Kwa Nini Tujifunze Vuguvugu Hili?Why Study the Movement?

Kwa Nini Kozi Hii?Why This Course?

Karibu katika somo la vuguvugu la Kipentekoste na la karismatiki. Ni mojawapo ya mikondo mikubwa zaidi ya Ukristo duniani leo, na inayokua kwa kasi zaidi, nayo ina nguvu hasa katika Amerika ya Kusini, ambako wengi wanaosoma kozi hii wanaishi na kutumika. Makusanyiko yake yanajaza miji na vijiji vyetu; ibada yake, mambo inayoyasisitiza, na maswali yake yanagusa karibu kila kanisa lililo karibu nayo. Iwe wewe ni mshiriki wa vuguvugu hili, au unahudumu pamoja nalo, au unakutana tu na ushawishi wake kila upande, una sababu nzuri ya kulielewa — imani zake, historia yake, karama inazozithamini, na upotoshaji ulioota ndani yake — na kupima yote hayo, kwa uangalifu na kwa uaminifu, kwa Neno la Mungu.Welcome to the study of the Pentecostal and charismatic movement. It is one of the largest and fastest-growing streams of Christianity in the world today, and it is especially strong in Latin America, where many who read this course live and serve. Its congregations fill our cities and villages; its worship, its emphases, and its questions touch nearly every church around it. Whether you belong to this movement, minister alongside it, or simply meet its influence on every side, you have good reason to understand it — its beliefs, its history, the gifts it prizes, and the distortions that have grown up within it — and to weigh all of it, carefully and honestly, by the Word of God.

Sehemu hii ya kwanza inaandaa msingi wa yote yatakayofuata. Itaeleza kwa nini vuguvugu hili linastahili kuangaliwa kwetu na jinsi lilivyokuwa kubwa. Itafafanua maneno tutakayotumia katika kozi yote, ambayo baadhi yake yenyewe yanabishaniwa. Na, jambo la muhimu zaidi, itaeleza mtazamo ambao kozi hii inauchukua kuelekea somo lake — mtazamo ambao kwa wakati mmoja ni wa kibiblia, wa haki, na wa upendo. Kabla hatujaweza kulipima vuguvugu hili vizuri, ni lazima tuwe wazi juu ya kile tunachojifunza na jinsi tunavyokusudia kujifunza.This opening unit sets the stage for everything that follows. It will explain why the movement is worth our attention and how large it has become. It will define the terms we will use throughout, some of which are themselves debated. And, most importantly, it will lay out the posture this course takes toward its subject — a posture that is at once biblical, fair-minded, and charitable. Before we can weigh the movement well, we must be clear about what we are studying and how we mean to study it.

Vuguvugu Linalostahili KuelewekaA Movement Worth Understanding

Fikiria kwanza ukubwa halisi wa kile tunachojifunza. Kwa makadirio ya makini, familia ya Kipentekoste na ya karismatiki sasa ina watu wapatao milioni mia sita na arobaini na nne — takriban robo ya Wakristo wote duniani. Katika muda wa karne moja tu na kidogo, imekua kutoka kikundi kidogo cha waamini hadi umati huu mkubwa, uliotawanyika katika kila bara linalokaliwa na watu. Ni vuguvugu chache sana katika historia yote ya kanisa zilizokua kwa kasi hivyo au kufika mbali hivyo.Consider first the sheer scale of what we are studying. By careful estimate, the Pentecostal and charismatic family now numbers near six hundred and forty-four million people — roughly a quarter of all the Christians in the world. In little more than a single century it has grown from a mere handful of believers to this vast multitude, spread across every inhabited continent. Few movements in the whole history of the church have grown so fast or reached so far.

Wala ukuaji huu haukuwa bure. Kwa miaka mia moja vuguvugu hili limesimama karibu na mstari wa mbele wa uinjilisti wa ulimwengu, likipeleka injili ya Kristo kwa maskini, kwa walio mbali, na kwa wasiofikiwa katika Afrika, Amerika ya Kusini, na Asia. Hasa katika nchi ambako kozi hii inasomwa — Meksiko, Kuba, na Amerika ya Kusini yote — makanisa yake yako kila mahali, na ushawishi wake unafika mbali kupita washiriki wake wenyewe. Vuguvugu lililo kubwa hivi, lenye bidii hivi, na lililo karibu hivi haliwezi kupuuzwa kwa uwajibikaji. Ni lazima lieleweke — na lieleweke si kwa uvumi wala kwa picha ya dhihaka, bali kwa Maandiko.Nor has this growth been idle. For a hundred years the movement has stood near the forefront of world evangelism, carrying the gospel of Christ to the poor, the remote, and the unreached across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Especially in the lands where this course is read — in Mexico, in Cuba, throughout Latin America — its churches are everywhere, and its influence reaches far beyond its own membership. A movement this large, this active, and this near cannot responsibly be ignored. It must be understood — and understood not by rumor or caricature, but by Scripture.

