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MICHIG IIHHHUIE T”"""‘"s”'m~ Hillillfllll.’lflilfWUHNHIUW 3 1 93 01421 6638 This is to certify that the dissertation entitled Crisis in the Charismatic Movement: The Rise and Decline of the Judson Baptist Church presented by Patricia Ann Brown has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. degreein Arts and Letters Interdisciplinary Program WRJ mm Major professor Date May 1, 1996 MS U is an Affirmatiw Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0- 12771 _' "H r-——._- LIBRARY Michigan State University PLACE ll RETURN BOX to romovo this chockout trom you toootd. TO AVOID FINES mum on or bdoro dot. duo. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE rim—1 EFL—q jut: MSU loAn Affltmoxlvo ActioNEquol Opportunity Inotltwon W ”3-9.1 CRISIS IN THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT: THE RISE AND DECLINE OF JUDSON BAPTIST CHURCH By Patricia Ann Brown A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Religious Studies 1996 ABSTRACT CRISIS IN THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT: THE RISE AND DECLINE OF JUDSON BAPTIST CHURCH By Patricia Ann Brown This research examines the decline in the Charismatic Movement by examining a single case study of a charismatic church struggling to survive. The research is about Judson Baptist Church, located in Flint, Michigan, and its efforts to survive as a charismatic congregation in the face of many internal and external influences. The research concentrates on the internal struggle of this specific congregation as it interacts with its environment. I investigated the broad pattern of change of the Charismatic Movement to understand the process of influence and response through which the congregation attempted to survive. I examined Judson Baptist Church’s beliefs and practices in relationship to the Charismatic Movement as a basis from which to draw on the current state and trend of the Charismatic Movement. The formulath method to study Judson Baptist Church membership decline was through personal interviews of members who have been a part of Judson Baptist Church since its inception and split from its mainstream congregation. Additionally, I conducted interviews with more recent members. Also I observed Judson Baptist Church’s entire church services along with other designated activities, such as their choir programs, holiday services, and Sunday school. My findings indicate that Judson Baptist Church history parallels the Charismatic Movement in its rate of grth and decline. Its strength continues to be the charismatic beliefs and practices. The less radical charismatic practices have been adopted by mainstream religion. The current state of the Charismatic Movement is normalization. However, the research concludes that it has been successful because charismatic congregations are still in existence all over the United States and Judson Baptist Church. Copyright by PATRICIA ANN BROWN 1996 Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge and thank the pastors and membership of Judson Baptist Church for permitting me to be a part of their Sunday services and other church activities to conduct a case study. I also wish extend special thanks to those members who participated in the interview sessions. I appreciate their honesty and candor in sharing with me their experiences in the splinter prayer group meeting, at First Baptist Church, and Judson Baptist Church. The personal interviews were very insightful in helping me to understand the charismatic experience from an “eyewitness” perspective. They also provided me with knowledge from which to draw from in analyzing the current state of the Charismatic experience that created a stir in the 20th century. I have made every effort to maintain the privacy of the members who participated in the interviews to reserve confidentiality. The information in this study is comprised of interviews, observations of church services, and programs. Also included are researches conducted by historians and sociologists. Because of your overwhelming support, readers of this study will gain substantial insight from your history as a charismatic congregation and your tenacity in adhering to the charismatic faith in view of major obstacles. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................ 4 Chapter 1 .............................................................................................................................. 6 Endnotes ......................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................ 15 Brief History of The Pentecostal / Charismatic Movement ............................................... 15 Historical Timeline of The Charismatic Movement In The United States ..................... 34 Notes ............................................................................................................................... 35 Endnotes ......................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................ 38 Judson Baptist Church A Charismatic Faith Community .................................................. 38 Historical Timeline of Judson Baptist Church ............................................................... 47 Judson Baptist Church .................................................................................................... 48 Growth and Decline History ........................................................................................... 48 Endnotes ......................................................................................................................... 49 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................................ 50 A Case Study of The Rise and Deline of A Charismatic Congregation ............................ 50 Endnotes ......................................................................................................................... 81 Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................................ 83 Future Implications for the Charismatic Movement .......................................................... 83 Endnotes ......................................................................................................................... 90 Chapter 1 Issues Surrounding the Charismatic Faith in the United States The Charismatic Movement radically changed the religious environment in twentieth century America. No other religious movement has had this substantial effect on mainstream religion. Douglas J. Nelson recorded in his essay on Pentecostal- Charismatic Church Movement from, 1901-1985, that this movement within our 20th century is a surprising if not amazing global phenomenon, rivaling or surpassing in scope, intensity and sheer numbers the many earlier great renewal movements of Christian history.l After a historically brief eighty-five years of growth, its totals were well over 114,000,000 adult persons worldwide, including 59,000,000 practicing members of Pentecostal denominations, 17,000,000 active in older more traditional churches, and over 38,000,000 others non-affiliated, according to comprehensive statistics for 1985 supplied by Barrett.2 In the United States alone, 19% of all adults, 29,000,000 persons 18 years of age and older identified with this renewal in 1980, according to a special survey by Gallup Poll commissioned by the Christianimloday magazine.3 However, the Charismatic Movement that was powerfiil enough to affect the religious environment is now plagued with issues that threaten its existence. One of the issues troubling the Charismatic Movement is growth and membership retention. The Charismatic Movement was a fast growing religious movement in American history but its membership is now declining. This decline has endangered the future of the Charismatic Movement and the erosion of membership could potentially return the movement to a mere fragment in the American religious environment. Another issue of equal importance to growth and membership retention that the Charismatic Movement faces is that the chariSmatic beliefs, worship styles and practices that once attracted people to the Charismatic Movement are no longer magnetic enough to draw large numbers from mainstream churches nor from the non-religious environment. Where once, in the 1960’s, many people made the exodus from mainstream churches into charismatic groups or churches, that pilgrimage appears to have ceased. The issue of the innovative use of the electronic media and other technology changes has both positive and negative implications for the charismatic religion as a whole. People who are attracted by the electronic media can view services in the privacy and comfort of their homes, and not feel compelled to go outside their residence to receive high quality preaching, music and other specialized attractions. Another issue confi'onting the Charismatic Movement is generational change. Lyle Schaller’s research on megachurches indicated that there is a freedom of the younger generation to shop for a church that fulfill their fundamental needs, be they religious or social needs. From this premise alone loyalty to the charismatic faith is jeopardized. People are committed only to the extent that the commitment itself links their self interest to their religious and/or social needs. To extrapolate the severity of these issues concerning the state of the Charismatic Movement I examined the charismatic congregation of Judson Baptist Church located in Burton, Michigan. The focus throughout the research shows the Charismatic Movement’s concentration was extensively on the supernatural spiritual world. They did not focus on what is necessary to keep groups together other than charismatic beliefs, practices and worship styles. The adoption of less radical practices by the mainstream religious environment, economic changes, and second generational shifts were given little or no attention. Another phenomenon that is prevalent in the literary research and at Judson Baptist Church is that the stability of charismatic religion as a community distinctly centers on the founder or pastor. The implication surrounding Judson Baptist Church is that despite declining membership they continue to function as a charismatic community. While my research demonstrates that the Charismatic Movement has ceased to be a 7 movement, it has successfully pollinated some of it practices, such as the incorporation of various musical instruments, drums, tambourines, guitars, and electric keyboards into mainstream religious worship services. In addition to providing an historical, religious and sociological perspective on the Charismatic Movement, this research will contribute an understanding of the migration in the Charismatic Movement. Individuals involved in the Charismatic Movement experienced a phenomenon which tested human behavior, motivation, interpersonal relations, and challenged assumptions about humans religious needs and requirements of religious life, and this is why I chose to research this topic. This research is a single case study which examines the change in the charismatic religious community by examining Judson Baptist Church and its efforts to survive as a congregation. My investigation includes an examination of Judson’s philosophy, worship styles, and practices to explore this theory. My research strategy for studying Judson Baptist Church membership declination was through interviewing people who were members at Judson Baptist Church since its split from First Baptist Church, a mainstream church. I conducted interviews with the original pastor, and key charter members who were involved in the transition from First Baptist Church in order to gain insight into the historical background of the move. I interviewed forty people, approximately one-third of the 120 members of Judson Baptist Church at the low point of its membership around 1992. I chose to terminate the interviews at one-third of the congregation because the resultant survey data demonstrated a very consistent pattern, and any added interviews would have yielded redundant data. After the pastor retired, I interviewed the interim pastor, the new pastor, and members who left Judson to go to different charismatic congregations and mainstream churches. The interviewees were both long and short term members of Judson Baptist Church. The participants were also a diverse group of blue collar workers, skilled tradespeople, teachers, medical technical professionals, entrepreneurs, and housewives. Their ages ranged from the late twenties to the mid- sixties. The interview questions were designed to explore the philosophy of Judson Baptist Church and to determine if their beliefs, practices and worship styles closely aligned to that of the Charismatic Movement and if the members truly knew what those beliefs and practices meant to them as members of that church. Also I wanted to determine if Judson Baptist Church had concretely established why it was in existence other than the basic foundation of the charismatic faith that initially bonded people together. In order to draw analysis on the decline of the Charismatic Movement, questions were constructed to examine if there were any changes in Judson Baptist Church philosophy about the charismatic beliefs, practices and worship styles. A final question was designed to allow the interviewees to give their account for the serious membership fluctuation Judson Baptist Church experienced. The open ended question afforded me the opportunity to investigate other issues such as, was the loss of members due to turnover in the pastorship of the church, social matters, economic concerns, or any other issues the interviewees faced? Over a one year period I conducted observations of the entire membership at Judson Baptist Church during morning and evenings worship services and special designated church activities such as musicals, missions, and evangelistic programs in order to formulate an in-depth analysis of the congregation. From this perspective I then drew conclusions on the state of the Charismatic Movement. Additionally, I made similar observations at First Baptist Church in Davison, Michigan, the original church Judson Baptist Church split from, in order to ensure that the true nature of the membership situation at Judson Baptist Church was discerned and to understand the conditions which necessitated Judson's members to leave First Baptist Church. I interacted with the interviewees in a manner which allowed an open forum of exchange. By assuring confidentiality and anonymity many of the people I interviewed shared personal information about their lives during the sensitive years of transition from being charismatic people in a traditional mainstream religious setting to becoming members of a charismatic congregation. By using the methods of interviewing and direct observations, 1 was able to interact with the subjects under study in their host environment. I chose to use this approach because it gave me a better understanding of the topic matter, and I saw first hand the charismatic worship style. This again afforded me the opportunity to view the types of activities in the charismatic religious environment. I was able to make direct comparisons and correlations to the observations I made in the mainstream religious group from which Judson Baptist Church was formed. While this research is a single case study of Judson Baptist Church, my field studies and observations were conducted over a period of nearly seven years. This span of time allowed me to observe significant changes in the charismatic community at Judson Baptist Church. In researching this subject, I examined over thirty books and articles on the charismatic religion at the Library of Congress, the Michigan State University Library, the Johnson and Johnson Publishing Company Archive Files, and the Howard University Department of Communication and Library, as well as several other public libraries. I attempted to research Charles Parham and William Seymour, but I found there was little historical data available on these leaders of early Pentecostalism in the first decade of the 20th century, and their contribution to the Charismatic Movement. Other areas researched, in examining and tracing the Charismatic Movement, were the Deliverance and Healing Revivals of the 1940's, the Charismatic Revival in the 1960's, and the development of megachurches and the electronic media in the 1970's and early 1980's. My theoretical framework was developed around Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s theory on commitment and