Tondeleo: One thing that I notice about Doc and his friends, as well as other rural poor people in the US is that many of them have a deep sense of religion that I don't find in the UK. It seems to be in their blood, even if it is not readily apparent by their day to day behaviour.
Doc was talking about being in South Carolina, and how he ended up for a while staying in a Christian Mission. In the UK, we have dosshouses, or what are called Homeless Shelters in the US, but we do not have as many Christian based ones as the US does. Also, in the US, it seems like the poorer the neighbourhood, the more tattoo parlours, bowling allies and Pentecostal missions there are. It is especially true in the cities.
Pentecostalism in America is readily available, as it has gotten to be in the UK. I have noticed that in Africa and India, Pentecostalism is also quite common, even though the majority of the population may be clueless as to its existence and its substance.
I presented Doc with some questions about Pentecostalism and its predominance among particularly the poor in America, and here are some of his answers, the best I could understand them.
Doc: What is Pentecostalism? I ain't really know that one, Tondy. I ain't too big on the "ism's." Now, I been to some Pentecostal churches and have stayed in Pentecostal missions. Stayed in one in Orangeburg, matter of fact. Pentecostals is the ones what has more heart than most the other ones. Pentecostals care about poor folks an' they ain't care if you done time or been in trouble. They ain't so uppity.
Tondeleo: So, Doc, how would I recognise a Pentecostal person?
Doc: They aint nothin' to recognise, Tondy! They just look regular like me. You know Slick Ballinger [a talented young Blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina that Doc introduced me to two years ago - Tondeleo], he's a Pentecostal. Goes to a Oneness church. Apostolic. And also, Big Dave, he's a Pentecostal, too, I think. I heard him speak in tongues a long time ago, an' I guess he still does.
Pentecostals look like anyone else. But if you went to church with one, you'd see the difference and you'd hear the difference. Like in a regular church, the singin' is quiet, an' boring. In a Pentecostal church, they sing with all they's hearts! They is singin' to God Hisself and they ain't 'shamed to sing to Him. I tell you, ten Pentecostals'll sing louder than a hundred regular church folks. An' they'd enjoy it more, too.
You clap your hands and stomp your feet to the music. You can dance in a Pentecostal church, too. But not with women. No couples dancin'.
The music's better. Pentecostals put more feelin' in they's playin'. A Pentecostal piano player'll play like Jerry Lee Lewis or Leon Russell or Pinetop Perkins or Katie Webster. Jerry Lee Lewis was brought up Pentecostal. But he backslid. Pentecostals usually aint had no trainin' in music or preachin' an' they cain't read a note of music. They ain't like one of them high falutin' churches what plays by music notes an' sounds like a funeral march.
You clap your hands and stomp your feet to the music. You can dance in a Pentecostal church, too. But not with women. No couples dancin'. You dance by yourself. I done it plenty of times. An' they don't get mad at you for it, if you're dancing for the Lord.
But you ain't s'posed to get in the flesh and be shakin' your rear end or doin' no Michael Jackson moves. That ain't right to do in the house of the Lord. You're s'posed to dance in the spirit, not in the flesh. Matter of fact, dancin' for the Lord is the only dancin' what Pentecostals do. They ain't go to worldly dances.
Tondeleo: You're saying that the music is different, more lively in a Pentecostal church, and that the people can dance to it. Doesn't that seem sacrilegious to you?
Doc: Naw! It ain't sack religious. King David danced for the Lord and I know in the Bible it says somewhere to praise the Lord with dance. I heard a lot of Pentecostal preachers say that one, when some folks was dancin' an' other folks was sittin' there all sour faced an' not praisin' the Lord.
That's another thing, Tondy. The preachin' is different in Pentecostal churches. In a regular church, the preacher is usually a soft talkin' sissy whose afraid to hurt anyone's feelin's. He gets up there an' tickles their ears with a bunch of stuff about love and how God is too good to send anyone to hell and all that. He ain't wantin' no one to ever feel bad, ever.
But a Pentecostal preacher ain't like that! No Sir. First, they ain't usually sissies. Lots of 'em grew up poor. Most of them done some pretty wild livin' in their day before they was preachers. They been there and done that. They can tell you about their days of drinkin', druggin', skirt chasin' and all that. But then they got saved and God called them to preach and most of 'em started right then and there when God called 'em and they let the Holy Ghost teach 'em how to preach.
Some of 'em went to Bible college to get some trainin' and teachin' but it don't make 'em into better preachers. It just gives 'em some book learnin'.
A Pentecostal preacher'll step on your toes, too, Tondy. He'll call a spade a spade an' he don't mince no words. If you're doin' wrong, the Holy Ghost'll tell him and he'll say it right there into the microphone! He ain't scared of nothin' or no one but God. He'll preach and run around, an' unbutton his shirt a little and loosen up his tie when the Holy Ghost comes upon him, and he'll mop his brow with his hanky! He'll jump and shout a little bit, and get the people goin' at it, too! There ain't no sleepin' at a Pentecostal church!
Then, at the end, he'll quiet it on down an' ask you about if you're saved or not. He'll tell you that if you're not, you'll die and go to a devil's hell. But if you'll come to Jesus, you'll be forgiven and get to go to Heaven to be with Jesus, the Angels and all your dead relatives what loved the Lord. It makes you want to go up front. I done it plenty of times, Tondy. Gone up front to get forgiven and to get help from the Lord.
Sometimes other folks'll come up to the altar an' lay hands on you an cry and pray with you. They pray loud, too. Like God is right here in the church, but He might be a little hard of hearing. They'll hug you afterwards and tell you that they felt the Holy Ghost moving on you when they was prayin'. You feel all clean and sorta lightheaded, too. I like Pentecostal churches, I do.
A person might have the devil leave him, and he might get to jumpin' an' shoutin' and cryin' and speakin' in tongues and all the people around'll be clappin' and praisin the Lord too. They ain't nothin' like it Tondy. But don't go if you got a migraine cause they get pretty loud.
One preacher said that earth is the quietest place in the universe! He said in hell they is all shoutin' and cryin' out in pain and in Heaven everyone is shoutin' and praisin the Lord!
Here's something else I like about Pentecostal churches. They ain't like either all white or all black. They usually is mixed. Like I met Ronnie [Perkins] at a Pentecostal church up to Sumter [SC]. I wouldn't have met him in a regular church especially down South Carolina where they is still racist. Down there, pretty much unless they is Pentecostal, the whites ain't gonna worship with black folks. Only the Holy Ghost can overcome racism. It ain't in the heart of man.
What boogie-woogie is to music, Pentecostal is to religion.
OK an' one more thing. Pentecostals'll help you when you is down an' out an' they will pray for you to be delivered if you get into drugs or alcohol or illicit lifestyles. They got love and they cares about people an' they also got more power of the Holy Ghost than regular church folks.
Tondeleo: To summarise, then, Pentecostal churches are more lively, have more demonstrative preaching, and are more emotional, caring and more interactive than the regular churches?
Doc: I don't know all them words, but I would put it like this: What boogie-woogie is to music, Pentecostal is to religion. Period.
I like talkin' about church an' revivals, Tondy. It makes me feel good, as long as you ain't makin' a mockery of it. Then I would be through talkin.'
