Genuine spiritual fullness is bridge building. To be fully Pentecostal means being open to the fullness and breadth of the church. If you have a commitment to building the
kingdom of God, you have to be committed to the church beyond the sector you’re in.-
Jack Hayford ¹
Exciting things are happening! Across the globe, fires of charismatic renewal are kindling within the steepled halls of mainline denominations. If you think your denomination has not been impacted, hopefully this post will prompt you to think again!
Truth knows no denominational boundaries. As 1 Corinthians 12:12 reminds us, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” No brother or sister in Christ is our enemy. Ultimately, we all want the same thing: To finish our course and hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
There are sincere, godly Christians in all denominations and there is much that we can learn from one another. For example, Christians of all persuasions could stand to take a page from the Baptists’ wonderful commitment to evangelism, from the Catholics’ passion for the church, and the Pentecostals’ dynamic Spirit filled experience. To paraphrase the great church father
Justin Martyr, “Everything that is true belongs to me as a Christian.” ²
Denominations can be both a help and a hindrance in our relationship with God. On one hand, denominations provide us with structure and that is certainly a good thing. God is a god of order.
Also, since different denominations emphasize different aspects of God’s nature, we can help to check and balance each other. But at the same time, never forget that even at their best, denominations are still man made. When the denomination, rather than the Word of God, becomes our ultimate source of truth, obviously that is a problem. Case in point, the three times repeated commandments to covet (Pursue with passion) the gifts of the Holy Spirit
- But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. 1 Corinthians 12:31 ESV
- Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 1 Corinthians 14:1 ESV
- [So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 1 Corinthians 14:39 ESV
For those unfamiliar with these terms, please refer to this sermon:
In other words, to passionately desire these gifts (which includes speaking in tongues and healing) is not optional for us as Christians. As A.W. Tozer rightfully said “The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people.” ³
In this post I will examine the rise of charismatic spirituality within five diverse Christian traditions. Before we proceed, I offer two disclaimers:
- I am well aware of the doctrinal controversies within some of these denominations. I hope this article will offer some potential paths to resolution.
- Referring to the groups and individuals named in this discussion should not necessarily be seen as an endorsement on my part.
With that being said, let us begin!
Anglican/Episcopalian
We begin here with an event that is widely considered to be the beginning of the modern charismatic movement. On April 3, 1960, an Episcopal priest named Dennis Bennett announced that he had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. Here is his own description of the experience:
When I prayed for God to grant me the fullness of the Spirit, and opened my mouth to praise Him, I found to my amazement that as I repeated words of praise, the Holy Spirit did take my lips and tongue and form a new and powerful language of praise and prayer that I myself could not understand, and that as I so praised God, the Holy Spirit did fill me with joy and peace and power which has not departed! ⁴
The impact of this event cannot be overstated. Finally the Pentecostal experience had started to spread into mainline denomination and Christendom has never been the same.
From there, some Anglican and Episcopal congratulations began to experience the gifts of the Spirit as part of their traditional liturgy. One of the leading churches in this area was Holy Trinity Brompton in London. The Charismatic Episcopal Church (a separate denomination founded in the 1990s) continues to combine charismatic spirituality with high-church liturgy and apostolic succession.
Whether through a whispered prayer of healing at the altar rail, a song of spontaneous praise during Eucharist, or a prophetic word spoken in love, this movement invites us to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24)—with our feet on the ancient path and our hearts open to the wind of the Spirit.
Baptist
Baptists comprise the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. Generally speaking, your typical Baptist and your typical Charismatic would probably be in full agreement on roughly 90-95% of doctrinal issues. When it comes to standing for the integrity of God’s Word, to taking the Gospel to the world, and to providing
a strong moral voice in the world, we march lock-step together. But of course, the main dividing line usually does wind up being spiritual gifts.
The Baptist Faith and Message states that “The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers so they can serve God through the church” but it does not elaborate what is meant by this. Since each Baptist congregation is autonomous, the understanding of spiritual gifts may vary significantly.
Many Baptists hold to the doctrine of cessationism, which is the notion that the supernatural gifts ceased at some point in history. Needless to say, I strongly disagree with this position. However, we can see examples of the gifts in operation even in the most traditional Baptist churches.
For example, the “Prince of Preachers,” Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a staunch Calvinistic Baptist who few would regard as being charismatic. Nonetheless there were occasions where he did operate in the gifts, possibly without even realizing it!