community, and Lyle Schaller's published research on the new breed of big churches and charismaticism, a religious divergent of revivalism in the 1960's which penetrated and changed mainstream religion.4 Kanter’s study of the successes and failures among nineteenth century American utopian communities demonstrated how 10 important certain commitment mechanisms are to the cementing or dissolving of small religious societies. Judson Baptist Church is not a utopian community, of course, but all charismatic groups are intentional, self-defining groups that exhibit utopian tendencies. We shall see that weaknesses that shortened the lives of utopian groups, plague Judson as well, weakening its energies, robbing it of cohesion. Schaller’s study of megachurches is helpful because it charts a strategy and direction that Judson Baptist Church apparently embraked upon - no doubt unconsciously, as, membership rose -- and then its energies declined and the church was becalmed, and then came perilously close to sinking, before the captain, (the retired pastor) returned to the helm. Schaller’s work does not concentrate on commitment mechanisms -- that is, internal social norms, interpersonal relations, hierarchy/lay patterns (which Kanter calls “spiritual differentiation”) -- but upon the pragmatic nuts and bolts of growth, such as public relations, marketing, facilities. While Kanter explores the “inside”, and helps us see where Judson Baptist Church is strong and weak as a community, Schaller helps us see “what might have been,” as well as what the rivals to Judson Baptist Church look like. Other relevant sociological literature on theories of religious life and organizations was reviewed and useful in determining the degree to which charismatic religious groups, like Judson Baptist Church, were committed to the charismatic philosophy. The literature offered insight in analyzing the survival struggle, and failure, of social groups. The research is the result of a field research project and a variety of observations of Judson Baptist Church’s services, related activities and interviews. All materials, except the literary research comes primarily from the interviews and observations at Judson Baptist Church and its parent, First Baptist Church of Davison. Research on the Charismatic Movement is particularly interesting to me because of the many questions that are being raised concerning the supernatural source of power 11 evidenced in the charismatic worship style and practice. The mysteries surrounding these supernatural powers are as opaque today as they were when the Charismatic Movement’s dramatic explosion of growth and expansion significantly impacted the mainstream religious environment. During the explosion of the charismatic renewal in the 1960’s the general populous had an opportunity to witness the demonstration of these powers and other spiritual gifts first hand. Many people were so intrigued by what they saw they joined the Charismatic Movement by joining congregations like Judson Baptist Church that transition out of prayer groups and communities that sprang up with the movement. This great influx of members contributed to the monmnental impact the Charismatic Movement had on the religious environment when it came into full existence. It is the mysteries surrounding the supematural phenomena which captivated many people as demonstrated by their fascination with those things that can not be fully or logically explained. The Charismatic Movement's emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit exposed many people to phenomena they did not or could not understand. While some reacted by rejecting the unknown, others totally embraced the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit and sought congregations which allowed them to fully explore these gifts. There have been questions on the mystery surrounding the laying on of hands, prophecy, and speaking in tongues. The study of the Charismatic Movement allowed me to examine many of the questions surrounding these gifts. I have been fascinated by the reaction of peOple as they witnessed miraculous spiritual healing through the laying on of hands. When this type of healing could not be medically explained, many, people, including those in the medical profession, expressed a desire to learn more about this phenomenon. While observing others brought one level of reaction, when I interviewed people who had experienced spiritual healing from various illnesses through the laying on of hands, their expression about the experience was astounding. The intensity with which they told their 12 experiences made it seem as if these were just recent events, but in many cases these experiences took place many years earlier. Just as intriguing were the reactions I encountered from people who had heard the words of prophecy and then saw the actual manifestation of what was prophesied. In this two way exchange, words of prophecy (prediction) or knowledge are given by the Holy Spirit to the church and/or to the individual. Another of the charismatic gifts that attracted my attention is speaking in tongues (prayer language), another non-scientific phenomenon which people of the charismatic faith believe connects the individual with the spiritual world. In this prayer ritual the individual is believed to be a channel of the Holy Spirit in the communication process. When many of the charismatic people I interviewed reflected on their first experience with speaking in tongues I could feel the intense emotions which accompanied this experience. For many people who have never experienced the gifts of the Spirit first hand it is very difficult to understand the clamor which was made over the Charismatic Movement, but for those who experienced these gifts the impact was so dramatic that it, as described in many of the interviews, changed their lives forever. 13 Chapter 1 Endnotes 1 Douglas J Nelson Aflnflfimfimmnuhehdeanmuithe kmmstaMChansmauLChmhRenmallt/Immem, 1901-1985 2. David B. Barrett, W “A Comparative Study of Churches and Religion in Modern World AD 1900-2000,” (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982), p. 6, 14, 838. 3. Kenneth Kantzer, W, “The Christians Among Us,”, February 22, 1980, p.25-29. 4. Lyle E. Schaller, W, “Megachurch,” March 5, 1990, p. 20. 14 Chapter 2 Brief History of The Pentecostal / Charismatic Movement Theologians and historians of nineteenth century America have studied how the charismatic faith exploded from a mere religious fragment into what is known as the Charismatic Movement in the 1950's. The effect permanently affected the religious community as a whole. Over the past forty years the Charismatic Movement has demonstrated a wide range of characteristics associated with social and religious movements, such as rapid growth, diversity, and stagnation. My chapter will chronicle events from the Holiness Movement to the present day Charismatic Movement. The word charismatic is taken from the Greek word Charis and its related word Charisma, and its plural, Charismata. Charis usually is translated "grace" in the New Testament, and charisma usually refers to a "gift", some evidence of God's grace among early Christians. For example, St. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth and said that "there are different kinds of spiritual gifts (charismata)" and then listed the gifts such as . speaking with wisdom, the gift of faith, the gift of healing, the gift of speaking in tongues (glossolalia), and several others (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). He calls these charismata of the Holy Spirit, arguing that the Spirit gave these gifts not for individual aggrandizement but to help the local church, the Body of Christ.5 Later in the same chapter in verse 28 he lists charismata again, re-naming a few and adding some, such as those with gifts of helping, gifts of administration, and adds tongue-speaking again, for it had become a kind of "show off" spiritual gift and he will put limits to its public use. St. Paul tops off those two lists by then naming the all-important quality of Christian life which is worth more than all the charismata: love. "If I speak in the glossa of men and of angels and have not love I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.6 The other lists of the Spirit's 15 charismata are found in Ephesians Chapter 4 and Romans Chapter 12. It is the search for these gifts and the practice of them that gave the name "charismatics" and "Charismatic Movement" to a movement that had its birth in American Pentecostalism and that forced its way into the mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. The Charismatic Movement developed in the United States, first among evangelicals, later among Roman Catholics, and mainline churches, and then it spread to Europe and other continents. The Charismatic Movement was a manifestation of traditional Pentecostal elements such as glossolalia, prophecy, healing and deliverance. Those who designate themselves "charismatic" trace their origin to Pentecostal revivals within the non-Pentecostal Christian communions in the 1960's. They are generally organized as prayer groups within the neo-pentecostal or charismatic churches.7 In the historical exploration of the Charismatic Movement it is important to note that its foundation has elements of Pentecostalism, and Pentecostalism traces back to the Holiness Movement. The Holiness Movement started in the 1860's, and there is some parallel between the Holiness Movement and the rise of fundamentalism in the mid-nineteenth century. During the post civil war period, the revivalism which took place in the Wesleyan Tradition in the Methodist church gave rise to the Holiness Movement. This revivalism was lead by Dwight L. Moody and other contemporaries of this period. The Wesleyan Tradition, whose founder was John Wesley, made distinctions between the sanctified Christian and the ordinary Christian. The difference between these two was that the sanctified Christian was the one who experienced the supernatural Spirit. The Holiness Movement stressed two specific spiritual experiences. They are: 1) conversion (a spiritual rebirth) and 2) living a holy life. These two experiences underlie the Holiness tradition. In the 1860's ministerial leaders stressed the necessity of experiencing sanctification, which produces the ability to live a moral life. The ministerial efforts were 16 so broad that in 1867 the first national Holiness Movement was founded in Vineland, New Jersey. In 1887 there was a temporary split in the Holiness Movement because a non-denominational sect called 'Christian and Missionary Alliance' stressed the need not only for conversion and experience of sanctification, but also the need for the third experience, speaking in tongues. The split did not last long, however, and in 1907 another 'Christian and Missionary Alliance' sect, whose leader was A. B. Simpson, a Presbyterian minister, said speaking in tongues was not necessary for salvation and this terminated the split in the Holiness Movement. From the Holiness Movement, which came out of the Methodist Tradition, were formed the Church of the Nazarene, the Pilgrim Holiness Church, two Wesleyan oriented churches, the Free Methodist and Wesleyan Methodist Churches, and the Salvation Army. The largest of these was the Church of the Nazarene which had over 300,000 members by 1960. By this date the Holiness groups as a whole had a membership of more than 1,500,000.8 The Holiness churches formed a Christian Holiness Association. Just as the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, the Pentecostal Movement developed within the radical, separatist wing of the Holiness Movement. The Pentecostal Movement represented an amalgam of extremist Wesleyan and Keswick views on premillennialism, dispensationalism, faith healing, and "the Baptism in the Spirit" as an enduement of miraculous powers.9 Additionally, the Pentecostal Movement evolved as a protest against increasing formalism and modernism coupled with the middle class character of mainstream denominations. However, not all was rejected as a result of the schism. There were three key elements in the Holiness Movement that were incorporated by the Pentecostal Movement: 1) the literal interpretation of the Scripture, 2) the need for moral perfection called "entire sanctification," and 3) the need for the individual experience of grace. The Pentecostal Movement began around the turn of the century in 17 Topeka, Kansas, led by Charles Parham who is generally considered the founder of modern Pentecostalism. Charles Parham was born in Muscatine, Iowa, in 1873, and his religious affiliations were recorded as early as the age of fourteen. He was associated with the Methodist church as a lay exhorter, and he attended Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, in preparation for a religious career. There was a period during his college experience when he changed his curriculum to study medicine, and the research suggests this was a period of rebellion in Parham's life. During his relinquishing of the ministerial studies, Parham contracted rheumatic fever, and he believed his illness resulted from rebellion against the call into the ministry. At that point, he sought God for healing with a promise to return to preparing himself for the ministry should his health be restored. At the age of nineteen, Parham began an active career in the ministry at a Methodist Church in Kansas but that soon changed because there were disagreements about ecclesiastical discipline and sectarianism. In 1894, he left the Methodist Church to spearhead non-denominational activities, but he was only one of many who proclaimed a non-traditional religious doctrine during that time. In 1898, Parham opened the Bethel Bible College as an independent Holiness preacher. The school had a short one year history of existence and enrolled fewer than fifty students, who were mainly mature people from the Holiness and Methodist religious communities. The curriculum consisted of Bible topics with significant time required for prayer. Other requirements were that the students had to participate in missions and home visitations throughout the city. Parham's study ascertained that tongue-speaking or glossolalia was the evidence of "the true Baptism in the Spirit." Support for his philosophy is represented by an experiment conducted by a group of students at the College who explored the concept of being filled or possessed by the Holy Spirit. Parham challenged his students to search through the book of Acts with a view to discover the significance of the Spirit's activity in the history of the early church. 18 After a detailed investigation and the student's attempt to replicate the activity in Acts 2, the students concluded the assignment by noting that the one unified piece of evidence was the falling of the Pentecost blessing on each occasion and the common denominator was the physical evidence of the speaking in tongues. Consequently, for those students speaking in tongues was the evidence that one had received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. As a result of that particular episode historians believe this was the first occasion when speaking in tongues, glossolalia, was related to the experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.10 There was only one recipient of glossolalia during the revival at the Bible College and from that one person's experience others were inspired to seek not only tongue speaking but also to seek the Holy Ghost, the title applied to the Spirit of God. This encounter sparked revivals in Topeka, but the events received very negative press coverage. The W reported on January 6, 1901, "strange goings on at the old mansion in the southwest part of town... thirty-five persons and they form a strange religious body. Whole days are spent with prayer. But the really strange feature of the faith is the so-called ‘gift of tongues from heaven’ a sort of senseless gibberish which they say is conveyed from God personally."ll Even though the publicity reached as far as St. Louis, it generated mostly criticism about the authenticity of the reports. Prior to the Topeka religious experience, there had been other episodes of speaking in tongues in other parts of the country and there was also the common teaching on a wide spectrum in the American Holiness Churches during the late nineteenth hundreds about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. However the outpouring of glossolalia and relating it to the experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit as evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit came under the auspices of another minister who had studied under Parham. His name was William J .Seymour, and he is considered by some to be the "father of modem-day Pentecostalism."12 The title was given to him because of the revivals he conducted at the Azusa Street building in Los Angeles, California, in 1905. 