speeches, a real shock came in 2018 when all of a sudden Alexander divorced his wife, abandoned his family, and came out himself as a transgender, identifying with the name "April." This shocking revelation was released on his Facebook when he was in communication with a fellow staffer at his new congregation, Middle Collegiate Church in New York, a liberal "inclusive and affirming" United Church of Christ congregation. The actual quote says this: "Hey Nathan. Thanks for asking - I'm transgender and I changed my name." His Facebook profile reflects this too, as it is under the name "April Alexander" (Jeff Walton, "Controversial Former Pentecostal Minister Embraces Transgender Identity," published December 14, 2018, at https://juicyecumenism.com/2018/12/13/paul-alexander-transgender/ - accessed 1/7/2019). The shock in all this for me is that even 10 years ago, such a revelation as this would have been unthinkable in Pentecostal denominational circles of any group (Assemblies, Church of God, etc.), but now here it is. There has always been a sort of "gay" subculture in the Pentecostal movement, but they were really a tiny minority and most Pentecostals didn't have a clue they even existed. For instance, Troy Perry, who founded the largest homosexual denomination, the Metropolitan Community Church, was a former minister in the Church of God of Prophecy. Also, a "gay" Oneness ("Jesus-Only") fellowship has existed called the "Gay Pentecostal Alliance" since the 1970s, and of course there was former Church of God in Christ academic/minister James Tenney, who founded the Pentecostal Coalition for Human Rights and later himself died of AIDS. Generally, in the past, these individuals were a minuscule minority, and by no means represented the broader Pentecostal tradition (and they still don't thankfully). Yet, with this whole issue of the transgender identity thing as well as the legalization of "same-sex marriage" in 2015, it seems as if the minority are becoming emboldened to be more vocal, and that is what is troubling. What is more troubling though is the level of "support" the academic elitists who now dominate the SPS are giving to Alexander, and that should make Pentecostal parents who are sending their kids to universities to supposedly be grounded in a Christian worldview worry. This is where your tuition money seems to be headed, folks, and you might want to take notice of that. But, the whole "gay" and transgender thing is only part of the whole picture, as many of these same SPS academic elitists are also embracing Marxism as somehow being "Christian." Let's take a look at that now.
Socialism seems to be the order of the day in the US, with the rise of the Bernie Sanders phenomenon as well as the recent election of the young, clueless "Democratic Socialist" Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as Congresswoman from New York. Apparently, that trend has not escaped the SPS either, as recently I have actually proposed that it rename itself the "Society of Pentecostal Socialism" due to its outright endorsement of socialism and even the heresy of "Liberation Theology," as well as anti-Semitic rhetoric against the state of Israel. To give you an idea, take a look at this:
Dr. Robby Waddell, professor of Theology at Southeastern University and a licensed minister in the Church of God denomination, with his wife Angela and "Democratic Socialist" activist Cornel West from 2013.
The above picture of Dr. Waddell was a shocking one, considering I know Dr. Waddell personally - he was actually my Greek professor (and to his credit, a capable one) during my brief return to Southeastern University the year this picture was taken. Another professor in that same department, veteran theologian Dr. Murray Dempster, also promoted the racist theologian Dr. James Cone in a Theology of Ethics class at the same university just a year previous - ironically, Dempster was one of the older SPS "pillars," although he too has been somewhat controversial for his support of James Tenney as well as his outright derision of more conservative Evangelical theologians such as Francis Schaeffer. Again, this is not the fault of Pentecostals as a whole - many of the faithful in the pew are probably not aware of this going on, although they should be especially if they are parents sending their kids to these colleges. However, it represents something very disturbing in that years of liberalization and secularization are now even affecting denominational traditions which are often seen as historically conservative theologically. However, rather than seeing the error of their ways and maybe reassessing what they are doing, the academic elitists in the SPS are resorting to snobbery and character assassination, which is where we want to go next.
When the initial Paul Alexander controversy erupted in 2013, denominational officials of the Assemblies of God acted accordingly and rightly defrocked him. But, despite his heretical views and the controversy he generated, Alexander's colleagues still defended him, and in a very unflattering way that honestly reflected badly upon them. The SPS President at the time, Dr. Lee Roy Martin, issued a statement in regard to the Alexander controversy on behalf of the SPS, and what he said was shocking - at the close of the statement, as he unapologetically defended Alexander, he said this: "The SPS is a strong society of scholars committed to the Kingdom of God. In fact, I would insist in the strongest terms that our scholars are more devoted to the Pentecostal faith than are Pentecostal laity and ministers in general." (Mark Tooley, "Society for Pentecostal Studies President Reacts to Paul Alexander Controversy." published 4/10/2013 at https://juicyecumenism.com/2013/04/10/society-for-pentecostal-studies-president-reacts-to-paul-alexander-controversy/ - accessed 1/7/2019). Martin's statement was disturbing on a number of levels, and if I had been an average Pentecostal layperson reading this I would have been livid. I will explain why.
Lee Roy Martin, former SPS President
Martin's statement, for me, is a glaring example of the pomposity of academic elitism - it lacks Christian charity, is demeaning to a lot of hard-working pastors and faithful laity in those denominational traditions, and honestly it sort of brands Martin as a quintessential "pompous ass," to use a complicated theological term for it. This man should not be teaching at a university, nor should he hold ministerial credentials in a denomination whose people he clearly views with elitist contempt. My limited human nature, which still struggles with my own concupiscent urges at times, wants to just slap him upside the head for being so nasty and insulting. In short, the guy is a real jerk. If I were a layperson in his denomination (Church of God), I would be starting a letter-writing campaign to get his sorry tail defrocked before he sends others to eternal damnation, much like he is doing with Paul "April" Alexander by affirming behavior the Bible clearly labels as sin. As I have said, this would have been unconscionable even ten years ago, and I am still reeling in shock that a so-called Pentecostal professor would say such a stupid, cruel, and offensive thing in regard to many good people in his denomination. It insults the laity, many of whom are the old ladies with their "glory buns" who prayed in travail for their loved ones for days at a time. It also insults the pastors, many of whom have to work secular jobs to support their families because pastoring a church is not exactly the way to the "Fortune 500." If his comment is an example of "being more devoted to the Pentecostal faith," as he says, then I am very thankful I am not part of it anymore - there are times I feel so blessed to be Catholic, and this idiot reminds me of that. But, it also makes me feel for the thousands of dedicated churchgoers and ministers in that tradition of his who are the reason that denomination is where it is, and the fool Lee Roy needs to watch his mouth. And, for his colleagues who would agree with him, the same to them - may be many of them need a new career path.
I have soapboxed extensively on this today, and if I have gotten impassioned a little about it, I am sorry - again, I am limited in my own human nature, so I am not going to exhibit perfect grace in this necessarily, and perhaps maybe I don't need to. Martin, Alexander, Waddell, and many like them are also in need of prayers - I cannot judge their hearts, and won't even try, but unfortunately, their outward displays are not sending a good message. I don't wish them ill will, although I don't think they should be in positions where they can spew their venomous rhetoric to impressionable young minds either. Much like the recent sex scandals in our own Church, these professors are not fit to be in positions of spiritual authority - they may have their impressive pedigree of academic success, and they may hold a ministerial license, but that doesn't matter a whole lot when it comes down to their integrity. So, I wish no harm upon them, but also must pray protection over others from their influence. Also, these individuals need a true conversion - Jesus and salvation have become abstract talking-points only to many of these men, and they don't have the passion for their faith that they should, and that imperils their souls too. We need to pray for their souls, that they would have a true conversion and then let that guide their scholarship, instead of the other way around. Thank you, and God bless you all until next visit.
