For over 60 years the charismatic movement has transformed the life of the Christian church. The breeze of charismatic experience has crossed international and interdenominational boundaries. Aside from a handful of small fundamentalist sects, it’s safe to say its influence is universal.
I personally know leaders, Christians, churches and denominations that have been deeply blessed by the charismatic renewal. Even many of the old Pentecostal denominations were impacted by the fresh wind of the charismatic experience. That said, the longer I’m in pastoral ministry, the more strongly I feel that charismatic culture and practice has actually hindered discipleship and mission in the lives of individuals, local churches, and movements.
This blog post isn’t an online heresy hunt against the gifts of the Spirit, neither is it an attempt to troll charismatics. It’s simply a pastoral encouragement for those of us who have been influenced by the charismatic movement to examine our fruit and check the depths of our roots. Is it possible that the charismatic movement has promised much but in the end its left us short-changed and lacking in the true ministry of the Holy Spirit?
In no particular order, here are some concerns I have about the lasting impact of the charismatic culture.
1. Charismatic culture can turn us into glory chasers rather than steadfast disciples
Conferences, encounter nights, healing meetings, prophetic sessions, visiting anointed itinerate preachers can be really exciting, but they are not the materials by which we build local church and fruitful Christian lives. It’s the difference between dating, and long-term marriage and building a family. The dizzy endorphins that accompany new relationships are much like the experience that comes from the activities described above. But just like dating, they can’t be sustained. C.S Lewis makes the claim that people who commit adultery do so because they can’t deal with life without the thrill that comes from exotic new relationships. On the other hand, he argues that true love is nurtured through long-term faithfulness. This is why thrill seeking ultimately doesn’t bring us the life transformation we long for, only getting our roots down in a local church, with all the challenges that come with life, can ultimately help our roots grow deep and our fruit be great. Gifts are exciting and temporary; godliness is about maturity and eternity.
2. The charismatic movement shifted the focus from Christ to charisma (gifts)
Whilst the charismatic movement sprung from Pentecostalism, the two are not identical. pentecostals became known for the baptism in the Spirit, and speaking in tongues. However, this experience, for pentecostals was deeply rooted in Christology, Ecclesiology and Missiology. The charismatic movement less so. For Pentecostals, the outpoured Spirit was given through the ascended Christ for the upbuilding and extending of His Body, the church. It was also not a detached spiritual experience, it was connected to the new birth and the sanctification of the heart. The charismatic movement introduced an experience(s) that was taking place largely amongst traditional church people who hadn’t necessarily had a new birth experience. The charismatic experience made church life more exciting for the traditional church-goer who up to this point had no experience of salvation. The Pentecostal baptism, on the other hand, was part of an ongoing crisis point in a person’s life. A clear conversion leading to deep assurance, a clear consecration leading to holiness and now a clear filling of the Spirit leading to empowerment for service and mission. In the charismatic movement, the experiences of the Spirit often became an end in themselves, not a catalyst for change and mission.
3. Charismatic Christianity promotes individualism not commitment to covenant community in the life of the church
Local church for many charismatics is simply something to tolerate in order to get the blessing of the Spirit, not a community to become embedded in. Very often local church is seen as something that restricts the flow of the Spirit. An anti-authoritarian spirit can take root in many charismatic believers. Personal spiritual agenda, not the glory of God and the wellbeing of the Body, become our priorities. This individualism affects a person’s spiritual growth greatly. Spiritual individualism can cause us to become unopen to correction, resistant to godly oversight and defiant towards church order. In effect, charismatic approaches can cause us to be emotionally driven and not Spirit-led.
God’s purpose for us, on the other hand is that we grow in humility, discipleship and relationships. For this to happen, the wellbeing of the Body of Christ must take priority over our desire to feel good. Some of the greatest growth in our lives comes when we face situations that don’t make us feel good. Faithful worship, when you don’t feel like it, over a prolonged period of time will produce more fruit in our lives than one high powered worship experience ever will.
Further, it’s easy to adopt a spiritual persona when you are not really invested in local church relationships, but in real community we experience all the dynamics of family life. When we embrace this melting pot with reliance on God, we learn to receive grace and we learn to extend grace to others. On the other hand, when we make it all about us, and our gifts, we tend to get offended if we don’t get our way, so we head off to find a church where we can get what we want. Or at least where we hope we will. What usually happens is we will encounter the same problems there, because local churches are always about the wellbeing of the body, not the demands of the individual (no matter how spiritual that individual appears to be).
4. Charismatic culture emphases cult personalities and teachings above pastoral leadership and biblical doctrine.
I tend to find many charismatics’ thinking is shaped by big personality leaders rather than biblical doctrine. Consequently, they will be discipled by youtube (in the past it was teaching tapes) and the big name preacher rather than the Bible. Many charismatics simply don’t know the scriptures for themselves. They know key passages, and these are encased in the doctrinal interpretation of their preacher or movement of choice (this isn’t just a charismatic problem – it’s also a problem amongst Calvinists and other theological groups).
This means that many charismatic believers are building their lives on concepts that are shored up with a few scriptures. They don’t really have a broad understanding of God, Jesus, and the ways of God. They haven’t really benefited from good hermeneutics, exegesis, church history, and biblical doctrine. This kind of study is hard (but rewarding) work and that doesn’t fit well with the person who just wants something instant and exciting.
Consequently, for many charismatics, the roots are shallow, and as a result the fruit is sparce. God has something much better for us. But if we want the deeper blessings, we need to be prepared to allow the Gardner to do his work in our lives.
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:8
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