In the mid nineteenth-century, the “social gospel” gained momentum while pentecostals resisted. They claimed that the social gospel displaced a proper concern with salvation and souls. Further, it smelled like ‘liberalism.’ Today, care for human beings on earth is normalized. There’s nothing controversial about pentecostal churches running feeding programs, clothing centres, and giving to ERDO (the humanitarian aid arm of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada). It turns out that proponents of the social gospel were onto something that we didn’t realize at the time. I wonder if something similar is happening today with pentecostals and environmentalism.

Tongues and Trees is a landmark in the field of pentecostal ecotheology. Published in 2013, it is the “first substantive contribution to a Pentecostal pneumatological theology of the environment” (x). Aaron Jason Swoboda’s work is ecumenical and constructive, proposing four clear elements of a “twenty-first century Pentecostal ecopneumatology” (193).

Swoboda lays out the purpose of his work clearly in the introduction:

This text will argue that ecotheology in Pentecostalism is a renewal in a Spirit-baptized experience. Furthermore, it is a critical questioning of any kind of anthropocentric/individualistic soteriology, human-centered healing, and irresponsible eschatology that ignores the other non-human created order. It will further suggest that a pneumatological experience of creation in God’s world is a novel work of the Spirit, a renewed experience, and a return to the often forgotten creed in the biblical tradition stemming from Genesis 1 of caring for and living within God’s earthly garden. (14)

From here, Swoboda surveys the Christian ecotheological scene from a Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Ecofeminist perspective. These ecclesiological perspectives are represented in a future chapter by Dennis Edward (Roman Catholic), Sallie McFague (Ecofeminist), and Mark Wallace (Protestant). With the landscape surveyed, Swoboda explores pentecostal ecotheological perspectives. Sadly, there is a paucity of material here, which only underscores the need for Swoboda’s constructive work.

In the penultimate chapter, Swoboda synthesizes his research and suggests four elements of a pentecostal ecopneumatology:

1. Spirit-Baptized Creation. Arguing exegetically from Ephesians 4:7–11 and its echoing of Psalm 68, Swoboda proposes that the “descent” refers to the Spirit at Pentecost. Thus, the Spirit baptizes all creation, not just humans.
2. Charismatic Community of Creation. The theology of the charismatic community of believers “can be extended as a bridge to envisioning ecological stewardship with the Spirit who is embodied in creation” (208).
3. Holistic Spirit of Creation. The Spirit is embodied in scripture by humans, Jesus, the entire animal world. Therefore, to not care for creation is to grieve the Holy Spirit (223). A pentecostal theology of healing should therefore be extended to the entire created order.
4. Eschatological Spirit of Ecological Mission. There is an eschatological element to a pentecostal ecopneumatology. The church needs “a renewed social vision which can arise when Pentecostals grasp the “already/not yet” Kingdom as opposed to the apocalyptic one with which Pentecostalism has been married” (232). This will include the liberation of creation.

Could it be that in a decade or two, after the environmental crisis deepens perhaps irreparably, that pentecostals will look back on our resistance to the environmental movement the same way we look at resistance to the social gospel? I pray that our hearts shift quickly.

While there is much doom-and-gloom (rightfully) associated with the environmental crisis, Swoboda concludes on a note of hope:

Ultimately, the pneumatological approach laid out here recognizes that no individual human can fix the created order on their own. Rather, the Spirit of Christ’s resurrection power has the ontological ability to sustain and enable such healing. (246)

Swoboda, Aaron Jason. Tongues and Trees: Towards a Pentecostal Ecological Theology. Deo Publishing, 2013. Journal of Pentecostal Theology Supplement Series 40.