Open to the Spirit: Covenant Dialogue with Charismatic Movements

Throughout its history, the Evangelical Covenant Church has interacted with various Christian movements that place significant focus on the operation of the ongoing gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially those which might be considered the more visible or miraculous gifts, such as tongues, healing, and prophecy. In this article, I survey the extent and substance of the Evangelical Covenant Church’s response to charismatic movements. Generally speaking, the Covenant’s Pietist roots, and its identification as a renewal movement, have encouraged a measured assessment that seeks common ground with charismatics with regard to theology and practice. Rather than an outright critique or denial of charismatic experiences, one finds in Covenant engagement an affirmation of the ongoing nature of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by a call to remain biblical in teaching and practice, and to keep Christ central. ¹This article surveyed Covenant publications, resolutions, and consultations. Source document: Quarterly-Vol79-2-Gonzalez.pdf, Covenant Archives and Historical Library collection.

Charismatic “Waves” and Covenant Response: An Overview

I begin with a brief overview of the three historical “waves” of the larger Charismatic movements (Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Neo-charismatic or “Third Wave”) and Covenant responses to each. This provides a framework for then exploring more fully the substance of those responses, integrated around four themes: a call to be biblical, a call to be Christ-centered, a renewed sense of Spirit-dependence and Spirit-heritage, and a challenge to be open to the Spirit’s work.

While the terms “Pentecostal” and “charismatic” are often used interchangeably, they more accurately designate distinct movements. Most Pentecostal denominations that formed within the United States find their roots in the turn of the twentieth century, when, in 1906, William Seymour began pastoring a small African American Holiness church in Los Angeles. Seymour led the church into revival, and when the movement outgrew its location, it relocated to a storage building at 312 Azusa Street. The “Azusa Street Revival” soon became multicultural and was marked by manifestations of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and collapsing under the power of the Spirit (i.e., being “slain in the Spirit”). ²Alan Heaton Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 41–42. The movement quickly gained national and international attention and influence. While many churches trace their roots to this movement, the denominations that have the most direct descendance include the Assemblies of God, the Church of God in Christ, and the Foursquare Church. ³Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 52.

The Holiness movement, out of which the Pentecostal movement emerged, has roots in Lutheran Pietism through the Moravian revival’s impact on John Wesley. Shared emphases include the importance of the Spirit’s work and the emphasis on emotion in the Christian experience. ⁴Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 25–26. Regardless of how practices and theologies may differ or align today, one may identify Covenanters and Pentecostals as cousins in this regard, since both traditions have common roots in Pietist revivalism. This may contribute to understanding why, historically, Covenant pastors and scholars have not generally refuted the manifestations of the Spirit that charismatic Christians claim, and at times have even stated their own openness to, or belief in, such manifestations. At the same time, Covenant ministers insist upon a biblical and Christ-centered foundation for teaching and practice.

The movement commonly known as the “Charismatic movement” is usually identified with the process of charismatic ministries entering mainline denominations in the 1960s. ⁵Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 157. This represents a culmination of many events spanning several decades and involved ministers and laypeople of different traditions who were exposed to charismatic ministries. Various ministers of older denominations in the 1940s and 1950s had received “Spirit baptism” or a “second blessing,” that is, a post-conversion experience wherein one is overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit’s power. ⁶Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 158–61. The most public encounter was that of Episcopal rector Dennis Bennet, also in Los Angeles. Bennet experienced Spirit baptism along with a colleague and several church members in November 1959. He made the event public in an April 1960 sermon at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, leading to controversy that resulted in his resignation. Bennet’s story was widely reported and helped catalyze the movement’s spread into a variety of denominations. ⁷Dennis J. Bennet, Nine O’Clock in the Morning (Plainfield, NJ: Logos International Fellowship, 1970); Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 162.

In 1967 the movement made its mark on the Roman Catholic Church through Duquesne University professors Ralph Keifer and William Storey, who helped spark Catholic charismatic renewal after exposure to influential books like The Cross and the Switchblade and They Speak with Other Tongues. ⁸David R. Wilkerson, The Cross and the Switchblade (New York: Random House, 1963); John L. Sherrill, They Speak with Other Tongues (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964); Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 165.