A rapidly growing number of active Baptists identify themselves as being charismatic, at least to some degree. Going back to 1986, it was reported that approximately 5% of Southern Baptist congregations identify themselves as charismatic at that time. Moving ahead to 2007, studies reported that over half of Southern Baptist pastors believe that tongues and other gifts of the Holy Spirit are for today. ⁵ In 2015, the Southern Baptist Convention lifted its long standing prohibition on missionaries who speak in tongues. Even the most famous Baptist of all, Billy Graham, has said that:
As we approach the end of the age I believe we will see a dramatic recurrence of signs and wonders, which will demonstrate the power of God to a skeptical world. ⁶
Methodist
The great John Wesley, founder of the Methodist denomination, is known for his pioneering insights into the Holy Spirit’s work in the Christian’s life. It is therefore no coincidence that the early Pentecostals sprung from groups he had influenced. I attended a Methodist church for about four years and I have never lost my appreciation for Wesley’s legacy.
Rather than defaulting to the cessationism of many of his peers, Wesley had a much more biblical and common sense view of spiritual gifts. He stated that:
It does not appear that these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were common in the church for more than two or three centuries…The cause of this was not (as has been vulgarly supposed) “because there was no more occasion for them”…The real cause was, “the love of many,” almost of all Christians, so called, was “waxed cold.” The Christians (sic) had no more of the Spirit of Christ than the other Heathens…This was the real cause why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian church-because the Christians were turned Heathens again, and had only a dead form left. ⁷
In other words, the miraculous gifts declined, not because God had stopped giving them, but because Christians had become complacent in pursuing them. In light of this, Wesley’s courageous stand set the stage for the great Pentecostal revival in the early 20th century. William Bivens writes:
Much…research has attempted to show that John Wesley is the grandfather of Pentecostalism. Wesley placed a strong emphasis on the person and work of the Holy Spirit… Wesley’s doctrine…was crucial to the theological roots of Pentecostalism. ⁸
This means that, in their most foundational points, Methodists may have more in common with Pentecostals than one might think. In fact, even the famous (albeit controversial) Pentecostal evangelist Oral Roberts, in a move that surprised many, joined the Methodist church in the 1960s.
Aldersgate Renewal Ministries largely represents the charismatic movement within the denomination. Their statement of faith says that:
We believe Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit to equip believers for a ministry of power including signs, wonders and miracles. We believe that all the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit are available today.
Presbyterian/Reformed
The Reformed tradition has produced some of the greatest intellects and scholars in all Christendom. I have benefited tremendously from the insights of Reformed giants such as Charles Spurgeon, Arthur Pink and RC Sproul. However, one downside of this has been the tendency to exalt the rational at the expense of the spiritual. That is very unfortunate, as Reformed theology and charismatic spirituality can be quite complementary to one another.
Like Baptists, many in the Reformed camp espouse cessationism. In fact, some are quite militant about it (examples would include John MacArthur’s 2013 “Strange Fire” Conference, as well as the films American Gospel and Cessationist).
Fortunately, there have been a number of pioneers who have dared to look beyond the stereotypes. One key figure was the esteemed Welsh preacher and physician Martyn Lloyd-Jones (aka “The Doctor”) who led the way in challenging the cessationist status quo, which he rightfully saw as quenching the Spirit. Henry Tyler further explains:
Dr Lloyd-Jones was deeply concerned that the Church was sliding into dead ceremonialism. Consequently, he welcomed the gifts of the Spirit but needed to be assured (as we all should) that they were genuine and not spurious. He later said that ‘Evangelicalism is dead. God must do a new thing.’ His conviction that the only answer for the church was the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven in revival grew increasingly and never faded in any way. Right to the last it was his hope, his prayer and his desire. ⁹
Lloyd-Jones is certainly not alone. Reformed theologian Wayne Grudem, author of the widely used Systematic Theology, is also charismatic as is the popular “Brit Blogger,” Adrian Warnock. Another example is respected pastor and theologian Sam Storms. Still another would be the late J Rodman Williams, author of the influential Renewal Theology series.
Lutheran
Martin Luther’s contributions to both the Body of Christ and to the entire world are immeasurable. Yes, he was a very flawed man. Among other things, he was viciously anti-Semitic and I certainly make no excuses for that. Yet in spite of that, God still used him. That should give us all encouragement that he will use us in spite of our flaws too!
The Church of Luther’s day was in a very dark place and Luther helped to bring its focus back to the true Gospel. Regarding charismatic issues, Souer’s A History of the Christian Church describes Luther as “…a prophet, evangelist, speaker in tongues and interpreter, in one person, endowed with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁰ However, this is likely hyperbolic as there is no known first hand documentation of Luther prophesying or speaking in tongues.
