Pentecostal Spirituality As Lived Experience
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Pentecostal Spirituality as Lived Experience: An Empirical Study of Women in the British Black Pentecostal Church By Marcia Clarke A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham September 1, 2015 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract This study’s central thesis is based upon a qualitative research project which captured and analysed the focus group conversations of fifty-two Black British Pentecostal women of African - Caribbean heritage as they discuss their lived experience in terms of Christian spirituality. Practical Theology as a theologically normative discipline provides the lens through which to study spirituality as experience. This thesis states that the lived experience of Black British Pentecostal women develops and informs Pentecostal spirituality as lived experience as part of a conscious and integrated lifestyle and further facilitates growth in a woman’s relationship with God. The translation of the Hebrew term yāda῾ meaning ‘to know’ is relevant to this understanding, as it is interpreted as to know by experience. Pentecostal spirituality as lived experience is deduced as an aspect of African- Caribbean Christian Consciousness and the 'language of resistance'. Both constructs enabled the participants in a British context to redefine their social experience on their own terms. Further, Black British Pentecostal women’s experience fills a gap in womanist and feminist literature on the subject of women’s spirituality. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge by its exploration of the spirituality of Black Caribbean Pentecostal women in Britain through empirical theological research methods. Its focus on Pentecostal spirituality as lived experience moves the discussion beyond the analysis of crisis events and the study of Pentecostal congregational worship. Acknowledgements Words are not enough to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Mark Cartledge, who has been an invaluable support from the beginning and throughout this process, thank you! To my husband, Dr Clifton Clarke, for being a sounding board, and children, Joel and Jessica: thank you for being excited, supportive and understanding; now I am looking forward to spending more time with you all. Thank you to my mum, Mavis Chambers, and the women (and men) of the New Testament Church of God in England, who are the main inspiration for this study. These women modelled and taught me to love God, for which I will be forever grateful. This thesis was lightly copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Dr. Rona Johnston. ii Contents Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1. Motivations for this Study 2 1.2. Definition of Terms 2 1.2.1. Black Majority Church 2 1.2.2. Spirituality 5 1.2.3. Pentecostal Spirituality as Lived Experience: A Sensitising Concept 8 1.3. Pentecostal Experience and Pentecostal Spirituality as Lived Experience 10 1.4. Statement of the Problem 15 1.5. Research Aims and Objectives 17 1.6. The Nature and Limitations of the Study 18 1.6.1. How this Work Relates to Other Studies in the Field 21 1.6.2. Black British Women of Caribbean Descent 28 1.7. Overview of the Study 29 Chapter 2: Research Methodology 31 2.1. Epistemological Principles 32 2.1.1. The Researcher as Insider 32 2.1.2. The Study of Spirituality 34 2.1.3. An Opportunity to Expand Knowledge 35 2.1.4. Women as Principal Characters 36 2.2. Practical Theology 38 2.2.1. Practical Theology within the Field of Theology 41 2.2.2. The Centrality of Practice in Practical Theology 47 2.2.3. Empirical Theology 51 2.2.4. A Critique of Empirical Theology 53 2.3. Method 56 2.3.1. Ordinary Theology 59 2.3.2. A Critique of Ordinary Theology 61 2.4. Qualitative Research 63 2.4.1. Qualitative Research as Process 66 2.4.2. Focus Groups as a Data-Gathering Technique 67 2.4.3. Critique of Focus Groups 71 2.4.4. The Role of the Researcher 73 2.4.5. Ethical Considerations 75 2.5. Is This Feminist Research? 79 2.6. Conclusion 83 Chapter 3: Black British Pentecostal Women: History and Spirituality 84 3.1. Challenges to the Survey 86 3.2. The Development of Jamaican People: A Historical Overview 87 3.3. The Development of Jamaican Christianity 93 3.3.1. The Introduction and Influence of Pentecostalism in Jamaica: A Synopsis 101 3.4. Jamaican Women in Great Britain – A Historical Overview 104 3.4.1. Where Was She Going? 