Pentecost is not a Birthday Party

While I suspect that in some ways I might have become a little bit of a “grumpy old man” I believe that there are a few things where popular teaching in churches has strayed from what the Bible actual says, and where it is important that we take care not to mix fancy with the truth.

Recently I wrote to a major, well known educational body that is promoting a children’s teaching programme on Pentecost as a party to celebrate the birthday of the church. I politely pointed out that this is not only an error but that by doing so we are in danger of trivialising the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The reply I received saddened me immensely. Instead of either agreeing or seeking to refute the theological and biblical argument from scripture, they merely quoted other contemporary sources that also refer to Pentecost as the “Birthday of the Church”. What are we to do when major Christian educational bodies rely on popular opinion rather than careful biblical interpretation?

My concern is not just about whether or not there is such a thing as the birthday of the Church and if so when it took place. I am concerned that we grasp the significance of Pentecost and earnestly seek the person and power of the Holy Spirit so that we might faithfully and effectively witness to Jesus Christ in the world of which we are a part today. I am desperate for the winning of men and women for Christ and to see God’s kingdom of peace and justice advance. To that end I believe that we need to be far more serious (but certainly not miserable) about what and how we believe.

Pentecost is, of course, a Jewish festival related to harvest time. Jesus had told his disciples that they needed to wait in Jerusalem until they received the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that would enable them to start out on this incredible journey of witnessing to Christ throughout the world. That empowerment first happened on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, and a new kind of harvest was celebrated that day. The book of Acts then records several other occasions when churches and individuals also experienced their own “Day of Pentecost”. It also reveals the need for an ongoing experience of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We are living at a time when we need a genuine and profound revival. My Christian awakening began at a time just prior to the beginnings of the charismatic movement. At that time I met people for whom a Pentecostal experience would mean exclusion from mainstream denominations. These were people who were passionate about the gospel and full of praise to God. Their meetings were marked with an almost tangible sense of God’s presence and conversions to Christ were common. In one church I delivered two young colleagues to lead a Sunday School meeting and arrived to find well over 50 young children who had met for prayer half an hour before Sunday School began! As I opened the door you could feel the wind of the Holy Spirit.

We need His presence like that today; not an excuse for balloons and party poppers in church. We need to be teaching why the Day of Pentecost was important then and relevant now. Please take care in your church this Pentecost not to trivialise something so precious.