19 The revivals originated under the auspices of Seymour, and some historians have said that his efforts laid the foundation for the creation of the Modern Pentecostal Movement. The argument for acknowledging William Seymour not only as leader of the Azusa Street Revivals, but as founder, leader and father of modern Pentecostalism are smnmarized by Rev. Dr. James Tinney. Rev. Dr. Tinney is the faculty member of the Howard University Communications Department who wrote the commemorative booklet entitled "In the Tradition of William J. Seymour, Essays Commemorating the Dedication of Seymour House at Howard University" for the Seymour House dedication in 1978, and an essay on his life entitled "William J. Seymour: father of modem-day Pentecostalism."l3 The following is a consolidation of Tinney's research which examines the work of William J. Seymour in terms of modern Pentecostal. Tinney's work is significant because, unlike other historians, he realized that the scarcity of contemporary plaudits for Seymour were due to Pentecostals' preference for thinking of the Pentecostal Movement as one which was wholly Divine, with supernatural occurrences which happen spontaneously without human intervention. Additionally, he suggests that available historical materials were affected by the status of race relatiOns at the time. ’4 His research implies that historians took a conservative approach to a radical religion to give it credibility when Pentecostalism was considered by societal standards as only a religion of the economically deprived. Pentecostal writers connected Pentecostalism to the Bible College through Parham, thus giving it intellectual acclaim by societal standards and giving it a patina of respectability that recognizing Seymour as father of Pentecostalism could not offer. Tinney's material is important because it explores the man, William J. Seymour, his thought and his experiments with the Pentecostal concept. Because the Azusa Street Revival is so central to the history of Pentecostalism, it is reasonable to consider both Parham and Seymour as co-founders of the movement. William J. Seymour was born around 1855, in Louisiana, and it is believed that he and his parents were slaves. As a young child around the age of ten or twelve William J. 20 Seymour experienced emancipation. Records of African-American activities during the slavery and the emancipation era are almost non-existent, but some indicate Seymour moved to Texas very early in his life, although it is not known whether his parents were a part of that move. Historians agree that during his early years he had an avid interest in the scriptures which contributed to his affiliation with the church and subsequently to the ministry, but there are discrepancies about his specific church associations. Tinney's research noted that Seymour is generally considered to be a Baptist, but other historians have found evidence that Seymour was a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). Seymour probably had affiliations with both denominations at various times during his life, but the only conclusion which the historical writers can determine about Seymour is that he was a church member. As a young minister in Texas, Seymour came in contact with an African American group called the Evening Light Saints. This was one of many small groups of Black Christians who participated in what was known at that time as the Holiness Movement, which branched from the Wesleyan Tradition. The Evening Light Saints taught and placed emphasis on the bom-again experience which the scriptures describe as a spiritual rebirth, with the evidence of a holy life. They also taught of a second experience necessary for final salvation, which is known as holiness or entire sanctification, which fieed Christians from all sinfulness of the heart and the inner man. Seymour accepted these concepts and became a preacher for the Evening Light Saints sometime between 1900 and 1904. This broad estimate is Tinney’s most accurate estimation because there are no precise dates noted in the historical records. In 1905, another African-American who influenced Seymour's religious affiliation was a person named Lucy Farrar. She introduced him to the religious experience of tongue speaking which she was exposed to as a student at the Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas, founded by Parham. Initially Seymour viewed F arrar's experience with skepticism because it contradicted his belief that he was filled and baptized with the Holy 21 Ghost when he was sanctified wholly early in his ministry. It is not known what caused Seymour to change his mind, but he proposed this doctrine of tongue-speaking to the Evening Light Saints even though at the time he proposed the concept he had not yet experienced tongue-speaking. Seymour's proposal was rejected by the participants because they emphasized conversion with evidence of a holy life, or the ability to live a moral life and a second experience necessary for final salvation known as holiness, which freed the saints from sinfulness of the heart and inner man. They felt no need to verify the "second blessing" by tongue-speaking. As a result of not being able to create an interest in understanding this principle, Seymour resigned his pastorate, left Texas and went to Topeka, Kansas, around 1905 as a full-time student to study under Charles Parham. It is believed Seymour developed his interest in tongue-speaking and formed his own Pentecostal theology at Bethel Bible College. There are conflicting views between Tinney and other religious historians as to whether Seymour fully adopted Parham's views. According to some research, Parham and Seymour disagreed on such issues as sanctification as a second definite work of grace, Christians divorcing and remarrying, and worship services that were physical and expressive. Parham was a proponent of the above views, while Seymour rejected them and therefore their views were quite adversarial. Even though both men were trained in the Methodist tradition, their different exposure to society significantly influenced their thought. Seymour maintained a very literal interpretation of Bible Scriptures, and he did not allow for human rationalizations to accommodate their lifestyles. Parham exhibited a more liberal approach to the interpretation of the Scriptures, and he opened a non- traditional Bible College with a spiritual atmosphere for the developing of effective witnesses for Christ.15 It appears that his formal, college training contributed to his ability to move beyond the literal level of Bible understanding. Seymour clearly lacked exposure to the SOphisticated societal or educational circles Parham traveled.“5 22 Contrary to Parham, Seymour's view of the world was limited almost exclusively to Bible training in the Methodist tradition which gave him a micro view of society. Additionally, his enslavement as a young lad strongly influenced his thought pattern and his view of the world. On this basis, one can conclude that he adopted traditional qualities with a more ritualistic and rigidistic view of society. Therefore, with these opposite experiences and levels of exposure in life, these two gentlemen were diametrically opposed in their views on these religious issues. What they had in common was their belief in the Pentecostal experience of tongue-speaking, but this religious experience they both accepted was not enough to reconcile their different beliefs. It is probable that Seymour rejected fiirther study under Parham because of their disagreements. Seymour left the Bethel Bible College and moved back to Texas in late 1905 or early 1906. While the history of William J. Seymour's activities in Texas are very sketchy, it is documented that he traveled fi'om Texas to Los Angles, California, at the invitation of a Ms. Neely Terry, who was a former student with him at the Bethel Bible College. He was invited to pastor an African-American congregation which was affiliated with the predominantly white Church of the Nazarene. He accepted the pastorate and preached his first sermon on the Book of Acts Chapter Two. His message to the congregation was that it was a mistake to think that one was the recipient of the Holy Spirit without the experience of tongue-speaking and this caused a great commotion in the Nazarene Church. As a result, they rejected his message and padlocked the church door so that he could not preach another sermon. At the invitation of a delegation of Nazarene ministers and others associated with the local Holiness Association, Seymour was invited to stay in Los Angles to conduct prayer meetings. He stayed with a couple who were referred to as Brother and Sister Lee at 312 Bonnie Brae Street, Los Angeles. He probably conducted prayer services at this location where he resided for a limited amount of time, and eventually he moved his prayer services to 214 23 North Bonnie Brae Street. During this time his popularity soared and many people attended those prayer meetings to receive the Pentecostal experience of tongue-speaking. The prayer groups expanded to such an extent that he had to solicit Sister F arrar and another person, whose name is not known, to come from Texas to help support the ministry. ’7 On April 9, 1906, records indicate Seymour received the Pentecostal experience, while prior to that he could only speak on the radical experience he wanted others to accept. Additionally, his theoretical knowledge was limited because he left the Bethel Bible College and relied on understanding conveyed to him by someone else. It was on this basis that the Evening Light Saints rejected the change. The long awaited experience for Seymour occurred during dinner at the home of Brother Lee. Tinney writes: "Sister Farrar rose from her seat, walked over to Brother Lee, and said, ‘the Lord tells me to lay hands on you for the Holy Ghost.’ And when she laid hands on him, he fell out of his chair as though dead and began to speak in other tongues. Then they went over to the prayer meeting at Sister Asbury's house. When Brother Lee walked into the house, six people were already on their knees praying and as he walked through the door, he lifted his hands and began to speak in tongues. The power fell on the others and all six began to speak in tongues." Records from the same eye witness's diary recorded, they "shouted three days and three nights. People came from everywhere to the house and as they came into the house they would fall under God's power and the whole city was stirred."18 The falling of the power on the six people during the prayer meeting at Sister Asbury's house may have been the deciding factor by some who consider William J Seymour to be the father of the Pentecostal experience. It could be debated whether the falling of the power on more than one person simulated the Day of Pentecost according to Acts 2. At any rate, Sister Asbury's house became a miniature church meeting place where the flow of people spilled from the yard into the street, and it was said, people who came there fell under God's power. The crowd became so large that another location was 24 secured to accommodate the larger gathering. They moved to an old, dilapidated, two storey Methodist building located on Azusa Street, in the industrial section of the city. People came from all over the United States and even from foreign countries to witness this Pentecostal phenomenon of the Bible version of, "rushing mighty winds fiom 19 heaven." The people who were a part of the revival included people fi'om the Church of the Nazarene and other Holiness Church denominations, people of distinction, news reporters, writers, and many other people from varied backgrounds.20 It was during this epoch in the history of the American Pentecostal religious environment that the manifestation of tongue speaking came to be regarded as the unique and superior phenomenon. Tongue speaking was offered and sought for its own value, and given its theological importance as a special sign and gift from God. Seymour taught that tongues was the first evidence, the inevitable accompaniment, of possession by the Holy Spirit. The Azusa Street revival was instrumental in setting the stage for the doctrinal framework called the Baptism or Filling of the Holy Spirit which was attached inseparably to tongues. Prior to the Azusa Street revival all other tongue-speaking occurrences were short lived and limited to sporadic manifestations. Additionally, it was at Azusa Street that tongues were preached and practiced as a continuous and normal experience lasting from that time until the modern day practice exercised in many Pentecostal and Charismatic churches today. Tinney also noted other instances of the phenomenon were local in scope and isolated in circumference of influence. This Los Angeles event immediately became publicized and was given worldwide attention. Prior to the Los Angeles event, tongue- speaking was thought to have occurred only with people who were considered to be eccentric or moral indigents and this discredited the phenomenon. "Although the African-American race was predominant in attendance at Azusa Street, many races were represented, which included Whites, Mexicans, Chinese, Germans and even Russians." People of all races at the revival received the experience of tongue-speaking in the prayer 25 meetings. At Azusa Street, tongue-speaking was recognized by foreigners and immigrants as including words and messages in actual, discernible foreign languages. Religious leaders and founders across many denominations attended Seymour's meeting. The revivals concluded in 1909, and the pe0ple who attended and received the Pentecostal experience formed their own churches or attended those churches that practiced the charismatic experience. The Azusa Street Mission continued under Seymour as the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission and in 1915, he wrote a "Doctrine and Discipline of Azusa Street Apostolic Faith Mission of Los Angles, California, with Scriptures Readings by W.J. Seymour, its founder and General Overseer." The manual served as a guidebook for those African-American churches that met his approval and without exception, the religious people recognized Seymour as the acknowledged leader and pastor of the Los Angeles Azusa Street Revivals.21 Based on the literature of the Pentecostal Movement and the Azusa Street Revival, I have concluded that whether Parham or Seymour is honored as father of modem-day Pentecostalism is solely dependent upon which research is explored. Writers of Anglo-Saxon descent depict Charles Parham as the father of Pentecostalism, and African-American writers recognize William Seymour as the father of Pentecostalism. It is difficult from my point of view to decide which man receives the honor because both of these men played a significant role in the development of the Pentecostal Movement. Charles Parham afforded those who sought deeper experiences of God a place to explore and research that opportunity in a collegiate setting. At the same time, Parham set out to learn what he could of the deeper things of God and his quest took him as far as Nyack, New York, to a Dr. Dowie's work and the ministry of Dr. Simpson as well as others in New England, who were featuring Divine healing and a deeper work of the Holy Spirit. Under Parham's auspices only one student received the Pentecostal experience. Does that without question established him as the father of the Pentecostal Movement which later authenticated him as the charismatic originator? 