The “Third Wave” refers to a later phase—often associated with the Church Growth Movement and figures like C. Peter Wagner and John Wimber—that emphasized Spirit-baptism at conversion and the use of charismatic gifts in evangelism within largely nondenominational settings. ⁹Charles H. Kraft, “‘The Third Wave’ and the Covenant Church,” Narthex 5.1 (1985): 3; Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 66–67.

Covenant leaders and theologians engaged all three waves. C. V. Bowman, Covenant president (1927–1933), addressed speaking in tongues in the early twentieth-century context and affirmed the gift while rejecting the claim that tongues must be the necessary evidence of Spirit baptism. ¹⁰C. V. Bowman, “Speaking in Tongues,” trans. Vernon B. Westerburg, Covenant Quarterly 53 (1995): 49–50.

The charismatic renewal of the 1960s prompted prompt Covenant responses. The 1963 Covenant Annual Meeting passed a resolution on spiritual gifts recognizing renewed interest in the Holy Spirit and reported instances of tongues, healings, and other phenomena. ¹¹Covenant Yearbook 1963, 242. In 1968 the Covenant Companion ran a four-article series on the Holy Spirit by North Park Theological Seminary faculty (Frederick Holmgren, Henry A. Gustafson Jr., Donald Frisk, and Wesley W. Nelson), offering biblical and pastoral reflection relevant to the Charismatic movement. ¹²Frederick Holmgren, “The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament,” Covenant Companion, April 19, 1968, 8–9; Henry A. Gustafson Jr., “The Holy Spirit in the New Testament,” Covenant Companion, May 3, 1968, 12–13; Donald C. Frisk, “The Holy Spirit and the Church,” Covenant Companion, May 17, 1968, 10–11; Wesley W. Nelson, “The Holy Spirit: The Holy Innovator,” Covenant Companion, May 31, 1968, 4–5.

By the 1970s and 1980s, denomination-level consultations and Narthex issues considered the Charismatic movement and the Third Wave in depth: Covenant consultations were held in 1970, 1976 (“Spiritual Gifts and Covenant Polity”), and a major consultation in 1986, and issues of Narthex (1982, 1985) and Covenant Quarterly published essays and responses. ¹³See Narthex 2.2 (1982) and Narthex 5.1 (1985); Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987) for consultation proceedings.

Themes in Covenant Engagement

A Call to Be Biblical

Covenant responses consistently foreground a call to be biblical. This is the primary ground for critique in dialogues with charismatic movements. Bowman’s early response is characteristic: he affirmed that speaking in tongues can occur today, but warned that not all such manifestations are of the Spirit and that the New Testament treats tongues as only one of many gifts and not the most necessary or frequent. ¹⁴Bowman, “Speaking in Tongues,” 48–50.

The 1968 Covenant Companion series and later Narthex issues emphasized rigorous Scriptural grounding. Scholars such as Henry Gustafson argued that the Spirit’s gifts equip the church to unity and service, listing preaching, teaching, healing, administration, and interpretation of tongues among the diverse gifts. ¹⁵Gustafson Jr., “The Holy Spirit,” Covenant Companion, May 3, 1968, 12–13.

In Narthex responses to Sandstrom and to Charles Kraft (on the Third Wave), contributors such as Thomas Sharkey and Klyne Snodgrass emphasized that biblical grounding was a crucial need in the Charismatic movement. Snodgrass criticized the lack of clear biblical explanation in some Third Wave descriptions, while still affirming desirable by-products like expectancy of God’s working and revitalized worship. ¹⁶Thomas F. Sharkey, “Response,” Narthex 2.2 (1982): 85; Klyne Snodgrass, “Response,” Narthex 5.1 (1985): 16.

A Call to Be Christ-Centered

The Covenant consistently insisted that any engagement with Spirit gifts must be Christ-centered: the Spirit’s work points to Christ and should not draw attention to gifts as ends in themselves. Gustafson noted the Spirit’s ministry is secondary and subsequent to Christ (citing John 7:39; 20:22). ¹⁷Gustafson Jr., “The Holy Spirit,” Covenant Companion, May 3, 1968, 12–13.

Responses from Roth and Nordlund urged that the proper use of spiritual gifts must be “in the context of love” and for building up the body of Christ. Sharkey affirmed the scriptural basis for Spirit baptism and the acceptance of gifts, closing by urging we listen to “what the Spirit says to the Churches.” ¹⁸Randall D. Roth & Theodore V. Nordlund, “Response,” Narthex 2.2 (1982): 79; Sharkey, “Response,” 85–88.

