Navigating the Shades and Nexus of Ghanaian Pentecostalism(S): A Search for an Appropriate Metaphor

Abstract

This paper explores the diversities as well as unifying features of Ghanaian Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity. From an emic point of view as a Ghanaian Pentecostal cleric and a Pentecostal scholar, the author analyses a compendium of scholarly literature of various typologies and nomenclature used to delineate the various shades of Ghanaian Pentecostalism(s). The paper contends that even though there are divergent perspectives and emphases within the movement, Ghanaian Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity is bound together within a nexus of shared elements. The fact is that the movement can be considered from a unified perspective rather than a rambling and disjointed phenomenon. The paper, therefore, finds the use of a wave metaphor in describing the movement more appropriate than the use of descriptive typologies.