107 3.4.2. Her Reception – By the Community and by Employers 108 iii 3.4.3. Her Reception – By the Church 110 3.4.4. Support Groups 111 3.5. Jamaican Pentecostal Women in Britain 112 3.5.1. The Foundations of the Black Pentecostal Church in Britain 113 3.5.2. The Black Pentecostal Woman’s Spirituality 116 3.5.3. The Black Pentecostal Woman’s Spirituality as Resistance 118 3.6. Missing! The Black British Pentecostal Woman 121 3.7. Conclusion 131 Chapter 4: Spirituality as Academic Discourse 133 4.1. A Historical Overview of the Development of a Contemporary Understanding of Spirituality 133 4.2. The Place of Spirituality in the Lives of Black Women 138 4.3. Defining Christian Spirituality 142 4.4. The Resurgence of Contemporary Interest in Spirituality 148 4.5. Approaches to the Study of Christian Spirituality 155 4.5.1. The Historical Approach 155 4.5.2. The Theological Approach 156 4.5.3. The Anthropological Approach 157 4.6. Conclusion 161 Chapter 5: Black British Women and the Development of Pentecostal Spirituality 162 5.1. Black Christian Spirituality: Its African Undergirding and History 163 5.1.1. African/Black Christian Spirituality: Development 167 5.1.2. Black Christian Spirituality in Jamaica – Ongoing Development 170 5.2. Pentecostalism in Jamaica 173 5.3. Pentecostal Spirituality 175 5.4. Pentecostal Spirituality as Expressed by Black British Women 183 5.5. Conclusion 193 Chapter 6: Listening to Women’s Voices 194 6.1. Problem: The Absence of BBPW Spirituality 196 6.1.1. Exploratory Descriptive Design 197 6.1.2. Data Collection 199 6.1.3. Purposive Sampling: Sourcing and Recruitment of Participants 200 6.1.4. NTCG Empowerment Conference 202 6.1.5. Sampling Plan for Individual Churches 213 6.2. The Participants 215 6.3. The Sessions 216 6.3.1. The Empowerment Conference 216 6.3.2. Individual Churches 217 6.3.3. Reflections and Observations 218 6.4. Qualitative Data Analysis 220 6.4.1. Coding and Thematic Links 221 6.5. Findings 222 6.5.1. Pentecostal Spirituality is BBPW’s Way of Being 223 6.5.2. Key Elements 228 6.5.3. Male-Female Relations 246 6.6. Conclusion 248 iv Chapter 7: Pentecostal Spirituality as Lived Experience – A Discussion 251 7.1. Pentecostal Spirituality as Lived Experience: An Integrated Way of Living? 252 7.1.1. Key Elements 252 7.1.2. Pentecostal Spirituality as Experience 267 7.1.3. Crisis in the Development of Pentecostal Spirituality 282 7.1.4 Pentecostal Spirituality as yāda῾, to Know by Experience 283 7.1.5. Critique 289 7.2. BBPW and the Shaping of Spirituality in the Pentecostal BMPC 290 7.2.1. From Africa to Jamaica 291 7.2.2. Women’s Pentecostal Experience Influences the BMC 293 7.3. BBPW Spirituality: A Challenge to Feminism and Black Theology 297 7.4. Conclusion 305 Chapter 8: Conclusion 306 Appendices 312 Appendix 1 Church of God Declaration of Faith 313 Appendix 2 Empowerment Conference Programme 314 Appendix 3a Research information/consent sheet 315 Appendix 3b Research Consent form 316 Appendix 3c Research Personal information form 317 Appendix 4 Topic Guide for Focus Group 318 Bibliography 319 v List of Figures Page Figure 1 The Pastoral Cycle 48 Figure 2 Empirical-Theology Cycle 57 Figure 3 Basic codes-to-theory model for qualitative analysis 222 vi Abbreviations AIC African Instituted Church BBPW Black British Pentecostal Women BMC Black Majority Church BMPC Black Majority Pentecostal Church C&S Church of the Cherubim and Seraphim NTCG New Testament Church of God vii Chapter 1 Introduction The study is based upon the ordinary theology of fifty-two female participants of African- Caribbean descent recruited from a purposive sample of three Black British Pentecostal Church (BBPC) as they discuss Pentecostal spirituality. The three churches, New Testament Church of God (NTCG), New Harvest Church, and Community Revival Fellowship, are located in and were founded by people of Caribbean descent the UK. NTCG and New Harvest Church belong to a denomination whilst Community Revival Fellowship is independent.1 This introductory chapter presents the motivating factors behind this qualitative study, which is principally my observation and knowledge of the resilience and spiritual fortitude of the African-Caribbean women whom I grew up around, attributes that they credited to their relationship with God. I have sought to explore academically the basis of this tenacity, that ‘something’ which I term Pentecostal spirituality as lived experience. Following this introduction, the chapter continues with a section in which the definitions of key terms are discussed, specifically Black Majority Church, spirituality and spirituality as a lived experience.