When is a Pentecostal not a Pentecostal? When She's a Charismatic! Response to Irvin, López Rodriguez and Waldrop

My attempt to write an introductory text on global Pentecostalism has its own agenda to present a global perspective and reflect a view influenced by activism and reading of'subversive' texts. Global Pentecostalism is more diverse than any other Christian tradition precisely because its different forms of expression are rooted in local contexts. It is this local-ness that makes any attempt to describe global Pentecostalism with any comprehension a hazardous, perhaps even impossible exercise. My desire was to do justice to forms of Pentecostalism found outside the western world and to be inclusive in my definition of 'Pentecostalism'. What is 'Pentecostal' and 'Charismatic' will continue to be a subject of debate for many years to come and this response argues for the intentional ambiguity of the terms.