Neo-charismatic movement

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The Neo-charismatic (also third-wave charismatic or hypercharismatic) movement is a movement within evangelical Protestant Christianity that is composed of a diverse range of independent churches and organizations that emphasize the current availability of gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and faith healing. The Neo-charismatic movement is considered to be the "third wave" of the Charismatic Christian tradition which began with Pentecostalism (the "first wave"), and was furthered by the Charismatic movement (the "second wave"). [1] : 6  As a result of the growth of postdenominational and independent charismatic groups, Neo-charismatics are now believed to be more numerous than the first and second wave categories. [2] As of 2002, some 19,000 denominations or groups, with approximately 295 million individual adherents, were identified as Neo-charismatic. [2]

Contents

History

C. Peter Wagner is a leader among Neo-charismatics in the U.S., and is known for naming the Neo-charismatic movement the "third wave" of Charismatic Christianity. C. Peter Wagner.jpg
C. Peter Wagner is a leader among Neo-charismatics in the U.S., and is known for naming the Neo-charismatic movement the "third wave" of Charismatic Christianity.

The "first wave" of Charismatic Christianity is Pentecostalism, which originated in Kansas, US in 1901, and later spread to Texas, Los Angeles, and then to other countries. [3] : 14–15  Pentecostals formed their own churches and organizations, but by the 1960s their emphasis on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and signs and wonders began to influence mainline Protestant denominations and the "second wave," or the charismatic movement, began. [3] : 15  The Neo-charismatic movement, dubbed the "third wave", dates from the early 1980s and was a result of the growth of Pentecostal experiences among independent and indigenous Christian groups. Although the Neo-charismatic movement emerged in the 1980s, many churches in Africa were already exhibiting Neo-charismatic tendencies in the early twentieth century as some churches combined indigenous cosmologies with what are called the gifts of the Holy Spirit. [3] : 15  The greatest concentration of Neo-charismatic churches is found in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. [3] : 17–18  In some regions, especially Africa and Latin America, Neo-charismatics are sometimes condemned by Pentecostals and Charismatics for their spiritual practices or for combining local cosmologies with Christian beliefs. [3] : 15 

Worship service at New Creation Church in Singapore, 2015. New Creation Church Service.jpg
Worship service at New Creation Church in Singapore, 2015.

Peter Wagner, who originally called this form of Christianity the "Third Wave" and is a theoretician of the Church Growth Movement, advocated for the principle of spiritual warfare against demons through his book Spiritual Power and Church Growth. [4] [5] John Wimber, who founded the Association of Vineyard Churches in 1982, put forward the principle of "miraculous healing" as an element of the Christian life in his book Power Healing. The current of "power evangelism" was developed through the work of John Wimber and publicized through his book Power Evangelism. [6] [7] Together, Wagner and Wimber taught a course on Neo-charismatic spiritual gifts called "Signs, Wonders, and Church Growth" at Fuller Theological Seminary for four years starting in 1982. [8] Wagner also popularized the concept of territorial spirits, in which demons are believed to rule over geographical locations. [9] George Otis Junior is one of the originators of "spiritual mapping," which is a practice among some third wave adherents that includes uncovering the histories of buildings and geographical locations to understand how those histories might be contributing to demonic possession in the present. [1] : 51  In 2002, some 19,000 denominations or groups, with approximately 295 million individual adherents, were identified as Neo-charismatic. [2]

Defining characteristics

In terms of congregational governance, no single form, structure, or style of church service characterizes all Neo-charismatic services and churches. The Neo-charismatic categorization is broad and diverse and includes any group that is not considered Pentecostal or Charismatic but still emphasizes the power of the Holy spirit and supernatural signs and wonders. [3] : 17–18  Pentecostals comprise Pentecostal denominations, charismatics bring Pentecostal tendencies to mainline denominations, but Neo-charismatics are indigenous, independent, post- and non-denominational Christian groups without formal denominational ties. [3] : 17–18  The term non-denominational is used more often by churches than the Neo-charismatic term. [10]

Example of laying on of hands during a service in Ghana. Laying on of hands, Dr. Ebenezer Markwei.jpg
Example of laying on of hands during a service in Ghana.

Members of the Neo-charismatic movement, like those in the Pentecostal movement and Charismatic movement, believe in and stress the post-biblical availability of gifts of the Holy Spirit. These spiritual gifts, or charismata, frequently include but are not limited to glossolalia (speaking in tongues), healing, and prophecy. Additionally, Neo-charismatic Christians practice the laying on of hands and seek the "infilling" of the Holy Spirit, although a specific experience of baptism with the Holy Spirit may not be requisite for experiencing such gifts. [11] [12] Neo-charismatic practices look very similar to Pentecostal and Charismatic practices, but the terminology used by Neo-charismatics to describe their practices is distinctly different from the typical terminology used by Pentecostals and Charismatics. [3] : 14  Many Neo-charismatics believe that the "end times" are near, practice intercessory prayer that invokes the power of the Holy Spirit, and view their work as helping to transform the Church into the Kingdom of God on earth. [13]

Notable practices

The practices and beliefs listed below are common but not universal among Neo-charismatics, but the diversity of churches and opinions means none necessarily adhere to all the following.