Kwa mchungaji na kwa kiongozi mlei hasa, hili si jambo la kitaaluma lililo mbali. Wengi katika kusanyiko lako mwenyewe huenda wametoka katika kanisa la Kipentekoste, au wana ndugu wanaoabudu katika kanisa kama hilo; wengine huenda wanaleta maswali yake na matarajio yake katika ibada zako. Ili kuwachunga watu kama hao kwa hekima — kuthibitisha lililo jema, kurekebisha kwa upole lisilo jema, na kulinda amani ya kanisa — ni lazima kwanza uelewe walichofundishwa na kwa nini. Mchungaji asiyeijua ardhi wanayolisha kondoo wake hawezi kuwaongoza vizuri.For the pastor and the lay leader especially, this is not a distant academic matter. Many in your own congregation may have come out of a Pentecostal church, or have relatives who worship in one; some may bring its questions and expectations with them into your services. To shepherd such people wisely — to affirm what is good, gently correct what is not, and guard the peace of the church — you must first understand what they have been taught and why. A shepherd who does not know the ground his sheep graze on cannot lead them well.

Kufafanua ManenoDefining the Terms

Kabla ya kuendelea, tunapaswa kufafanua maneno ambayo kozi hii itayatumia, kwa maana maneno yaliyo wazi huzuia machafuko mengi. Neno Mpentekoste (au -a Kipentekoste) linataja vuguvugu lililozuka mwanzoni mwa karne ya ishirini, ambalo tutalifuatilia katika sehemu ya baadaye; lilisisitiza ubatizo katika Roho Mtakatifu na utendaji wa karama za Roho, kwa kawaida likiashiria kunena kwa lugha kuwa ishara ya ubatizo huo, nalo likaunda madhehebu yake mapya. Neno karismatiki linatokana na neno la Kigiriki charisma, lenye maana ya karama ya neema; kwa upana linawaeleza Wakristo walio ndani ya makanisa ya kihistoria ya Kiprotestanti na ya Kikatoliki, na hata nje yake, waliokuja kuzipokea karama zile zile na uzoefu ule ule bila lazima ya kuziacha desturi zao wenyewe. Kozi hii inaposema tu vuguvugu, inamaanisha familia nzima kwa pamoja — Wapentekoste wa asili, wakarismatiki walio katika makanisa ya kihistoria, mikondo ya baadaye ya Kiinjili, na wingi mkubwa wa makanisa huru yasiyolingana na lebo yoyote ya zamani.Before going further, we should define the words this course will use, for clear terms prevent much confusion. The word Pentecostal names the movement that arose in the early twentieth century, which we will trace in a later unit; it emphasized the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the exercise of spiritual gifts, classically pointing to speaking in tongues as the sign of that baptism, and it formed its own new denominations. The word charismatic comes from the Greek charisma, meaning a gift of grace; broadly it describes Christians within the historic Protestant and Catholic churches, and beyond, who came to embrace the same gifts and experience without necessarily leaving their own traditions. When this course speaks simply of the movement, it means the whole family together — classical Pentecostals, charismatics in the historic churches, later evangelical currents, and the great host of independent churches that fit none of the older labels.

Maneno machache zaidi yatajirudia. Karama za Roho, au charismata, ni uwezo ambao Roho Mtakatifu huwagawia waamini kwa ajili ya kulijenga kanisa:A few more terms will recur. Spiritual gifts, or charismata, are the abilities the Holy Spirit distributes to believers for the building up of the church:

"Lakini kila mmoja hupewa ufunuo wa Roho kwa kufaidiana."1 Wakorintho 12:7 (SUV)"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all."1 Corinthians 12:7 (NKJV)

