Dan Hitchens has narrated this article for you to listen to.
The Pentecostal preacher is in full flow – his voice raised to near-deafening volume, his gestures expansive but exact, the congregation murmuring back a chorus of ‘Amens’ – when he receives an unexpected interruption. ‘A woman asked me at the barbecue last week,’ he is telling us, ‘“Pastor, if I won the Lottery…”’
A voice somewhere to his right intervenes. ‘A-MEN!’
A wave of laughter from the congregation. The preacher rides it. ‘No! Don’t Amen that! We don’t believe in lotteries, we believe in work. Hard work. So, she asked me, “Pastor, if I won the Lottery, and I gave the money to the church repair fund, would you accept it?” And I said…’
The congregation is quiet again. We’re in the realm of moral theology.
‘Of course I would! Does that mean I want you to play the Lottery? Of course not!’
Communities which make serious demands are more likely to inspire serious commitment
It’s Sunday morning at an Elim Pentecostal church in London, and the place feels alive – fittingly for perhaps the fastest-growing Christian community in the UK.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in