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Spittler: What is commonly called the "prosperity gospel" is a corruption of the gospel. I cannot accept that God wants me to be rich. I don't know how to align that with the words of Jesus about the poor. I would say, if you're going to talk about prosperity, let's also talk about poverty. At least equal time, maybe more.

There are varieties of Pentecostalism where the finest examples of Mother Teresa—like social ministry are being done.

Grady: There are many camps of charismatics and Pentecostals. Whole sectors do not endorse [prosperity preaching]. Some people think all charismatics are into prosperity preaching; that's absolutely not true.

How big is the prosperity, Word-Faith part of the movement?

Grady: It's not like you can count them. Their influence seems to be disproportionate because of their media. But you have other charismatics who have written and spoken diametrically opposite messages.

If you go to southern Nigeria, however, the majority of Christians are, I would say, in the prosperity camp. Part of it is because there is a strong need for them to be empowered and to move up in society.

What does the future hold for the Pentecostal/charismatic movement?

Spittler: In 1962, I heard an address at Harvard [during which the speaker] said the charismatic movement must disappear into the life of the church. The more I think about it, the more I think he's right.

What the Pentecostal movement has done, overall, is widen the openness to the supernatural in the Christian tradition. You've got prayer for healing now; you've got openness to the gifts of the Spirit. I think it's too triumphalistic for Pentecostals to start celebrating our size and all that jazz. That's why I think Pentecostalism will absorb into the life of the church.

Grady: I believe the future of the charismatic movement in the United States is going to be more and more reflected through ethnic and immigrant communities. That's the future of Christianity in America. All the Pentecostal denominations are reporting that the fastest sector of growth in their movements is either Hispanic or various immigrant communities. In the next ten years, I see that exploding, and most of these [ethnic church communities] will be charismatic.

Also, I believe that globally we're poised to see the largest spiritual harvest in history during the next few years. You look at China and India; you look at some African countries; you look at what is about to happen, it seems, in the Middle East: We're getting ready to see the spiritual equivalent of the Berlin Wall [coming down]. In the next decade, I see possibilities of Christian revival or awakening in Islamic nations, and I think it will have a strong charismatic/Pentecostal flavor to it.

Hutchins: It shall not be as it has been. That's my prophetic word. The coming of the Lord is imminent, more so than we recognize. What is the only thing hindering his coming? That the Word has not yet covered the globe. Then comes the Lord.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Our full coverage of Pentecostalism on the 100th anniversary of the Azusa Street revival includes:

Full Gospel's Fractured Thinking | The problems with shunning the life of the mind.

Our Anti-Intellectual Heritage | The history and beliefs of the Pentecostal movement, often shared by evangelicals, hold the seeds of a bias against the life of the mind.

A Wind that Swirls Everywhere | Pentecostal scholar Amos Yong thinks he sees the Holy Spirit working in other religions, too.

Africa's Azusa Street | East Africa has experienced Pentecost continually for nearly 80 years.

Stepping to Success | One reason Without Walls is one of the country's fastest-growing Pentecostal congregations.

Pentecostals: The Sequel | What will it take for this world phenomenon to stay vibrant for another 100 years?

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April 2006, Vol. 50, No. 4