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This paper is an analysis of functionary skills and prerogatives deployed in the process of framing, negotiating and establishing conditions for action in pentecostal assemblies. It is based upon overt non-participant observation and interviewing in 66 pentecostal institutions in England and Wales, Canada and the United States. Its focus is upon the crises that arise either when the prerogative of definition is contested by two or more `special definers' or when there is a compelling resemblance of phenomena in the sacred domain to realities familiar in the profane. The skills which enable the professional functionary to sustain sacred definitions during such conflicts include competence in the sacred language, the management of laughter and the sacred gift of `discernment'.

The rise of the Charismatic Movement has been one of the most startling developments in the Church in recent years. Accounts of miraculous cures, speaking with tongues, dramatic answers to prayer, have caught the imagination of many. Yet opinion is deeply divided. Is the revival breathing new life into a moribund Church? Or is it encouraging a sinister and psychologically damaging cult of the irrational? Strange Gifts? brings together in one volume supporters and critics of the movement.