Spiritual warfare

The fight against spiritual demons that are deemed to exist occupies an important place in Neo-charismatic teachings and prayers. The exorcising of demons is sometimes also referred to as deliverance ministries because a person or object is "delivered" or saved from an evil spiritual force. [1] : 10  Spiritual mapping, a subset of practices under the broad umbrella of spiritual warfare, is the process by which defiled land, houses, and churches are discovered through careful observation of the history of the region and are subsequently illustrated on a map. A relatively well-known example of this type of spiritual mapping occurred in Amarillo, Texas, by the group Repent Amarillo. [14] If traumatic or evil histories are believed to have been uncovered, mass exorcisms are sometimes organized intended to drive out territorial or historical demons in an ancestral line. [1] : 58–59  "Prayerwalking" is another encouraged form of spiritual warfare among some Neo-charismatics, and is connected to spiritual mapping: believers pray against evil spirits while walking through areas where evil is believed to have taken place historically or currently. [15] Territorial spirits are a related concept. [9] One scholar notes that while spiritual warfare did not hold a major role in broader evangelicalism, Wagner's Spiritual Warfare Network of the 1980s led to it quickly and significantly gaining importance in evangelicalism. This occurred to such a degree that "the new ideas on spiritual warfare became so entrenched that many Christians would have had no conception that they were only recently implemented. Proponents contributed to this by claiming there was historical precedent in Christian tradition." [9]

Power evangelism

Neo-charismatic evangelism considers that "Signs and Wonders" can be brought about by Christians who have confessed their belief in the Holy Spirit and have been anointed to do miracles. Healing and financial prosperity are examples of "power encounters," or supernatural acts, that occur in this type of evangelism. [16] Neo-charismatics believe power evangelism, in which supernatural wonders accompany the sharing of the Gospel message, is more effective than evangelism without signs and is more similar to the type of evangelism that first-century Christians used. [17]

Structural renewal

Some Neo-charismatics are interested in the reconfiguration of church leadership to reflect a structure they believe is upheld in Ephesians 4:11–13, "The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ." [18] In this passage, there are five "offices," including apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. Pastors, teachers, and evangelists are commonly found in evangelical churches, but some Neo-charismatic groups and movements, like Five Fold Ministry and the New Apostolic Reformation, seek to restructure their church organization to actively include apostles and prophets. [19]

Controversies

Various Christian groups have criticized the Pentecostal and charismatic movement for too much attention to mystic manifestations such as glossolalia and to anti-intellectualism. [20]

In 2013, the Evangelical pastor John F. MacArthur criticized the charismatic movement on several points which he said were "patently unbiblical", including the majority support for prosperity theology which led to moral and financial scandals; its proximity to the New Age movements where God is presented as a servant of the needs of believers; multiple false prophecies; and disorderly worship services. [21] The Pentecostal General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God USA, George O. Wood, acknowledged that there had been isolated cases of erroneous behavior and teaching in Pentecostal and charismatic churches, but said that the movement had made a great contribution to evangelization in the world. [22]

Related Research Articles

Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, an event that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spiritual warfare</span> Christian concept of fighting against the work of preternatural evil forces

Spiritual warfare is the Christian concept of fighting against the work of preternatural evil forces. It is based on the biblical belief in evil spirits, or demons, that are said to intervene in human affairs in various ways. Although spiritual warfare is a prominent feature of neo-charismatic churches, various other Christian denominations and groups have also adopted practices rooted in the concepts of spiritual warfare, with Christian demonology often playing a key role in these practices and beliefs, or had older traditions of such a concept unrelated to the neo-charismatic movement, such as the exorcistic prayers of the Catholic Church and the various Eastern Orthodox churches.

The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity, with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spiritual gifts (charismata). It has affected most denominations in the United States, and has spread widely across the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wimber</span> American pastor and author

John Richard Wimber was an American pastor, Christian author and musician. Initially ordained as a Quaker minister, he became an early, pioneering pastor of charismatic congregations, and a popular thought leader in modern Christian publications on the third person of the Christian Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit's action in modern churches through miraculous phenomena referred to as miracles, or signs and wonders. Wimber was a founding leader of the Vineyard Movement, a Christian movement that Kenn Gulliksen began in the United States and that later became a wider denomination.

