Pentecostals and Catholics

[This is a repost from Pastor Terry's Blog originally posted Tuesday, 3/9/10.]

I want to tell you a true story every student of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement knows well:

On January 1, 1901, at a small Bible College in Topeka Kansas, a student named Agnes Ozman received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. This event sparked a revival that has since spread all over the world and has come to be known as the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. Today, over 600 million Christians worldwide speak in tongues or identify with those who do.

But blessings always carry hidden dangers. In this case, Pentecostals face the subtle temptation to think that God is only moving among us and people like us. Such exclusivism not only indicates spiritual pride, it manifests plain old ignorance. Let me tell you another story few Pentecostals/Charismatics know.

In 1897, in Lucca, Italy, a Roman Catholic nun by the name of Elena Guerra, wrote to Pope Leo XIII, asking him to proclaim nine days of prayer to the Holy Spirit, beseeching Him to come again, just as He came at Pentecost. The Pope complied and went a step further. He called Catholics to a new appreciation for the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. All over the world millions of Catholics began focusing on the Holy Spirit as never before. The Pope also proclaimed the coming twentieth century the "Century of the Holy Spirit." On January 1, 1901, He led prayer for this at the Vatican, and even led the faithful in singing "Come Holy Spirit."

Think about that. On the same day the Pope was singing, "Come Holy Spirit" at the Vatican in Rome, Agnes Ozman was receiving the Baptism in the Spirit at Topeka, Kansas! God was working simultaneously in two very different groups of people – and neither group was aware of the other. That's just like God! He's bigger than the little boxes we tend to put Him in.

But there's another part of this story that makes it even more exciting. God answered the prayers of those Catholics in another way that went far beyond Topeka, Kansas. DON'T MISS TOMORROW'S POST. I'm going to share "THE REST OF THE STORY."

Repost from Pastor Terry's Blog.