Azusa Street, what have we lost?

There was a short 3 section biography of William Seymour, of the Azusa Street Revival, back in the middle of August. Here is a brief snippet from part 3:

Seymour was known for his less-than-glamorous style. Blind in one eye, sparsely educated, he was not a particularly charismatic preacher. He rarely took an offering and simply placed a collection box by the door, choosing to leave it up to the people to settle with God as they felt fit. As for putting on a good show, he spent much of his time during the numerous daily services with his head in a packing crate – his makeshift pulpit. He even played down what were to some the most exciting elements of the meetings, telling people "don't go out of here talking about tongues, talk about Jesus."

<idle musing>
Would that the current Pentecostal/Charismatic movement retained the same values
</idle musing>
But he continues:

Today we are missing one central element which was at the core of William Seymour's work: mission. The distinctive of the Azusa Street revival was not so much the chaos caused by the Holy Spirit in the meetings, but the great force with which people were sent out. Much of the spread of the Pentecostal church was due simply to the fact that believers left their homes, put aside their careers and headed off to where they were needed, whether that was the other side of the world, the state or the street. Sacrifice and obedience were high on the list of desirables, and coupled with a desire to take the gospel out to those without prior knowledge, the army of inspired Spiritual footmen was a formidable force.

Today it can be hard to find much talk of 'going' – harder, at least, than it is to hear exhortations for people to gravitate to us. It seems like the preferred flavour is of staying, of pursuing spiritual answers to physical problems. That being said, members of the conference were invited to take part in a mass distribution of food and hygiene products to the city's homeless – a glorious and bold act that the church has the potential to do so well. Yet any tour of the retail zone that tried to hook in as many willing consumers as possible, and it was immediately clear that poverty and justice are poorly represented among Pentecostal publishers.

<idle musing>
Too bad. The church—not just the pentecostal/charismatic wing of it—seems more intent on getting people to “come to church” than on being church.

Lord, fill us with a fresh vision of what you want your church to look like! May we respond in obedience to that vision as you fill us with your presence and power to make it happen!
</idle musing>