A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

The Charismatic Movement
the Spirit. This theology prompted Dennis Bennett to
reaffirm the reality of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a
distinct experience subsequent to Evangelical conversion.
He asked, “Does this mean that what has happened
to me and to the people at St. Luke’s—and to all those
other Christians over the last three decades—has been
just a happy illusion?” He warned, “Don’t let any wave
wash away the blessing of Pentecost.” 290
The Third Wave has successfully introduced
Pentecostal-Charismatic beliefs and experiences into
many conservative Protestant churches, including many
that were resistant both to the early Pentecostal revival
and to the Charismatic Renewal. Increasingly, Evangelicals
have begun to acknowledge the validity of speaking
in tongues, healing, miracles, and casting out of demons,
even though they are somewhat doubtful about experiencing
these things personally.
Peter Wagner, a Congregationalist minister, became a
proponent of the Third Wave. As an Evangelical missionary
in Bolivia, he had actively opposed Pentecostalism. In
1971, however, he joined the faculty of Fuller Theological
Seminary as a church growth specialist. His research documented
a close association of signs and wonders with
church growth. He began to advocate the pursuit of
supernatural gifts for the purpose of facilitating church
growth.
John Wimber (born 1934) was a Friends (Quaker)
pastor who became a church growth researcher along
with Wagner. Eventually he decided to implement his
Third Wave views by founding a church in Anaheim,
California, which he called the Vineyard Christian
Fellowship. This led to the Association of Vineyard
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