SOME PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
The Minority Report that is quoted in full below is the lesser portion of a presentation that will be considered by Synod 2007 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Majority Report is found here, though I was unable to open it in my program.
While we were meeting together as one committee, we struggled with the term "Third Wave Pentecostalism," all agreeing that it was a phrase that was not in common usage, but we stuck with the term since it was what was used when the study was ordered.
When I began working on this study committee I was teaching full-time at Calvin Theological Seminary. I tell why I am now unemployed on my My Calvin Seminary Story.
I will report here on this site when Synod makes a decision on which direction to go regarding the Third Wave Movement.
UPDATE: June 13, 2007
Well, today the Third Wave came before Synod, and what a huge disappointment it
was. The Advisory Committee recommended that neither report be
accepted, but that a new committee be reconstituted out of those on the
committee who wrote the Majority Report. That committee will report
back to Synod in 2009. So none of the issues were dealt with on the
floor of Synod. I wanted one side or the other to prevail fair and
square. That's not what happened. Dr. Mariano Avila, who co-authored
the Minority Report, was not invited to meet with the Advisory
Committee---even after I emphasized in my interview with them that it was
critical that they meet with him. If I were cynical , I would say that
this was stacked against us from the beginning. I don't know how
advisory committees (or even Synod delegates) are chosen. But I do know
that those in the CRC who endorse the Third Wave have a lot of
networking---connections through conferences and seminars and writings.
Those who are opposed to Third Wave (if they're even familiar with the
term) are not connected and they would not necessarily be aware of the
need to be a delegate to this particular Synod and to try to get named
to a particular advisory committee. As for me the matter is over, and
the CRC will have to live with its decision.
For those who have already read the Majority and Minority Reports, I offer here some additional material that was not included in either report. In the Minority Report, we reference "The Third Wave Worldview: A Biblical Critique" by Pierre Gilbert. It is an excellent article found here.
For CRC folks and others who are interested in worldview issues, this article is well worth pondering. Those who wrote the Majority Report would say that there are many Third-Wave worldview assumptions that they do not hold, but Synod should be aware of the differences between a Reformed and a Third Wave worldview. Though Gilbert is a Mennonite, many of his worldview assumptions parallel a Reformed--or Christian--worldview. Here is an excerpt from Gilbert's article:
A COSMOLOGY OF THE THIRD WAVE MOVEMENT
Leaders of the Third Wave movement and those who espouse similar positions in regard to spiritual warfare and deliverance have developed a relatively clear and self-consistent cosmology, i.e., a way of understanding God, the universe, and humanity. The following elements are submitted as a preliminary outline of that cosmology.
Violence and Creation
According to the Third Wave ideology, there has been a cosmic conflict between God’s forces and the rebellious demonic powers originating even before the creation of the world and extending into human history. It is believed that some of these demonic beings have been left free to roam the earth as an opposing force to humankind. This was necessary, for only in conflict could humanity attain the fulfillment of its true destiny. But war and conflict are not only present at the eve of creation and necessary for the fulfillment of human destiny; it characterizes human existence. God created the human race as a warrior race. The logic of this perspective is that God’s intentions for humanity to be a warrior race required an environment containing the opposition necessary for the human race to fulfill its true destiny.
Mythologization of the Universe
According to the Third Wave paradigm, the universe is populated with millions of superhuman/supernatural beings bent on destroying humanity and God’s designs.
The Universe as Subject
The universe is given the status of subject. The spiritual beings which inhabit it adversely affect the lives of humans through the manipulation of the physical elements of nature. Thus, the basic validity and reality of magic is assumed: objects can have special powers, the spoken word is inherently efficient, places and objects can mediate evil powers and influence, traumatic experiences (either in the life of an individual or in his/her ancestral history) can generate “open doors” through which demons can take possession or gain significant influence over that person.
Pantheon
According to Third Wave ideology, there exists a highly sophisticated organization with a hierarchy of demonic beings. At the top of this demonic organization there is Satan. Satan is not omnipresent, but he delegates his authority and power to other spirits to accomplish his malevolent objectives. Three major categories of demons are identified: territorial spirits, middle-level spirits, and ground-level spirits. The extent of the spirit’s power is directly proportional to its rank; the higher the rank, the more powerful that spirit is. These spirits are said to have specific names and well-delineated roles and territories.
Christian Experience Is Characterized by War
Since the warfare paradigm is suggested as the operative and normative principle, it is important to realize that the conditions usually associated with war are perceived as characterizing human life in general and the experience of the Christian in particular. The Christian is living under conditions of war and is therefore under the constant threat of being attacked and overcome by evil spirits. In fact, in terms of the church, the more effective a Christian leader is, the greater the likelihood that this person will specially be targeted by evil forces. The Christian must expect and will experience intense spiritual conflict.
Christian Experience Is Characterized by Fear and Uncertainty
The source of spiritual attack is manifold and ultimately impossible to identify with precision. Any negative feeling or emotion can be evidence of demonization. One can be demonized either by coming into contact with a person who is demon-possessed, by contacting an occult object, or by being present in a place inhabited by, or otherwise associated with, evil spirits. The extent of the fear, if not the terror, and the uncertainty inherent to the Third Wave ideology is particularly evident in Frank Peretti’s novels which take to their logical conclusions the teachings of some of the Third Wave leaders alluded to earlier.
MINORITY REPORT
Outline of the report
I. Introduction
II. A theology of power
III. Brothers and sisters in Christ
IV. Drawing lines in the sand
V. Reasons for rejecting the third wave
Appendices
Appendix A: Another Reading and Interpretation of the 1973 Report
Appendix B: Spiritual Warfare in Ephesians: The Lordship of Christ and the
Power of the Spirit in the Church in the Context of the Powers of This World
Appendix C. Selected Critiques of Third Wave
Appendix D: Notes on Third Wave Leaders
Appendix E: Reflections on Contemporary Evangelicalism
Appendix F: Bibliography
Creemos en el Espíritu Santo, Señor y dador de vida,
que procede del Padre y del Hijo,
y que junto con el Padre y el Hijo
recibe adoración y gloria.
El habló por medio de los profetas.
(From the Nicene Creed)
I. Introduction
After seven meetings of the synodical Committee to Study Third Wave
Pentecostalism as a whole, we amicably separated to write majority and
minority reports. The separation was long in coming, as we of the minority
became more and more convinced that we could not in good conscience
recommend that synod affirm the third wave movement, albeit with cautions.
We are calling on synod to warn churches to be very cautious about the
third wave. We believe that the majority report gives a virtual carte blanche to
the movement in asking synod to “gratefully accept all the ways in which this
movement manifests the work of the Spirit” (VI, B, 1). If, of course, all the ways
were in fact the work of the Spirit, the churches should obviously accept them,
but such generalizations must be unraveled with care.
At stake are foundational elements of the CRCNAidentity—biblical,
theological, ecclesiastical, and church polity central beliefs and practices—
which will be seriously affected if we accept and follow the recommendations
of the majority report.
Our Reformed heritage is not founded on postapostolic revelations and
visionary experiences. The words of an old hymn are ours:
Sprit of God, who dwells within my heart,
wean it from sin, through all its pulses move.
stoop to my weakness, mighty as you are,
and make me love you as I ought to love.
I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,
no sudden rending of the veil of clay,
no angel visitant, no opening skies;
but take the dimness of my soul away.
(1987 Psalter Hymnal, 419)
II. A theology of power
The third wave lays claim to a theology of power. The term power (as used
in the title of Charles H. Kraft’s book, Christianity with Power) is perhaps the
single most significant word associated with the third wave. Terms such as
Holy Spirit and spiritual warfare and spiritual gifts are also very prominent but
almost always connected with power.
C. Peter Wagner, John Wimber, Charles Kraft, and others have emphasized
the need for a theology of power—a theology evident throughout third wave
writings.
This theology, according to Paul Heibert, is misguided: “Here Wimber’s
teaching is particularly weak. . . . Many Christians testify to the fact that it was
in times of sickness and suffering that they were drawn closest to Christ and
learned important lessons of faith. Those are times when people realize their
own vulnerability and their dependence on God” (Heibert, “Healing”; see also
Appendix C below.)
The CRC has a rich history of bowing before the sovereign will of God. We
humbly accept the pain and suffering we do not understand. We are not
among those Christians who cry out with an expectation that God will cure the
terminal illness of our loved ones because we have a special claim to power. As
a committee, we together grieved the loss of Dr. David H. Engelhard, a man
who was not just our committee chair but also a beloved and highly respected
denominational leader. Was God unfaithful in not curing our friend David?
The words of Job come to mind: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised. . . . Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 1:21, 13:15).
Some members of the CRCNAare more open today to a Pentecostal-
charismatic form of spirituality than they were in decades past. With this spirit
of appreciation and inclusion, it might seem natural for the CRC to endorse the
third wave. There are, however, many reasons why the CRC should be very
cautious about moving in this direction.
III. Brothers and sisters in Christ
Before outlining some of these reasons, we wish to state that there are some
positive aspects of a more charismatic and subjective spirituality, not the least
of which are expressions of outward warmth and emotion that are sometimes
lacking in more formal spiritual settings. We recognize our third wave sisters
and brothers both outside and inside the CRC as ones who are sincerely
seeking spiritual growth along with others who are not associated with the
third wave. We resonate with the words of Michael Horton (1992) in the
introduction to his edited book, Power Religion:
Every issue we address in this volume is a matter for debate within the body of
Christ. None of the authors suggest that those who support . . . the signs and
wonders movement . . . are non-Christians or enemies of the faith masquerading
as disciples of Christ.
