2.2 How Canadian Pentecostals Form a Ministerial Organization

[Caleb]

I think it may have been wise in the context of the early Pentecostal church for the PAOC to allow some leeway early on in their doctrinal beliefs as many Pentecostals early on did not want to be organized for fear of the will of God and the spontaneity of the Spirit restricted. The wrong doctrinal statement may turn off the rest of the Pentecostal churches of Canada. I do however think it would be foolish to remain vague on doctrinal values of the assembly as things would get very complicated down the road with different churches growing in different directions. The baseline to doctrine should at least be that God loves people, the trinity is true, and that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead. without this universal understanding in PAOC, the assembly would have been in trouble from the start. the character of God, the work of Jesus, and the salvation of believers should at least be central and almost everything beyond that is a secondary issue.

Also while I applaud PAOC for focusing on the great commission as their number one core value, they should at least first acknowledge the reason for the great commission as one of their core values as well. that reason is the greatest commandments, to love God and love people.

[Kylie]

I believe their can be wisdom in leaving some pieces of theological difference open, especially if there does not appear to be a super strong scriptural or spiritual defense to the issue. that being said there are certain aspects of theology that are foundational in faith that can actually cause more confusion and be detrimental to the building up of God’s Kingdom if labelled as a secondary importance. I don’t think anyone can decide what is primary and secondary apart from God and His word. Evangelism is integral to the mission of people of faith however if you do not have an understanding of who God is and important aspects of His character then the gospel you attempt to share will be shaky in my opinion. We do not need to have all the answers because we won’t have them, but I think in order to move forward we have to have a solid doctrinal basis on key things so we can correctly reflect and share Jesus.

[Cailey]

Such a situation as the one between the Early PAOC & Smalls is so important to acknowledge. God has created us all differently so that the world is diverse, it’s so wonderful that we have the freedom to form our own opinions and beliefs. Just Because PAOC and Smalls’ disagreed doesn’t mean neither of them were doing less works for God. The important thing to remember is that it is all for God. However, I do agree with PAOC’s focus on evangelism over doctrine. So often we get caught on little details through doctrine that it can interfere with our relationship with Christ. It’s so wonderful PAOC recognized the confusion it could create & put individuals relationship with God & salvations first. It is unfortunate how Smalls reacted but again, it shows we were all created differently and sometimes we go about things in our own ways.

[Micah]

I agree. I think that the PAOC’s focus on evangelism over doctrine allowed for a greater sense of unity and dispelled confusion, as well as leaving room for the Spirit to be moving and drawing people to Christ amidst the formation of an organization.

This also points out the need for humility to me and the importance of the accountability of scripture and the church (both now and historically). It is interesting that Small was so convinced by Oneness while the church had for so long denounced it as heresy, and leads me to want to be careful to ask when I am leaning on my own convictions aside from the accountability of the historical church and the body of Christ around me.

[IKECHUKWU]

All these shows me is the constant need of Jesus among us His body and also the beauty on how the Father loves us all.😃