Charismatics

CHARISMATICS

The Rise of Pentecostalism

During the 1960s Pentecostalism began to move into traditional Christian denominations. Pentecostalism, the baptism by the Holy Spirit as described in the second chapter of Acts, appeared in various areas in the South in the late nineteenth century. But the revival of the black evangelist W. J. Seymour on Azusa Street in Los Angeles in 1906 began the spread of Pentecostalism throughout the United States.

Working Class Support

The phenomenon quickly spread in working-class white and black communities, particularly in the South and West, but was rejected by traditional Protestant groups who believed God had already spoken through the Bible and Catholics and others who believed that God spoke through the Church itself or through tradition. The increasing number of charismatics were dismissed by traditional groups as Holy Rollers, people who not only spoke in tongues but even indulged in more-bizarre practices, such as spiritual healing and handling serpents. But Pentecostal churches such as the Church of God, the Assemblies of God, and the Full Gospel Church were firmly established by midcentury. As these believers moved into the middle classes in the expanding economy of the postwar era, Pentecostalism became more socially respectable. The Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International established branches in most cities for these rising individuals.

Oral Roberts

In the postwar period the Pentecostal denominations began to attract ever-larger numbers of people. One agent of this growth was Oral Roberts, who began his Abundant Life Crusade in 1947. His tent revivals initially focused on the healing powers of the Spirit. He quickly moved to radio and then took his crusade to television and sent his program into other countries. In 1965 Roberts was invited to attend the International Conference on Evangelicalism in Berlin, where he developed a friendship with Billy Graham, the world's most famous Evangelical spokesman, and began a conciliation between Pentecostalism and conservative Evangelicals.

Effect on the Mainline Churches

The charismatic movement came into mainline Protestant and Catholic groups after Rev. Dennis Bennett, priest at Saint Mark's Church (Episcopal) in Van Nuys, California, revealed to his congregation on Whitsunday 1960 that he and some of his parishioners had been meeting privately and several of them had spoken in tongues. The announcement caused a sensation, and, while Bennett was sent to a small parish in Seattle, the charismatic movement spread. Out-breaks of speaking in tongues, or glossolalia, appeared on the campuses of Yale and Harvard Universities, and, even more startling, at Notre Dame University in 1966. The movement among Roman Catholics spread rapidly, taking the name Charismatic Renewal. By the end of the decade large convocations of people gathered to celebrate the actions of the Spirit in their lives.

Sources:

Randall Balmes, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989);

Kilian McDonnell, Charismatic Renewal and the Churches (New York: Seabury Press, 1976).