So, the issues are of immense importance (it’s not just a matter of different
emphases), but are to be addressed in a spirit of humility, reconciliation, and love
of both the truth and of our brothers and sisters. In fact, none of us suggest that
there is nothing to learn from [this movement]. . . .
This book, therefore, is not meant to draw lines in the sand between true and
false brethren. Rather, its goal is to point out what we believe to be serious
distractions from the core mission and message of the Christian faith.
IV. Drawing lines in the sand
We likewise do not draw lines in the sand, but we do believe the third wave
presents “serious distractions from the core mission and message of the
Christian faith” in ways that seriously affect central practices and beliefs of the
CRCNA. When we began our work on the committee, we regarded the topic
of the third wave to be an important issue to study, but we did not compre-
hend the far-reaching potential that the third wave has to lead the CRCNAin a
misguided direction.
Though we do not draw lines in the sand, others have done so. In the
forward to Kraft’s book (2005, vii), Clark Pinnock writes that the third wave of
power ministries “requires that we decide which camp (pro- or anti-
Pentecostal) we belong to.” Kraft, a long-time professor at Fuller Theological
Seminary, is a strong advocate of the third wave. He and others have drawn
lines in the sand. Some pastors have drawn lines as well, suggesting that
church officeholders should be only those who posses the so-called third wave
gifts.
Whether lines are drawn or not, the matter is critical, and it falls on the CRC
to decide. Other denominations have weighed in on this matter (see Appendix
D). It now behooves the CRC to do the same.
V. Reasons for rejecting third wave
A. The 1973 report (Acts of Synod 1973, pp. 398-493) leads us to offer strong
cautions against the third wave movement as being incompatible with our
high view of Scripture and our Reformed theological tradition. If we are in
“fundamental continuity with the 1973 report on neo-Pentecostalism” (major-
ity report, introduction), a careful reading of that report will show that those
areas in which the 1973 report expressed its strongest cautions and warnings,
are those that today are at the forefront of the third wave movement. (See
minority report Appendix Athat demonstrates our claim overlooked in the
majority report’s, introduction, and section II.)
B. We must be very careful with the unchecked generalizations, offered by the
majority report, that present the third wave movement in a positive light. For
example, the majority report overview (majority report, section III and
elsewhere) presents the third wave as predominantly an evangelical phenomenon that has not, by and large, fostered disruption in church communities but
has served to rejuvenate the personal faith life of those touched by the move-
ment (III, A). No sociological or statistical information is offered to warrant
such claims.
On the contrary, there are significant statements from evangelical denomi-
nations and scholars (as the ones we present below) that show the rejection
and strong warnings against the third wave. Even the survey ordered by the
committee shows no significant growth due to third wave influence (majority
report, Appendix B). The claim made in the majority report (section IV, C) that
the openness of our CRCNAmembers to the third wave emphases is due to
theological compatibility, ongoing renewal, and cultural context is supported
by no solid evidence.
C. An arbitrary selection and classification of people and representatives of
the third wave is given (majority report, section III, B) to make such movement
acceptable for the CRCNA. For example, Peter Wagner (a founding leader of
the third wave) is placed as “beyond the third wave.” Yet, he remains a
pioneer and innovator for the movement (he is used several times by the
majority report to make important points). His writings are highly influential
among third wave circles. Influential people, such as Benny Hinn, John Hage,
and others, are classified as charismatics, while others, such as Robert Tilton,
are not mentioned at all.
D. While the majority report distances itself from Peter Wagner’s New
Apostolic Reformation, it affirms the prophetic office (a key Wagner emphasis)
and commends it in positive terms. It also maintains that this foundational
doctrine “contributes to the way in which prayer is understood and healing
and deliverance ministry is engaged” (III, D, 1).
E. Reference to CRC Publications that affirm the third wave does not add
weight to the majority report. ACRC publication does not carry the imprimatur
of synod.
F. The main practices and beliefs of the third wave weaken the CRC’s high
view of Scripture and its authority as the Word of God for faith and life. Third
wave practices—revelatory prophecy, words of wisdom, words of knowledge,
and dialogical prayer (in which revelations from God are received to guide
life)—serve to contradict that essential belief. These subjective claims of
revelation easily become a norm and guide for life. Historically and today,
such revelations easily take priority and become a canon within the canon in
church life.
G. The implicit practices of the third wave are in direct contradiction to the
ecclesiology and church polity of the CRCNA. Deliberations, study commit-
tees, consensual agreements, majority votes, friendly, and not so friendly
disagreements are not part of the ecclesiastical ethos of third wave circles.
Charismatic leaders guide churches due to their elite status.
H. The New Apostolic Reformation, led by Peter Wagner, is not just a move-
ment beyond the third wave. It is a logical result and outcome of it and remains
an integral and leading part of the third wave. When leaders with special
knowledge (such as the ancient Gnostics) are acknowledged as privileged
recipients of prophecies and revelations, the church is on a dangerous course.
I. The whole issue of spiritual warfare is another example of poor exegesis
(see minority report Appendix B). The issue has been reduced to a key word
for the third wave: power. Such power is understood in terms of great signs and
wonders. However, in Ephesians, spiritual warfare has to do with ethical
qualities in the church (righteousness and truth), with proper relations among
the members (unity and peace), and with prayer and the power of a life of
service and love (see minority report Appendix B).
In the section on evaluating the third wave (V, B, 5, a, 2), the majority report
affirms that Christians can be “inhabited by demons.” Just before that affirma-
tion, however, the majority report says, “Christians cannot be demon-
possessed because they belong to God.” Such subtle distinction must be
clarified. It seems to us that even the idea of being inhabited by demons has no
biblical support and must be rejected (see minority report Appendix B).
J. The criteria (four questions) that the majority report adopts from PRMI
(section V, B, 1, b, 3) to discern between genuine practices and counterfeits are
subjective. It is similar to the WWJD phenomenon (What would Jesus do?).
Those questions do not direct or appeal to objective, biblical criteria but are left
to be answered subjectively and arbitrarily.
K. Recommendation B, 1 in the majority report, endorses uncritically and
dangerously third wave practices. Who is going to determine and discern “all
the ways in which the movement manifests the work of the Holy Spirit”? Are
all the practices in third wave manifestations of the Holy Spirit? The recom-
mendation posits that those ways are notable in “demonstrating the present
reality of the spiritual gifts (charismata) recorded in Scripture and of being
filled with the Holy Spirit in different ways and on multiple occasions.” To
give just one example: This goes against the argument Paul develops in 1
Corinthians 13, where the fruit is emphasized over the use of gifts. The
majority report suggests that the claimed manifestations of charismata in the
third wave are the work of the Holy Spirit, and we must receive them “grate-
fully.” Synod must be wary of such a blanket reception.
L. Recommendation B, 3 calls us to “acknowledge the gift of prophecy today.”
Yet, the interpretation of the gift of prophecy by the majority report is highly
reductionistic because it seems that it only refers to “special insights” for
specific situations (III, D, 1). Aquick look at the prophetic literature of the Old
Testament and New Testament shows that prophecy was much broader: It
included an interpretation of God’s law (Calvin) and history. It was a critical
conscience for the present (announcement and denouncement) to guide God’s
people into God’s ways. It also provided hope and predicted judgments and
salvation in the future (see the 1973 report’s definition, minority report
Appendix A, I, B, 1). Thus, to adopt recommendation B, 3 of the majority
report would be contrary to the biblical teaching on prophecy (Rev. 22:18-19;
2 Pet. 1:19-21). We already have the prophetic message as something com-
pletely reliable.
M. We are instructed in recommendation B, 5 to “think of prayer as a dia-
logue, not a monologue, and be attentive to what God is saying as you pray.”
Aquick look at the book of Psalms, the prayer book of Israel and the church,
will show immediately how reductionistic is this recommended concept of
prayer that stresses the revelational aspect of it. How can I discern that the
voices I hear in prayer are God’s, my own, or even the Devil’s? Where in the
Old Testament or New Testament are we encouraged or recommended to hear
new revelations from God in prayer?
VI. Recommendations
A. That synod give the privilege of the floor to Drs. Ruth Tucker and Mariano
Avila as writers of the minority report.
B. That synod reject the counsel given by the majority report in
Recommendations B, 1, 2, and 5 and require a clarification of section B, 7 in
light of their previous affirmations (see our reason I).
C. That synod issue a strong warning against third wave as a movement that
seriously affects foundational elements (biblical, theological, and ecclesiasti-
cal) of the CRCNA’s identity.
D. That synod recommend the minority report to the churches.
Committee to Study Third Wave Pentecostalism
Minority Report
Mariano Avila
Ruth Tucker
Appendix A
Another Reading and Interpretation of the 1973 Report
I. Biblical/theological significance
The 1973 report is comprehensive in the way it covers the Old and New
Testament teachings with regard to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. We encour-
age a careful reading and study of such sections (Acts of Synod 1973, pp. 413-
29). It also provides a careful selection of teachings from our creeds and
confessions that contributes to a better understanding of the person and work
of the Holy Spirit (430-35).
One of the largest sections is devoted to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and it
includes a detailed study of individual gifts (443-63), some of which we again
need to pay special attention to because they are prominent in the third wave
movement (prophecy, healing, signs and wonders, and gifts of understanding
such as words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and discernment of spirits as
well as gifts of guidance and exorcism).
The 1973 report aims to respond directly to major concerns—the experience
of the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the emphasis in the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, especially the spectacular ones. It responds clearly to them and offers
wise advice that must be studied carefully because such practices and teachings
are an integral part of the new third wave movement.
