A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

The Charismatic Movement
seen, a number of Protestants who would become leaders
in the Charismatic movement had received the Holy Spirit
before this time. Most historians, however, identify the
defining event with Dennis Bennett (born 1917), rector at
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Van Nuys, California.
Bennett and some of his parishioners had received the
Holy Spirit with tongues in November 1959, but it was
not until April 1960 that he announced this news to his
congregation.
The announcement proved to be quite controversial,
and Bennett was soon forced to resign his pastorate. Jean
Stone (born 1924), a church member who had received
the Holy Spirit along with Bennett, alerted the news
media to the controversy, including Newsweek and Time.
Both of these national news magazines carried the story
of mainline Protestants who had embraced Pentecostal
experiences. It was also widely reported in the religious
press and on television.
As a result of the publicity, many people began to
inquire about the Pentecostal experience and to seek it.
Many who had already received the Holy Spirit in mainline
churches began to openly acknowledge the fact and
to make contact with one another. A network of Spiritfilled
Protestants grew, and the Charismatics became a
distinct, identifiable movement.
Protestant Charismatics
By the early 1960s, all the major Protestant denominations
had a Charismatic movement within them.
Eternity magazine labeled it Neo-Pentecostal, but Harald
Bredesen and Jean Stone proposed the name that the
participants preferred: the Charismatic Renewal.
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