A Message from a Pentecostal Brother to the Roman Catholic Church and the Wider Church: A Summer Reflection

Dear Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, dear Orthodox brothers and sisters, and dear brothers and sisters across the wider Body of Christ,

As summer begins and many of us prepare for a season of rest, I wanted to write you a personal message. It is a message of gratitude, of learning, and above all, of our shared love for Jesus Christ. I also write this to my fellow Pentecostals, Evangelicals, and Protestants, because what I have experienced over the past years has quietly but profoundly shaped my own spiritual journey.

Let me begin by saying this clearly: I remain wholeheartedly Pentecostal. The Holy Spirit, the authority of Scripture, the gifts of the Spirit, passionate worship, prayer, evangelism, and the mission of the Church remain at the very heart of who I am. I have not left my Pentecostal home, nor do I wish to. On the contrary, I remain deeply grateful for the movement that taught me to expect the living presence and transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

Yet something beautiful has been unfolding in my life. The more I study Christian history, the early Church, the Church Fathers, and the spiritual traditions that shaped Christianity long before the Reformation, and the more I interact with my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, especially through the Community of Sant’Egidio, the more I realize how much I have yet to learn. Their witness has opened new windows in my own spiritual journey and deepened my appreciation for the richness of the Roman Catholic Church and the wider historic Christian tradition.

I have discovered a richness that I had overlooked for many years. The rhythm of daily prayer, silence, contemplation, liturgy, beauty, symbolism, sacramental life, and the wisdom preserved through centuries have enriched my relationship with Christ. Rather than leading me away from the Holy Spirit, these ancient practices have made me more attentive to His presence. They have not made me less Pentecostal. They have made me a calmer, more rooted, and, I hope, a more mature Pentecostal. Some of these ancient practices have quietly become part of my personal spiritual life. I have come to love making the sign of the cross. It has become a simple yet profound confession that my life belongs to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Every time I make that sign, I am reminded whose I am.

I have also grown to love the crucifix. Looking upon Christ crucified reminds me that my salvation is not merely a theological truth to defend but the greatest act of divine love in history. The crucifix continually brings me back to Christ’s suffering and reminds me what it cost Him to redeem me. It keeps before my eyes the immeasurable love of God revealed on Calvary.

Alongside this, I have developed a growing appreciation for the artistic and spiritual treasures preserved within the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Their churches, sacred architecture, paintings, sculptures, relics, and especially the beautiful icons of the Orthodox Church are far more than works of art. They tell the story of salvation, bear witness to generations of faithful believers, and invite us to contemplate the mystery and beauty of God. Alongside their artistic brilliance, they carry a profound spirituality that continues to inspire, teach, and draw the heart toward Christ. As someone who loves photography and visual storytelling, I have increasingly come to see them as a form of visual theology. Sometimes beauty preaches where words cannot. A crucifix, an icon, a stained-glass window, or a centuries-old painting can become a silent sermon, inviting us to pause, reflect, and encounter Christ anew.

“The Holy Spirit did not begin His work with Pentecostalism, nor did He cease working after the apostolic age.”

Another discovery has been my growing appreciation for Mary, the mother of our Lord. The more I read Scripture, the more I realize that many of us in Protestant, Evangelical, and Pentecostal circles have unintentionally reduced her place in our spiritual imagination. In our understandable desire to keep Christ at the centre, we have often spoken too little about the woman whom God Himself chose to bear the Incarnate Word. Honouring Mary does not diminish Christ. Rather, she magnifies Him. She points us to Him. She remains one of the greatest examples of humble faith, obedience, and discipleship found anywhere in Scripture.

My prayer life has also changed in ways I never expected. For many years I have cherished praying in tongues, and I continue to do so with great joy. At the same time, I have discovered the beauty of silent prayer. I no longer see these as contrasting practices but as complementary gifts. Praying in tongues allows the Spirit to intercede beyond the limits of language, while silence teaches me to become still enough to listen. One gives expression to the mystery of prayer; the other creates space to hear the gentle whisper of God. Together they have brought a new depth, balance, and peace to my walk with Christ.

The Reformation gave the Church priceless gifts, and I remain profoundly grateful for its renewed emphasis on Scripture, salvation by grace through faith, and the centrality of Jesus Christ. Yet every renewal movement also carries the possibility of forgetting some of the treasures that came before it. Perhaps our generation has the opportunity to recover those treasures without losing the gifts God has entrusted to our own traditions. My appreciation for Roman Catholic spirituality is not about becoming less Pentecostal. It is about becoming more deeply Christian by learning from the whole Body of Christ.

My appreciation for Roman Catholic spirituality is not about becoming less Pentecostal. It is about becoming more deeply Christian by learning from the whole Body of Christ.

To my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, I simply want to say thank you. Thank you for preserving a spiritual heritage that has nourished countless believers throughout the centuries. Through your witness I have rediscovered the value of reverence, contemplation, beauty in worship, faithful spiritual disciplines, and the wisdom of Christians who walked with Christ long before my own tradition came into existence.

To my Orthodox brothers and sisters, thank you for reminding the Church of the beauty of mystery, worship, and continuity with the faith of the early centuries. Your witness, too, has enriched my understanding of the Christian faith.

To my fellow Pentecostals, I hope you will receive these words in the spirit in which they are written. They are not a departure from our shared faith but an invitation to rediscover the breadth and depth of Christ’s Church. The Holy Spirit did not begin His work with Pentecostalism, nor did He cease working after the apostolic age. For two thousand years He has faithfully guided the Church, raising up women and men whose lives continue to inspire believers across generations. We honour the Holy Spirit not only by embracing what He is doing today, but also by recognizing what He has done throughout the history of the Church.

Likewise, I hope my Roman Catholic and Orthodox friends may also see something beautiful in the Pentecostal tradition: our joyful expectation that the Holy Spirit still fills believers, still speaks, still heals, still transforms lives, still empowers ordinary people for extraordinary service, and still sends the Church into the world with courage and hope. These gifts belong to the whole Body of Christ.

Perhaps our future does not lie in becoming the same, but in becoming better disciples of Jesus Christ by receiving one another’s gifts with humility while keeping Him at the very centre of our faith. Unity does not require uniformity. The Body of Christ has always been enriched by its diversity when that diversity remains rooted in the love of Christ.

As we enter the summer season, my prayer is that all of us, whatever our tradition, may slow down, pray more deeply, read Scripture more attentively, listen to one another more generously, and rediscover the beauty of belonging to the one Body of Christ. May we never stop learning from one another, and may we never lose our wonder at the many ways the Holy Spirit continues to shape His Church.

I remain joyfully Pentecostal. Yet I also find myself increasingly at home learning from the Roman Catholic Church and the wider Christian family. And I believe this has not made me less Pentecostal. It has made me a more deeply rooted follower of Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace to you all, and may the Holy Spirit bless you with a restful and Christ-centred summer.

Rev. Dr. Samuel Lee

Photo: © Sam Lee | Community of Sant’Egidio at Moses and Aaron Church, Amsterdam