Maneno ubatizo katika Roho Mtakatifu yanatumiwa kwa njia tofauti na Wakristo tofauti, na maana yake yenyewe ni mojawapo ya maswali ambayo kozi hii itayapima; vivyo hivyo asili ya kunena kwa lugha — kusema kwa lugha ambayo mtu hajajifunza, iwe ni lugha ya kibinadamu inayojulikana au vinginevyo. Mwisho, maneno cessationism (mafundisho ya kukoma kwa karama) na continuationism (mafundisho ya kuendelea kwa karama) yanataja misimamo miwili kuhusu iwapo karama za ishara za kimiujiza zilikoma pamoja na kipindi cha mitume au zinaendelea katika kanisa leo. Pale ambapo neno lenyewe linabishaniwa, tutasema hivyo waziwazi na kulishughulikia swali hilo katika sehemu iliyotengwa kwa ajili yake, badala ya kuliamua kimya kimya kwa kutumia fasili.The phrase the baptism in the Holy Spirit is used in different ways by different Christians, and its very meaning is one of the questions this course will weigh; so too is the nature of tongues — speaking in a language one has not learned, whether a known human language or otherwise. Finally, the words cessationism and continuationism name the two positions on whether the miraculous sign-gifts have ceased with the age of the apostles or continue in the church today. Where a term is itself contested, we will say so plainly and take up the question in the unit devoted to it, rather than settling it quietly by a definition.

Maswali Mawili YanayotenganishwaTwo Questions Kept Apart

Kuna tofauti moja iliyo muhimu sana kwa somo hili zima hivi kwamba ni lazima tuitambulishe tangu mwanzo kabisa, kwa maana tutairudia tena na tena. Sehemu kubwa ya machafuko na joto la mabishano kuhusu somo hili hutokana na kuchanganya pamoja maswali mawili ambayo kwa kweli ni tofauti kabisa. La kwanza ni iwapo karama fulani ni halisi — iwapo Roho Mtakatifu bado anaitoa kwa kanisa. La pili ni iwapo uzoefu fulani unadaiwa kwa kila mwamini — iwapo kila Mkristo, kwa mfano, ni lazima anene kwa lugha ili kuthibitisha kwamba amempokea Roho.There is one distinction so important to this whole study that we must introduce it at the very outset, for we will return to it again and again. A great deal of the confusion and heat around this subject comes from running together two questions that are really quite different. The first is whether a gift is real — whether the Holy Spirit still gives it to the church. The second is whether a particular experience is required of every believer — whether every Christian must, for example, speak in tongues to prove that he has received the Spirit.

Maswali haya mawili si sawa, na jibu la moja haliamui lile jingine. Mtu anaweza kuamini kwamba karama ya kunena kwa lugha ni halisi kabisa na bado akakana kwamba kila mwamini ni lazima anene kwa lugha; imani hizo mbili zinakaa pamoja bila kupingana. Mafarakano mengi yasiyo ya lazima yametokea kwa kuyachukulia kana kwamba ni swali moja. Katika kozi hii yote tutayatenganisha kwa uangalifu, nawe utaona kwamba mabishano mengi yanakuwa madogo, na wazi zaidi, mara yanapotenganishwa.These two questions are not the same, and the answer to one does not decide the other. A person may believe that the gift of tongues is entirely real and still deny that every believer must speak in tongues; the two convictions sit together without contradiction. Much needless division has arisen from treating them as a single question. Throughout this course we will keep them carefully apart, and you will find that many disputes grow smaller, and much clearer, once they are separated.

Jinsi Kozi Hii Inavyolishughulikia SomoHow This Course Approaches the Subject

Basi, kozi hii itapimaje somo kubwa hivi na linalobishaniwa hivi? Kwanza na kuliko yote, tunapima kila kitu kwa Maandiko, ambayo ndiyo mamlaka yetu ya mwisho. Tunakuja kwa somo hili kama vile Waberoya waungwana walivyokuja kwa mahubiri ya Paulo — si kwa mioyo iliyofungwa, wala si kwa mioyo inayosadiki kila kitu, bali tukilipokea neno kwa uelekevu kisha tukiyachunguza Maandiko tuone kama mambo hayo ndivyo yalivyo. Hakuna uzoefu wowote, hata uwe na nguvu kiasi gani, na hakuna mwalimu yeyote, hata apendwe kiasi gani, aliye juu ya Neno la Mungu lililoandikwa.How, then, will this course weigh so large and so disputed a subject? First and above all, we measure everything by Scripture, which is our final authority. We come to this study as the noble Bereans came to Paul's preaching — not with closed minds, and not with credulous ones, but receiving the word readily and then searching the Scriptures to see whether these things are so. No experience, however powerful, and no teacher, however admired, stands above the written Word of God.

