Caring for Contemporary Mystics: Pentecostalism and the Mystical Worldview

Abstract

Pentecostals can be understood as contemporary Christian mystics, and doing so can aid one in both understanding and caring for them. The task of understanding them is facilitated by this category in that it allows one to inhabit a different mindset from what is typical in contemporary settings. Pentecostalism and charismatic movements work out of distinct, fundamental claims that together work as a kind of worldview, one that operates from a hyperawareness of God’s presence and a sensed empowerment of the mystic’s self. The task of caring for them should honor these claims all the while being open to the Spirit’s presence and work.