We do not need to repeat the extensive and comprehensive study on the
Holy Spirit that the 1973 report provides. Rather, using it as a background, we
address here some of the most significant aspects of the third wave movement.
A. Developments, new emphases, and practices related to scriptural teachings
Special attention must be paid to the advice offered in the 1973 report with
regard to the gifts of speech and those of understanding. Relevant among
them are the gifts of prophecy (450-53); interpretation of tongues (450); and
other so-called words of wisdom, knowledge, discernment, and guidance
(457-62). These latter gifts, in contrast, for example, to the gift of tongues, are
more significantly used in the third wave and have become more central in the
development of the theology of the movement.
While the 1973 report is quite open and sympathetic toward neo-
Pentecostalism and recognizes the validity, permanence, and use of spiritual
gifts today in the churches in dealing with all the previously mentioned gifts,
the 1973 report had clear disagreements with the way the neo-Pentecostal
movement defined and understood them.
The 1973 report parted ways with neo-Pentecostalism in the understanding
of those gifts. While it never closed the door to acknowledging the supernatu-
ral manifestations of such gifts (“supernatural revelation of facts past, present,
or future, which were not learned through the efforts of the human mind”
[458]), it challenged their reduction to that area, which is exactly what the third
wave does. The 1973 report also suggested definitions more in line with the
ministry of gifted teachers, theologians, and biblical scholars. We must follow
their balanced advice.
There is a tendency in neo/Pentecostalism [prominent in third wave, we add] to
seek…”guidance” as the only sure way to know the Spirit’s leading. Moral
decision-making is suspect as giving too much room for the reassertion of the
“mind of the flesh,” as though the Spirit were incapable of illuminating and
sanctifying the mind.
(Acts of Synod 1973, p. 425)
B. Considerations and cautions of the 1973 report with regard to specific gifts
1. Prophecy
The 1973 report provided a definition of this gift that is more in accor-
dance with the Bible and is not reduced to foretelling or revelations.
Prophets are seen as interpreters of the law, as inspired men who expose
evil conditions, and as those who also predicted judgments and blessings.
Prophecy is clearly identified with preaching (451).
Today in the third wave movement not only is the gift of prophecy
claimed as operative in the churches (and frequently reduced to its predic-
tive function), but also the office of prophet is considered essential for the
ministry of the churches (thus, with the New Aapostolic Rreformation and
with the practice of third wave circles). As a direct revelation from God,
such prophecies go regularly unchallenged, and, in the minds of many
believers, the words of the prophet(s) are as normative as the word of God.
As a matter of fact, the prophets become in many cases authoritative
interpreters of Scripture and of social reality. They regularly offer their
insights and interpretations of social, economic, and political events.
This is the way prophecy is defined by the majority report in the affirma-
tions about prophecy: “The spiritual gift of prophecy operates in receiving a
word from the Lord as a special insight for a specific situation” (V, B, 2, a, 1).
This is what 1973 report says about such kind of prophecy:
The frequently stated or implied definition of prophecy as “supernatural speech
in an unknown language from the Spirit and not from the intellect” contradicts
everything we know about the prophets from the Bible, and does not honor the
biblical teaching that our minds are subject to (not cancelled out by) Christ. If the
aforementioned definition of prophecy were correct, the result would be at least
equal to the authority of Scripture, and therefore not in need of testing.
(Acts of Synod 1973, p. 452)
2. Gifts of understanding—utterances of wisdom and knowledge
The 1973 report defines the word of wisdom as “to give the mind of
Christ, especially in defense of the gospel” (457). That is directly related to
the revelation of Scripture.
The word of knowledge is defined as “a heightened insight and under-
standing of the Scriptures and the ability to communicate this to others in
teaching” (458). The report challenges the “easy claims which are made
relative to this gift” as divine guidance, as it is common in third wave
circles.
3. Discernment of spirits
The 1973 report considered carefully the biblical teaching on this gift and
understood that it had to do with detecting false prophecy (1 John 4:1-3, 6)
and thus distinguishing between truth and error. In light of this, the 1973
committee pointed out that this was a task not only of the theologian and
faithful biblical scholar but also of the insightful Christian layperson.
When the 1973 committee analyzed the interpretation of neo-
Pentecostalism, it concluded that this movement was putting experience
above the Bible. “The excesses of the neo-Pentecostal movement alone
should teach us to be wary of elevating experience above scriptural discern-
ment . . . we would warn the church to be on its guard” (459-60). This was
their advice: “The church must maintain . . . that experiences must always
be subject to and tested by the total witness of the Scriptures as none other
than the words of the Holy Spirit himself (Heb. 3:7a)” (459).
In the third wave movement, this gift is now understood almost exclu-
sively in terms of spiritual warfare. Where is the serious exegesis by key
representatives of the movement? It has been developed in such a way that
there are now specialists in not only discerning the spirits but also in
mapping and exorcising them.
4. Spiritual warfare
The 1973 report recognizes the reality and existence of Satan and of
spiritual beings hostile to God and human beings. It acknowledges the
biblical truth that Satan and his hosts suffered a significant defeat when
Christ and his kingdom came to this world. Nevertheless, it also assents to
the strong activity of demonic forces in this world that will surely increase
as the end of history approaches.
The study even offers some hints to diagnose demonic possession and
how to expel the demon from a person (463).
At the same time, the report expresses great reservation about some of
“these reports and the indecent eagerness with which some gospel practi-
tioners ‘diagnose’ cases of demonic possession, when the difficulties are
cases of hardened sinfulness, character weakness, natural resistance to the
gospel, self-induced fears, mental illness or diseases . . . ” (463). The report
concludes saying: “We caution against a too hasty assumption that most
cases of moral lapse and resistance to the gospel are instances of demon
possession” (463).
In the third wave movement, spiritual warfare is one of the prominent
strategies for ministry. Actually, all kinds of problems—personal, social,
and national—can be and must be resolved with prayer (see minority
report Appendix B).
C. Extra-biblical practices
While some of the practices just described exhibit a biblical basis, the
following list of practices have no parallel with or origin in the clear teachings
of the Bible. Usually it is the experience people have had and the authority of
the leaders of the movement that establish such practices in the liturgical life of
congregations. They are prominent in the third wave.
1. Anointings
This has been a major and distinctive part of religious services. Aperson
who has been endowed with special powers ministers to people by praying
for them, and, as a result, worshippers receive a special blessing in the form
of being stricken by the Spirit (falling backward and staying unconscious
for some time), holy laughter (uncontrolled laughter as a sign of the Spirit’s
anointing), holy drunkenness (mindless behavior as a drunk person that is
attributed to the Holy Spirit), and many other manifestations (dancing,
jumping, swirling in the Spirit). Another example of recent modalities, is
that some people claim to see streams of gold falling from heaven as they
are praying and interpret that as another sign of the prosperity God is
bringing to their lives. There is no end to the novelties that are practiced in
third wave circles.
2. Mapping and expelling of the territorial evil spirit
An extrabiblical practice that arose out of the allusion in the book of
Daniel to the princes of Persia and Greece (Dan. 10:12-14, 20) has become a
central ministerial practice. It is a strategy and methodology to map spirits
that rule over places, regions, cities, and countries in order to detect and
expel them. In this way, major moral perversions and sinful practices are
dealt with.
For example, pastors and leaders in a small town in Argentina (training
ground of Peter Wagner) paid a huge amount for the services of an apostle
with this gift. He mapped the spirit (located the precise place where it
dwelt), and then the apostle proceeded to anoint the city with oil by air
(using a helicopter), sea (with a yacht), and land (with prayer walkers also
pouring oil everywhere) to exorcise the evil spirit that ruled over the city.
Yet, nothing has changed since then.
D. Genealogical links with previous waves
The 1973 report established a connection, a genealogical link, between
Pentecostalism and neo-Pentecostalism. We believe also that the third wave is
a part of that genealogy and that new developments such as the New
Apostolic Reformation are the logical result of the third wave. The churches
must be aware of this.
1. There is a genealogical link between neo-Pentecostalism and the third wave
movement. The link between the first two waves, Pentecostalism and neo-
Pentecostalism, was described saying that neo-Pentecostals “for the most
part do not come from the Holiness communions but from those commun-
ions which have long standing confessional and theological traditions to
which they generally remain true. Its participants also come from the
middle and upper economic classes and from the better to highly educated
people” (402). We must add that the third wave is also reaching people from
the lower classes, but the kind of fidelity to traditional churches is not
necessarily present and in some of its modalities is actually questioned in
light of “what the Lord is doing now to renew the church.”
2. The third wave movement puts a great stress on individual and intense
religious experiences (granted by the Spirit, according to the third wave) as
well as a critique of traditional churches’ emphases on doctrine, liturgy, and
institutional structures and orders. Some of the new and most influential
modalities of the movement are proclaiming a New Apostolic Reformation
in which God is renewing his church. The day of denominationalism is
gone, and a new leadership with new forms of being the church is slowly
and persistently being developed. It is true that the majority report dis-
tances itself from the New Apostolic Reformation, but we believe that they
fail to see that it is a logical and historical result of third wave.
3. There is a profound interest in the power, baptism, gifts, and fruit of the
Holy Spirit. While some of the old language of Pentecostalism is still used
(i.e., baptism of/with/in the Spirit), new experiences (anointments,
blessings, liberations from evil spirits, and so forth) are also introduced in
addition to the gifts of the Spirit. Amajor claim is made, not absent before,
and it is this: People receive power for service. Power, interpreted in a
peculiar way, is a major feature in the third wave, as we already indicated.
Such understanding, however, is not necessarily in line with biblical
teaching (see minority report Appendix B).