26 From the opposite perspective, some Afiican-American scholars / historians unequivocally represent William Seymour as the father of Pentecostalism. Under his patronage, hundreds of people received the Pentecostal experience after seeking deeper experiences with the Divine through the Azusa Street revivals. During that point in religious history, the experience went across the country and later resulted in the Charismatic Movement. Does the title then belong to him? I am afraid that this argument may never be resolved and could be debated without ever reaching a consensus. Throughout historical research on the Charismatic Movement the data pointed to Charles Parham and William Seymour as key participants in the origin of the movement. There was some limited information on Parham and his contributions, but I was dismayed to discover the severe lack of information on William Seymour’s background. There were no editorials or articles about his life or even an obituary on Seymour’s death. I read articles which referenced documents on Seymour dating fiom 1906, the initial year the Azusa Street meetings until 1920, the year he died. Also, there had been other phenomena which occurred at the Azusa Street Church under Seymour's leadership that became central to Pentecostal church life, and later to charismatics. The congregants experienced and witnessed miracles and healing; they saw the blind receive their sight for the first time, and other various diseases and conditions were healed by the Holy Spirit in fiont for this mixed group. They witnessed a spiritual experience which had no respect for economic position in society and this spiritual outpouring was also void of any regard to denomination or degree of traditional religious trappings. Encouraged by the Azusa Street revivalist to remain in their existing denominations and act as spiritual leavens within their own respected churches, recipients of the Pentecostal experience went back to their respective cities and countries empowered with an experience which for some revolutionized religion as it was understood at that time by the charismatics. Their experiences in turn spawned the renewal movement of Deliverance or Healing Revivals, in the 1940’s.22 27 The research indicates that the institutionalization of the American Pentecostal Movement, together with generational changes and the rise of many into middle class, brought a decline in the fervor to worship, especially in largely white denominations. In the 1940's this led a group of faith-healing evangelists to reemphasize the charismata and to deliver the faithful from formalism, sickness, and demonic possession, and they reintroduced tent revivals and attracted multitudes of non-Pentecostals. The charismatic revival emerged after World War II when non-Pentecostals became aware of Pentecostalism through the highly publicized deliverance revivals. In the 19608 a neo- Pentecostal, or Charismatic, Movement emerged in nearly all Protestant denominations, the Roman Catholic, and, to a much lesser extent, in Eastern Orthodox communions. During this period Oral Roberts was influential in Pentecostalism and in 1951 he encouraged Demos Shakarian, a wealthy Pentecostal dairyman fiom California, to found the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship, International (F GBHFI). The Protestant Charismatic Revival was activated in 1961, as a result of wide spread media coverage when Father Dennis Bennett, pastor of an Episcopal church in Van Nuys, California, announced that he had received the baptism in the Spirit and had spoken in tongues. From this coverage Charismatic Revivals escalated in Protestant denominations. In 1967, the Roman Catholic Revival emerged among a group of students and faculty at Duquesne, Notre Dame, and Michigan State Universities. The movement grew rapidly by means of prayer groups, and local and international conferences.23 While some predate the Azusa Street Revival as formerly non-Pentecostal holiness groups, churches, such as the Church of God-Cleveland and the Pentecostal Holiness Churches, at the beginning of the 19th century owe the distinctly Pentecostal designation and the institutionalizing of the movement to Azusa Street. The Assemblies of God is the largest Pentecostal denomination with members of 600,000, and a number of its congregations are home grown. Other denominations which also have produced 28 megachurches include the FOur Square Gospel, United Pentecostal, and some Churches of God.24 In addition to the Charismatic Revivals, in the 19605 the electronic church (televised church) was established as a result of wide spread media coverage of these revivals. Through the electronic church, the Charismatic Movement swiftly entered into the realm of mainstream society, and it enormously increased the size of its following by the sheer expanse which satellite communications allow. Many of the gurus on televised church were old-line Pentecostals such as Pat Robertson, Jimmy Bakker and J irnmy Swaggart. According to published articles and reports, sociologists or social psychologists can no longer describe the Charismatic Movement as having significance only with the dispossessed, but they must confirm it as a movement which has generated a response from the very core of mainstream society and accounts for the growing trend toward larger church congregations, exhibiting some of the characteristics of Pentecostal faith, and often holding denominational membership in a Pentecostal body, often The Assemblies of God. Lyle E. Schaller's investigation provides a comprehensive list of the reasons for the emergence of megachurches, and he notes that many of them are overlapping. However, the most obvious are: (1) The gradual disappearance of those generations of denominationally loyal church goers born before 1930 who preferred the intimacy of life in a small congregation; (2) the growing number of people who commute 3 to 40 miles to work and thus find it easy to commute 5 to 10 miles to an attractive church; (3) the improvement in the quality and safety of urban and suburban highways; (4) the expectation by many that a convenient off-street parking space will be available at the end of the journey; (5) the growing demand for high-quality physical facilities, preaching, music, nurseries, teaching, and youth ministries; (6) the freedom of younger generations to ignore denominational labels and shop for a church that meets their needs; (7) the recent rapid increase in exodus of people born since 1945 from Roman Catholic churches into evangelical and charismatic Protestant congregations; (8) the simple fact that most Americans born since 1940 grew up in a world of big institutions, including public schools, employers, shopping malls, and medical clinics; (9) the capability of large churches to design 29 and staff a huge range of specialized ministries; (10) the power of the critical mass-«the 26-year-old, never-married adult looking for a spouse is more likely to be successful in that search in a singles ministry that includes 1,200 people than in a group of 9 singles; (11) the shift in priorities in many long-established congregations and denominations from people and needs to institutions and tradition; (I 2) the focus on attendance in megachurches contrasted with an emphasis on membership in the long-established congregation (in scores of megachurches the average worship attendance is double or triple membership total, while in some long-established smaller churches the membership may be double the worship attendance); (13) a more-persuasive public-relations and advertising program in megachurches than in smaller congregations; (14) a sensitivity and responsiveness to "the market" as opposed to smaller congregations being driven by tradition; (15) the refusal by an increasing number of municipalities to grant permission to long-established congregations to increase their off-street parking or to expand their physical facilities because of complaints from the neighbors; (16) the decision by a growing proportion of that group of three to seven million Americans who have been attending two churches every week in order to have their religious needs met to switch to “one-stop shopping” at a megachurch; (17) the search by millions of people born in the 1942-67 era for a Christ-centered church that offers Bible-centered preaching and teaching ministries; (18) the capability of the larger churches to offer a broad range of choices, not only in the times for worship, but also in how they can be engaged in doing ministry - the megachurch uses a smaller proportion of volunteers' time and energy in maintaining the institution; (1 9) the inability of the vast majority of Protestant churches in the late 1960's to welcome the Jesus people, many of whom helped form the nucleus for what subsequently became a megachurch; (20) a greater preference for a faster pace for corporate worship; (21) the shift toward the theological Left by many pastors, while most of the church goers born since 1955 are theologically more conservative than their parents; (22) the satisfaction gained by members when they learn that 20 to 35 percent of their contributions are allocated to missions, benevolence, and community outreach compared to the 10 to 16 percent that is typical of smaller congregations; (23) the inability or unwillingness of the vast majority of long-established churches to accommodate that growing number of self-identified charismatic Christians who seek a church with a prayer-and-praise service; (24) the trend in American society toward larger institutions, including grocery stores, hospitals, universities, and units of local government.25 Overall, the revivals integrate the mainstream religious community into the Neo- Pentecostal, or Charismatic Movement, and into institutionalized electronic churches thereby creating a foundation for a new breed of megachurches in the American religious environment. People from the Charismatic Movement who thought they were 30 empowered to freely exercise their new found religious experience were met with resistance and this caused many insurmountable problems. Denominations viewed the Charismatic Movement, especially the outpouring of glossolalia, as a revolutionary attempt of a small group of people to drastically change mainstream religion. The mainstream religious community's attitude toward the Charismatic Movement was simply one of mistrust. The mainstream religious community equated the Charismatic Movement’s experience to Pentecostal behavior, which exhibited rampant emotional behavior, and to anti-intellectualism. In addition, they viewed people of the Pentecostal experience as coming from the lower economic stratum of society. For mainstream religious communities, this phenomenon broke all the laws of order and decorum, and it undermined the traditional definitions of the power structure so radically that it polarized many church members within their own church denominations. Because most Mainstream members did not believe in the Charismatic Movement many denominations in the mainstream religious communities experienced church schisms. The failure of the integration of the Charismatic Movement into the mainstream denominations also gave rise to the formation of charismatic congregations like Judson Baptist Church. The formation of this religious movement was also an avenue used to express discontent not only with mainstream Protestant churches but with society as a whole in the turbulent sixties. During this era the Vietnam War was in process, protest movements were common, an increase in violent protests occurred, moral standards were lowered, and there was an acceleration toward a permissive society. Additionally, the mainstream religious community was shaken directly by the upsurge in secularization, a death of God theology, a permissive drug culture, and an increased practice of the occult. With that activity simultaneously occurring, the mainstream religious community was not tolerant of people with the charismatic experience, therefore, they were thrust out into a religious world of their own, unprepared 31 to function as communities without traditions or leadership. We shall see that Judson Baptist Church was fortunate in this regard. Due to the rejection of the charismatic experience by the mainstream religious churches, charismatic gathering places were quickly formed by those who possessed the charismatic experience, and they created their own separate worship environments . There probably was not much forethought given to establishing charismatic congregations. People who formed these worship environments met in homes, schools, and in mainstream churches when services were not being held. Some people who received the Pentecostal experience went to both mainstream churches and charismatic gatherings for worship. They retained the organized structure of mainstream religion but adopted many of the Pentecostal teachings of the exercising of the spiritual gifts in their church services. They are the gifts found in the church as described in the scriptures in 1 Corinthians 12, namely the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. The organizational structure and the Spiritual gifts together helped Judson Baptist Church to grow paralleling the sweeping Charismatic Movement in Pentecostal congregations. The Charismatic Movement has influenced mainstream Protestant churches over time. Some Protestant churches have adopted some less radical charismatic type practices. For example, many mainstream churches have introduced more lively worship services that include a variety of musical instruments such as drums, horns, and electronic keyboards. While most mainstream Protestant churches do not completely accept the charismatic practices of tongue-speaking, healing, miracles, and flamboyant worship, they have been envisioning the spiritual and personal needs of the congregants and willing to experiment with worship practices borrowed from the charismatics. These mainstream churches have the same requirements to meet for the sake of continuity and the thrust of the requirement centers on having a vibrant, active, loyal, and generous 32 congregation. This is particularly evident in the many mainstream congregations that open worship with enthusiastic singing of praise hymns and choruses, a growing practice in the most staid churches, and one that spills enthusiasm into the rest of the worship hour. Therefore, they have included changes in their worship styles, rather than lose the nucleus of their church members to the radical upstarts known as the charismatics. It is my hypothesis that this adaptation in the mainstream religious environment has helped many charismatics to return to the mainstream. This trend, as well as members leaving one charismatic congregation to move to another depending on their personal and spiritual expectations, was clearly visible at the charismatic church I am using in my case study, Judson Baptist Church. 33 Chapter 2 Historical Timeline of The Charismatic Movement In The United States 1850's 1860's 1867 1873 1887 1894 1898 1 900-1 904 1901 1905 (Fall) (Spring) 1906 (April) 1909 1915 1920 1928 1940's 1950's 1951 1955 1960's 1961 1965 1967 1978 Birth of William Seymour Holiness Movement started First National Holiness founded in Vineland, New Jersey Seymour moved to Texas around this time period Birth of Charles Parham Split in the Holiness Movement Rise of Christian & Missionary Alliance Evening Light Saints Parham left the Methodist Church Parham founded Bethel Bible College William Seymour pastor of Evening Light Saints Press coverage on tongue-speaking in Topeka, Kansas Seymour met Lucy Farrar Seymour attended Bethel Bible College Seymour Left Bethel Bible College Seymour moved fiom Houston, Texas to Los Angeles, California Street Revival started Azusa Street Revival ended Seymour wrote Apostolic Faith Mission Doctrine and Discipline of Azusa Street Seymour died around this time Azusa Street Mission torn down Pentecostal Movement Institutionalized Charismatic Movement developed in the United States Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship, International founded Majority of the Megachurches were founded Pentecostal Revivals within Neo-Pentecostal communions Protestant Charismatic Revivals Many Megachurches relocated to their present meeting place Charismatic practices emerged among Roman Catholic students Dedication of William Seymour House 1980's (mid) Decline in the Charismatic congregations 34 Chapter Two Notes Reverend Short was acknowledged for his contribution to a successful transformation of a loosely-organized student nucleus to one of the most active of all the religious organizations at Howard University. They had informal prayer meetings, dormitory-centered Bible studies, weekend retreats, and sponsored conferences drawing as many as five thousand visitors to Howard at a single time. According to The Washington Post, Rev. Short refered to his and his wife's work as, "We are busy giving shape to the concept of Pentecostal campus ministry. We want to develop a model of campus ministry in the Pentecostal tradition that would look like campus chaplaincies for other denominations. We are ministering to a different constituency now. Pentecostalism at its beginning ministered to a transplanted rural constituency that was recognizably different in style than established mainline churches. With the upward social mobility of our people their needs are changing, and typically many of them leave "24 The organizing of the to go to the established denominations which met their needs. Pentecostal Movement at Howard University by Rev. Steve Short led to the formalization of the Intercollegiate Pentecostal Conference International, which is a national campus ministry. Other Pentecostal groups inspired by Rev. Short are located in colleges in New York City, and others such as Rutgers, Morgan State University, the University of Maryland, all Washington area campuses, Hampton Institute, Norfolk State, Virginia Union University in Virginia, North Carolina A and T, and North Carolina Central University, as well as colleges in Florida and Illinois.26 35 Chapter 2 Endnotes 5. Adam Baum, W (Central Baptist Church: Springfield, Illinois, 1975), p. 1-2. 