Charismatic Movement - History

History

Pentecostalism began in the early twentieth century. Its doctrinal distinctive was a dramatic encounter with God termed baptism with the Holy Spirit. This experience was one of empowerment for Christian life and service, and the evidence for having received this experience was speaking in other tongues. Before 1955, Pentecostal doctrinal distinctives were not embraced by the religious mainstream. If a church member or clergyman openly expressed such views, they would (either voluntarily or involuntarily) separate from their older denomination. The charismatic movement was a reversal of this previous pattern as those influenced by Pentecostal spirituality chose to remain in their original denominations.

The high church wing of the American Episcopal Church was the first to feel the impact of the new movement. The beginning of the charismatic movement is usually dated to Easter 1960, when Dennis Bennett, rector of St Mark's Episcopal Church in Van Nuys, California, recounted his Pentecostal experience to his parish. The resulting controversy and press coverage created an awareness of the emerging charismatic movement. The movement spread to other mainline churches, where clergy began receiving and publicly announcing their Pentecostal experience. These clergy began holding meetings for seekers and healing services where the sick were prayed for and anointed. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal began in 1967 at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The term "charismatic" was coined by American Lutheran minister Harald Bredesen in 1962 to describe what was happening in mainline Protestant denominations. Confronted with the term "neo-Pentecostal", he preferred to call it "the charismatic renewal in the historic churches".

Despite the fact that Pentecostals shared more in common with evangelicals than either Roman Catholics or mainline Protestants, the charismatic movement was not initially influential among evangelical churches. Peter Wagner traces the spread of the charismatic movement within evangelicalism to around 1985. He termed this movement the Third Wave of the Holy Spirit. The Third Wave has expressed itself through the formation of separate churches and denomination-like organizations. These groups are referred to as "neo-charismatic". The Vineyard Movement and the British New Church Movement are examples of Third Wave or neo-charismatic organizations.