4. There is a heightened awareness of the demonic and a corresponding
interest in spiritual warfare. This has become a major component of the
third wave movement under the name of spiritual warfare (see minority
report Appendix B).
II. Cultural relevance
The cultural context of the early 1970s was an important key for the
committee that created the 1973 report as it attempted to make sense of the
movement. We also believe that a cultural assessment is necessary to under-
stand the third wave in our contemporary North American culture. The
following elements are offered as marks of the North American culture that
also have impacted the third wave movement. Of course, in some of the third
wave modalities those elements are more evident than in others.
North America is a therapeutic culture. Apredominantly narcissistic
culture can easily adopt for its lifestyle or worship those elements that fit well
with its own values. That is why fitness, health at all costs, pain-free practices,
comfort, and so forth, are central for most people. When they are contextual-
ized and integrated into religious practices, people will adopt them easily. In
such a context, promises of complete physical, emotional, mental, economic,
and spiritual healing are highly appreciated, sought, and valued. The prosper-
ity gospel (salvation, health, and wealth) has been effective in reaching many
people, and it is a central component to many who subscribe to the third wave.
The Americanization of the CRCNA is another important factor. In its
openness to North American cultures and its assimilation to evangelical
models, the CRC has been losing in a significant way the norm that was once
revered and highly valued in its doctrinal tradition and has become more
eager to adopt many of the practices and implicit doctrines of the evangelical
and neo-Charismatic world.
While there are positive things in such an attitude and while some negative
traits are being slowly rejected (the canonization of Dutch CRC culture,
ethnocentrism, and racism, among others), there are other central marks of our
church that must be kept. Among them are the centrality of Scripture as the
norm for faith and doctrine (as well as a responsible hermeneutics of them),
the guidance of Reformed theology, and a world and life view to articulate our
thoughts and practices. Reformed creeds and confessions may not speak
directly and explicitly to concerns raised by the third wave movement, but
they provide a theological framework within which a response can and must
be articulated.
Pragmatism is another central value of North American culture. If it works
in other churches, why not adopt it and practice it in our own congregations?
The obsession with numbers and the reality that every year the CRCNAis
losing membership also plays a major role. Megachurches have become the
norm for what we would like to become, and the praxis of such churches has
become a significant part of the training ground for our church planters and
evangelists. Concerns for theology and biblical teaching are reduced to a
minimum. Managerial and marketing gifts are more appreciated.
In an instantaneous culture, the search for instantaneous results is another
mark that is reflected in the third wave movement. So-called blessings that
bring immediate growth and change are central in the movement. Lifelong
processes of sanctification and growth are neglected and exchanged for
practices that supposedly bring immediate results and transformation; for
example, the many forms of blessings and anointments. The long-term
obedience of Christian discipleship is not common in many modalities of the
third wave movement.
The manipulation of the divine, common in pagan magical practice, is
something that needs to be constantly discerned and avoided. In many
instances, we find gifted charismatic leaders who claim to control the circum-
stances, times, and places for receiving special blessings and anointments that
bring to worshippers powerful experiences of God’s presence (for example,
healings, words of knowledge, and liberations from evil spirits). We must be
aware that some of the experiences and blessings touted in the third wave
movement are not exclusively Christian. They are common in Afro-Caribbean
religions such as Santeria, Macumba, Umbanda, and other similar animistic
and religious practices in African and Asian countries.
Of course, our main concern is that some of those practices and rituals are
being baptized as Christian practices. In countries in the Two-Thirds World,
where those practices are part of the pagan religious rituals, evangelical
Christians are more sensitive to them and reject them easily. The problem for
North Americans is their lack of reference and experience with such practices
and rituals.
This is one of the conclusions of the fourth Latin American Congress of
Evangelization (CLADE IV), celebrated in Quito, Ecuador:
We consider that [it] is not right to draw from animist cosmovisions in order to
better understand the biblical cosmovision and, thus, to affirm the existence of
territorial spirits. . . . In their effort to delimit an excessively rationalist form of Christianity, [third wave leaders] have inaugurated an animist form of
Christianity. . . .
The “battle” must be fought in terms of an integral and ethical testimony, of a
fight for justice, for peace, for human rights and reconciliation. That “battle”
must have as a priority to make accessible and to extend God’s Kingdom here on
earth, showing thus to the visible and invisible worlds that the cosmic battle was
decided once and for always in the cross at Calvary.
(Voth 2002)
Appendix B
Spiritual Warfare in Ephesians: The Lordship of Christ and the Power of the
Spirit in the Church in the Context of the Powers of This World
The lessons from Ephesians, that we will highlight in the following para-
graphs, provide perspectives and correctives that we need today to under-
stand, face, and fight the spiritual warfare described at the end of the letter
(6:10-20). In other words, the teaching on spiritual warfare is given in the
framework and context of the extraordinary power of God. If there is a letter
where a theology of power is articulated, that letter is Ephesians.
Having said that, however, we need to read Ephesians carefully so that we
do not interject into the letter our own meaning and understanding of power.
That is especially true of the third wave understanding of power as truth- and
power-encounters in which the authority over demonic forces is expressed in
loud exorcism rituals, physical strength, and even technical abilities of the
specialists performing and producing deliverance and healing.
While we do not deny the importance of exorcism rituals (when warranted
and only after extensive research and investigation of other medical, psycho-
logical, familiar, social, and spiritual causes of a person’s problem), we do
affirm that to reduce spiritual warfare to that aspect is to lose sight of the
comprehensiveness of the biblical teaching with regard to our battles and
victories over demonic forces.
These are the main teachings from Ephesians with a direct significance to
spiritual warfare:
1. God the Father appointed Jesus Christ as the supreme Lord of the universe,
the head of all of creation, and he has authority over all things in heaven
and on earth (Eph. 1:10 cf. Matt. 28:16-20). Do not make Satan and his
armies absolute powers.
2. In his exaltation to the heavenly realms, Jesus overcame the most powerful
enemies in creation: Death and the spiritual powers. Jesus was seated at the
right hand of God “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,
and every name that can be named, not only in the present age but also in
the one to come” (Eph. 1:20-22). Jesus, not the spiritual evil forces, is the
Lord.
3. God has manifested his extraordinary power in the church, giving life to
those he has resurrected from death (Eph. 2:1, 4-5), and delivering them
from the extraordinary powers that have dominion over creation: the
world, the Devil, and our fallen sinful nature (2:1-3). Yes, the church
participates in Christ’s victory now (already), although in a preliminary way,
and has received the Spirit as first fruits and guarantee (1:13-14) of its final
and complete redemption (not-yet). There is an already, not-yet tension in
which believers live.
4. As a matter of fact, the head and Lord of all creation, Jesus Christ, is now
the head of the church and fills it with his incomparable great power,
through his Spirit (Eph. 1:18-19, 23; 2:21-22).
5. The church is God’s poem (Eph. 2:10) and the first fruits of God’s new
creation; it is indeed God’s new humanity (2:15) that has been elected,
called, and sanctified to live for the glory of God (1:6, 12, 14).
6. Shalom (Eph. 2:14, 15, 16, 17) and unity (1:10; 2:14-17) are the main manifes-
tations of this new society. By God’s grace and power (2:4-7), the church is
now composed of peoples from all the nations. Jews and Gentiles are now
members of God’s family (2:19-22). We must underline the biblical empha-
sis on the church as a community. The spiritual warfare is fought by the
church as a community in being an inclusive, multiethnic people; thus,
expressing the shalom and harmony that God creates in this world.
7. The church is called to live a life worthy of her calling, in unity, with an
ethical behavior characterized by truth, justice, and love: virtues that make
it possible in everyday communal life to “keep the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3). Such virtues are summarized in love (5:1-2) that
expresses itself in constant mutual submission and service in the church
(4:1-16) and family life (5:18-6:9). Thus, the church is called to live in this
world as a testimony and manifestation of God’s gracious love and shalom
to all peoples (2:11-22), including the rulers and authorities in the heavenly
places (3:10).
The following are exegetical notes on Ephesians 6:10-20:
1. The passage that describes what today is called spiritual warfare, Ephesians
6:10-20, serves as the climax of the letter as a whole. In this final section of
the letter, the five imperatives reiterate the thirty-one imperatives of 4:1-6:9.
That has a highly significant meaning: The spiritual warfare is fought
properly when we live a life pleasing to the Lord as required in chapters 4
to 6.
2. Paul uses the prophecy of Isaiah on the armor of Yahweh and his Messiah
(Isa. 11:4-5; 59:17; 49:2; 52:7) to describe the armor for the people of God.
Those attributes of God that constitute his armor against his enemies
(justice and salvation, Isa. 59:17), in an unjust and oppressive society (see
the context of Isaiah 58 and 59), are used by his Messiah (justice and truth,
Isa. 11:4-5) to establish a kingdom of shalom and justice in the world (Isa.
11:6-9). They are also fruit of the Spirit (Eph. 5:9), an integral part of the
armor of God’s people (truth and justice or righteousness, Eph. 4:24; 6:14), a
people called to be agents of God’s unity and shalom on earth.
3. The introductory eulogy and thanksgiving of the letter is connected to our
pericope forming with it an inclusio. The blessings received in heavenly
places are to be used now in our warfare against evil forces in the heavenly
places. Christ is reigning, seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly
places (Eph. 1:20). The church, seated with Christ in the heavenly places
(2:6), participates in his life and power. This is so because God’s “intent was
that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made
known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” (3:10). Before
them, the church is called to stand its ground (6:11,13,14) as it engages in the
spiritual warfare.
