NYTS president teaching Global Pentecostalism this semester

Dr. Dale Irvin

Dr. Dale Irvin began teaching The Global Pentecostalism/Charismatic Movement: Its History, Theology and Life in the Spirit (THU 2271) at Room 330, in Riverside Church, last night.

Sharing Dr. Irvin's tour through Pentecostalism this semester are Diana, Francis, Douglas, Jim, Solomon, Ralph, Susan and Patricia.

Dr. Irvin began the class by talking about his own Pentecostal roots as a youth, baptized in the Spirit during the early 1970s.

After class introductions, Dr. Irvin discussed Pentecostalism as a narrative tradition that did not develop doctrines early on. In fact, in Pentecostalism, doctrines are not as important as what we practice.

Dr. Irvin immediately launched into the Azusa Street Movement (1906-1909) in Los Angeles, California. While this movement was not the beginning of the Pentecostal Movement, it was the early amplification of that movement. In particular, Dr. Irvin discussed the role of William J. Seymour (b. 1870), a bible school graduate who spearheaded the movement, among others, during the early 20th century.

Among the references being used during this semester are Cecil M. Robeck's The Azusa Street Mission and Revival.

The New York Theological Seminary is an institution dedicated to religious tolerance, diversity, multiculturalism, diversity and social justice. The mission of the seminary is to prepare men and women, from every background, for careers in ministry.