Century of PAWI praise

HUNDREDS of people raised their voices and hands in praise to God last Sunday at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex as they joined in the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies (PAWI).During the event, which saw dozens of local Pentecostal ministers attending, Reverend Ruthlyn Bradshaw, from Montserrat and the United Kingdom, presented the sermon from Zachariah 4: 1-7.She urged members of the congregation not to forget how they got to where they were. Bradshaw said what Barbadians needed to do was to go out and witness.“We are in a culture which promotes self-reliance. Churches today have become caught up in the boastful attitude. They boast of their influence and popularity and large bank accounts. Nothing is wrong with the church prospering, but the warning . . . to us today is intended to correct the short-sightedness of man.“We have increased in might and power. As Pentecostal people we can unashamedly take our place alongside any other organisation. One of the dangers we must guard against is that we must not forget how we got here. We should never render obsolete some of the methods and means that brought us here,” she cautioned.Bradshaw summoned the congregation to “stop shunning” people they did not understand.  She said too many people in the Pentecostal church had become  “so lazy” that “if the gold is gone,  we say let’s just get some brass”.“What Barbados needs is Holy Ghost-filled people willing to go across the borders and up and down the stairs of brokenness and pain; [people who are] willing to go down in the junkyards of human suffering and disgust and proclaim to them that the spirit gives life.” The preacher said people went to church for entertainment purposes.“Preachers are no longer looked at as the messengers of God bringing forth a proclamation. They are looked on as somebody who comes to entertain. The more you can entertain, the better you are,” said Bradshaw. (MM)