4. Thus, our new identity in Christ (Eph. 1:3-14) is essential to dress ourselves
(4:22-24) for the battle. Who we are in Christ, thanks to God’s grace, and by
the powerful presence of the Spirit is a reality we need to appropriate con-
stantly. The first step in winning the war is falling on our knees in grateful
and deep adoration to the triune God, as Paul does in the first half of the
letter. Instead of looking at the enemy, we contemplate the gracious and
merciful God who freely loved us, making us partakers of his great salvation.
5. We must consider the previous teaching that Paul gave with regard to
spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 1:19-23; 2:2; 6-7; 3:10; 4:27; 5:16; 6:10-20). For
Paul, there is an integral, intimate connection between the Devil, the world,
and our sinful nature (2:1-3). They all work together as a system of evil that
battles against God’s eternal purpose: to establish his shalom and kingdom
in this world.
6. Consider some of the key expressions in this key passage:
a. An urgent call (Eph. 6:10-11a)
Be strong: be able because the power is there. Notice the emphasis in
the full armor of God (vv. 11 and 13) described in verses 14-20—not just a
part, but all the panoply. To reduce spiritual warfare to prayer is to deny
the clear emphasis on all the armor of God.
b. Aclear purpose (Eph. 6:11b, 13)
Stand firm (4:14, 27): This is not a conquest; it is resistance. Hold your
ground against the devil’s schemes (4:14) and clever military strategies.
c. Apowerful reason (Eph. 6:12)
The nature of our enemies: “For our struggle is not against . . . but
against rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers of this
present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
places.”
d. Asufficient armor (Eph. 6:14-20)
The idea of putting on the armor is a reminder of 4:22-24. Here, the
parts of the armor are mentioned in the order in which they are put on.
– The belt of truth – integrity, loyalty, reliability (Eph. 4:24, 5:9; Isa. 59:17;
Eph. 1:13; 4:15, 21, 24, 25; 5:9).
– The breastplate of righteousness – Aperson of one piece, just and
blameless (4:25; 5:9). Of special significance are ethical qualities such
as truth and justice or righteousness (v. 14) that previously were
identified as key qualities of the fruit of the Spirit (5:9).
– Your feet fitted . . . readiness . . . gospel of peace – always ready to
make peace (Isa. 52:7; Eph. 1:2; esp. 2:14-18; 4:3; Eph. 1:13; 3:6; cf. 2:17;
3:8). The preaching of the gospel of peace and reconciliation (v. 15) is
carried on by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, according
to Paul’s own experience (chap. 3). The Spirit illumines and opens the
eyes of the preacher (3:3) and of the messenger (3:5), and gives him or
her the power to communicate it (3:7), even to the heavenly evil forces
(3:10).
– The shield of faith – trust in God, security of salvation (Gen. 15:1; Ps.
5:13; 18:3, 31; 28:7; 33:20; 1 Pet. 5:9; Eph. 1:1, 13, 15, 19; 2:8; 3:12, 17; 4:5,
13). The spirit works in human beings giving them the faith to believe
in the Word (1:13-14; 2:8) and continue believing (1:17-18), in such a
way that it is used as a shield against the Devil (6:16).
– The helmet of salvation – security in the love of God (Rom. 8:28-39; Isa.
59:17; 1 Thess. 5:8; Eph. 1:13; 2:5, 8; 5:23).
– The sword of Spirit, the Word of God – the power of God for salvation
(Rom. 1:16; 2 Thess. 4:8; Rev. 19:15; Isa. 11:4; Eph. 1:13; 5:26). The Word
of God is the sword of the Spirit (6:17). That is why for Paul it is so
important to be able to speak it with full confidence (6:19-20).
The final admonition is to pray in the Spirit, always, for all saints, and
for preachers (Mic. 13:33-37; Col. 4:2-4). What better model do we need?
(Eph. 1:15-23; 3:14-21). We need to be aware in our battles that we
depend on the Spirit’s support in prayer (6:18), especially when we are
under severe suffering (Rom. 8:26-28).
In summary, we affirm, with Ephesians, that the spiritual warfare is fought
by putting on the whole armor of God, which means to be:
1. Ashalom community that lives united and harmoniously in this world and
thus becomes a living demonstration of the good news in this world and to
the rulers and powers in the spiritual realms. Then, God’s good news of
grace and peace are a powerful sword that no forces of evil can resist.
2. Aholy and just community that is clothed with the righteousness and
integrity with which Jesus equips it through the Holy Spirit and is always
ready for everyday battles. The fruit of the Spirit manifested in ethical
qualities keeps the church healthy, united, and serving. Such virtues are the
best protection against the enemies’ attacks.
3. Aworshiping community that believes, lives, celebrates, and proclaims
daily God’s grace manifested in the free salvation in Christ and that has put
on the armor that empowers believers—the best helmet, shield, and sword
for spiritual warfare.
4. Apraying community that ceaselessly prays for its missionaries, pastors,
and leaders is the most feared, horrifying, and majestic army (Song 8:3)
against which the gates of hell will never prevail (Matt. 16:18).
5. Aserving community that follows its Savior’s example of self-sacrificing
love (Eph. 5:1-2) in this world, and whose leaders use their gifts continually
to equip God’s people for works of service (Eph. 4:12), possesses the most
powerful weapon with which our Lord Jesus, on the cross, defeated the
rulers of this age (1 Cor. 2:8).
Appendix C
Selected Critiques of Third Wave
I. Other denominations and third wave
A. Wesleyan
It is significant that the CRC is not the first denomination to address issues
relating to the third wave. For example, the matter has recently been
addressed by Wesleyans. In an article entitled, “Third Wave of the Spirit and
the Pentecostalization of American Christianity: A Wesleyan Critique,”
Laurence W. Wood writes:
The greatest challenge to a self-understanding of the Wesleyan tradition today is
the trend toward the “pentecostalization” of many Christian denominations
throughout the world. By pentecostalization I mean placing the categories of
spiritual gifts, physical manifestations, and spiritual warfare (demon possession)
in the forefront of Christian meaning and ministry.
The choice to emphasize these things is a choice not to focus on the essentials of
the gospel. . . . To emphasize gifts, phenomena, and demon possession is to de-
emphasize the gift of the Spirit in justification and sanctification; it is to overdo
issues which are secondary in the Scriptures. Achoice to emphasize these
pentecostal themes is a choice against a Wesleyan-evangelical-catholic interpreta-
tion of the Christian life. . . . My purpose here is to show that these pentecostal
distinctives may at times be legitimate aspects of ministry, but they are not the
focal point of the gospel. . . .
The Wesleyan theological tradition has discouraged the tendency to redefine life
in the Spirit in sub-Christian terms such as acquisition of personal power to
perform miracles. . . . The drawing power of pentecostalism is undoubtedly
related to the epidemic need for the masses of people in the world today to feel
good about themselves. However, this anthropocentric focus may become a
narcissistic substitute for the source of true spiritual identity, which is being
renewed in the image of Christ. (Wesley Center Online)
B. Assemblies of God
Even Pentecostals themselves have been concerned about third wave
manifestations, and this concern dates back more than a half century. The
Assemblies of God dealt with the Latter Rain—a movement of the 1940s that
has many similarities to, and connections with, the third wave of today. In
1949, the General Council of the Assemblies of God held in Seattle, over-
whelmingly approved a resolution disapproving of the following practices:
– The overemphasis relative to imparting, identifying, bestowing, or
confirming of gifts by the laying on of hands and prophecy.
– The erroneous teaching that the church is built on the foundation of
present-day apostles and prophets.
– The extreme teaching as advocated by the “new order,” regarding the
confession of sin to man and deliverance as practiced, which claims
prerogatives to human agency that belongs only to Christ.
– The erroneous teaching concerning the impartation of the gift of lan-
guages as special equipment for missionary service.
– The extreme and unscriptural practice of imparting or imposing personal
leadings by the means of the gifts of utterance.
– Such other wrestlings and distortions of Scripture interpretations that are
in opposition to teachings and practices generally accepted among us.
C. Mennonite
Other denominations have also encountered and critiqued the third wave.
In “The Third Wave Worldview: A Biblical Critique,” Gilbert (a professor of
Old Testament), addresses the issue from a Mennonite perspective (“Third
Wave Worldview”).
Likewise, Paul Heibert (“Healing”), a well-known Mennonite missiologist
and scholar has written extensively on matters relating to the third wave:
Contradictory as it may seem, by overemphasizing miracles, in the long run we
reinforce secularism. To the extent that we focus our attention on the “miracu-
lous” nature of some events and differentiate them from other events viewed as
“natural,” we reinforce our old Western dualism that consigns God to other-
worldly matters and explains natural phenomena purely in scientific terms. If we
take this approach, claims of miracles do initially remind us of God’s work in this
world. As these miracles become routine, however, they lose their impact. They
are no longer seen as extraordinary—as real miracles. Consequently, we must
look for new and ever more spectacular miracles to reassure us that God is with
us. In the long run, the net effect of this escalation is the secularization of our
thought. We do not see God at work in ordinary, natural processes. As miracles
become commonplace, they no longer remind us of God. In the end, the quest for
ever new demonstrations of God’s presence breaks down, and we are left in a
totally secularized world in which there are few ways for God to speak to us.
II. Reformed voices on the third wave
The third wave has drawn the attention of Reformed theologians and
biblical scholars both inside and outside the CRC.
A. Herman Bavinck
Decades ago, Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck (2003, 1:512-27)
cautioned Christians about placing too much emphasis on subjective claims of
divine revelations.
When two voices are given to speak to the church, one will always speak with the
loudest voice, and human nature and church history conspire to teach us that it
will always be the human voice not the divine voice speaking in the Bible. . . .
