The Fourth Pentecostal Wave in South Africa

A Critical Engagement

Solomon Kgatle

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780367361150
• eBook ISBN: 9781000769968
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: African Politics

This book critically examines contemporary Pentecostalism in South Africa and its influence on some of the countries that surround it. Pentecostalism plays a significant role in the religious life of this region and so evaluating its impact is key to understanding how religion functions in Twenty-First Century Africa.

Beginning with an overview of the roots of Pentecostalism in Southern Africa, the book moves on to identify a current "fourth" wave of this form of Christianity. It sets out the factors that have given rise to this movement and then offers the first academic evaluation of its theology and practice. Positive aspects as well as extreme or negative practices are all identified in order to give a balanced and nuanced assessment of this religious group and allow the reader to gain valuable insight into how it interacts with wider African society.

This book is cutting-edge look at an emerging form of one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. It will, therefore, be of great use to scholars working in Pentecostalism, Theology, Religious Studies and African Religion as well as African Studies more generally.

1 Introducing the Pentecostal waves

1.1 Introducing Pentecostalism

1.1.1 Biblical events

Pentecostalism in many ways reflects biblical events. These are events recorded in the book of Acts. In Acts 2:1–4, when the day of Pentecost arrived and believers gathered in one accord, the Holy Spirit came on all of them and they began to speak in other tongues¹ as the Spirit of God gave them utterance. In Acts 10:44, as Peter was teaching them about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in other tongues since they were baptised in the Holy Spirit. In Acts 19:1–6, Paul asked the believers if they had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but they responded in amusement because they did not even know about the Holy Spirit. When Paul laid hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit and, like in many other events in the book of Acts, they spoke in other tongues since the spirit of God gave them utterance. These biblical events demonstrate the fact that each encounter with the Holy Spirit came with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Thus, Pentecostalism has its roots in biblical events as they occurred in the early church, as recorded in the book of Acts.

1.1.2 Core beliefs

Since the early church, Pentecostalism became a form of Christianity that emphasised the work of the Holy Spirit and the direct experience of the presence of God by the believer. The Pentecostals believe that faith must be powerfully experiential and not something found merely through ritual or thinking. Pentecostalism is energetic and dynamic to the extent that even the pentecostal hermeneutic is an experiential one. The Pentecostals would, for example, put more emphasis on baptism in the Holy Spirit than on baptism in water, maybe for the obvious reason that baptism in water seems to be following a form of ritual or sacrament, while baptism in the Holy Spirit is more experiential. Therefore, what is quite distinct about Pentecostalism, as illustrated above, is that the events recorded in the book of Acts are a belief in the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues. Many Pentecostals believe that once baptised in the Holy Spirit, a believer should immediately speak in tongues or it would mean that such a believer is not baptised in the Holy Spirit. Although other gifts are recognised, there is more emphasis on speaking in tongues than on the rest of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What is now known as the doctrine of initial evidence has become the trademark of Pentecostalism.

1.1.3 Other beliefs

Other beliefs of Pentecostalism include the inerrancy of the Bible. This means that the Pentecostals believe that the Bible is the word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit. They also see the Bible as the final context is to help the believer to understand the core message of the Bible. Hence, they deem it necessary for the believer to be baptised in the Holy Spirit. Pentecostals believe in the salvation of sinners through confession and repentance. For sinners to be reborn, they must believe that Jesus died for their sins and repent of the same sins to receive salvation. This is connected to the other belief – the triple immersion in water baptism. The reborn believer should be baptised in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as instructed by Christ in Matthew 28:19. The Pentecostals are not confused about which comes first, between baptism in water and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They do not practice infant baptism because the candidate should first believe and then be baptised. The last belief is the second coming of Jesus, which will mark the victory of all believers.