Pili, katika maswali ambayo Wakristo waaminifu wanayabishania kwa kweli — iwapo karama za ishara zinaendelea, ubatizo katika Roho ni nini, Paulo anamaanisha nini kwa "lililo kamili" — tutafanya kile ambacho seminari hii hufanya kuhusu utawala wa miaka elfu (milenia). Tutaeleza kila msimamo wa uaminifu katika hali yake yenye nguvu zaidi, tukiwasilisha hoja bora ambazo watetezi wake wangetoa, wala hatutalazimisha hukumu yetu wenyewe, tukikuachia wewe kupima Maandiko na kufikia msimamo wako mwenyewe ulio thabiti. Huu si udhaifu wala kusitasita; ni haki ambayo kweli inaidai pale watu wacha Mungu wanaoipenda Biblia ile ile wanapoisoma kwa namna tofauti.Second, on the questions that faithful Christians genuinely dispute — whether the sign-gifts continue, what the baptism in the Spirit is, what Paul means by "that which is perfect" — we will do what this seminary does with the millennium. We will set out each faithful position at its strongest, presenting the best case its defenders would make, and we will impose no verdict of our own, leaving you to weigh the Scriptures and come to your own settled conviction. This is not weakness or indecision; it is the fairness that truth requires when godly people who love the same Bible read it differently.

Tatu, tutapima fundisho kwa misingi yake lenyewe, kwa Neno, na tutapima vuguvugu kwa Maandiko yake na kwa waaminifu wake — kamwe si kwa wahubiri wake walio wabaya zaidi na wanaoonekana zaidi, wala kwa upotoshaji wake. Na katika yote hayo tutamweka Kristo katikati, tukikumbuka maneno ya Bwana mwenyewe kwamba Roho alitolewa ili kumtukuza Yeye. Ahadi hizi nne — Maandiko kuwa kipimo, haki katika maswali yaliyo wazi, kupima kwa waaminifu badala ya walio wabaya zaidi, na Kristo katikati — zitaongoza kila sehemu inayofuata.Third, we will judge a teaching on its own terms, by the Word, and we will judge a movement by its Scriptures and its faithful — never by its worst and most visible preachers, nor by its distortions. And through all of it we will keep Christ at the center, remembering the Lord's own words that the Spirit was given to glorify Him. These four commitments — Scripture as the measure, fairness on the open questions, judgment by the faithful rather than the worst, and Christ at the center — will guide every unit that follows.

Mtazamo wa UpendoA Charitable Posture

Kutokana na hayo yote, inafuata kwamba ni lazima tulikaribie vuguvugu hili, na watu walio ndani yake, kwa upendo. Mamia ya mamilioni walio katika familia hii ni, kwa wingi wao mkubwa, ndugu zetu wa kiume na wa kike katika Kristo — washiriki wenzetu wa mwili wake, wengi wao wakiwa watu wa maombi, waaminifu, na wenye bidii kwa ajili ya injili, wengine wao maskini zaidi na wanaoteswa zaidi kuliko sisi, na si wapenzi kidogo kwa Mwokozi wao. Hatuwaendei kama maadui wa kukanushwa bali kama familia ya kueleweka.It follows from all this that we must approach the movement, and the people in it, with charity. The hundreds of millions who belong to this family are, in the great majority, our brothers and sisters in Christ — fellow members of His body, many of them prayerful, faithful, and zealous for the gospel, some of them poorer and more persecuted than we are, and no less dear to their Savior. We come to them not as enemies to be refuted but as family to be understood.

"bali tushike kweli katika upendo, na tukue hata tumfikie yeye katika yote, yeye aliye kichwa, Kristo."Waefeso 4:15 (SUV)"but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ."Ephesians 4:15 (NKJV)

Hii haimaanishi kujifanya kwamba yote ni shwari pale ambapo sivyo. Tutakuwa waaminifu kuhusu makosa halisi — injili ya mafanikio, na baadhi ya mambo ya kupita kiasi yanayolivunjia heshima jina la Roho — na pale Maandiko yanapodai hivyo, tutakataa kwa upendo kile kinachofundishwa. Lakini hatutawasingizia wengi kwa makosa ya wachache, wala hatutaruhusu tofauti ya maoni ya kweli igeuke kuwa dharau. Kweli na upendo si washindani; Maandiko yanaviunganisha pamoja, nasi ni lazima tufanye vivyo hivyo, tukishika kweli katika upendo kuelekea wale tunaoshiriki nao Bwana mmoja.This does not mean pretending that all is well where it is not. We will be honest about real errors — the prosperity gospel, certain excesses that dishonor the Spirit's name — and where Scripture requires it, we will lovingly decline what is taught. But we will not slander the many for the faults of a few, nor allow honest disagreement to curdle into contempt. Truth and love are not rivals; Scripture binds them together, and so must we, speaking the truth in love toward those with whom we share one Lord.

