A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson (review)

This book is an outgrowth of Wilson's involvement in Lutheran-Pentecostal dialogue. The first chapters outline Pentecostal and Lutheran history. The second section deals with the theological points at issue between Lutherans and Pentecostals: water baptism, Spirit baptism, and spiritual gifts. These chapters are largely exegetical exercises on Acts and 1 Corinthians 12–14. The final section addresses motifs commonly associated with Pentecostalism: history (eschatology), power, prosperity, and experience.

Denominational Pentecostals have two distinct teachings. "Subsequence" means that one––or more––definite spiritual experience should follow conversion. "Initial evidence" is the belief that baptism in the Holy Spirit is first indicated by speaking in tongues. Wilson finds both teachings lacking biblical support, but beyond that, the hermeneutic that produced them misses larger biblical concerns. Since Acts presents no static order of belief, water baptism, and Spirit baptism (and its "evidence"), one should note how each episode serves the overarching narrative. For instance, the Samaritans do not receive the Spirit when they believe and are water-baptized because this gives the occasion for Peter and John to participate in the Samaritans' reception of the Spirit. The Jerusalem pillars then cannot deny that God is empowering the mission of the gospel "throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The book is worth reading if just for Wilson's lucid explanation of "mission" in Acts and how the early church navigated John's baptism and Christian baptism.

Wilson does not dismiss the Pentecostal experience. She argues Lutherans can learn from Pentecostals that there is no biblical warrant for the Holy Spirit as the "silent partner" (54). Furthermore, the global success of charismatic Christianity demands that Lutherans recognize "the vital importance of cultural adaptation" (128).

The book is not original scholarship, and it is sparsely footnoted, with a few suggestions for further reading. Some of the weaknesses are traceable to Wilson's sources, like the tendency to emphasize the Azusa Street revival and her assertion that the prosperity gospel "is not the original Pentecostal message" (102). Distancing prosperity from Pentecostalism allows her to take her gloves off but also begs the question as to why it deserves an entire chapter of a book on Pentecostalism. While the prosperity message is indefensible from a Lutheran perspective, Wilson's attitude overlooks the longing for certainty that attracts adherents to this message and the way prosperity preachers persuade with proof-texts and atonement logic.

Lutherans may question Wilson's readiness to exonerate Pentecostals of "enthusiasm." In support, Wilson cites the Pentecostal practice of subjecting spiritual experience to Scripture (52). While this is a healthy practice, it is irrelevant; the fact remains that Pentecostals frequently see their direct spiritual experiences as conferring assurance of salvation—a role the Lutheran confessions reserve for external word and sacrament. Still, Wilson's Guide is solid ecumenism: committed to her own theological tradition, approaching the "other" with humility and charity, and interested in the lessons that can travel both ways. Lutheran ministers, seminarians, and lay study groups will benefit from this work.