6. Nelson, W (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1975), p. 1081. 7. Kilian McDonnell, CW3 (New York: The Seabury Press, 1976), p.2-3. 8. Winthrop S. Hudson, ReligiQanAmeriga (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1981), p. 347. 9. “Baptism In The Spirit and Speaking In Tongues: A Biblical appraisal,” Theology Him, 21 (1973), 353. 10. William Menzies, Angintefilqfiem (Springfield, Missouri: Gospel Publishing, 1984) p. 37. 11. Ibid., p.38 12. JamesS. Tinney, 1 ,1- (Washington D C.: Howard University Spirit Press, 1978), p. 12 13. Ibid 14. Ibid., p.14 15. . William Menzies, Anoinicdloficm ,p. 22. 16. Ibid.,p14. 17. Ibid.,p.16. 18. Ibid., p. 16. 36 19. W.J. Hollenweger, W5 Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing, 1972 p. 22-23. 20. James S. Tinney, IntheImdrtianLWilliamSexmcur P. 17. 21. Ibid., p.19. 22. Mircea Eliade, WW, “Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity,” Vol, 2. (New York: Macmillian Publishing Co.,1987), p. 231-233. 23. Encxlcpediuflteligicn p. 233 24. Ibid. 25. Lyle E. Schaller, “Megachurch,” Christianitquday, March 5,1990, p. 20-23. 26. Janis Johnson, “Pentecostalism On Campus,” Howard University Chaplain Stresses Scholarly Image,” W, Religion, May 27, 1977. 37 Chapter 3 Judson Baptist Church: A Charismatic Faith Community In my effort to draw conclusions about the state of the Charismatic Movement as we approach the twenty-first century, I examined the history, philosophy, and practices of Judson Baptist Church. In my investigating I found that the Spiritual gifts, worship styles, and practices which attracted the masses to the charismatic faith are not distinctive enough to retain membership and are by no means sufficient to allure new ones. In investigating the premise, I examined Judson Baptist Church which was representative of the Charismatic Movement in the time fiame I explored which ranged from 1988 to 1995. The reason I chose to research the charismatic faith through Judson Baptist Church was that even with their unique style they appear to have the same dilemma of membership loss mainstream churches experienced during the 19705, 803, and 905. This pattern of growth, stagnation, and decline also typifies the experience of the Charismatic Movement as a whole due largely to their inability to focus on the changing external environment affecting their congregations. Until the late 19708, Judson Baptist Church enjoyed a growing congregation because of its worship style and practices. However, in the late 1980s its membership declined so drastically that church growth was archived and membership retention became necessary for survival. Based on my investigation, I believe the degradation of Judson Baptist Church membership is mostly attributed to failure in leadership and vision, as well as to the narrowing of the gap by mainstream Protestantism in adopting more radical and expressive charismatic practices in their worship style, and more importantly, Judson Baptist Church’s failure to consider how to evolve as a religious community, as well as other external influences from the environment that will be set forth later. 38 Underlying Judson Baptist Church’s early existence in the charismatic religion is what Kanter would describe as utopianism, which represents for its members a refuge from our social culture, a refirge from our secular culture, a refuge few mainstream congregations afforded. Utopia, applying Kanter's approach is, the imaginary society in which humankind's deepest yearnings, noblest dreams, and highest aspirations come to firlfillment, where all physical, social, and spiritual forces work together in harmony, to permit the attainment of everything people find necessary and desirable. In the imagined utopia, people work and live together closely and cooperatively, in a social order that is self-created and self-chosen rather than externally imposed, yet one that also operates according to a higher order of natural and spiritual laws. Utopia is held together by commitment rather than coercion, for in utopia what people want to do is the same as what they have to do; the interests of the individuals are congruent with the interests of the group; and personal growth and freedom entail responsibility for others. Underlying the vision of utopia is the assumption that harmony, cooperation, and mutuality of interests are natural to human existence, rather than conflict, competition, and exploitation, which arise only in imperfect societies. By providing material and psychological safety and security, the utopian social order eliminates the need for divisive competition or self-serving actions which elevate some people to the disadvantage of others; it ensures instead the flowering of mutual responsibility and trust, to the advantage of all.” The Judson Baptist Church utopian society emerged as a result of the inability of a particular group of people at First Baptist Church in Davison, Michigan, to coexist with non-charismatics within their mainstream congregation after they received the charismatic experience. The members of this group split from First Baptist Church and formed their own congregation because of a deep desire to enact the gifts of the spirit in their church worship life. This congregation became what is known today as Judson Baptist Church. Their commitment to community is based on a vital and dynamic Christian faith which practices a wide variety of spiritual gifts as used in the New Testament church at Corinth. This met their desire as well as their religious obligation to exercise an expressive worship style fashioned by direct Divine inspiration. This unique 39 worship style defines the essence of their utopian society, because it was consistent with their wants and also the requirements of what they felt they had to do. Their utopia was a refuge from the religious complacency they experienced in the mainstream Protestant congregation. While the organizational and structural aspects of First Baptist Church were incorporated into the organization of the new congregation, the major changes in worship style served to eliminate the ills of mainstream Protestantism as perceived by the members of this utopian society.28 In addition to Judson Baptist Church adopting the organizational aspects of First Baptist Church in their utopian society, they retained and shared their belief in the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, and the concept of heaven and hell. The Trinity is a term use to express the unity of three persons in one God, one Divine Nature and Being. This one Divine Being is tripersonal, so the believer can make distinctions among the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are joint partakers of the same nature and majesty of God.29 Charismatics believe Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. The philosophy that solidified Judson Baptist Church utopianism was their belief that they receive direct inspiration from the Holy Spirit. In this belief they differ markedly from mainline churches, Protestant or Catholic. The Charismatic Movement stresses an experience called baptism in the Holy Spirit, described as an infusion similar to "electricity" of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Christian Trinity. Participants say that it gives them power, love, and joy to carry out the ministry of God.30 The group of people which separated from First Baptist Church and formed Judson Baptist Church in the early 1970's represented a historical change in Burton's religious community wherein this group went from a Charismatic Movement to an established charismatic church. There were other such moves occurring in mainstream Protestantism across the United States.” The charismatic appeal attracted response fi'om the very core of mainstream Protestantism which resulted in growth in the United States 40 averaging over four hundred to thousands of people at any given church service. Churches of this magnitude are characterized by Lyle Schaller, who conducts research in American church congregational life, as megachurches.32 By definition, megachurches are big churches with congregations of an average worship attendance of at least 3,000 people. Not all would agree that an attendance of 3,000 people is needed for entry into the classification of being a megachurch. Schaller's most useful estimate to categorize a church as a megachurch is an attendance level of over 1,000 people. By Schaller's stande Judson Baptist Church was well on its way to becoming a megachurch, probably drawing about 600 worshipers in its early years. Perhaps a near - utopian community cannot grow to Schaller’s megachurch proportions without growth strategies not explored by Kanter. But the traumatic events following the original pastor’s retirement in 1988 made it impossible for Judson Baptist Church to retain the loyalty of its members, as leadership became unstable and the vision faltered. The electronic church has been successful in bringing the charismatic message nationwide to a very large audience. The use of the air waves has allowed the charismatic message to become personalized to a massive number of viewers by entering into each one of their homes, hospital rooms, and dormitory facilities. The opportunity was established for the development of a close unilateral relationship with a particular electronic charismatic leader and message. The electronic church not only provided the charismatic message, but it also connected the individual to the electronic church by specialized activities such as lecturers, sponsored advisors, and motivational consultants. While examining the changes in the Charismatic Movement through Judson Baptist Church, and their efforts to survive as a community, my findings indicate Judson Judson Baptist Church worship style became so controversial in their praise and worship practices that it dictated separation even within their own charismatic community. The opposition viewpoints held by some of the members of Judson Baptist Church centered about the amount of time allotted for praise and worship during the morning service, and 41 the limited amount of time dedicated to other charismatic related expressions such as expressive ceremony, singing, praying and worship ing in the spirit (prayer language). There was a division in the congregation at Judson Baptist Church, and as a result another charismatic congregation was formed. This new congregation included members who migrated from Judson Baptist Church as a direct result of the split. Other members who left Judson Baptist Church during this time went to entirely different types of churches including Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist Churches. In addition, there was an increase in the number of people exiting in groups which caused the size of the Judson congregation to decrease significantly. These groups exited during the middle to late 1980’s and the number of departures plateaued around 1990. Due to Judson Baptist Church original congregational size of more than six hundred members, the significance of the departure of the initial group was not immediately noticed by the membership at large. The members who left Judson Baptist Church were considered by the leadership of Judson to be transient members, those who were not planning to stay at Judson Baptist Church for any length of time. But when the congregation deteriorated by more than fifty percent, the members as well as the leadership started to seriously re-evaluate the reasons for the decrease in membership. Additionally, even though there were differences in worship style and practices, I found some of the same sociological problems in this church which exist in any organization where masses of people interact as a cohesive body. Charismatics are noted for their loving and caring attitude, yet they also demonstrate political and personal conflict within their own community. Examining Judson Baptist Church beliefs and practices in relationship to my hypothesis afforded me an opportunity to make some conclusions concerning the state and the trend of the Charismatic Movement. I delved into Judson Baptist Church’s response to the competitive challenge for membership. From a religious perspective, my exploration includes the characteristics of their worship 42 style and practices which spurred competition within Judson Baptist Church itself, with other charismatic religious communities, and mainstream Protestantism. In viewing the assimilation of worship style and practices from a sociological perspective, I considered the church’s ideological need for a charismatic community. This allowed me to examine the internal effort in their struggle to retain members and recruit new ones without losing the feeling of group attachment and joint belief. Additionally, the tracing of the historical content of this church since its split from the mainstream religious community enables me to consider the patterns of evolution in Judson Baptist Church’s source of growth, transformation and decline. My exploration of the origin of the Charismatic Movement will shed light on whether or not the Jusdon Baptist Church split from mainstream religion was based on worship style and practices or if it resulted from some other external conditions not readily identifiable. The impact of competitiveness on the charismatic commmrity at large was also considered in my research. The application of Kanter's concept of commitment to Judson, afforded me the opportunity to examine whether or not this charismatic church was committed to be governed by the charismatic philosophy, or whether it had succumbed to pressures to accept and adopt changes which had altered its philosophy, beliefs, and practices as the congregation addressed the problem of declining membership. Utilizing Kanter's approach to commitment and community enabled me to determine if Judson Baptist Church fostered commitment or not. Judson Baptist Church experience of rapid growth during its early years might have resulted from the charismatic philosophy, beliefs and practices, but in the nineteen nineties Judson Baptist Church faces the challenge of whether it can reproduce itself both organically and organizationally as a church. Schaller's research on large churches I showed there were certain indicators that growing churches exhibited. His work was helpful in determining if Judson's problems were simply social concerns associated with 43 large churches, or if they rested in the charismatic philosophy in and of itself. My research will be helpful to those leaders who consider the changing charismatic religion as an opportunity and challenge for attracting both religious and non-religious people. Other challenges Judson Baptist Church faces may be directly related to its location in the city of Burton. Burton is a very young city which has only been incorporated as a city since July 1, 1972. Prior to achieving its independence, Burton was included in Flint Township, which prior to 1855 was known as Burton Township. The community of Burton consists of mainly single family dwellings, and it has a growing commercial and industrial base. While Burton has a diverse set of residential neighborhoods coupled with busy commercial strips and farm land spread across twenty three square miles on the east side of Genessee County, it is very unique in that there is no designated downtown area. The city operates under a mayoral form of government and has a population of nearly 28,000 people. The population density is a little more than 1,100 per square miles with a minority population of about six percent. The median family income is approximately $21, 000, and