Neo-charismatic churches are a category of churches A church building is a building or structure whose primary purpose is to facilitate the meeting of a church. Originally, Jewish Christians met in synagogues, such as the Cenacle, and in one another's homes. As Christianity grew and became more accepted by governments, rooms and, eventually, entire buildings were set aside for the explicit purpose found within the Christian Renewal movement. The Christian renewal movement incorporates Pentecostal Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, a Greek term describing the Jewish Feast of Weeks. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the, Charismatic The term Charismatic Movement describes the adoption of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians by those within the historic denominations. The term "charismatic" was first coined by Harald Bredesen, a Lutheran minister, in 1962, to describe what was happening at that time in the old-line churches. Confronted with and neo-charismatic churches. Neo-charismatics include the "Third Wave The expression Third Wave was coined by Christian C. Peter Wagner to describe what he believed to be three historical periods of the activity of the Holy Spirit in the 20th century and beyond," but are broader – now more numerous than Pentecostals (first wave) and charismatics (second wave) combined, due to the incredible growth of post-denominational and independent charismatic groups.[1]
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History
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Neo-charismatic churches were first identified in the 1970s as those which embraced many of the doctrines and practices found within Pentecostal churches and the Charismatic Movement The term Charismatic Movement describes the adoption of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians by those within the historic denominations. The term "charismatic" was first coined by Harald Bredesen, a Lutheran minister, in 1962, to describe what was happening at that time in the old-line churches. Confronted with, however were not specifically aligned with either. In the 1980s C. Peter Wagner coined the term Third Wave The expression Third Wave was coined by Christian C. Peter Wagner to describe what he believed to be three historical periods of the activity of the Holy Spirit in the 20th century and beyond to clearly distinguish the sort of charismatic spirituality he was advocating from Pentecostalism. This represented a particular cultural need within the North American scene. Many neo-charismatic groups were also influenced by the Toronto Blessing in the mid 1990s, which was itself a neo-charismatic phenomenon, arising out of the Vineyard Movement The Association of Vineyard Churches, also known as the Vineyard Movement, is a neocharismatic evangelical Christian denomination with over 1,500 affiliated churches worldwide. It has been associated with the "Signs and Wonders" movement,:199 the Toronto blessing,:222 the Kansas City Prophets:160 and a particular style of Christian.
Defining characteristics
Neo-charismatics, like Pentecostals and Charismatics embrace the gifts of the Holy Spirit Spiritual gifts , according to some Christian denominations such as Pentecostal, are gifts that are bestowed on Christians, each having his or her own proper gift (or gifts) to strengthen the church. They are described in the New Testament, primarily in First Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4 including glossolalia Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. Though some consider these utterances to be meaningless, those that use them consider them to be part of a holy language (speaking in tongues), healing, and prophecy. They also practice laying on of hands and the infilling of the Holy Spirit In Christianity, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is the spirit or essence of God. In Trinitarian Christian belief, it is the third person of the Holy Trinity. Pneumatology is the theology of the Holy Spirit, however, they may not expect a specific experience of baptism with the Holy Spirit as a requirement for those gifts. There is no single form, governmental structure, or style of church services that can be identified as specifically Neo-charismatic. The clearest defining element is negative in that they are "Christian bodies with pentecostal-like experiences that have no traditional pentecostal or charismatic denominational connections, (and sometimes only very slender - if any - historical connections)."[1]
Adherents and denominations
There are approximately 19,000 denominations or groups identified as neo-charismatic with approximately 295 million individual adherents.[2] Neo-charismatic churches comprise many independent, non-denominational or post-denominational congregations, with the greater strength of their numbers being found among the African independent churches, the Han Chinese house-church movement House church, or "home church", is used to describe an independent assembly of Christians who gather in a home. Sometimes this occurs because the group is small, and a home is the most appropriate place to gather, as in the early church, or the beginning phase of the British New Church Movement. Sometimes it is because the group is a and in Latin American, particularly Brazilian, churches. Neo-charismatic churches also include a number of recently established denominations e.g. Vineyard Movement The Association of Vineyard Churches, also known as the Vineyard Movement, is a neocharismatic evangelical Christian denomination with over 1,500 affiliated churches worldwide. It has been associated with the "Signs and Wonders" movement,:199 the Toronto blessing,:222 the Kansas City Prophets:160 and a particular style of Christian, International House of Prayer, Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, Catch The Fire Ministries, Bethel Church (Redding, CA), MorningStar Ministries, Every Nation, Eternal Grace, Newfrontiers Newfrontiers is a neocharismatic apostolic network of evangelical, charismatic churches founded by Terry Virgo. It forms part of the British New Church Movement, which began in the late 50s and 60s combining features of Pentecostalism with British evangelicalism. Other streams of the British New Church Movement with which it shares some features, Sovereign Grace Ministries, Global Legacy[citation needed].
See also
References
- ^ a b Stanley M Burgess, Eduard M van der Maas (eds) New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002) s.v. "neocharismatics"
- ^ Stanley M Burgess, Eduard M van der Maas (eds) New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 286-287
Categories: Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity | Protestantism | Christian terms Categories: Religious terminology | Christian popular culture | Christian theology
