Roman Catholics and Pentecostals in Dialogue

Ecumenical Review, The, April, 1999 by Walter J. Hollenweger

With ecumenical and Pentecostal commitment, Cole treads courageously and competently through the mine field of ecumenical ecclesiology. He engages the reader in an adventure which seems promising both for the ecumenical and the Pentecostal movements. His grasp and knowledge of ecumenical discussions are astonishing for someone whose information comes mainly from written sources, and he is better informed about the European scene than many US researchers. Cole's dissertation is a pioneering work in ecumenism and Pentecostalism. In particular, he shows that ecumenical ecclesiology is not about a simple co-existence of different ecclesiologies, nor is it about establishing one's own ideal ecclesiology against which all others are to be measured. Rather, it is about "dealing with the `pain of mutual criticism and mutual correction'".(16) That Cole does not shy away from a thorough discussion of Roman Catholic ecclesiology is something relatively new in Pentecostalism.(17)

Cole also addresses social and racial aspects in his ecclesiological reflections. He insists that theological ecumenism must include social transformation. Sociological developments dictate that the church needs "new ways to be eucharistic", possibly in a return to basic Christian communities not unlike the New Testament house-churches. Koinonia means the sharing of sufferings and goods, of mutual concern and of corporate personality.(18) Cole realizes that theological language is co-determined by the theologian's own cultural and religious background. According to Cole, neither Pentecostals nor ecumenists can simply quote the Bible and think that this settles the issue. Here, the work of interpretation starts.

In his critique of Roman Catholic theology Cole invariably quotes from Roman Catholic theologians in order to show that he does not criticize Catholicism from the outside but concurs with critical reflections from within Catholicism. The same principle applies to his criticism of certain aspects of Pentecostalism.

An unexpected fruit of Cole's work is the substantive suggestions he makes for sorting out some long-standing controversies in the Pentecostal community, for instance the tension between Oneness and Trinitarian Pentecostals(19) and the marginalization of the ever-growing Hispanic Pentecostals in the USA. Regarding the latter, he asks pointedly, "If North American Pentecostals don't even include the Hispanics on their own continent, what hope is there for improved Latin American-North American Pentecostal relations?"(20)

The title of Cole's work is perhaps somewhat misleading. The book cannot deal with Pentecostal ecclesiology on a global level. No single individual could accomplish this. But what Cole does succeed in doing is to present and discuss some representative ecclesiologies within Pentecostalism, mainly in the Western world.

It is clear to me that Cole and the Finnish scholar Veli-Matti Karkkainen (see below) have a major ecumenical role to play in the future.

Veli-Matti Karkkainen: The final scholarly work I shall mention is by Veli-Matti Karkkainen.(21) His post as director of the Finnish Bible College is paid by the state - no doubt a unique situation in Pentecostalism. When I asked Karkkainen where it says in the New Testament that the director of a Pentecostal Bible College should be paid by the state, he replied, "New Testament Christians did not pay such massive taxes as we do!" Indeed, it can be argued that well-trained Pentecostal pastors are indeed in the interest of society!