Note For the Theologically Minded

The second half of the twentieth century has seen two quite different developments: the apparent decline in membership and vitality of traditional Christian churches in historically majority Christian countries, connected to secularisation[[5]], and the rise and spread of evangelical, Pentecostal and charismatic flavours of Christianity throughout the world[[6]]. The result has been a shift in the landscape of Christian belief and practice. Where previously traditional evangelicals may have regarded Pentecostal and charismatic beliefs and practices as fringe or suspect, many have now embraced them, while others have expressed more concern. The resulting tension is not an academic one, but one that is felt within the life of individual believers, of individual churches, as well as within and between different groups of churches.

[[5]]: See for example Being Christian in Western Europe from the Pew Research Center, 2018.

[[6]]: The number of evangelicals worldwide grew from  111 million in 1970 to 387 million in 2020; the number of Pentecostals/Charismatics grew from 57 million in 1970 to 644 million in 2020. See Table 3. Global Christianity by Tradition in World Christianity and Mission 2020: Ongoing Shift to the Global South by Todd M Johnson and Gina A Zurio. Around 47% of the population of South Africa are Pentecostal or charismatic believers of various kinds; see Table 3. Countries with the highest percentage of Pentecostal and Charismatics, 1900 and 2020, in Introducing Spirit-Empowered Christianity: The Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements in the 21st Century by Todd M Johnson and Gina A Zurio

I would like to propose that there is no inherent tension in being both thoroughly evangelical and thoroughly charismatic, and encourage the simultaneous pursuit of the biblical strengths of both of these traditions.

By evangelical, I mean those who have been converted or “born again” into a new relationship with God by trusting in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for our forgiveness, whose ultimate authority in spirituality, doctrine and ethics is the Christian Bible, and who expect that our faith should be shared in a way that impacts the world[[7]]. For clarity, this sense (although it may have people in common) is distinctly different from the usage of this term to assess voting blocs in countries like the USA[[8]].

[[7]]: This is based on Bebbington’s quadrilateral and McGrath’s fourfold list. See the unfinished Defining Evangelicalism by Teemu Lehtonen for references. Note that this explicitly does not refer to the political implications more recently associated with American “Evangelicalism”.

[[8]]: For some interesting comments on why this is, see Defining Evangelicals in Election Year by Leith Anderson (president of the National Association of Evangelicals) and Ed Stetzer, March 2016.

By charismatic, I mean those who emphasise that believers should expect and seek conscious experiences of the Holy Spirit’s presence, filling and empowering, including spiritual gifts, and who understand this to be consistent with the experience of early Christians in the New Testament and the intention of God for his church today[[9]].

[[9]]: Compare the definition given by Asamoah-Gyadu: “Pentecostalism refers to Christian groups which emphasize salvation in Christ as a transformative experience wrought by the Holy Spirit and in which pneumatic phenomena including ‘speaking in tongues,’ prophecies, visions, healing and miracles in general, perceived as standing in historic continuity with the experiences of the early church as found especially in the Acts of the Apostles, are sought, accepted, valued, and consciously encouraged among members as signifying the presence of God and experiences of his Spirit.” J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, African Charismatics: Current Developments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in Ghana (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 12, quoted in Introducing Spirit-Empowered Christianity.

In order to truly be submitted to God’s Word as his authoritative revelation, we must listen with an open mind and heart to what God says to us in the Bible. To do this biblically, we are to be prayerfully dependent on the Holy Spirit’s work to help us understand, believe and put into practice what God has already spoken in his Word by his Spirit. Biblical interpretation of Scripture is therefore grounded in the work of the Spirit on multiple levels. And following the teaching of the Scripture will include us learning to understand the Holy Spirit biblically, believe the promises God gives about the work of his Holy Spirit in us, and eagerly seek to be drawn into the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ through the empowering and sanctifying presence and work of the Holy Spirit whom God has given us. Evangelical theology consistently applied will therefore hold a charismatic position which must result in charismatic fruit.

Similarly, the only godly way to approach the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit is by approaching the entire enterprise, from the ground up, by being rooted in God’s Word, and seeking through God’s help to have the Bible challenge and shape our thinking, approach and interpretation of both ours and others’ experiences. To whatever extent we are to be charismatic, we must be so on an evangelical foundation, and our language, experience and practice must be whole-heartedly and transparently according to the whole counsel of God revealed in the Scripture.

This “both-and” value of evangelical charismatic Christianity is often referred to as “the Word and the Spirit”[[10]], and it is this position that I want to make clear and hopefully attractive to readers of this book.

[[10]]:See “When Word and Spirit come together, revival will follow” by R T Kendall. Andrew Wilson talks about some of the problems with this label in “What is a Word and Spirit church”.