Pentecostal Identity and the Charismata
Pentecostal Identity and the Charismata
Mixed Motivation and Religious Experience
This chapter examines the first two of Thomas O'Dea's dilemmas—the dilemma of mixed motivation and the symbolic dilemma—to assess the state of Pentecostal identity and charismatic experiences as reflected in the pastoral survey. It shows that most pastors perceive a decline in Pentecostal practices within the denomination. They express concern about the loss of pentecostal power, an embracing of a renewal/revival identity, and being informed about the various renewal sites, but most have made little effort to investigate the rumors of revival for themselves. Being of one mind around the core value of revival has apparently not translated into an acceptance of revival in contemporary dress. Present-day pastors, much like their predecessors, have been reluctant to accept charisma as it has taken flesh in periodic revivals of the latter half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. At least among some pastors, revitalization in traditional Pentecostalism is being relegated to doctrine rather than personal experience.
Keywords: Thomas O'Dea, Pentecostalism, pastors, mixed motivation, symbolic dilemma, Pentecostal identity, charisma
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