How the Holy Spirt Marked a Movement

Standards That Shaped a Movement

Though today’s generation of leaders chuckle at the AG’s history of not “mingling” with other groups, this conservative approach has undoubtedly had one benefit: The Assemblies has maintained doctrinal integrity during decades in which other denominations have become increasingly liberal.

This could likely be because of the split that rocked the fledgling denomination in only its second year of existence. That controversy began when some Pentecostals rejected a Trinitarian baptismal formula (i.e., baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, which has been the norm since the First Council of Nicaea in 325) in favor of baptizing converts “in the name of Jesus” only. Within a couple of years the “Jesus Only” (or Oneness) Pentecostals also rejected the doctrine of the Trinity, which split the AG and ultimately led to the formation of the non-Trinitarian United Pentecostal Church.

Over the years the Assemblies has been careful when dealing with matters of heresy or odd Pentecostal manifestations. Leadership would typically issue a “white paper” at General Council that let the rank and file know how to respond to new phenomena such as the “latter rain movement” in the late 1940s. The AG rejected such elements as calling ministers “apostles” or “prophets,” even though other phenomena that seemed odd at the time such as spiritual warfare or “singing in the spirit” have since been widely embraced by the Spirit-filled community. Today the Assemblies actually does use “apostolic” in reference to ground-breaking efforts to plant churches where they don’t exist. For example, persons such as the late Mark Buntain, the founder of Mission of Mercy in India (which Charisma covered in our April issue this year), functioned as apostles even though they did not call themselves that. Assemblies leaders are quick to say they are committed to apostolic doctrine, apostolic mission and apostolic practice, but not to self-appointed people running around calling themselves apostles!

Growing up, I remember early charismatics were looked askance by AG people I knew. When word came out that Episcopalians and Methodists were speaking in tongues, these people didn’t know what to think. After all, the women from these “outside” denominations wore makeup and their members didn’t see anything wrong with drinking wine! Didn’t they know those violated Pentecostal standards of holiness?

Like all Pentecostals of the day, cultural standards of holiness were not only important, but also often preached as gospel in the early decades of the denomination’s existence. Sleeveless dresses were a no-no, as were fingernail polish and lipstick. So was going to the movies or even owning a TV. Most of these things had gone by the wayside by the early 1960s. (However, today the denomination still expects its clergy to abstain from alcohol.)

In a day when culturally anything goes, these have become antiquated standards from the holiness movement from which Pentecostalism spawned. Younger Pentecostals often aren’t aware these were standards only a generation ago, while older generations joke about what it was like to be told you couldn’t read the “funny paper” on Sunday because it was the Lord’s Day.

Yet this commitment to walking in holiness shaped the Assemblies and, as the charismatic movement emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, an entirely new generation of Spirit-filled believers. Like those in the Assemblies, these charismatics refused to succumb to cultural trappings, while also introducing an interesting twist to the Pentecostal line: They saw no reason to leave their denominational churches. Most would attend charismatic conferences or home groups where the gifts of the Spirit were in full operation, then return to their churches aflame with a new kind of baptism.

Until the advent of what became known as the charismatic movement in mainline churches, the assumption was that if you spoke in tongues, you joined a Pentecostal church. As this began to change, however, some Pentecostal leaders were slow to recognize the shift. So when the Conference on the Charismatic Renewal in the Christian Churches took place in Kansas City in 1977, some top AG leaders drove up from Springfield and were introduced to the crowd as “observers.” Maybe they thought there might be “wildfire”—after all, the Assemblies had worked hard to become more mainstream within the evangelical community.

Upon witnessing firsthand more than 50,000 newly Spirit-filled believers flowing in a new, exciting move of the Spirit, the AG leaders went home and gave it Springfield’s stamp of approval. Yet even this support displayed the paradoxical undertones within the denomination. The AG is a grass-roots movement, and many local churches were already reaching out to charismatics and embracing them. In addition, probably every Full Gospel Businessmen’s chapter received strong AG involvement.

In time, charismatics flocked to AG churches, as well as other denominational congregations such as Jack Hayford’s Church On The Way (part of the Foursquare Church), causing churches that had struggled to grow to a few hundred at most to mushroom to thousands almost overnight. But among the Assemblies, response was mixed.

Some churches preferred the old-fashioned ways. They looked to Springfield for leadership, bought all their materials from the denomination’s Gospel Publishing House and often became critical of their more “liberal” brethren who “compromised standards.”

Other AG congregations thrived during this time as charismatics coming in enjoyed the freedom of worship, the teaching of the Word and the fact that pastors such as Karl Strader of First Assembly in Lakeland, Florida (where I attended as a teen), or Roy Harthern down the road at Calvary Assembly in Orlando (where Charisma started) welcomed them with open arms.

Instead of receiving the biblical “right hand of fellowship” from their original churches, many of these newly Spirit-baptized believers had been given the “left foot of fellowship,” so these Assemblies became safe houses for healing and spiritual growth. Of course, these were two among hundreds of AG congregations around the country that welcomed charismatics.

This phenomenon fueled growth for many years, as Assemblies were no longer “on the other side of the tracks” within the evangelical community and, more importantly, welcomed those hungry for a move of the Spirit. Since the late ’70s the denomination has grown stateside by almost 250 percent while mainline denominations have continued to lose members.