The Sunday News
Rev Paul Bayethe Damasane Spirituality
LAST week I made an overview of definitions of the common things that come out through the songs of the spirit in our discourse on Pentecostalism. I would like to continue today to interrogate the language used in these churches. I suppose you will understand that there is more to language than the words. But let me hasten to say that in every ritual in all religions one of the most important things besides all the noise, paraphernalia, kinetics and neologisms is the use of the word.
Let me refresh your mind dear reader, on Pentecostalism because as a religious phenomenon it owes its origin to the event of the day of the Pentecost in Acts of the Apostles chapter 2: 1-4. Pentecostalism derives its name from the historical event of the Pentecost. Pentecostalism is experiential Christianity resulting in the baptism of the believer in the Holy Spirit as shown in speaking in tongues. Baptism in the Holy Spirit follows conversion and is evidenced by speaking in tongues.
The phenomenon of speaking in tongues I have previously referred to as glossolalia, a Greek word meaning, “tongues”, the power of the Holy spirit in the individual is manifested in the gifts of the Holy Spirit which Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 12: 4-10. Unlike other historic churches where infant baptism is encouraged, adult baptism by immersion is an important characteristic in the Pentecostal churches and organisations. There has been a contemporary development in Pentecostalism since 1970 which has made the phenomenon a force to be reckoned with in Bulawayo in particular and Zimbabwe in general. Although it is part of a global phenomenon whose origin cannot be explained in terms of a single cause. However, several factors were responsible for its emergence in our city and country and these include historical, sociological, economic, political and religious factors.
From a historical perspective, missionary enterprise in Zimbabwe in the 19th century was initiated by the Congregationalist, followed by the Anglicans and Catholics. Later Bulawayo would see an influx of other Anglicised spiritual groups such as the Methodists and the Baptists just to mention a few. In the 1970s came the influx of new spiritual activities in Bulawayo. The emergence of the youth in the hierarchy of the mainline churches for leadership ambitions led to an out-pouring of youths from these historic churches to the Pentecostal churches where they could compete favourably for leadership roles.
From an economic point of view, the emergence of a new youthful educated elite class who were mostly unemployed or underemployed has encouraged the growth of the church and movement as more people find jobs as “pastors” in the Pentecostal churches. Politically, the establishment of a church requires recognition from government and the society at large. It is also a source of power and control. Spiritual ineffectiveness of the historic churches in dealing with the devil for instance led to the growth of the Pentecostal churches which offered solutions to almost every problem.
Although language is communication, today we shall also be looking at other aspects of communication, such as non-verbal communication.
This includes body movement or kinetics and how different parts of the body are used to aid communication. The Pastor uses facial expressions, eye contact, emotional tears, regulators such as head nodding, hand gestures to emphasise a point, he shifts in posture, and illustrators such as a wave of the hand, pointing in the direction of an entity etc. touching and so on.
The Preacher in the Pentecostal church violates all spatial contiguity (this is the science of space between the communicator and the one being communicated to or with) as he may start off with a public distance up at the pulpit, then moves down and around at a social distance going further to a personal distance where he may stand and pointedly talk to an individual. When he wants to pray for someone he operates at an intimate distance and may lay his hand on the person while praying. Others nowadays have even gone to the point of blowing at the person or making antiques or gymnastics that may result in the believer falling under the “power” or as we may say “being held by the Spirit” (esebanjwe ngumoya!).
The power of words cannot be over-looked. Words can be venomous, rabble-rousing, aggressive, disrespectful, provocative, persuasive or even destructive. In religion we experience the spiritual power of speech. Religion is concerned with many relationships to a supernatural being or power in the great drama of existence. This is God, uThixo, uNkulunkulu, Nzimu or as the Pentecostals now have some Nigerian influence some will call him Chineke! For inclusive and wider influence most Pentecostal churches will use English. There are some which will use chiShona or isiNdebele but on the main this will be through an interpreter. The church uses mostly English to preach, to sing and to pray. It is therefore the dominant language of the church some scholars will describe as having “the full panoply of uses that signify a standard language and invests its users with prestige, self-confidence and power which includes economic, educational, academic, intellectual, socio-cultural and political powers”.
A phenomenon of the exhibition of the language choices of the Pentecostal is with reference to the founder where the language of the founder can be made into the undeclared official language of the spirit in the congregation. The manifestation of language use and communication in the Pentecostal churches is reflected mostly in preaching, praying and singing of choruses. One member was heard saying ‘‘these English and isiNdebele songs azingingenisi emoyeni like the chiShona songs”. The result then becomes a preponderance of the language of choice because it is linked to founder or the prophet’s mother language. I still am to find otherwise. There is a powerful church whose founder was Zulu and up to now those that pray, preach and sing do so in isiZulu. It went to a point where even the revelation of who to marry came in isiZulu resulting at some point with men marrying South African women . . . beholwe ngumoya! Inkosi inisize bazalwane! Or others may say . . . Mwari vakuitire zvakanaka!! That is the power of language for you.
On a practical look at the language usage and communication in the Pentecostal church one sees a peculiarity of speech in these circles. The Bible is the sole authority of the Pentecostal churches and organisations. The authority of the preacher and the interpreter of the Bible is also important. First of all, preaching involves a varied voice for emphasis with the pitch of voice, rising and falling dramatically. Gestures and facial expressions are used effectively for non-verbal communication.
The language is often forceful. The audience/congregation is addressed almost personally with a lot of personal devices such as use of the personal pronoun including; we, us, I, you, ourselves etc. Pronouns are used in such a way as to include the preacher. “Let us give a clap offering to the Lord”. A clap offering is also a dramatic action. It helps hold the attention of the congregation. It is dramatic in that even if the preacher said something he felt was worth clapping for, he gives the glory to God. “I welcome all of us to this service . . .” “us” instead of the conventional “you” shows deliberate inclusion of the speaker and is therefore an inclusive device.
The preacher sometimes preaches interactively. This way, he involves the audience by asking them polar questions that require a clear yes or no answer. “Am I right?” or “speak to me somebody!” He may also suddenly burst into a song that the church sings along with him. He may also make general requests such as “Somebody praise the Lord . . .” “Somebody say Amen!”
In his voice production, the Preacher articulates in a loud voice and may sometimes quicken and suddenly slow his preaching for effectiveness. He plays a lot on the effect of shouting suddenly and pausing for dramatic effect. He injects emotion into his voice. Rhetorical questions are used as a device. The preacher does not expect any answer and this may affect the congregation more positively than any direct question or statement.
I have not seen the end of this matter dear reader, there is more. The language of the revival is key to the continuation of the revival and is significantly different to that of the mainline church which is limited by adherence to a strict liturgy. Somebody say Amen to this article today! God bless you! Shalom!