At the 1986 Covenant consultation, Johnston and other leaders reiterated a posture of Christ-centeredness—building the church around Christ rather than around particular demonstrations or their absence. ¹⁹Robert K. Johnston, “The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Covenant Today,” Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987): 49–52.

A Renewed Sense of Spirit-Dependence and Spirit-Heritage

Dialogue with charismatic movements renewed Covenant awareness of Spirit dependence and the denomination’s Pietist heritage. The 1963 Annual Meeting reaffirmed dependence on the “illuminating, regenerating, and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit” while recognizing the Spirit’s prerogative to distribute gifts as he wills. ²⁰Covenant Yearbook 1963, 242.

Contributors recognized similarities between Covenanters and charismatics: an emphasis on life over mere doctrine and a historical openness to the Spirit’s transforming power. Johnston and others tied this to the denomination’s origins as a renewal movement in Sweden. ²¹Johnston, “The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Covenant Today,” Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987): 49–50.

Leaders such as Paul E. Larsen acknowledged the Covenant’s Pietist protest against over-rationalistic western Christianity and affirmed that “miracles, signs and wonders” have been part of the Covenant’s life and faith. ²²Paul E. Larsen, “Signs, Wonders, and Covenant Theology,” Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987): 99–101.

A Challenge to Be Open to the Spirit’s Work

Alongside caution and biblical framing, Covenant writers also urged openness to the Spirit’s work. Nelson’s 1968 article encouraged not imposing limits on what the Spirit might do and called for prayerfully engaging new experiments and innovations that the Spirit may lead. ²³Wesley W. Nelson, “The Holy Spirit: The Holy Innovator,” Covenant Companion, May 31, 1968, 4–5.

Responses in Narthex and the 1986 consultation urged churches to examine Scripture in the confidence of the Holy Spirit’s guidance and to consider whether the church has neglected forms of ministry—including healing—that Scripture commends. Contributors recommended intentional reclaiming of the ministry of healing and a posture that does what needs to be done to see miracles happen. ²⁴Sharkey, “Response,” 86; Klyne Snodgrass, “Response,” 18; Carleton D. Peterson, “The Charismatic Movement in Covenant Churches, 1986,” Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987): 58–60; Margaret Swenson, “Consultation on the Covenant and the Holy Spirit,” Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987): 69.

Though some denominational leaders expressed caution (partly to avoid difficulties that certain ministries might cause), the general tenor of the consultations and publications was a desire for greater openness to Spirit-led renewal while retaining biblical and Christ-centered guardrails. ²⁵Peterson, “The Charismatic Movement,” 58–59.

Concluding Considerations for Ministry

Engaging the Covenant’s historical dialogue with charismatic movements highlights denominational strengths helpful for ministry: a centrality of the Word of God, a Christ-centered posture, a recollection of Spirit-dependence, and a heritage of renewal that invites openness to the Spirit while guarding against abuse. ²⁶Johnston, “The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Covenant Today,” 49; Bowman, “Speaking in Tongues,” 47–50; Sandstrom, “The Gifts of the Spirit,” Narthex 2.2 (1982): 58–72.

At the same time, the dialogue challenges Covenant churches to ask whether they are missing Spirit activity because of a failure to make space for those gifts, or because they have not sought them. Paul’s treatment of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12–14 is often employed to remind believers that lacking certain gifts does not imply lesser spirituality, but also to prod the church to consider whether some gifts ought to be sought for the edification of the body. ²⁷See 1 Corinthians 12–14; Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 591–99; Craig S. Keener, Gift Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 114–127.

Recent denominational emphasis also affirms a renewed invitation to Spirit-dependence. For example, President John Wenrich at the 2019 Midwinter Conference called Covenanters to recognize the Holy Spirit as the “blazing center” for mission; in 2020 the Blazing Center resource suite was introduced as a tool to renew conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit in local churches. ²⁸“2019 Midwinter, President’s Update,” video (YouTube), referenced in source document; also see covchurch.org/blazingcenter for resources.