Indeed, the voice that carries the day is the voice of so-called individual
revelations and communications from heaven that a particular Christian or
minister has received. . . . The traditions of men . . . have supplanted the pure
Word of God.
B. J.I. Packer
J.I. Packer (1981, 39) writes:
While it is not for us to forbid God to reveal things apart from Scripture, or to do
anything else (he is God, after all!), we may properly insist that the New
Testament discourages Christians from expecting to receive God’s words to them
by any other channel than that of attentive application to themselves of what is
given to us twentieth-century Christians in holy scripture.
C. Philip Yancey
Throughout church history there has been the temptation to affirm a form of
Gnosticism through claims of higher and special knowledge that is only given to
a few. The terms spiritual power and words of knowledge should be used with
care (Yancey 2000).
The same evangelical tradition that spurs us on to greater intimacy also invites
abuse. “I asked the Lord what to speak on and he said, Don’t speak on pride,
speak on stewardship.” “The Lord told me he wanted a new medical center in
this city.”. . . The wording implies a kind of voice-to-voice conversation that did
not take place, and the fudged report has the effect of creating a spiritual caste
that down-grades others’ experiences.
D. Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.
The debate over third wave is not dealing with the matter of whether
healing and other miracles are valid today. All evangelicals affirm such,
including Richard B. Gaffin, who writes from a cessationist position: “I
certainly do not hold that all gifts of the Spirit have ceased or that the church is
devoid of such gifts today. . . . Nor do I argue that miracles have ceased”
(Gaffin 1996, 41).
His central concern is summed up in a question: “Would not such continua-
tion [of the prophetic gifts] take us back to the open canon situation of the
early church, and do so without the control of a living apostolate?”
His concern must be taken seriously. Should the CRC, like some in the third
wave, affirm the presence of a living apostolate?
III. Non-Western voice on the third wave
Some writings give the impression that the critiques of the third wave come
from the Western world only. That is not true.
Dr. Vishal Mangalwadi
Vishal Mangalwadi (1949-) is an international lecturer, social reformer,
political columnist, and author of thirteen books. Born and raised in India, he
studied philosophy at universities, in Hindu ashrams, and at L’Abri Fellowship
in Switzerland. He, with his wife, founded a community in 1976 that serves the
rural poor in India and continues his involvement in community development
serving at the headquarters of two national political parties. His first book, The
World of Gurus, was published in 1977 by India’s Vikas Publishing House, and
serialized in India’s then-largest weekly, Sunday. It was his book, In Search of
Self and India: The Grand Experiment that first brought his works to the attention
of the American public (http://www.vishalmangalwadi.com/biography.php).
It is necessary to articulate afresh a Christian vision for India because the
language of the “spiritual warfare” movement has become the main justification
for the present persecution. (If a tiny section of the American church has declared
India to be an “enemy territory” that has to be “conquered,” surely the target
group has a right to defend itself.) Is our mission driven “by the love of God that
constrains us”? Is God seeking to bless India or to conquer it? The Indian church
needs to have theological maturity to stand up to the teams of naive young
missionaries from America who today assume they are the ones to define what
“spiritual warfare” is all about. Their naiveté derives from a theology of spiritual
warfare that is neither from the Bible nor from Church history, but from Frank
Perretti’s excellent fiction. Understandably, it does confuse the focus of some
Indian Christians. (Mangalwadi, “Can Hindutva Survive?”)
IV. CONELA
We must add also that CONELA, the Evangelical Confraternity in Latin
America, had their continental meeting in Panama in the year 2004 and issued
strong warnings against the third wave. The majority of the members come
from historical Pentecostal churches and many charismatic groups.
Likewise, CLADE IV, The Latin American Evangelization Congress,
published in 2002 a strong criticism of spiritual warfare. Below is a quote from
Esteban Voth:
Consideramos que no es aconsejable recurrir a cosmovisiones animistas para
comprender mejor la cosmovisión bíblica y, de esa manera, afirmar la existencia
de espíritus territoriales...
En su afán de contrarestar un cristianismo excesivamente racionalista, ha
inaugurado un cristianismo animista...
La “guerra” se debe dar en términos de un testimonio ético integro, de lucha por
la justicia, la paz, los derechos humanos y la reconciliación. Esa “guerra” debe
tener como prioridad acercar y extender el Reino de Jesús aquí en la tierra,
demostrando así al mundo visible e invisible que la batalla cósmica fue decidida
una vez y para siempre en la cruz del Calvario. (Voth 2002)
The translation follows:
We consider that is not right to draw from animist cosmovisions to better
understand the biblical cosmovision and, thus, to affirm the existence of
territorial spirits. . . .
In their effort to delimit an excesively rationalist form of Christianity, they have
inaugurated an animist form of Christianity. . . .
The “battle” must be fought in terms of an integral and ethical testimony, of a
fight for justice, for peace, for human rights and reconciliation. That “battle”
must have as a priority to make close and to extend God’s Kingdom here on
earth, showing thus to the visible and invisible worlds that the cosmic battle was
decided once and for always in the cross at Calvary. (Voth 2002)
Appendix D
Notes on Third Wave Leaders
Most third wave leaders subscribe to historic orthodoxy. To reiterate such
positions is not necessary, but synod should be aware of biblical and theologi-
cal positions that are significantly outside mainstream historic orthodoxy. A
few such examples are cited below. These names are ones that are most often
associated with third wave.
A. C. Peter Wagner
The third wave, like the first wave of Pentecostalism in the early twentieth
century and the second wave, the charismatic movement of the 1970s and
beyond, makes unusual claims of supernatural experiences and gifts that are
not referenced in Scripture—for example, having the gift of being able to smell
the presence of both God and the Devil. Some such claims have been widely
published in books on spiritual warfare.
Through his writing and teaching at Fuller Theological Seminary, C. Peter
Wagner has been the theoretician behind the movement. In his book, Warfare
Prayer (1992), he tells how his awareness of strategic-level spiritual warfare
was sparked by Pastor Omar Cabrera of Argentina who had “personal
experiences of identifying and binding the territorial spirits controlling cities
in which he was pioneering new works.”
The widespread interest in spiritual warfare, however, came through
fiction. Wagner continues: “Undoubtedly, the single-most influential event
that has stimulated interest in strategic-level spiritual warfare among
American Christians was the publication of Frank Peretti’s two novels, This
Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness” (Wagner 1992, 13, 19).
Through warfare prayer, Wagner claims that demonic powers were evicted
from Adrogué, a suburb of Buenos Aires. “At 11:45 that evening, they . . . felt
something break in the spiritual realm. . . . The year of the victory was 1987!”
(Ibid., 22).
In a chapter section entitled, Calling the Generals, Wagner features the
work of his wife Doris and their friend Cindy Jacobs, a so-called expert in
warfare prayer from the organization, Generals of Intercession. They traveled
to Argentina to train teams of people to “engage in frontline warfare.” Dozens
of the trainees congregated at a crowded plaza and “engaged the spirits in five
hours of spiritual battle. Only then did God give them an assurance in their
spirits that they had broken through.”
Wagner does not believe that all Christians are equipped for this ministry. “I
myself feel that God may be calling, equipping and enabling a relatively small
number of Christian leaders to move out in frontline, strategic-level spiritual
warfare,” he writes. “God, I think, is in the process of choosing an expanding
corps of spiritual Green Berets . . . who will engage in the crucial high-level
battles against the rulers of darkness.”
What have these spiritual Green Berets accomplished? Among other things,
they have been able “to bring down the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain” and
“to depose Manuel Noriega.” They were able “to lower the crime rate in Los
Angeles during the 1984 Olympics.” Wagner also writes, “I believe God used
my wife, Doris, and Cindy Jacobs to turn around the economy in Argentina.”
Additionally, Wagner writes, “I feel sure the territorial spirits over Japan
received a significant setback” (Ibid., 139, 163-64).
B. John Wimber
John Wimber, as the founder of the Vineyard movement, has been equally
prominent in the third wave. He and Wagner taught a popular course on signs
and wonders at Fuller Seminary that demonstrated healing powers during
class sessions. Due to its controversial nature, the course was cancelled and
later revived under a somewhat different format.
In Power Evangelism, Wimber refers to signs and wonders as “the calling
cards of the kingdom”—experiences that are as important as words in the
proclamation of the gospel. “God uses our experiences,” he writes “to show us
more fully what he teaches in Scripture, many times toppling or altering ele-
ments of our theology and worldview” (Wimber and Springer 1988, 109, 89).
“So, shortly after I saw my first healing, I asked myself, ‘Is it possible to
develop a model for healing from which large numbers of Christians may be
trained to heal the sick?’ I thought the answer was yes and became committed
to developing that model” (Wimber and Springer 1987, 169).
C. Jack Deere
Another high-profile personality in the third wave movement is Jack Deere
(1996), a former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. In Surprised by the
Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies, Dreams, and Visions, he
illustrates his word of knowledge ministry. His student, Robert, stopped by his
office. “That’s when it happened:”
As I was listening to Robert, he faded away and in his place I saw the word
“PORNOGRAPHY” in large, capital block letters. . . . For months, I had been
praying for God to speak to me like this. . . . I decided to obey God.
When Robert denied that he had been struggling with anything that would
offend God, Deere decided not to pursue the matter. But, he says, “As soon as I
made the decision not to say any more to Robert, the vision came back. This time
the word “pornography” started blinking on and off.” After a time, Robert
confessed his sin of pornography (15-16).
D. Paul Cain
One of the so-called prophets strongly endorsed by Jack Deere was Paul
Cain. Below is a statement published by Deere and others regarding Cain.