1.1.4 Influences

There are two influences or movements linked to Pentecostalism. The first movement that influenced Pentecostalism is known as the Holiness Movement. This movement believed that the salvation of an individual comes through sanctification in what is called the “second work of grace”, or normally known as the “the second blessing”. According to the Holiness Movement, this second blessing helps the believer to live a holy life and fight a sinful life in his or her walk with God. The greatest criticism against the Holiness Movement was its focus on the outward form of holiness that is demonstrated by what one is allowed to wear or not. The Holiness Movement did not deal with the issue of baptism in the Holy Spirit. The other influence was the Azusa Street Revival that took place under the leadership of an African-American preacher named William Seymour in Los Angeles between 1906 and 1908. The revival was characterised by spiritual experiences accompanied by testimonies of physical healing miracles, worship services and speaking in tongues. The participants experienced something that secular media failed to describe in that period. The revival has become one of the trademarks of Pentecostalism to date.

1.1.5 Growth

Pentecostalism has grown to higher levels since the early church in the book of Acts. In the words of Vondey, the growth of Pentecostalism can be attributed to the emergence of new local pockets and the expansion of local groups to international proportions. Nevertheless, conversations about Pentecostalism, as global culture, are premature if the local particularities of the pentecostal movement are neglected.² Hollenweger says that the number of Pentecostals steadily increased throughout the world during the 20th century up to 1993, when they were the largest family of Protestants in the world. Total membership of all three streams was over 100 million in 1980.³ Hollenweger continues to say that in 2000, there were an estimated 560 million pentecostals in the world. This means that the Pentecostal Movement is by far the largest and most important religious movement of the 20th century. This further means, according to Hollenweger, that in the not-too-distant future there will be more Christians belonging to this type of Christianity than any other mainline church community. They will be almost as many as all other Protestants put together.⁴

1.2 Introducing personal reflections on Pentecostalism

1.2.1 Zion Christian Church

I was born and raised in the largest Zion-type African Independent Church⁵ (AIC), the Zion Christian Church (ZCC). I grew up singing in the male choir called Mokhukhu. I used to wear what is known as Dikhakhi (male choir brown uniform) and manyanyata (huge white boots used for dancing). We used to leap into the air and then come down stamping our feet on the ground with the manyanyata as a symbol of subjugating evil. Whenever my siblings and I became sick, my father, as one of the pastors in the ZCC, could use various kinds of healing rituals to ensure that healing took place. He used what is called kokotwane (a small piece of wood the size of a pen) on our heads, especially when we had a headache, and he also used go arabela (sweat lodge) for headaches. He could also use sefepi (rope) and shower water that is mixed with river sand around our house to chase the witches and misfortunes away. Then, when we had stomach-aches, he would use sepeiti (enema) to remove any stomach ailments. These practices were common among all the adherents of ZCC.

Other than the normal church services in ZCC, one could attend special events, like mpogo (the night-long service), hosted by a specific family to request for prayers when facing a particular challenge. Mpogo was not only a spiritual service, but also took the form of a party, because food and other refreshments would be arranged for the attendees. What was more exciting for me in the ZCC was the long trips we took to the church headquarters at Zion City, Moria, about 25 kilometres east of Polokwane in Limpopo, South Africa, to attend various meetings. The biggest gathering in ZCC is the Easter meeting that the seated president sometimes attends. It is estimated that about four million members converged during the 2018 Easter celebrations. Thus, during my time at ZCC, one could attend such meetings with the family. The main aim of attending such meetings was to seek prayers at the headquarters; the adherents would sit on the open ground at Moria, regardless of the weather conditions, and ask for prayers. Even if it rained, the followers would not leave the place. On the contrary, they believed that the more it rains on them while in Moria, the greater will be the prayers and the answers thereof.

