Since the beginning of global Pentecostalism in the early twentieth century, the movement has become highly significant throughout its rapid expansion across the globe. This paper asserts that although Pentecostalism has led to enormous growth in the number and spread of churches in Africa, it has also led to a deterioration in theocentric Christian spirituality. The overarching purpose of this study is to demonstrate the problems of anthropocentric spirituality in African Pentecostal worship by examining the correlation between African Pentecostalism and African Traditional Religion (ATR), focusing particularly on the Yoruba land, in order to address the need for the restoration of theocentric worship practice in Yoruba Pentecostal Christianity.
This paper lays the foundation for the study by pointing out the affinity between global Pentecostalism and the central beliefs of ATR. The commonalities of both religions include a cosmology full of spiritual force, mystical experience in daily life, the value of music and dance in worship, and the use of oral tradition as a critical method of communication. The author then presents a biblio-theological view of theocentric worship and its practice by exploring Hebrew worship and some key passages of the Bible. Additionally, the author examines the views of three historical theologians: John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and John Wesley. Each worked in different contexts but pursued a common theocentric view of worship based on biblical principles. The author demonstrates how the worldviews of ATR and Pentecostalism intertwine in the Yoruba Pentecostal church-worship praxis, as exemplified in the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM). The author also summarizes the findings of the study and provides a critical analysis of MFM worship based on the principles of theocentric worship identified in theocentric worship and its practice. This is followed by potential applications and areas for further research. In essence, this paper describes the primary concern of the “one-mile wide, one-inch deep” Christianity in Africa through an examination of distinctive features of Pentecostalism and ATR. Finally, a dynamic and balanced view of worship is presented as a means of addressing the urgent need for church reformation in Africa.