nearly eight percent of the families in Burton live below the poverty level. About two-thirds of the population of Burton is below the age of thirty-five.33 Burton is bordered on two sides by the I-69 and [-475 expressway exchanges. There is nearby shopping, entertainment, higher education centers, and well established medical facilities located near these expressway exchanges. Judson Baptist Church itself is located in an area where it is zoned for residential and commercial purposes. The church is located on Atherton Road between Center Road and Genesee Road. Traveling north on Atherton Road and crossing the main intersection at Center Road will bring into view a monument with the American flag on the southeast corner. On the same southeast comer is the Burton branch of the Genesee Country District Library, and on the northwest comer is a renovated gas station. On the northeast of Center Road and Atherton Road is a Meij er Thrifty Acres store. Proceeding through the intersection at Atherton and Center 44 Roads will lead to a single story building with the name ‘Michigan Bell’ on the north side of the street. Next to this building is an ice cream parlor. Going east on Atherton Road from Center Road there is a large church of with a sign out front reading "Church of the Nazarene," and next to this church is an alternate entrance to the Meijers Thrifty Acres store. There are more houses on both sides of the road with apartments on the north side and condominiums on the south side, and a church called ‘Eastside Baptist Church’ is located on the south side of the road. Approximately one fourth mile from Eastside Baptist Church is the driveway of Judson Baptist Church on the north side of Atherton Road. The church is located approximately five hundred feet from the Atherton Road entrance. It is a brick and strucco structure with a cross on the front center of the sanctuary, and it has two elongated windows on either side of the cross which fall from the roof line to the base of the building. There is a white steeple on the roof, and the church has a wing extending from the sanctuary. This wing is attached to their church school which is barely visible from the front of the church. The lawn is landscaped with small hedges approximately two feet and young trees which appear to be about 10 to 20 years old. There is a flag pole on the side of the front entrance along with two planters on both sides of the walkway leading into the building. From my observations and research of the demographics of Burton, I have determined the area to be lower middle class. The City of Burton, like Flint and the surrounding communities, has been dominated economically by the automotive industry, an industry that has experienced a tremendous amount of turbulence during the period of my research. The resultant impact on this community has been evident through the population fluctuations and the noticeable drop in the median income for this area. Many two income families experienced both wage earners being laid off from the high wage automotive plant jobs. Most of these people had to take lower paying jobs during this time period to remain in the area, while others left the city to seek employment 45 opportunities elsewhere. While some city officials attributed the population loss to a decrease in family size, my research has shown a more significant impact was the decrease in the absolute number of families residing the area. The city of Burton, as well as Flint, is seeking to diversify its economic base in order to offset devastating economic impact in the future because of further automotive market fluctuation and restructuring. The Burton officials believe the trend is currently turning around with the construction of new single family dwellings and the upswing in commerCial expansion. In many ways the events at Judson Baptist Church nrirror the experiences of the Charismatic Movement and of Burton, Michigan, itself. The impact on their respective communities has been undeniable in terms of growth, stagnation, and decline. The relevant adjustments each has made to survive as a community are key to this research effort. The parallel directions again substantiate my use of Judson Baptist Church as a single case study to investigate the emergence, development, and growth of the Charismatic Movement. 46 1975 1976 1980’s 1988 1989 - 1990 1990's 1991 1992 1993 1995 Chapter 3 Historical Timeline of Judson Baptist Church Judson Baptist Church split from First Baptist Church Judson moved into the church sanctuary where it is presently located Plateauing of Judson Baptist Church membership Retiring of Judson Baptist Church pastor Split in Judson Baptist Church congregation Assistant pastor removed by the leadership Interim pastor at Judson Baptist Church Judson's struggle to retain its members and attract new ones Another pastor hired by the leadership Pastor released by the leadership Interim pastor hired from the Assemblies of God Another pastor hired Pastor released by the leadership Original pastor returned to Judson Baptist Church as pastor 47 Judson Baptist Church Growth and Decline History 0 i t i : 1975 1933 1985 1% 9192 92$ 94% l r l 1 Number of Members at Sunday Worship Year 48 Chapter 3 Endnotes 27. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Comminnentandjlommunity Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University), 1972 p.1. 28. Ibid. p.39 29. Merrill Unger, W Chicago: Moody Press, 1985, p. 463. 30. Rev. Thomas Gaffney, W (Toronto: Hertel Co.), 1914, p.128.. 31. “Dispute Triggers Davison Church Split,” IheflinLlQumal, June 25, 1975, p.Al. 32. Lyle E. Schaller, “Megachurches,” W, March 5, 1990, p. 20. 33. All American City Award, Official entry, 1992. 49 Chapter 4 A Case Study of The Rise and Deline of A Charismatic Congregation Judson Baptist Church was formed in 1975, as a result of a split caused by a charismatic renewal that occurred at First Baptist Church, a mainstream Protestant congregation. This charismatic renewal was a movement in the United States which demonstrated radical worship style, speaking in tongues, singing in the spirit, raising of hands and religious dancing. Speaking in tongues and singing in the spirit represent a charismatic language which does not consist of words in the English language. The non-traditional worship style gave rise to spiritual differentiation that resulted in the renouncing of mainstream religion and adopting the Charismatic religion. Investigating Judson Baptist Church’s renunciation of mainstream religion, I examined their successes and failures in establishing members’ commitment before and after their split from First Baptist Church and as a charismatic congregation. In researching Judson Baptist Church from a sociological perspective, particular emphasis was given to Kanter’s research on commitment. Focusing on Judson Baptist Church’s commitment to the charismatic beliefs and practices is crucial to view their willingness to give their energy and loyalty to this religious belief system. Also examined were the pressures they encountered in rapid growth and their failure to become a megachurch. The people who formed Judson Baptist Church represented a disunited membership who demonstrated an openness to charismatic practices within First Baptist Church, located in Davison, Michigan. Before the split in 1975, this mainstream church had a robust congregation of 1100 members. The pastor of First Baptist Church held his leadership position for fourteen years prior to the split in the 50 congregation. He was also a member of the splinter group that formed Judson Baptist Church. First Baptist Church had been in existence since 1965, and its structure included an educational wing. The church was a member of the American Baptist Association of Churches and was also a large contributor to missions.34 First Baptist Church appeared to have had support among members, shared relationships, strong attachments to each other and to joint church endeavors. This positive orientation they shared was disrupted in the middle 1970’s by the charismatic renewal which was a re-kindling of Classical Pentecostalism in the United States. Classical Pentecostal Movement dates back to the Azusa Street revivals of 1906. The renewing of the spiritual gifts provided an incentive for renewed communal existence. Also charismatic practices are what set charismatics apart from mainstream religion, and these charateristics are attributed to their communal existence as charismatics. Kanter describes communal life as depending on a continual flow of energy and support among members, on their depth of shared relationships, and on their continual attachment to each other and to joint endeavors.35 The people who formed Judson Baptist Church did not immediately renounce their mainstream religious affiliation. They were able to subsist in First Baptist Church for three years because the members who exhibited the charismatic experience did not exercise this neo-Pentecostal activity in the church worship services. Instead, they met in a prayer group house setting to fulfill their thirst to create a purified, spiritual environment based on their interpretation of Biblical truth. They could enjoy and share religious ideals in harmony, in cooperation, and in close association with their fellow charismatic believers. I conducted interviews with the owner of the home where the meetings took place, the pastor of Judson Baptist Church, and a couple who were not members of First Baptist Church. From these interviews, I ascertained that they all freely explored the charismatic practices without inhibition. 51 The interviewees recalled the prayer meetings as a place where people participated in praising the Lord, in the ritual of raising hands and singing in the Spirit, and experiencing a lot of joy. The prayer group represented people from mainstream Protestant churches and people outside the religious communities of Davison, Michigan, and Genesee County. There was witnessing of Divine healing, which is supematural healing that can not be explained scientifically or medically, but sicknesses and diseases are eradicated. On one occasion, the prayer meeting home owner recalled very vividly a supernatural experience at a prayer meeting: The group initially consisted of a man and his wife and another person, and the three of us met for three weeks, afterwards other people started to come. Most of them were people who were outside of the church. People started to bring other people with them, and the size grew to nearly twenty to thirty people. One of the men was the order keeper. As the group grew, young people started to attend. One night, this kid started screaming and hollering and this young woman was going to deliver him. He was loud and started throwing my furniture around the house. Everyone in the room just looked at him. No one tried to stop him or restrain him in any way. I stood up and told him ‘you are not going to do this, and in the name of Jesus you sit down and shut up, and I do not want to hear another word out of you.‘ He did not say or do anything else. I did not feel deliverance had to be noisy or rowdy. Rudeness was something that Jesus did not have. He spoke and the spirits came out. So if He had the power in His name then why couldn't we do the same by his name.36 She was referring to the removal of satanic spirits from a person's body. Charismatics refer to this as being “delivered”. On another occasion, the pastor’s recollection of the prayer meetings were expressed as follows: In these meetings they were praising the Lord, and they seemed to have a lot of joy. I also witnessed Divine healing for the first time. I did not understand the raising of the hands, singing in the Spirit, and the healing. This was foreign to me, a traditional pastor, but I knew there was a reality in what I was seeing. I started taking some members fi'om First Baptist to the prayer breakfast meetings. This was probably a mistake.33 52 I interpreted him to mean that this ultimately led to the church split being eminent. He did not want to expound any further on the Prayer Breakfast. The consistent message from the interviewees on their attraction to the neo-Pentecostal activities in the prayer group meetings was one of curiosity, particularly with the speaking in tongues and deeper yearning for the Holy Spirit. During the interview, the pastor responded that he actively sought understanding through reading books such as Nine W by Dennis Bennet, W by Torrey, and he also attended the Full Gospel Prayer Breakfast Meetings. In addition, he traveled to several cities to hear others expound on the subject. In the interview he gave a detailed account of the effect these prayer gatherings had on his religious life. He indicated these prayer group gatherings were astounding when compared to other prayer groups he had witnessed. The home owner posed what I perceived to be a challenge. Her challenge was, “I started to read the Bible and Scriptures and said, well Lord, if it is real and true (the charismatic experience) then I want it. So, I more or less received it myself at home.”36 Speaking in tongues is the link to the Spiritual world which connects charismatic people directly to the Divine through this spiritual expression of communication. Additionally, speaking in tongues is the mechanism which lets charismatics know they are in the presence of the Holy Spirit, and they have all the privileges that are associated with a Divine relationship. Conceptually, speaking in tongues to the neo-Pentecostal is like a key that allows the entry into a world where they become entwined with the Holy Spirit through the manifestation of Spiritual gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. The pastor explained his entry to the Spiritual world as he received the gift of tongue as: 53 I received the charismatic experience in August, 1972, as I knelt down beside my bed to pray. I asked the Lord, if this is of you, I want to be baptized in the Spirit and receive tongues. As I was praying, I proceeded into a language. I prayed slowly, then rapidly again to see if this was a Divine given language or not. I wanted to see if I could stop it and start again. I could do it. I remembered that portion of Scripture 'The spirit of the prophet is subjected to the prophet'. This was not an emotional experience for me, but I felt the reality of it all. I kept praying frequently in English and in tongues. I did not understand what had taken place. I was edified and felt warm about what was happening. After my experience, I did not say anything to the people in the church. I did not know if I was making a mistake or not. However, my preaching took on another look. Our church at that time was considered lively, we played instruments other than piano and organ, and we sang non- traditional songs. On any given Sunday there would be 670 people at the service. Sixty people in our congregation were reading books in their homes on charismatic practices and were sharing their experiences with each other. This was not an overt action that was shared outside those sixty people. This was eggsilent, but beautiful work of the Holy Spirit unknown to me at that time. These prayer group meetings represented an imitation of an imaginary religious society where the people who formed Judson Baptist Church deepest religious dreams and yearnings were explored. Maintaining membership in First Baptist Church by the people who formed Judson Baptist Church caused internal conflict, it was the renuncing of mainstream religion and the adapting charismatic beliefs and practices that brought about this controversy. From the beginning of their co-existence, they were essentially detaching themselves from mainstream religion which was no longer viewed as being self-expressive of their religious beliefs and fulfilling their new religious requirements. These new religious requirements created struggle within themselves, and the struggle they faced was difficulty in aligning their loyalty to First Baptist Church and simultaneously searching for spiritual utopianism in this charismatic renewal. While these desires were clearly articulated, the struggle to maintain their membership at First Baptist Church deepened because they tried not to overtly 54 demonstrate the charismatic practices during the worship services. They sought the fulfillment of being in a utopian community by attending alternate religious activities which included prayer group gatherings in house settings, charismatic evangelistic meetings in arenas, and revivals at various locations. Simultaneously, this group . maintained their attendance, status, and association with mainstream Protestantism at First Baptist Church. They struggled to maintain this balance of what they felt they had to do with what they wanted to do. Kanter describes commitment as linking self interest to social needs. A person is committed to a group that he or she sees as one expressing or fulfilling the fundamental part of oneself, and sees no conflict between its requirement and the individual’s needs. The individual commitment exists to the degree that the need can not be met elsewhere.40 The struggle was an internal one for the people who formed Judson Baptist Church. They were torn between the desire to do what they wanted, which was the exercising of the charismatic beliefs and practices and their longing to remain loyal to their First Baptist Church family. The problem they encountered with this dual strategy of maintaining their attendance was discontentrnent with First Baptist Church services not living up to the literal interpretation of the Scripture’s Spiritual gifts of speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues and laying on hands, along with other Spiritual gifts described in I Corinthains 12 of the Scriptures. The fulfilling of charismatic beliefs and practices external to their mainstream congregation was retention. Kanter refers to retention as people’s willingness to stay within a system. The members who formed Judson Baptist Church had difficulty in remaining in First Baptist Church because their energy and loyalty were attached to the charismatic beliefs and practices system which they viewed as self-expressive. As a result, First Baptist Church no longer met their organizational perquisites in such a way that they could continue to be positively involved in mainstream religion with loyalty, dedication, and obedience. 