Identity, Communication and Acts 2: A Pentecostal Contribution Towards the Healing of a Fragmented European Society

The history of Europe is one of war and colonialism, and the continent is characterised by great diversity, exacerbated by a strong emphasis on individualism and fragmentation into different sub-cultures and communities. This chapter will argue that the two identity-forming narratives for Pentecostals, Acts 2 and the Azusa Street Revival, can make an important contribution to healing, reconciliation and the ability to communicate with people from different out-groups, or people who are different even within the same in-group, because all are equally different from the Spirit of God who has been poured out on all flesh. At the same time, an identity based on the Acts 2 narrative becomes an important resource for communication between different groups (national, ethnic, gender, social class, etc.) and sub-groups (communities, political, economic, sexual orientation, etc.): Spirit-filled people are empowered to speak the language of those who are different from themselves. Therefore, Christians in general, and Pentecostals in particular, are called to enter the spaces that the Spirit opens for them, and to enter those spaces with the awareness that the Spirit is already there; to fill others as the Spirit fills them.