1.2.2 Revival Christian Church

My second pentecostal experience was with a Charismatic church, Revival Christian Church (RCC), that I joined in 1997 at the age of 13. It was at RCC that one received salvation and developed a personal relationship with God. At the RCC there were teachings on prayers, especially praying in other tongues. There were also teachings directed to young people during youth services. Our pastor was a charismatic preacher who presented the teachings in English rather than in the vernaculars like Northern Sotho, Tsonga and so forth. This was uncommon in our area, because many pastors at that time only preached in the vernacular. The preaching of the word in English resonated well with the young people in the community. In addition, as young people, we had choir practices during which we used to prepare songs to sing at our Sunday service. At a tender age I started preaching at various churches and preaching points. In high school, I gained an exposure to Christian School leadership, having led the School Christian Organisation (SCO) as president combined with my leadership at the School Representative Council (SRC). The leadership positions at both organisations exposed me to various pentecostal churches in my area and beyond.

1.2.3 Apostolic Faith Mission

When I left my home village after finishing Grade 12, I joined a classical pentecostal church in the mining town of Phalaborwa, the Apostolic Faith Mission⁶ of South Africa, because there was no RCC in the area. The AFM became the immediate substitute for the RCC because the few services I attended were lively and youthful. My brother advised me to attend AFM because he was sure the church would appeal to me. During that time, I had already gained exposure to Pentecostalism from an AIC Zion-type church, ZCC and charismatic church, RCC. I used that experience to excel in the AFM to such an extent that I became the envy of many young people my age. Today, many members of the AFM in Phalaborwa still remember how even as a young person I influenced their lives. I continued to preach, pray in other tongues and lead various youth organisations in Phalaborwa. The church promoted me to a level of ministering at cell groups and even preaching at Sunday services. I reached a higher level of promotion when the church decided to sponsor me to study Theology at the Auckland Park Theological Seminary (ATS) in 2006. I was the first theological student to be sponsored by that assembly.

1.2.4 Powerhouse

At the seminary I ministered at Powerhouse; this was also a charismatic church that is more like RCC at my home village. Powerhouse was a very young church full of professional women and young people. It was probably because the church was pastored by a dynamic woman of God that it was able to attract this specific age group and gender. At Powerhouse, I assisted the local pastor in preaching and with other leadership responsibilities, like translating the sermon from English to the vernacular. We could also conduct night vigils where we could pray the entire evening. At Powerhouse, I started learning leadership at a pastoral level, and I also learnt the importance of having someone to account to when leading a church. In addition, I learnt the importance of grooming other leaders to succeed the main leader. Powerhouse afforded me the opportunity to network with other pastors in pentecostal churches. During my tenure, the church grew to its highest numbers in attendance and membership. In my opinion, the church managed to grow because of the pastor’s ability to allow members to use their spiritual gifts. Another reason is that every member was an active participant in the activities of the church on a weekly basis.

1.2.5 Impact Christian Centre

Prior to completing my Bachelor of Theology at ATS, and before my ordination as AFM pastor, I had an opportunity to serve at AFM Impact Christian Centre (ICC) during my Ministry Integrated Learning (MIL). AFM ICC empowered me with administrative skills like church finance, church leadership and governance. After AFM ICC, I served at the AFM Phalaborwa for three years, and I started an assembly called Divine Life Christian Centre (DLCC) together with my wife. At DLCC, everything else depended on us for the church to grow. We had to do everything from preaching to organising events. We were also liable for the financial support of the church. We never received any sponsorship of any sort. Most pentecostal churches today in South Africa fall under the category of DLCC. Charismatic young men and women start them when they are my age with no affiliation to classical pentecostal churches and other charismatic churches. Thus, they are neither classical pentecostal churches nor charismatic churches. They cannot be called AICs either, because they do not take the form of ZCC and other AICs. They are new pentecostal churches in South Africa. These types of churches are the motivation behind writing this book.

1.2.6 Crossing the border

Other than the churches I started and led, I had an...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• 1 Introducing the Pentecostal waves
• 2 The fourth wave
• 3 The faces of the fourth wave
• 4 The catalysts of the fourth wave
• 5 The strengths of the fourth wave
• 6 The weaknesses of the fourth wave
• 7 The abuse of religion and gullibility of society
• 8 Reflections on the weaknesses of the fourth wave
• Epilogue
• References
• Index