In sum, the Covenant’s dialogue with charismatic movements invites Christians to remain biblical and Christ-centered while remembering our Spirit-heritage and cultivating openness to the Spirit’s work—practically and theologically—so that churches might be equipped for mission by whatever the Spirit chooses to give. ²⁹Summary of themes and recommendations adapted from José González, “Open to the Spirit: Covenant Dialogue with Charismatic Movements,” Quarterly-Vol79-2-Gonzalez.pdf, Covenant Archives and Historical Library.

This article originally published with the Covenant Quarterly on September 10, 2021.

Endnotes

• 1
  This article surveyed Covenant publications, resolutions, and consultations. Source document: Quarterly-Vol79-2-Gonzalez.pdf, Covenant Archives and Historical Library collection.
• 2
  Alan Heaton Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 41–42.
• 3
  Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 52.
• 4
  Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 25–26.
• 5
  Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 157.
• 6
  Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 158–61.
• 7
  Dennis J. Bennet, Nine O’Clock in the Morning (Plainfield, NJ: Logos International Fellowship, 1970); Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 162.
• 8
  David R. Wilkerson, The Cross and the Switchblade (New York: Random House, 1963); John L. Sherrill, They Speak with Other Tongues (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964); Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 165.
• 9
  Charles H. Kraft, “‘The Third Wave’ and the Covenant Church,” Narthex 5.1 (1985): 3; Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism, 66–67.
• 10
  C. V. Bowman, “Speaking in Tongues,” trans. Vernon B. Westerburg, Covenant Quarterly 53 (1995): 49–50.
• 11
  Covenant Yearbook 1963, 242.
• 12
  Frederick Holmgren, “The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament,” Covenant Companion, April 19, 1968, 8–9; Henry A. Gustafson Jr., “The Holy Spirit in the New Testament,” Covenant Companion, May 3, 1968, 12–13; Donald C. Frisk, “The Holy Spirit and the Church,” Covenant Companion, May 17, 1968, 10–11; Wesley W. Nelson, “The Holy Spirit: The Holy Innovator,” Covenant Companion, May 31, 1968, 4–5.
• 13
  See Narthex 2.2 (1982) and Narthex 5.1 (1985); Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987) for consultation proceedings.
• 14
  Bowman, “Speaking in Tongues,” 48–50.
• 15
  Gustafson Jr., “The Holy Spirit,” Covenant Companion, May 3, 1968, 12–13.
• 16
  Thomas F. Sharkey, “Response,” Narthex 2.2 (1982): 85; Klyne Snodgrass, “Response,” Narthex 5.1 (1985): 16.
• 17
  Gustafson Jr., “The Holy Spirit,” Covenant Companion, May 3, 1968, 12–13.
• 18
  Randall D. Roth & Theodore V. Nordlund, “Response,” Narthex 2.2 (1982): 79; Sharkey, “Response,” 85–88.
• 19
  Robert K. Johnston, “The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Covenant Today,” Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987): 49–52.
• 20
  Covenant Yearbook 1963, 242.
• 21
  Johnston, “The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Covenant Today,” Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987): 49–50.
• 22
  Paul E. Larsen, “Signs, Wonders, and Covenant Theology,” Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987): 99–101.
• 23
  Wesley W. Nelson, “The Holy Spirit: The Holy Innovator,” Covenant Companion, May 31, 1968, 4–5.
• 24
  Sharkey, “Response,” 86; Klyne Snodgrass, “Response,” 18; Carleton D. Peterson, “The Charismatic Movement in Covenant Churches, 1986,” Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987): 58–60; Margaret Swenson, “Consultation on the Covenant and the Holy Spirit,” Covenant Quarterly 44 (1987): 69.
• 25
  Peterson, “The Charismatic Movement,” 58–59.
• 26
  Johnston, “The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Covenant Today,” 49; Bowman, “Speaking in Tongues,” 47–50; Sandstrom, “The Gifts of the Spirit,” Narthex 2.2 (1982): 58–72.
• 27
  See 1 Corinthians 12–14; Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 591–99; Craig S. Keener, Gift Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 114–127.
• 28
  “2019 Midwinter, President’s Update,” video (YouTube), referenced in source document; also see covchurch.org/blazingcenter for resources.
• 29
  Summary of themes and recommendations adapted from José González, “Open to the Spirit: Covenant Dialogue with Charismatic Movements,” Quarterly-Vol79-2-Gonzalez.pdf, Covenant Archives and Historical Library.