55 Their commitment to the mainstream religious system was terminated, and re-focused to develop a charismatic organization where they could fulfill their religious interest . To determine the perspective between organization and the charismatic religious system which forges the bonds of commitment, I examined Kanter’s definition of commitment and the personality system axes of commitment. Kanter describes commitment as the process through which individual interests become attached to the carrying out of socially organized patterns of behavior which are seen as fulfilling those interests and as expressing the nature and needs of the person. Kanter further defined three major social problems that involve commitment. They are social control, group cohesiveness, and continuation as an action system.41 The people who had received the charismatic experience were willing to continue their membership but demonstrated contunial deviance within their mainstream church by attending splinter prayer group meetings uncommitted to its control. Their rejection was evident when they met in prayer groups house settings while continuing their attendance at their mainstream First Baptist Church. Based on Kanter’s theory of social comnritrnent, the dual strategy of coexisting was not a successfirl strategy from these three perspectives. From the perspective of social control, their readiness to obey the demands of mainstream religion was in attendance at First Baptist Church. Their conformity to mainstream religious values and beliefs changed to incorporate those of the charismatic beliefs and practices. Therefore, the seriousness of the dictates of obedience to their mainstream beliefs and values was jeopardized. Additionally, the charismatic beliefs and practices infiltrated their mainstream religious belief and value system, and created vulnerability for the people who formed Judson Baptist Church in keeping a mutual attraction and collective strength to withstand threats to their group’s existence. The charismatics beliefs and practices also threatened their ability to “stick together” as a cohesive group. Kanter refers to the “stick together” as cohesion 56 commitment, that is, commitment to social solidarity, where emotional and “affective ties bind members to the community, ” (in the jargon “cathectic orientation). But successful maintenance also, in Kanter’s analysis, requires evalvative commitment, the commitment to uphold norms, obey the authority of the group, support its leaders, its values, and involves primarily a person’s evaluative orientations.41 That is, there is a better personal “payoff” in staying, than in leaving. The consequence of not having evaluative commitment is confrontation. Members of First Baptist Church who did not have the charismatic experience confronted the pastor about the Charismatic Movement within First Baptist Church. Their activity as a splinter prayer group was not hidden, but the members who formed Judson Baptist Church refrained fiom overtly practicing the charismatic experience during worship services or other church activities. Their coexistence was terminated when the pastor’s preaching took a more expressive form and there took place sporadic hand raising by individuals who had experienced the charismatic experience. They resolved the situation by forcing a commitment which was expressed very vividly by the pastor and the original members whom I interviewed as follows: On June 16, 197 5 , the issue of charismatic ministry was finally concluded by the voting membership body of the church. Many people were invited to the church meeting, some had not been in church for many years, but were still on the church membership roll. The church voted in this meeting that there should not be any charismatic practices in the church, neither inward or outward. The pastor responded that he did not know exactly what this meant and he asked, but received no answer. A vote was also taken to close the church membership over a period of one year. There were 350 people present and the issues all passed by a narrow margin. One week later, the deacons wanted to vote on whether or not I would remain at First Baptist. On June 23, 1975, the second meeting of the church body was held. It was voted and decided that my pastorship be terminated.43 57 The people who formed Judson may have demonstrated strong emotional bonds and felt they could co-exist indefinitely because of their strong loyalty to their mainstream church, but the perceived threats by the power players in the mainstream church of charismatic undertaking in First Baptist Church was too great for joint continued religious involvement. Their resolution to what they perceived to be a conflict or prevention of a Charismatic Movement was the termination of the pastor, which meant the separation of the charismatic members as well. The charismatic members were forced not only to establish a church, but also to reassesses what they were committed to, and then attach themselves to the new requirements that expressed their commitment. The separation of the two groups forced the people who formed Judson Baptist Church to either commit themselves to mainstream Protestantism beliefs and practices or to charismatic belief and practices. The splitting of their time between the two religious communities was viewed by First Baptist Church as not being loyal and fully vested in Protestantism, and their own internal being did not exude the behavior that supported mainstream religious order. Additionally the charismatic beliefs and practices were not crucial to the survival of the mainstream religious order. There was such great concern about the pastor’s perceived influence on the membership’s acceptance of the Charismatic Movement that they closed the membership for a period of one year and permanently expelled the pastor. The people with the charismatic experience were not forced out of First Baptist Church, but by the covert actions they knew they were no longer considered to be a part of that community. As a result, the two groups split. In interviews with the pastor and others who were there at the time of the membership split, it was indicated that within the same week of his termination fi'om First Baptist Church that some former members from First Baptist Church talked about the possibility of beginning another church which would be charismatic. 58 According to the interviewees and the pastor, his response was that his heart was not in the idea, and that his plan was to leave the Davison area. However, the pastor said he reconsidered his position after a doctor offered him land on which to build a church. He felt this gift was an answer to his prayer for Divine direction and on June 29, 1975, the future Judson Baptist Church members met as a charismatic church group in the home of this doctor. There were sixty people in attendance, and this was the initial formation of the Judson Baptist Church congregation as a charismatic congregation. The split between these two groups received broad media coverage in the local area, newspaper and broadcast arenas. The Flint Journal recorded that the separation in the church resulted from a dispute within First Baptist Church regarding the charismatic renewal, a movement that was sweeping a number of major denominations.44 The split no longer involved a private disagreement between the two groups, but now the religious community and local society at large were also aware. There were others who came to the assistance of Judson Baptist Church besides the doctor who donated the land. A local Davison Junior High School permitted them to conduct their next meeting in the local Junior High School’s cafeteria in Davison, where there was 300 people in attendance.45 They also held their second service at the local Junior High School in Davison. Also in that meeting an offering of three hundred dollars was collected and given to missions. This effort started Judson Baptist Church on the road to becoming a mission oriented church. However, this was not a new charitable practice for them, but only the adoption of a practice highly supported and exercised in their former Protestant church community. Additionally, to show their commitment to being mission oriented, they named their church after Adoniram Judson, who was the first overseas Baptist missionary. They also aligned themselves with the organization of American Baptist Churches, a somewhat surprising gesture of respectability for a pioneering, non-traditional 59 community. The pastor probably did not want to give up his ties -- professional and personal -- to this mainstream church association.46 Subsequent services were held at the sports center on M-15 and Lapeer Road also located in Davison, Michigan. This facility was donated to them for their evening worship services and offices until they could build a church to seat a thousand people on the ten acres of land that had already been donated by the doctor. In December 1976, a year and a half after they formed their own congregation, they moved into their new thousand seat sanctuary in Burton, Michigan, and this established them as the first charismatic Baptist church in the Flint area, a somewhat surprising gesture or respectability for a pioneering, non- traditional community. The pastor probably did not want to give up his ties -- professional and personal -- to this mainstream church association.”47 In their new church, Judson Baptist Church organized their building around a less formal atmosphere that appeared aesthetically more relaxed than a mainstream church. Secondly, they embraced a charismatic beliefs and practices worship system that generated an environment for rapid growth which contributed to their early success in membership growth. They became a congregation of approximately 600 members in 1978, with the potential of growing into a megachurch congregation. Lyle Schaller’s research used a criteria of 1000 at a worship each weekend to qualify as a megachurch and Judson Baptist Church did not achieve Schaller’s minimal standard.48 Their increased membership was due to Judson Baptist Church being the only charismatic congregation in Burton, Michigan, and Genesee County in 1975, where people who had received the charismatic experience could come and worship in an organized church setting. They adopted from the beginning of their existence a commitment to contribute financially to missions. They were astute in business matters in governing the administrative affairs of the church. The congregation’s strength was not only in the expressive ceremonies, but it was the spiritual gifts adopted by its congregation which built commitment for Judson Baptist Church. 60 These spiritual gifts established a strong bond between the members. However, as we shall see, they were weak in developing commitment mechanisms around the Spiritual gifts to maintain loyalty for continued optimal growth. Judson Baptist Church’s building is informal and conducive to a comfortable, relaxed worship setting. From the vestibule entrance, to the sanctuary and to the pulpit areas, there is a simple decor which distinctly separates them from a mainstream church setting. Church vestibules lend an image to the character of the church. For Judson Baptist Church, the vestibule portrays a fiiendly atmosphere to the people as they walk into the church building. Upon entry to the church, people receive the charismatic greeting style of hugging, smiling and hand shaking. Charismatic hugging is symbolic for spiritual affection. The hugging occurs between those people who they identify such as fellow charismatics, family, fiiends or acquaintances. Those who do not receive a charismatic hug are greeted pleasantly with a smile and a hand shake, and are given a program for the services. In addition to men and women there are children greeters who appear to be at least twelve years old. “This democratization of worship tends to level the congregation, so that using the spiritual gifts or testifying aloud to a faith experience -- a real life miracle -- becomes more important than one’s income or social position. But Kanter’s research indicates that such democratization in religion works against control commitment mechanisms successfirl utopias have employed to induce people to surrender personal meaning and identity, to fuse themselves with the community. That has been accomplished through the exaltation of one or a few leaders, strict separating of people and leaders, restricting sacred actions to a few, thus producing a kind of” institutional awe.”49 But a charismatic community springing from a Baptist church, with all the democratic tendencies historically embedded, could hardly take this route, although some charismatic churches rooted in Roman Catholic tradition have done so, 61 such as the word of God community in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Certainly if all Kanter’s criteria for grth and survival, control commitment mechanisms are the weakest at Judson, and this weakness was not countered strongly by cohesion commitment strategies, nor (thanks to failure to provide stable leadership by continuance commitment mechanisms50 The entire sanctuary is carpeted in a commercial grade aqua colored carpet with speckles of mauve that are hardly visible to the eye as opposed to the red colored carpet that is found in many mainstream churches. They have portable chairs for seating that provide multi-functional purposes such as banquets, and other church activities. The pulpit area is the most drastic departure of Judson Baptist Church not being viewed as a mainstream congregation. Located in the pulpit area is one pew placed at an angle on the east side, and a black baby grand piano on the west side of the pulpit facing the east within the view at the pew. A set of drums is on the north side of the pulpit with a base of an elevation of three steps. A portable orchestra conductor stand serves as a podium. Typically mainstream churches have a traditional style podium for the speaker and a pew or pulpit chairs for seating that constitutes more rigid setting. The orchestra stand signifies Judson Baptist Church’s intent to have flexibility between the speaker and the congregation in interactive exchange of charismatic expression. Therefore, when people visit Judson Baptist Church they can visually see from the sanctuary to the pulpit area that Judson Baptist Church is not a mainstream style church. From the vestibule entrance to the sanctuary and the pulpit, Judson Baptist Church, like other utopian communities, sought to eliminate all elements of distinctions that are associated with the mainstream religious community. Not only is their building less formal, but members of Judson Baptist Church and people who visit the church are invited to