Signs and wonders refers to experiences that are perceived to be miraculous as being normative in the modern Christian experience, and is a phrase associated with groups that are a part of modern charismatic movements and Pentecostalism. This phrase is seen multiple times throughout the Bible to describe the activities of the early church, and is historically recorded as continuing, at least in practice, since the time of Christ. The phrase is primarily derived from Old and New Testament references and is now used in the Christian and mainstream press and in scholarly religious discourse to communicate a strong emphasis on recognizing perceived manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the contemporary lives of Christian believers. It also communicates a focus on the expectation that divine action would be experienced in the individual and corporate life of the modern Christian church, and a further insistence that followers actively seek the "gifts of the Spirit".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Charismatic Renewal</span> Movement within the Catholic Church that began in 1967

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Woodworth-Etter</span> American evangelist (1844–1924)

Maria Beulah Woodworth-Etter was an American healing evangelist. Her ministry style was a model for Pentecostalism and the later Charismatic movement, earning her the title "Mother of Pentecost" in some circles.

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a theological belief and movement that combines elements of Pentecostalism, evangelicalism and the Seven Mountain Mandate to advocate for spiritual warfare to bring about Christian dominion over all aspects of society, and end or weaken the separation of church and state. NAR leaders often call themselves apostles and prophets. Long a fringe movement of the American Christian right, it has been characterized as "one of the most important shifts in Christianity in modern times." The NAR's prominence and power have increased since the 2016 election of Donald Trump as US president. Theology professor André Gagné, author of a 2024 book on the movement, has characterized it as "inherently political" and said it threatens to "subvert democracy." American Republican politicians such as Mike Johnson, Doug Mastriano, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert and activists such as Charlie Kirk have aligned with it.

The Apostolic-Prophetic movement is a US-based Christian movement founded in the early 2000s. It is a network of non-denominational alliances of independent churches and ministries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assemblies of God USA</span> Pentecostal Christian denomination

The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially The General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States and the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal body. The AG reported 2.9 million adherents in 2022. In 2011, it was the ninth largest Christian denomination and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. The Assemblies of God is a Finished Work denomination, and it holds to a conservative, evangelical and classical Arminian theology as expressed in the Statement of Fundamental Truths and position papers, which emphasize such core Pentecostal doctrines as the baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, divine healing and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. Peter Wagner</span> American missionary and author

Charles Peter Wagner was an American missionary, writer, teacher and founder of several Christian organizations. In his earlier years, Wagner was known as a key leader of the Church Growth Movement and later for his writings on spiritual warfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Spirit (Christian denominational variations)</span> Christian denominations have variations in their teachings regarding the Holy Spirit.

The different Denominations of Christianity have variations in their teachings regarding the Holy Spirit.

Holy laughter is a term used within charismatic Christianity that describes a religious behaviour in which individuals spontaneously laugh during church meetings. It has occurred in many revivals throughout church history, but it became normative in the early 1990s in Neo-charismatic churches and the Third Wave of the Holy Spirit. Many people claimed to experience this phenomenon at a large revival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada known as the Toronto Blessing.

Pentecostalism in Ethiopia is the practice of various Pentecostal forms of Christianity—often included within the evangelical category of P'ent'ay—in Ethiopia, with a constituency of above 1 million members. Despite persecution by the government and the dominant Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Pentecostalism relied on youth and technology to spread its practices throughout the country. It has been found to contribute to the prosperity of people in Ethiopia. The message of Pentecostalism includes prosperity and beliefs around expectations for a better life. After gaining religious freedom in 1991, churches began preaching prosperity and growth outside the government and to discuss fighting corruption. Some Pentecostal worshipers state that the style of worship offers them tangible help for worldy problems. Worship services include the practices speaking in tongues, divine healing, exorcism, prophecy, and powerful prayer.

Pentecostalism is the fastest-growing Christian denomination in Brazil. Pentecostalism has surged since the 1990s while the largest denomination, Roman Catholicism, has undergone a decline. At some points, churches were appearing as rapidly as one church per day. Pentecostalism in Brazil traces its roots to the Azusa Street Revival in 1906 in Los Angeles and, like Pentecostal movements in other countries, emphasizes a second act of grace following conversion that results in gifts of the Spirit such as glossolalia and healing.

The doctrines and practices of modern Pentecostalism placed a high priority on international evangelization. The movement spread to Africa soon after the 1906 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles.

Independent Network Charismatic (INC) Christianity is a movement within evangelical charismatic Christianity which is focused on the authority of charismatic apostles and seeks the wholesale transformation of society. The term was first used in 2017 by sociologists Brad Christerson and Richard Flory in their book The Rise of Network Christianity: How Independent Leaders are Changing the Religious Landscape to describe the rapid growth of a form of Protestant Christianity from 1970 to 2010, and has since been adopted by other commentators. The movement is distinguished from other forms of Christianity by its use of network governance, based on networks of charismatic apostles, rather than more traditional church structures and hierarchies. These networks are sustained by the use of new communications technologies such as social media, which both facilitates communication between leaders in the network and enables leaders to build a following which is not tied to a geographical area. It is characterised by belief in and encouragement of the use of the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, along with a focus on the transformation of society according to Christian values through prayer and by Christians reaching positions of leadership in the areas of business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, family, and religion. INC Christianity tends to be politically conservative and, in the US, associated with support for Republican politicians.

