Mennonite Weekly Review

On my desk are two books by Paul Alexander, a young scholar from the Assemblies of God, both published in 2009. Written first was Peace to War: Shifting Allegiances in the Assemblies of God, published by Cascadia Publishing House, Telford, Pa. It chronicles and laments the transition of the Assemblies of God from pacifism to militarism. The second is Signs and Wonders: Why Pentecostalism Is the World’s Fastest Growing Faith, published by Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. It explains the explosive worldwide growth of the Pentecostal movement.

James C. Juhnke, of Wichita, Kan., is professor emeritus of history at Bethel College.

The Assemblies of God, founded in 1914, today has about 48 million members globally, with about 3 million in the United States. It is the largest Pentecostal denomination. Its founders were influenced by Quakers and pacifist-minded Wesleyan-Holiness movements. Their theology was Christ-centered. In the Bible they read that Jesus taught his disciples to love their enemies. Moreover, the denomination’s founders believed warfare interfered with their primary goal of worldwide evangelism. During World War I Assemblies of God conscientious objectors were imprisoned alongside Mennonites at Fort Leavenworth military prison. The official Assemblies of God doctrinal statement remained strongly pacifist until 1967.

Peace to War presents earnest revision of earlier writings that misunderstood the extent of Assemblies of God pacifism. Alexander sees the rise of militant nationalism in his denomination as an abandonment of the authority of Jesus and Scripture. He prefers the label of “crucifism” over “pacifism,” to indicate discipleship in the way of the cross.

Peace to War was published in the C. Henry Smith Series, edited by Bluffton (Ohio) University professor J. Denny Weaver. In his foreword, Weaver writes that the Assemblies of God experience constitutes a warning to all peace churches. It shows how a religious pacifist heritage can be overtaken by a dominant nationalistic and individualistic culture. Americanism displaces gospel.

While giving up its pacifism, the Assemblies of God, along with other Pentecostal groups, became part of the fastest growing Christian movement in the world. Why this explosive growth? Alexander says it comes from addressing genuine needs of ordinary people for healing and for help in the face of failure, defeat and suffering. Pentecostalism takes very seriously the Bible’s affirmation of visions, of miracles, of speaking in tongues and of triumph over the devil. Alexander writes: “Pentecostalism is growing around the world because Pentecostals take power and spiritual warfare seriously and can battle powerfully in the spiritual realm, with physically visible results.”

Signs and Wonders is a shorter and more popular book than Peace to War. Alexander tells stories from his own life as he explains Pentecostal practices of worship, of speaking in tongues, of prophecy and dreams, and of joy and emotion. He points to the dangers of Pentecostal practices and documents cases of excess and corruption. He is especially critical of the “gospel of prosperity.” He acknowledges that Pentecostalism is most attractive to lower and marginalized classes, especially in Africa and Latin America. Ron Sider, he says, wrote of “rich Christians in an age of hunger.” Pentecostals rather are “hungry Christians in an age of wealth.” Even so, Pentecostalism transcends social class.

These books, written several years apart, reflect the author’s stance at the time of writing. Alexander describes his personal pilgrimage “from being an arrogant Pentecostal to an embarrassed and shame-ridden Pentecostal to a non-Pentecostal to an anti-Pentecostal — and now I’m just trying to be a faithful follower of Jesus who also prays in tongues sometimes.”

Peace to War was written in a time of the author’s alienation from his church. Signs and Wonders is a work of greater affection for Pentecostalism. Alexander is the founder of Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice and has on occasion claimed to find a spiritual home in the Mennonite church. Anyone who wants to reflect on the promises and perils of a Bible-based charismatic spirituality and a passionate Anabaptist peace concern in a skeptical world would do well to read Peace to War and Signs and Wonders.

James Juhnke, of Wichita, Kan., is professor emeritus of history at Bethel College in North Newton, Kan.