Still, miraculous signs and wonders certainly did occur in Luther’s ministry. Examples would include his wife Katy who was healed after a severe illness following a miscarriage, as well as his close friend Phillip Melanchthon who recovered from an almost certainly fatal illness after Luther fervently prayed for him
That being said, part of Luther’s mission involved confronting admittedly spurious claims of Catholic miracles. His arguments, rooted in his faith in the sufficiency of Scripture, went on to be adopted by modern cessationists. Church historian Eddie Hyatt observes:
In spite of his obvious belief in the immediate presence and power of the Holy Spirit, Luther must share some of the blame for the widespread belief in a theory of the cessation of miracles that emerged in the Reformation…his remarks were taken out of context by later theologians and codified into a legal system resulting in Lutheran and Reformed churches harboring a distinct bias against the possibility of present-day miracles. ¹²
Fortunately, a charismatic movement still began to develop in the Lutheran denomination in the 1960s, close to the time of Dennis Bennett’s aforementioned experience. April 1968 saw the first gathering of Missouri Synod pastors was held at Crystal City, Missouri, where there were 44 pastors across the Synod claiming to have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When a conference of Lutheran pastors in the charismatic movement was held at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in May 1971, it was estimated that there were over 200 pastors in the Synod claiming to have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. 1972 also saw the launch of a ministry called Lutheran Renewal, in their words…
to share the vision of bearing witness to the Person and Power of the Holy Spirit. For forty two years we sought to bring Renewal to the Lutheran Church, to the greater Body of Christ, and to all who value the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.
Prominent Charismatic leaders in the Lutheran tradition include Harald Bredesen, whose video on How To Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and Share It With Others was beneficial to many, as well as Larry Christenson who wrote many influential books and articles, including How To Speak In Tongues.
In conclusion, I am certainly grateful for these and other reformation efforts and I applaud the efforts of those involved. However, it is important to remember that they are still not yet typical and the Body of Christ is suffering as a result.
As is commonly known, some of the above denominations have been bitterly divided over liberal theology and libertine morals. A return to biblical authority and Spirit empowered living would do much to remedy this. Both the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit Who inspired them have the same goal: To point to Jesus!
- You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, John 5:39 ESV
- It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. John 6:63 ESV
- When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. John 16:13-14 ESV
Understanding these simple truths is vital to becoming a truly unified church that will be genuinely faithful to the Gospel message in all of its fullness.
Keep It Real,
James
NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Stafford, Tim. “Jack Hayford: The Pentecostal Gold Standard.” Christianity Today, July, 2005. P. 27
2. Martyr, Justin. Second Apology. Translated by Marcus Dods and George Reith, edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, vol. 1 of The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885, pp. 193. Reprinted by Hendrickson Publishers, 1994. As stated, this was a modern paraphrase. The original quote reads “Whatever things were rightly said among all men, are the property of us Christians.”
3. Tozer, A. W. Paths to Power. © WingSpread Publishers, 2006.
4. Bennett, Dennis. “The Power of God.” Episcopalians and the Baptism In the Holy Spirit. Compiled by Jerry Jensen. © 1964, Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International, Los Angeles, California. P. 8.
5. Cloud, David. Charismatic Southern Baptists. Way of Life Literature, Port Huron , MI. January 12, 2009.
6. Graham, Billy. The Holy Spirit: Activating God’s Power In Your Life. © 2000 (Reissue). Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN. Pp 217-218.
7. Wesley, John. Sermons on Several Occasions. Sermon 89:
The More Excellent Way.
8. Bivens, William. Wesley and the Pentecostals. Taken from Chapter 11, Rediscovering John Wesley (Cleveland, TN: Pathway Press, 2004).
9. From Martyn Lloyd-Jones and the Charismatic Movement. From Chosen By God, a collection of essays reflecting on Martyn Lloyd-Jones and his legacy, edited by Christopher Catherwood. Chapter 15: The Encourager, by Henry Tyler, 246-8.
10. Sauer, Theodor. Geschichte der christlichen Kirche für Schule und Haus. Vol. 3, R. Kuntze, 1859, p. 400.
11. Hyatt, Eddie L. The Charismatic Luther: Healings, Miracles and Spiritual Gifts in the Life and Ministry of the Great Reformer (Kindle Edition). Hyatt International Ministries, 2017. P 33
12. Ibid. Pp 34-35.
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