Charismatic Christianity is a form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts as an everyday part of a believer's life. It has a global presence in the Christian community. Practitioners are often called charismatic Christians or renewalists. Although there is considerable overlap, charismatic Christianity is often categorized into three separate groups: Pentecostalism, the Charismatic movement, and the neo-charismatic movement.

Evangelical theology is the teaching and doctrine that relates to spiritual matters in evangelical Christianity and a Christian theology. The main points concern the place of the Bible, the Trinity, worship, salvation, sanctification, charity, evangelism and the end of time.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 McCloud, Sean (2015). American Possessions: Fighting Demons in the Contemporary United States. New York: Oxford University Press.
  2. 1 2 3 Burgess, Stanley M.; van der Maas, Eduard M., eds. (2002). "Neocharismatics". The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements . Grand Rapids: Zondervan. pp. 286–287.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Burgess, Stanley M.; van der Maas, Eduard M., eds. (2003). The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements . Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN   0-310-22481-0. OCLC   62596740.
  4. ↑ Yannick Fer, La théologie du "combat spirituel": Globalisation autochtonie et politique en milieu pentecôtiste/charismatique, in J. Garcia-Ruiz et P. Michel (eds.), Néo-pentecôtismes, Labex Tepsis, pp. 52–64, 2016.
  5. ↑ Wagner, Peter C. Spiritual Power and Church Growth, Altamonte Springs, Fl. Strang Communications, US, 1986. ISBN   0930525043
  6. ↑ Wimber, John (1986). Power Evangelism. San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers. ISBN   0060695323.
  7. ↑ Pratt, Thomas D. (Spring 1991). "The Need to Dialogue: A Review of the Debate on the Controversy of Signs, Wonders, Miracles and Spiritual Warfare Raised in the Literature of the Third Wave Movement". Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. 13: 7–32. doi:10.1163/157007491X00024.
  8. ↑ Wagner, C. Peter (1988). The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit. Ann Arbor: MI: Vine Books. p. 24. ISBN   0892836016.
  9. 1 2 3 Baker, Yvie Ruth (2021). From Peter Wagner to Bill Johnson: The History and Epistemology of the 'New Apostolic Reformation' (PDF) (Thesis thesis). University of Otago. p. 93. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  10. ↑ Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2013, p. 66
  11. ↑ Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley, Jan Milic Lochman, John Mbiti, Jaroslav Pelikan, The Encyclodedia of Christianity, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, US, 2008, pp. 445–446
  12. ↑ Young-hoon Lee, The Holy Spirit Movement in Korea: Its Historical and Theological Development, Wipf and Stock Publishers, US, 2009, p. 4
  13. ↑ McAlister, Elizabeth. "Possessing the Land for Jesus." In Spirited Things: The Work of "Possession" in Afro-Atlantic Religions, edited by Paul Christopher Johnson, 177–205. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2014. p. 179. ISBN   022612276X
  14. ↑ McConeghy, David Walker (2013). Geographies of Prayer: Place and Religion in Modern America (PhD thesis). University of California Santa Barbara. p. 75.
  15. ↑ McConeghy, David Walker. "Geographies of Prayer: Place and Religion in Modern America." PhD diss., University of California Santa Barbara, 2013, p. 14.
  16. ↑ George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, US, 2016, p. 87
  17. ↑ Wimber, John (1986). Power Evangelism. San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers. pp. 34–35. ISBN   0060695323.
  18. ↑ "Eph. 4:11–13, New Revised Standard Version Bible". Archived from the original on 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  19. ↑ Weaver, John (2016). The New Apostolic Reformation: History of a Modern Charismatic Movement. McFarland & Company. p. 87.
  20. ↑ Wolfgang Vondey, Pentecostalism: A Guide for the Perplexed, T&T Clark, UK, 2012, pp. 37–38
  21. ↑ Michael Gryboski, Excerpts From John MacArthur's 'Strange Fire' Book Suggest Flames of Controversy Over Charismatic Mov't to Still Burn Archived 2020-10-10 at the Wayback Machine , christianpost.com, US, October 24, 2013
  22. ↑ Nicola Menzie, Assemblies of God Leader Acknowledges Some 'Strange Fire' Among Pentecostals, Charismatics Archived 2020-10-10 at the Wayback Machine , christianpost.com, US, October 29, 2013
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