Stephen Barkley
The authorized history of the PAOC has been written from within at least five times (18–27). I still remember working my way through Thomas William Miller’s Canadian Pentecostals in Bible College. Stories from the early years seemed so radical compared to my 1980s childhood Pentecostal experience. Stories and primary literature from the early years are invaluable (every Canadian pentecostal should read The Canadian Pentecostal Reader, coauthored by Michael Wilkinson).
After the Revival provides a well-needed critical perspective on the PAOC—analysis that insider histories (hagiographies?) often miss. Wilkinson, a sociologist, along with historian Linda M. Ambrose provide a nuanced view of the PAOC, its growth, and its relationship to broader cultural trends.
When the PAOC was aligned with culture, especially in the mid-twentieth century, it flourished. Now that the PAOC is pushing back against some cultural shifts, growth has plateaued. This is not to deny the work of the Spirit, but to simply recognize that natural factors play a significant part in the life of a movement.
In spite of providential explanations insiders offered, claiming that it was the Spirit who made all things grow, we do know that the leaders of the PAOC brought their organizational skills and business acumen to the cause. They organized and did it well. Saying that it was all the Spirit’s doing is a cultural repertoire, utilized in a particular way to carry on the internal culture of the movement within the structures of the organization. (181)
Ever since pentecostalism touched down at the Hebden mission in Toronto, Ontario, the movement has organized and institutionalized. And mistakes were made: consider the institutional prohibition of interracial relationships, for one painful example. Whenever I hear of historical blunders, mistakes, and sin, it makes me wonder what we’re currently blind to. This calls for discernment.
It remains to be seen what shape the PAOC will take in an increasingly multicultural pluralistic society.
Wilkinson, Michael and Linda M. Ambrose. After the Revival: Pentecostalism and the Making of a Canadian Church. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020.
“Whenever I hear of historical blunders, mistakes, and sin, it makes me wonder what we’re currently blind to. This calls for discernment.”
Ryan Morgan’s “Power In Practice” is a study on blind spots in the PAOC, and Dale Sanger’s book “When Ministry Hurts” (only in the first chapter) also seems to engage this area.
I haven’t read “After the Revival”, but the title reminded me of revival history in general, where many respond to Christ’s gospel, but fail to live out the implications of Christ’s gospel. This reminds me of the parable of the sower and the seed, and the passages on discipleship. Charles Finney popularised the Sinners’ Prayer, but I have read that he later reflected on how many who prayed it walked away from the faith. The Welsh Revivals in the early 20th Century are said to have caused the police forces to justify their existence by forming choirs and singing in church on Sundays. But within 10 years of the revival, the police were just as busy as before.
Interesting days ahead for sure.