Deere and his fellow ministers are to be commended for not launching a cover-
up of Cain, but the situation points to the problem of giving individuals a
forum as modern-day prophets:
Paul Cain has been used mightily by the Lord to touch many lives in our times.
He is esteemed by many around the world as a major prophetic voice and as a
spiritual father. It would be hard to estimate the number who have been healed,
delivered, or saved through his ministry. We have especially benefited from his
friendship and ministry in too many ways to count. It is therefore with great
sorrow that we publish the following.
In February 2004, we were made aware that Paul had become an alcoholic. In
April 2004, we confronted Paul with evidence that he had been recently involved
in homosexual activity. Paul admitted to these sinful practices and was placed
under discipline, agreeing to a process of restoration which the three of us would
oversee.
However, Paul has resisted this process and has continued in his sin. Therefore,
after having exhausted the first two steps of Matthew 18:15-17, we now have a
responsibility to bring this before the church. Our sincere hope remains to see
Paul restored. . . . If restored, we believe that Paul can once again have an
extraordinary ministry and be a significant blessing to the body of Christ.
We apologize to the body of Christ for our lack of discernment in promoting
Paul’s ministry while he had these significant strongholds in his life. . . . We also
do not feel that this should in any way negate or reduce the great benefit that
Paul’s ministry has been to so many in the past. We hope that Paul can yet be
restored and used again for the glory of God in the wonderful way that so many
of us have been blessed to see in the past.
With our deepest regrets and sincerity,
Rick Joyner, Jack Deere, Mike Bickle
Appendix E
Reflections on Contemporary Evangelicalism
Recent trends
The third wave cannot be properly understood apart from the broad realm
of historical and contemporary evangelicalism. The Pentecostal movement
that arose in the first decade of the twentieth century and the subsequent
charismatic and third wave movements have profoundly influenced and
infiltrated mainline evangelicalism. Today, we see significant evangelical
trends related to third wave of which synod ought to be aware. Below are
selected quotes and reflections:
TIME magazine
Most unnerving for [many concerned evangelicals] . . . is the suspicion that they
are fighting . . . something more daunting: [that being] . . . Protestantism’s
ongoing descent into full-blown American materialism. After the eclipse of
Calvinist Puritanism, whose respect for money was counterbalanced by a horror
of worldliness, much of Protestantism quietly adopted the idea that “you don’t
have to give up the American Dream. You just see it as a sign of God’s blessing,”
says Edith Blumhofer, director of Wheaton College’s Center for the Study of
American Evangelicals. . . . “The tragedy is that Christianity has become a yes-
man for the culture,” says Boston University’s Prothero.
(Van Biema and Chu 2006, 55-56)
Eugene Peterson
Peterson offers a very straightforward down-to-earth—and biblical—
approach to spirituality, part of a multivolume series being released by
Eerdmans. Here, he offers practical advice:
I’ve been a pastor most of my life, for some 45 years. I love doing this. But to tell
you the truth, the people who give me the most distress are those who come
asking, ‘Pastor, how can I be spiritual?’ Forget about being spiritual. How about
loving your husband? Now that’s the place to start. But that’s not what they’re
interested in. . . . We’ve all met a certain type of spiritual person. She’s a wonderful person. She loves the Lord. She prays and reads the Bible all the time. But all she thinks about is herself. She’s not a selfish person. But she’s always at the
center of everything she’s doing. “How can I witness better? How can I do this
better? How can I take care of this person’s problem better?” It’s me, me, me
disguised in a way that is difficult to see because her spiritual talk disarms us.
(Peterson 2005, 42)
Richard Foster
From an entirely different perspective, Richard Foster, author of Celebration
of Discipline, illustrates how some unusual theological views have entered the
mainstream.
He argues: “Real prayer is something we learn.” Indeed, one of the main
reasons our prayers are not answered in the affirmative is because we have not
properly learned how to pray.
“One of the most critical aspects in learning to pray for others is to get in
contact with God so that his life and power can flow through us into others,”
he writes. “Often people pray and pray with all the faith in the world, but
nothing happens. Naturally, they were not tuned in to God.”
Like many other writers on prayer, Foster emphasizes the necessity of
listening. “Listening to the Lord is the first thing, the second thing, and the
third thing necessary for successful intercession.”
Such advice is not an obvious conclusion one could draw from Scripture,
nor is Foster’s counsel that prayer for major concerns demand more profi-
ciency than prayer for little things.
“In physical matters,” he writes, “we always tend to pray for the most
difficult situations first: terminal cancer or multiple sclerosis. But when we
listen [to God], we will learn the importance of beginning with smaller things
like colds or earaches. Success in small corners of life gives us authority in the
larger matters. If we are still, we will learn not only who God is, but how his
power operates” (Foster 1988, 38-39).
That a beginner in prayer should start with colds and work up to cancer is
simply not a biblical concept. It is much more reminiscent of a shamanistic
religion. In such religious cultures, a seasoned witch doctor is equipped to take
on big cases—ones that a novice would avoid. This is not the way of the
Christian faith, nor is his conclusion that when “nothing happens,” it is
obvious that the person who prayed was “not tuned in to God.” How does one
tune into God? Is such a term even valid? Is it determined by results alone? (See
Tucker 2006, 125.)
Bruce Wilkinson
The most recent best-selling treatise on prayer—less than one hundred
pages—is The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. Its popularity is based in part
on a nearly universal tendency toward self-absorption. This tendency is a
common element in prayer—what Bill Hybels refers to as “the ‘Please God’
syndrome. ‘Please God, give me . . . help me . . . comfort me . . . strengthen
me . . . ’” (Hybels 1990, 20).
This please-God syndrome, of course, is not blatantly selfish. Indeed, it is
marked by a concern for others: “Please God, bless me so that I can bless
others. In The Prayer of Jabez, based on one verse in the Hebrew Bible,
Wilkinson develops a philosophy of prayer:
If Jabez had worked on Wall Street, he might have prayed, “Lord , increase the
value of my investment portfolios.” When I talk to presidents of companies, I
often talk to them about this particular mind-set. When Christian executives ask
me, “Is it right for me to ask God for more business?” my response is,
“Absolutely!” If you’re doing your business God’s way, it’s not only right to ask
for more, but He is waiting for you to ask. Your business is the territory God has
entrusted to you.(Wilkinson 2000, 30-31)
Wilkinson states the purpose of the book in the preface—teaching people
how to pray: “I want to teach you how to pray a daring prayer that God
always answers. It is brief—only one sentence with four parts—and tucked
away in the Bible, but I believe it contains the key to a life of extraordinary
favor with God.”
Is this single verse an illumination on communication with God? Does it
provide the key to unlocking the secret of prayer?
God Talk
The book God Talk: Cautions for Those Who Hear the Voice of God by Ruth
Tucker (2005), places the third wave within the broader realm of contemporary
evangelicalism and shows how traditional evangelicals have gradually moved
into the expansive sea of charismatic religion.
It is politically incorrect to suggest that God might have told President Bush
not to bomb Baghdad (or the reverse), but why not? God spoke to military
leaders in the Old Testament.
Today, God speaks on mundane matters. The voice sounds eerily like our
own. Rebeccas’ story is an example. She tells how she had forgotten the tatting
her grandmother taught her. “She spent an entire morning trying to tat” but
“ended up with nothing more than a tangled mess of knots,” ready to give up:
“Lord, I prayed: Grandma is gone now. Please don’t let me lose what she taught me
too. Just then a small voice seemed to whisper, ‘You’ve got to flip it, Becky.’ It
all came back in a rush. I flipped the piece around and started looping a knot,
then another. They formed a ring. Once again I was making lace” (Tucker,
2005, 20).
Rebecca’s story, many would argue, is harmless. It is an example of a
message from God routinely claimed by evangelicals who would not imagine
themselves part of the third wave movement. God speaks on tatting, but God
is not permitted to speak on war and other weighty matters.
“Have we fashioned for ourselves a domesticated talking god of tatting?
Such is not the God of Scripture. God either intervenes and speaks today or
God does not. But to argue that God intervenes in tatting but not bombing
simply will not do” (Tucker 2005, 21).
Prayer as a Dialog
The majority report calls on the CRC to “Think of prayer as a dialogue, not
a monologue, and be attentive to what God is saying as you pray” (VII, B, 5)
Such a definition of prayer is common in broader evangelical circles.
The story of Marilyn in God Talk is an example. She speaks of routine
experiences of two-way prayer. One case related to a little girl she had seen on
the school playground without a winter coat.
[Marilyn] decided that she would go to Sears and buy a coat for the girl, but on
her way out of the house, God said to her, “Go back to your prayer closet.” There,
God told her to go not to Sears but to a high-end specialty shop. . . . The clerk
informed her that a coat in the size she needed had been selected by a local
charity and set aside in the back room for that very purpose. Marilyn graciously
accepted the coat and brought it to the little girl.
Marilyn . . . does not represent some extreme charismatic wing of the church, and
she came across as sounding very sincere and credible. . . . Was she just making
these stories up? I would not make such an accusation, though I am reminded of
an observation C. S. Lewis made about his own spiritual shortcomings: “Those
like myself whose imagination far exceeds their obedience . . . easily imagine
conditions far higher than we have really reached. If we describe what we have
imagined we may make others, and make ourselves, believe that we have really
been there—and so deceive both them and ourselves.”
