Charismatic Boons and Busts, Part II

In the spirit of the Rocky movies, I now offer part two in a series of Charismatic Boons and Busts. Whether there will be a part III will solely be determined by the amount of money I can make on this franchise. Which brings me to:

Bust: Money, honey. Sooner or later, all movements have to make decisions concerning the stewardship of the monies that flow towards the ideas and energy they generate. The charismatic movement is no exception. Keep in mind, that the past fifty years has produced a wide variety of sub-movements, churches, personalities, teachings and influences in the overall charismatic camp. However, even the casual observer will note that, as a movement, money, wealth and "giving" have been treated in ways that range from somewhat unbalanced to the truly revolting.

Boon: Roman Catholic, Ecumenical Catholic and Orthodox Charismatics. This is not a wholesale endorsement of all things Catholic, Orthodox OR Charismatic, but I think that, overall, the opening of the Catholic and Orthodox churches to the moving of the Holy Spirit has been a boon for both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. I have personally enjoyed many delightful hours in heartfelt worship and fellowship experiences with Spirit-filled Catholics wherein we have found our hearts, souls and conversations being led by the Spirit to an emphasis on the Lord Jesus (John 14-16 prophesied this). Much more could be said on this topic, but for now I'd just like to give a shout out to my friends Father Peter and Father Joe!

(Note to the Fundamentalists who have already listed me on their "He's a Heretic" websites -- here's some more fuel for your fire!)

Bust: Conferences, Conferences and More Conferences - After forty years or so in this thing, I'm pretty conferenced out. By the looks of it you might think that there is a verse in the Bible that reads: "For God so loved the world that He held a conference..." We've had conferences on Signs and Wonders, Power Evangelism, Victorious Faith, Worship, Intercessory Prayer, Church Planting, Effective Leadership, Healing, the Father's Heart, and a host of other topics. It's not that I haven't attended my fair share of such conferences and I'm sure you'll see me at some in the future and, okay, I've even led a few of my own. But, seriously, I think this emphasis on a conference for every issue has gotten a little out of hand.

Boon: Empowering Women in ministry. Kathryn Kuhlman, whose well-known healing and preaching ministry straddled the Pentecostal, Evangelical, and Charismatic movements, seems to have provided a hint of things to come when it comes to the notion of empowering "Spirit-filled" women for ministry as a result of the Charismatic, neo-charismatic and Third Wave movements. Just as surely as the "Full Gospel Businessmen" Fellowship was an early expression of the empowerment of "laymen", "Womens Aglow" soon followed with a life of its own. The implications of the last generation of empowering women for ministry within the Charismatic, neo-charismatic and Third Wave streams are still being expressed, refined, critiqued and advanced.

Thanks for all your thoughtful responses on Facebook and on my blog to the previous two "charismatic" posts. Shall I keep going?

What Now, Charismatics?

The so-called Charismatic Movement began in April of 1960 - 50 years ago. It was then that Episcopal priest, Father Dennis Bennett, told his Van Nuys, California congregation that he had received the fullness or "baptism" of the Holy Spirit and was now speaking in tongues. How could he have known that, before long, literally millions of others would share the same testimony? Taken together, the charismatic, neo-charismatic and classical Pentecostal movements represent an unprecedented spiritual avalanche that has picked up a very wide variety of personalities, sub-movements and influences as it has powered its way down the mountain of history.

The list of charismatic and neo-charismatic persons of influence includes: Oral Roberts, Jack Hayford, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Earl Paulk, Paul and Jan Crouch, Mike Bickle, Jim and Tammy Bakker, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn, John Wimber, Bob Mumford, Pat Boone, Derek Prince, Bill Johnson, Kathryn Kuhlman, Larry Christenson, Ralph Wilkerson, Michael Harper, David Watson, T.D. Jakes, David Wilkenson, Father Eusebius Stephanou, Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens, Father Rick Thomas, Wayne Grudem, Mario Murillo, Paul Cain, David DuPlessis, J. Rodman Williams, Demos Shakarian, Todd Bently, Ruth Carter Stapleton, Ted Haggard, C. Peter Wagner, Lonnie Frisbee, and Kevin Ranaghan -- among many, many others.

Fifty years hence, a number of those who qualify to be on the list of charismatic influences have either passed away, fallen away, or watched their impact dim. I've even started to see the term "post-charismatic" get thrown around -- and perhaps that is not unreasonable, at least in the Western World. Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, leaders and movements are still much stronger outside Europe and the U.S. So, one wonders what is next. It seems to me that, after fighting so hard to win a place of acceptance at the evangelical table, the charismatics and neo-charismatics (including so-called "Third Wave" movements) are at a crossroads. Do they bet the farm on the edgier and more controversial personalities, sub-movements and spiritual distinctions of their movement? Or, do they dial back and find new alignments with other evangelicals (excluding, for a moment, the much smaller contingencies of Roman Catholic and Orthodox charismatics)?

Today's newer and smaller movements such as the new Reformed, "Emergent" and Simple Church tribes have their charismatics, but these hybrid associations feel more like the backwash between waves more than the waves themselves.

The fifty years that followed Father Bennett's infamous announcement have been powerful, interesting, puzzling, disconcerting, inspiring, confounding, disappointing and thrilling on both a local and global level. But influential new, younger leaders are not exactly waiting in the wings as the charismatics and neo-charismatics wind up Act Three of their show. What next? An encore? A falling curtain? Or, to borrow a phrase from Monty Python, "something completely different"?