Saturday, April 29, 2006
From West to East
In L.A., It's not unusual to see a group of private security guards sweeping an area in preparation for the arrival of a V.I.P. However, I must confess, it's a little surreal when the burly guards are employees of a high-profile Pentecostal evangelist on his way from his car to the stage where he will speak to a crowd of 5,000-plus adoring fans at the Azusa Street Centennial. This sort of nonsense has become commonplace in the wild and wooly world of 21st-century Pentecostalism, and it sometimes distracts from authentic expressions of spiritual fervor that were unavoidable at the Centennial celebration last week. ... Sidewalks near the convention littered with Chick tracts, an attendee witnessing to a homeless man outside the venue, a spontaneous prayer meeting in the food court.
30,000 people gathered in Los Angeles April 24-29 to commemorate the 1906 renewal that gave birth to the modern-day Pentecostal movement. But the the present-day location of the Azusa Street mission (long since destroyed) is a vivid reminder of where the movement is going. Now nestled in the heart of Little Tokyo, all that remains of the little mission on Azusa Street is a sign noting the "birthplace of the Pentecostal movement." While North America may claim the birthplace of Pentecostalism, the fastest growing sectors of the movement are in Asia, Africa and Latin America. As the overwhelming international representation at the Centennial events would indicate, while the East moved in on Azusa Street, Azusa Street moved East. Now, a century later, the spiritual descendents of the 1906 revival came from nearly 110 countries to visit Azusa Street and listen to Pentecostal leaders from the West ... but maybe we should be listening to them.
To hear some comments from Azusa Street pioneer William Seymour's biographer, Craig Borlase, listen to the inaugural Ministry Today podcast.