But is it possible that stories like Marilyn’s do not serve the cause of Christ? If we think that giving coats to poor children involves supernatural intervention from
God, are we less likely to respond to the root causes of such social issues? The
underlying problem was not the lack of a coat. There were surely other issues
involved—whether parental neglect or alcoholism or racism or unemployment
or just plain poverty. . . . Even if the root problem were lack of a coat, are we less likely to dig into our own pockets if we are waiting to hear the voice of God on
the matter?
I do not know how to explain Marilyn’s extraordinary claim to routinely hearing
God’s voice. I find no comparable instances of God carrying on daily conversa-
tions with ordinary individuals in Scripture. In Acts 9, we read of Dorcas who
gave clothing to the needy, but there is no mention that such good works were
prompted by a voice from God or that the clothing was supplied miraculously.
Rather, Dorcas was remembered in life and in death for her charitable deeds. The
miracle associated with Dorcas was the astounding account of the Apostle
Peter’s raising her from the dead. (Tucker, 2005, 116-18)
Appendix F
Bibliography
Arnold, Clinton E. 1997. Three Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare. Grand
Rapids: Baker.
———. 1992. Powers of Darkness. Principalities and Powers in Pauls Letters.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
———. 1989. Ephesians, Power, and Magic: The Concept of Power in Ephesians in
Light of Its Historical Setting. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Bandstra, Andrew J. 1995. In the Company of Angels : What the Bible Teaches, What
You Need to Know. Grand Rapids: CRC Publications.
Bavinck, Herman. 2003. Reformed Dogmatics. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
Best, Ernest. 1998. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians. ICC.
Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Blackaby, Henry, and Richard Blackaby. 2002. Hearing God’s Voice. Nashville:
Broadman.
Deere, Jack. 1996. Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through
Prophecies, Dreams, and Visions. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Fee, Gordon D. 1996. Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God. Peadbody, Mass.:
Hendrickson Publishers.
———. 1994. God’s Empowering Presence : The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul.
Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers.
Foster, Richard J. 1988. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. Rev.
ed. San Francisco: HarperCollins
Gaffin, Richard B., Jr. et al. 1996. Are Miraculous Gifts for Today: Four Views.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Gilbert, Pierre. “The Third Wave Worldview: A Biblical Critique.”
www.directionjournal.org/article/?1055.
Heibert, Paul. “Healing and the Kingdom.” http://www.deceptioninthechurch.
com/hiebert.html
Horton, Michael Scott, ed. 1992. Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical
Church? Chicago: Moody Press.
Hybels, Bill. 1990. Honest to God? Becoming an Authentic Christian. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan.
Kraft, Charles H. 2005. Christianity with Power: Your Worldview and Your
Experience of the Supernatural. Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock Publishers.
25 Committee to Study Third Wave Pentecostalism – Minority Report
Page 26
Laussane Occasional Paper 29. 2000. Spiritual Conflict in Today’s Mission. A
Report from the Consultation on “Deliver Us from Evil.” Nairobi, Kenya.
August.
Mangalwadi, Vishal. “Can Hindutva Survive the Persecution of Christians in
India?” Mission Frontiers, http://www.missionfrontiers.org/1999/0304/
articles/03.htm
ÓBrien, Peter T. 1999. The Letter to the Ephesians. The Pillar New Testament
Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Packer, J.I. 1981. God’s Thoughts. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1981.
Peretti, Frank. 1986. This Present Darkness. Westchester, Ill.: Crossway.
———. 1989. Piercing the Darkness. Westchester, Ill.: Crossway.
Peterson, Eugene. 2005. “Spirituality for All the Wrong Reasons,” Interview by
Mark Galli, Christianity Today, March.
Stringfellow, Ron. “Pensacola and Latter-Rain Deception.”
http://www.intotruth.org/brn/br-lr.html
Tucker, Ruth A. 2005. God Talk: Cautions for Those Who Hear the Voice of God.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
Van Biema, David, and Jeff Chu. 2006. “Does God Want You to be Rich?”
TIME Magazine, September 18.
Voth, Esteban, Laura Saá, and Mervin Breneman. 2002. La Guerra espiritual:
¿Realidad o Ficción? Panel. CLADE IV. Congreso Latinoamericano de
Evangelización. Buenos Aires: Kairos.
Wagner, C. Peter. 1992, Warfare Prayer. Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books.
Wild, Robert A. 1984. “The Warrior and the Prisoner: Some Reflections on
Ephesians. CBQ 46:284-98.
Wilkinson, Bruce. 2000. The Prayer of Jabez. Sisters, Ore: Multnomah Publishers.
Willard, Dallas. 1999. Hearing God: Developing A Conversational Relationship
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Wimber, John, and Kevin Springer. 1987. Power Healing. New York:
HarperCollins.
———. 1988. Power Evangelism. New York: HarperCollins.
Wood, Laurence W. “Third Wave of the Spirit and the Pentecostalization of
American Christianity: AWesleyan Critique,” Wesley Center Online,
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Yancey, Philip. 2000. Reaching for the Invisible God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
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Third Wave Spirituality
This site features the Minority Report of a CRC (Christian Reformed Church) Synodical Study Committee on "Third Wave Pentecostalism." The implications of this Report are far broader than one denomination. Here we caution Christians about the Third Wave Movement.
Ruth A. Tucker
For More Information
My Web Sites
Third Wave Overview
The Signs and Wonders Movement
[google: "A Brief History of Pentecostalism"]
The term "third wave" was first coined by C. Peter Wagner in 1983:
"I see historically that we're now in the third wave. The first wave of the moving of the Holy Spirit began at the beginning of the century with the Pentecostal movement. The second wave was the charismatic movement which began in the fifties in the major denominations. Both of those waves continue today.
"I see the third wave of the eighties as an opening of the straight-line evangelicals and other Christians to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that the Pentecostals and charismatics have experienced, but without becoming either charismatic or Pentecostal. I think we are in a new wave of something that now has lasted almost through our whole century" (Peter Wagner, "The Third Wave?" Pastoral Renewal, July-August 1983, pp. 1-5).
This movement is also called the Signs and Wonders Movement and the Vineyard Movement. It has been a rapidly growing movement, drawing adherents from both charismatic and non-charismatic churches. The movement stresses "power evangelism" whereby the gospel is explained and demonstrated by way of supernatural signs and wonders. There are three key leaders of this movement: (1) John Wimber, probably the central figure of the movement. He was the founder of the Vineyard church movement upon coming out of Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel movement, and he taught with C. Peter Wagner at Fuller Seminary. The course was entitled "Signs, Wonders and Church Growth." (2) C. Peter Wagner, professor at Fuller Seminary School of World Missions, where he co-taught with John Wimber. (3) Paul Cain, an influential "modern day prophet," a disciple of William Branham whom Cain called "the greatest faith healer of our time" and the "greatest prophet of all time." Branham was a heretical false prophet who held erroneous view on the Godhead and on the Trinity. In the Signs and Wonders movement, tongues speaking can be found, but the gift of tongues is not stressed as much as it is in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. The Signs and Wonders movement (Vineyard movement) does stress the gift of prophecy (insisting on the importance of modern day prophets) and the gift of healing.
Dunamis
A significant aspect of Third Wave is the focus on the Power and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Here are the concluding paragraphs from the Third Wave site layhands.com:
Conclusion: We have now looked at every example that God put in the New Testament where Christians received the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and there is a clear pattern that God is trying to show us.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a separate event from salvation, and it always occurs after salvation. The purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to fill us with dunamis, the miracle-working power of the Holy Spirit, and this power flows from us to heal people when we lay hands on the sick. The usual outward evidence that people have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that they are able to pray in tongues. Even if people do not immediately speak in tongues when they receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the ability to speak in tongues is now there. For more proof, please see the section below called "For Further Study."
Prayer Here is a simple prayer for receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit:
"Lord Jesus, You said in Luke 11:13 that as a child of God I can ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. You also said in Acts 1:4-8 that I will receive power when I am baptized with the Holy Spirit. So Lord, I am asking in Your Name, the Name of Jesus, for You to baptize me in the Holy Spirit right now, exactly like on the day of Pentecost. I might not feel any different, but I receive the gift of the power of the Holy Spirit right now, by my faith. Thank You, Lord! Amen."
If you sincerely prayed this prayer in faith then believe that you have received the power of the Holy Spirit for carrying out the Great Commission, whether you "feel" any different or not. This means that you now have the ability to pray in tongues, which is explained in detail in my article called How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit . That article describes how speaking in tongues works (and I urge you to begin praying in your prayer language every day), but it is likely that you can now lay hands on people and see miraculous healings even though you have not yet begun exercising your new ability to pray in the Spirit.
WHO'S AFRAID OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Here's a book that might be helpful in the Third-Wave discussions.
The sub-title is: "An Investigation into the Ministry of the Spirit of God Today." It's edited by James Sawyer and Daniel Wallace (Biblical Studies Press, 2005), 336 pp.
Here's a description of the book:
The origins of this book came in the early 1990’s when both editors (Jim Sawyer and Dan Wallace) were facing trauma in their lives and in the lives of their families—traumas that their rationalistic theological training had left them unequipped to deal with. According to Sawyer and Wallace, “The propositions of our theology left us cold, and failed to speak vitally to the pain we each felt. Independently, as scholars trained in the evangelical cessationist tradition we came to grips with the spiritual sterility of that tradition. As we shared our personal ‘war stories’ we discovered similar trajectories in the development of our understanding of the reality and necessity of the personal and existential work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Doctrine and biblical knowledge alone simply did not cut it.”
While not endorsing what they consider to be the excesses of Pentecostalism, the charismatic movement, and the Third Wave, Sawyer and Wallace have embraced what they have tentatively called pneumatic Christianity. . . . Gerald Bray and J.I. Packer, along with about a dozen others, contribute essays.