Tutakayoyaamua na TusiyoyaamuaWhat We Will and Will Not Settle

Huenda ikasaidia kusema waziwazi nini cha kutarajia kutoka kwa kozi hii, ili mtu yeyote asikatishwe tamaa kwa sababu zisizo sahihi. Mambo mengine itayaamua waziwazi, kwa sababu Maandiko yanayaamua waziwazi: kwamba Roho Mtakatifu ni Mungu na anatenda kazi kweli kweli, kwamba injili ya mafanikio ni upotoshaji wa injili, na kwamba wanaoteseka kamwe wasilaumiwe kwa mateso yao. Pale Biblia inaposema kwa sauti moja iliyo wazi, hatutajifanya kusitasita.It may help to say clearly what to expect from this course, so that no one is disappointed for the wrong reasons. Some things it will settle plainly, because Scripture settles them plainly: that the Holy Spirit is God and truly at work, that the prosperity gospel is a distortion of the gospel, that the suffering must never be blamed for their suffering. Where the Bible speaks with one clear voice, we will not pretend to hesitate.

Mambo mengine itayaacha wazi kwa makusudi, kwa sababu Maandiko yenyewe yanayaacha wazi: iwapo karama za ishara za kimiujiza zinaendelea leo, na ubatizo katika Roho hasa ni nini. Katika mambo haya, usitarajie kozi hii ikupe hukumu. Badala yake tarajia kusikilizwa kwa haki kwa hoja zenye nguvu zaidi za kila upande, na vifaa vya kuzipima wewe mwenyewe mbele za Mungu. Kulazimisha uhakika pale Maandiko yanaponyamaza kungekuwa kuliongezea Neno, si kuliheshimu.Other things it will deliberately leave open, because Scripture itself leaves them open: whether the miraculous sign-gifts continue today, and what precisely the baptism in the Spirit is. On these, do not expect the course to hand you a verdict. Expect instead a fair hearing of the strongest arguments on each side, and the tools to weigh them yourself before God. To force a certainty where Scripture is quiet would be to add to the Word, not to honor it.

Unaweza kuuliza kwa haki mwandishi wa kozi hii mwenyewe anasimama wapi. Kama mwalimu yeyote, ana misimamo yake mwenyewe iliyo thabiti, aliyoifikia kwa miaka mingi ya kujifunza; lakini katika maswali yaliyo wazi hatakushinikiza kuikubali kana kwamba ni amri iliyo wazi ya Maandiko. Kazi yake hapa si kukufanya ukubaliane naye, bali kuyaweka Maandiko na hoja zenye nguvu zaidi mbele yako kwa uwazi, na kumtumaini Roho na Neno kufanya kazi yao katika dhamiri yako mwenyewe. Pale Biblia inapofunga, yeye atafunga; pale inapoacha uhuru, atakuacha huru.You may fairly ask where the writer of this course himself stands. Like any teacher, he holds his own settled convictions, reached over years of study; but on the open questions he will not press them upon you as though they were the plain command of Scripture. His task here is not to make you agree with him, but to set the Scriptures and the strongest arguments before you clearly, and to trust the Spirit and the Word to do their work in your own conscience. Where the Bible binds, he will bind; where it leaves liberty, he will leave you free.

Safari Iliyo MbeleThe Journey Ahead

Maneno yakiwa yamefafanuliwa na mtazamo ukiwa umewekwa, tunaweza kuchora njia iliyo mbele yetu. Tutaanza kwa kumtafakari Roho Mtakatifu kama Maandiko yote yanavyomwonyesha, kisha siku ya Pentekoste, Roho alipomwagwa na kanisa likazaliwa. Tutajifunza karama ya kunena kwa lugha katika kitabu cha Matendo na katika nyaraka za Paulo, na ubatizo katika Roho Mtakatifu unaobishaniwa sana. Tutafuatilia historia ya vuguvugu hili — kuzaliwa kwake mwanzoni mwa karne ya ishirini, na kuenea kwake baadaye katika makanisa ya kihistoria kupitia uamsho wa karismatiki.With the terms defined and the posture set, we can sketch the path before us. We will begin by considering the Holy Spirit as the whole of Scripture presents Him, and then the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out and the church was born. We will study the gift of tongues in the book of Acts and in Paul's letters, and the much-debated baptism in the Holy Spirit. We will trace the movement's history — its birth in the early twentieth century, and its later spread into the historic churches through the charismatic renewal.

