a contextual missiology of the spirit - eTheses Repository ...

it is seen as practising what it preaches. 180 Therefore, one of the paradigm shifts in
contemporary Pentecostal mission is its interest in socio-political issues.
Pentecostals too have realized that they cannot continue a ‘social quietism,’ if they
are to develop a ‘Pentecostal model of praxis.’ 181 They feel the need to participate
in the struggles of humanity, and they have begun to redefine their means. The
result is a paradigm shift from a ‘partial’ to a ‘full involvement’ in the crisis of
communities.
On the other hand, many Pentecostals still prefer to play safe by distancing
themselves from politics. In her discussion over the question of whether political
involvement is an integral part of the Charismatic movement, Margaret Poloma
concludes that ‘Charismatic politics is an ambiguous phenomenon, and it is
difficult to predict the direction it will take,’ as it depends ‘more on
circumstances, including the social status of adherents.’ According to her,
‘perhaps those who remain apolitical but involved in non-political social action
are on the safest ground in terms of Christian theology.’ 182 However, the
Argentinean systematic theologian Jose Miguez Bonino claims that being ‘free of
political and ideological commitment is a false paradise which does not exist.’ He
argues that the church always plays a role in society to favour one group or
another in the struggle. ‘… We will either support the continuation of oppression
or the struggle for liberation. We will support one or the other by the way we
teach, worship, preach, use our money, speak or remain silent. There is no third
180 Dempster, ‘Pentecostal Social Concern,’ 129.
181 Jackie David Johns, ‘Yielding to the Spirit,’ in Globalization of Pentecostalism, 70.
182 Margaret Poloma, The Charismatic Movement: Is there a New Pentecost? Social Movements
Past and Present Series (Boston, Massachusetts: Twayne Publishers, 1982), 224.
324