Kutoka hapo tutashughulikia utendaji wa karama leo — uponyaji, miujiza, unabii, na kunena kwa lugha — na uhalisi wa vita vya kiroho. Tutakabiliana kwa uaminifu na upotoshaji ulioota kando ya vuguvugu hili, mkuu wao ukiwa injili ya mafanikio. Na tutamaliza kwa tathmini kamili ya kibiblia, tukiunganisha nyuzi zote pamoja. Njiani utakutana na maswali makuu na hoja zenye nguvu zaidi za kila upande. Basi, yaendee kama Waberoya walivyofanya — tayari kupokea, na wenye bidii kuyachunguza Maandiko.From there we will take up the exercise of the gifts today — healing, miracles, prophecy, and tongues — and the reality of spiritual warfare. We will face honestly the distortions that have grown up alongside the movement, chief among them the prosperity gospel. And we will end with a whole biblical assessment, drawing every thread together. Along the way you will meet the great questions and the strongest cases on each side. Come to them, then, as the Bereans did — ready to receive, and diligent to search the Scriptures.

Neno Kabla HatujaanzaA Word Before We Begin

Neno moja la mwisho kabla hatujaanza. Lolote utakalohitimisha kuhusu maswali ambayo kozi hii inayaacha wazi, acha somo lenyewe lifanye kazi ya ndani zaidi ndani yako kuliko kuamua hoja yoyote moja. Acha likusogeze karibu zaidi na Kristo, liongeze upendo wako kwa Neno lake, linoe utambuzi wako, na lipanue upendo wako kwa watu wake katika utofauti wao wote. Mambo haya yana thamani kubwa kuliko kushinda mjadala.One last word before we begin. Whatever you come to conclude on the questions this course leaves open, let the study itself do a deeper work in you than the settling of any single argument. Let it drive you nearer to Christ, deepen your love for His Word, sharpen your discernment, and enlarge your charity toward His people in all their variety. These are worth more than winning a debate.

"Yeye atanitukuza mimi, kwa kuwa atatwaa katika yaliyo yangu na kuwapasha habari."Yohana 16:14 (SUV)"He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."John 16:14 (NKJV)

Kwa maana hicho, hatimaye, ndicho kipimo cha kila kitu tutakachojifunza: iwapo kinamwinua Yesu Kristo na kuwafanya watu wake wafanane naye zaidi. Roho alitolewa ili kumtukuza Mwana; kozi hii, kwa namna yake ndogo, na ifanye vivyo hivyo. Basi na tuanze — tukiwa na Biblia zilizofunguliwa, mioyo minyenyekevu, na macho yetu yakimtazama Mwokozi.For that, in the end, is the measure of everything we will study: whether it lifts up Jesus Christ and makes His people more like Him. The Spirit was given to glorify the Son; may this course, in its own small way, do the same. So let us begin — with open Bibles, humble hearts, and our eyes on the Savior.

Maswali ya MajadilianoDiscussion Questions

• Kwa nini inaweza kuwa muhimu kwa mchungaji au kiongozi mlei katika Amerika ya Kusini kulielewa vizuri vuguvugu la Kipentekoste na la karismatiki?Why might it matter for a pastor or lay leader in Latin America to understand the Pentecostal and charismatic movement well?
• Kwa maneno yako mwenyewe, ni maswali gani mawili ambayo kozi hii huyatenganisha, na kwa nini kuyachanganya husababisha matatizo?In your own words, what are the two questions this course keeps apart, and why does confusing them cause trouble?
• Kushika kweli na upendo pamoja kunaonekanaje tunapotofautiana na waamini wenzetu?What does it look like to hold truth and love together when we disagree with fellow believers?
• Kwa nini ni hekima kuacha baadhi ya maswali yakiwa wazi badala ya kulazimisha hukumu ambayo Maandiko hayatoi?Why is it wise to leave some questions open rather than forcing a verdict Scripture does not give?

Matumizi katika HudumaMinistry Application

Andika sentensi mbili au tatu zinazoeleza jinsi ungemweleza rafiki tofauti kati ya kuiheshimu kazi halisi ya Mungu na kulipima kila fundisho kwa Maandiko.Write two or three sentences describing how you would explain to a friend the difference between honoring a genuine work of God and testing every teaching by Scripture.