discard those things associated with mainstream tradition and explore the charismatic worship styles and practices. For Flint and the 62 surrounding areas, Judson Baptist Church was a refuge of hope for a permanent charismatic community. The less formal environment represents what Kanter describes as redefining of their symbolic environment so that the charismatic religious system is considered to be right in terms of the charismatic identity and with obedience to its authority, the Holy Spirit, as a moral necessity. The less formal environment projects the image that all types of people are welcome in Judson Baptist Church. The image represents a humbling atmosphere that is symbolic of egalitarianism participation, which advocates the doctrine of equal, political, economic and legal rights of all citizens. The less formal environment suggest the member is as important as the pastor and the members who are in leadership positions. The commonality that makes them equal is the charismatic experience which is given by the Holy Spirit. This charismatic experience connects them to the higher power and carrying out the supernatural dictates. The less formal environment represents Judson Baptist Church’s new image identity of being a charismatic church that is conducive to interaction of its members and an environment which promotes cohesiveness of its members. Overall, Judson Baptist Church was organized so as to promote and sustain commitment to the charismatic beliefs, practices and worship styles. The people who gave up mainstream practices gained a religious family who accepted as truth the charismatic beliefs which they could exercise in the fi'eedom of charismatic expressions of worship styles and practices, which was designed to meet their specific needs. In this process, people who aligned with Judson Baptist Church were clear on the type of church they represented based on the external and internal layouts, and its focus to establish their community and develop maximum commitment to the charismatic faith and experience. The charismatic beliefs, practices and worship styles were the major aspects that Judson Baptist Church organized itself around. They represented commitment to 63 community norms which anchored their religious life, and set them apart from mainstream congregations. Their shared belief and defined set of religious values that are seen in their culture and in their organization is described officially as: the Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative written Word of God. 1 Timothy 3:15-17, 11 Peter 1:20-21; there is one God, eternally existent in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, And God the Holy Ghost; in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension return to earth in power and glory, Matthew 1:18-25, Acts 12:11, 1 Carnations 15:1- 4; The only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ, Acts 2:38, Romans 3:25; regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for personal salvation, Titus 3:5-7; The redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides salvation and healing of the human body in answer to believing prayer, 1 Peter 2:24, James 5:15-15, 1 JohnS: 13; in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit to whose needling the Christian is enabled to live a holy life, Romans 8: 1-14; the baptism in the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:4' is given to believers who ask for it; that after receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the believer will manifest one or more of the gifts and all the fruits of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 1:7, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; in the resurrection of the saved and the lost, the one to everlasting life and the other to everlasting damnation, Matthew 25:46, revelation 20:4-6, 11-18; we believe in water baptism by immersion as it commanded of all who repent, Acts 2:38; we believe in regular observance of communion through the Lord's Supper, Acts 2:42, 1 Corinthians 11:23. 5' I observed commitment to the charismatic beliefs and practices during their Sunday morning worship activities and other related programs. During the very beginning of their worship services, they demonstrate commitment mechanism to the charismatic faith through an expressive ceremony which is ritualistic and symbolic. This ceremonious activity includes the entire congregation participating in group activities of praising, singing and other charismatic activities. In expressive ceremony they sing songs, speak in tongues, speak words of knowledge and prophecy, lay on hands for Divine deliverance that sometimes results in being “slain in the spirit”. These non-traditional, emotion inducing features are the mechanisms that underline Judson 64 Baptist Church commitment and community. Here Kanter’s cathectic cohesion commitment strategies are demonstrated week after week. The unique feature to their singing is that they do it in connection with raising their hands in the air and clapping. Their singing is firll of energy, excitement and exhilaration. While singing they are smiling, moving their feet and swaying their bodies to the tune of the music and lyrics. This animated response bonds them together in established relationship for commitment and community. The singing also is their methodology for preparation to spiritually enter into the world of an ever- present God. This singing and expressive worship style is very different from the mainstream church they split from where the songs that were sung from a hymnal created the mood of boredom and uninvolvement. Judson Baptist Church expressive ceremony typifies he following: The song leader asked the congregation to stand, and the lights were dimmed over the sanctuary and a screen was lowered from the ceiling for an overhead projector that displayed the words of the songs led by the song leader. The congregation joined in and the musicians played for as long as ninety minutes. I heard trumpets, tambourines, a piano, an organ, and drums playing. I saw people clapping and raising hands in the air, and some with their eyes closed. They seem to be in a world all to themselves, oblivious to anyone around them. Others had their hands folded like they were meditating. There were people smiling as they were singing, and others swayed their bodies to the tune of the music. At the conclusion of the singing, the congregation went into a singing, chanting and individual prayer type of worship.5 In analyzing the expressive worship ceremony and applying Kanter’s research on commitment, I found people are surrendering to the norms of the church and harmony among members in the charismatic worship. In the expressive ceremony they are in communion. Kanter defines communion as the process of becoming part of a whole, the mingling of self with the group, and relinquishing separateness in order to identify with all the members of the collective. Communion generates what 65 we-sentirnent”.53 The implications of ’9 ‘6 various writers have termed “we-feeling” or this separates them from mainstream practices. In this worship they are bound together in an act of praise to the Divine, and all members are involved in this worship. They are caught up in homogeneous, equal parts of the membership rather than individual members in the realm of the supernatural world communing with the Holy Spirit whom they feel is present with them during this worship. This group equality, fellowship and conscientiousness is dependent and supported by the charismatic faith. In this expressive ceremony there is homogeneity in their praising, administering of the Spiritual gifts and fellowshiping. They are in a communistic sharing in which the individual member relinquishes his or her control over to membership to identify with charismatic beliefs, practice and their charismatic church. Additionally, while participating in this ritual, members are in a spiritual cohesive system upholding the norms of the charismatic beliefs and practices, and those people who do not enter into this expressive ceremony pose no threats to their worship. Their “stick together” to uphold the charismatis beliefs and practices is demonstrated and re-inforced in using the Spiritual gifts. The Spiritual gifts speaking in tongues generally follows this singing ceremony. Speaking in tongues is a form of communication spoken in non English words. It is a language that is non-comprehensible to the listener. Speaking in tongues is interpreted through the gift of knowledge and prophecy. These two gifts are the mysteries of God that are foretold as Divine revelation of things to occur in the future. The interpretation of tongues were generally spoken in the first person and represent communication from God through individuals. It was not a pre-planned or predictable activity. Additionally speaking in tongues is the characteristic that Judson Baptist Church believed links them to a personal relationship with the Divine. In this communication through the speaking of tongues they believe they are in a one to one relationship with the Divine. I heard a variety of words spoken that were interpreted 66 speaking in tongues from directing Judson Baptist Church present and future state to chastisement. The speaking in tongues resemble communicative process that is informative, generate understanding to establish commitment for carrying out the actions Divinely instructed for Judson Baptist Church. The outward communication is symbolic of Judson Baptist Church membership willingness to attach their personality to the charismatic beliefs and practices system which they viewed as expressing their own beliefs, their own chosen practices. A gift Judson Baptist Church employs, which is extremely controversial, is the gift of healing through the laying on hands. Judson Baptist Church believes Divine healing is a source of God, and they can lay hands on the sick according to the Scriptures and they will recover. They believe the redemptive work on the cross, Jesus dying on the cross, provides salvation and healing of the body in answer to believing in prayer. The gift of healing is another Spiritual gift that is administered through the laying on hands, which is another activity that is a part of Judson Baptist Church expressive ceremony. The laying on of hands is a ritual act where in hands are placed on people to establish some spiritual communion. It is a process of outward activity believed to be the transforming of a person’s physical or mental state to bring about change. The individual who processes the spiritual gift is the gateway for that transformation of this supernatural phenomenon in the administration of the gift to bring about a change whether it be mental, physically life threatening or non life threatening. It was evident in this ritual they believed the laying on of hands can impart spiritual blessings, anointing, spiritual gifts and healings. According to Scriptures, miraculous healings accompanied the laying on of hands. In St. Mark 8:23-25, Jesus was said to heal a blind man. Another Scripture pointed out in St. Mark 6:5, hands were laid on the sick and they were healed. Still another example was given where a woman was healed of an infirmity found in Luke 13:11-13. The 67 Scripture pointed out that the disciples of Jesus continued the laying on hands practice, Mark 16:18. Judson Baptist Church practices a literalistic interpretation of the Scriptures. I did not see in any of my observations miraculous miracles accompanying the laying on hands wherein unexplained phenomenon occurred. What I did observe was people being “slain in the spirit” when hands were laid on them. “Slain in the spirit” is a term used by charismatics to denote total submission of a person under the power of the Holy Spirit. Judson Baptist Church refers to a person being “slain in the spirit” as resting in the spirit while the Holy Spirit ministers to the individual or total submission of a person under the power of the Holy Spirit. These distinguishing features in Judson Baptist Church’s worship activities are what makes them unique and known as a charismatic congregation. Not all the Spiritual gifts were demonstrated, however, it was the expressive ceremonies and spiritual gifts that they did demonstrate which build community. The expressive ceremony organized their spiritual community for maxium viability. The unique characteristic of Judson Baptist Church’s expressive ceremony that produced growth was the involvement of the membership in every aspect of worship whether it was laying on hands, speaking in tongues, or uttering words of knowledge or prophecy. The members who used the gifts were treated with respect by the congregation. The members accepted the administering of the gifts as a vital function in their lives as well as the church. The expressive ceremony is what brings Judson Baptist Church together as a cohesive group and defines them as a community. It is during the expressive ceremony that Judson Baptist Church congregation seems to receive Spiritual gratification from their participation and identification with the collective whole. Their Spiritual commitment is to the charismatic beliefs and practices as demonstrated in the using of the spiritual gifts in expressive ceremony. They commit 68 themselves to the collective group, and their loyalty and allegiance are offered to all the members of the group, who together comprise their charismatic community. The presence of others did not appear to have had any effect on the members or threaten their connection to the Spiritual world they sought to enter. Judson Baptist Church’s commitment and community extended beyond expressive ceremony and charismatic beliefs and practices within their environment. The purpose of the collective membership was one of anchoring the members in the charismatic religion. The members who invested themselves in Judson Baptist Church charismatic community accepted the leadership, and those people who possess the various Spiritual gifts and authority willingly supported not only its beliefs and practices, but also their norms and values that offered them identity, personal meaning and an opportunity to grow in those guiding principles that are believed to be expressive of their inner being. In order to be in compliance with making a commitment to Judson Baptist Church, the members submitted to the charismatic beliefs, worship style and practices. They believed that the Charismatic Movement's demands were right and just for them in terms of their self-identity. Members who internalize the charismatic beliefs and practices and accept the activity as Divinely controlled receive something transcendent. This involved commitment and community. The strength of Judson Baptist Church’s community cohesion is unequivocally built into their commitment to the charismatic beliefs and practices. However, the commitment mechanisms practiced lacked strong foundation and strategies outside of their expressive worship ceremony to support their organizational structure. And what strategies there were did not survive the long unstable leadership that began, in 1988 with the pastor’s retirement, controversy surrounding the assistant, and the schism that ensued. The commitment mechanism for ordering and defining the existence of their members involves Outreach Ministries and the 69 foundation that underlines that ministry was the promotion of missions. Judson Baptist Church’s adoption of the practice of giving to missions is not unique to the charismatic beliefs and practices for many non- charismatic churches support missions. But at Judson every aspect of their ministry has implications of commitment for missions. They have selected specific targeted missions to contribute financial support and have developed intimate and lasting relationships, particularly in Haiti and with couples in their church who have pursued foreign missionary ministries in Afiica and China. Mission support at Judson Baptist Church has been arranged to provide collective unity. Evidence and support of this unity is demonstrated by the leadership and the members during the Sunday mornings worship where they consistently speak affirmatively on mission activities and what is being accomplished. Additionally, communications from the missionaries they support keep the church abreast of how their financial support is aiding in teaching and promoting the Gospel and other activities in foreign lands. The pastor and members from their congregation have visited Haiti, and the Haitian minister fiom the group they support has visited Judson Baptist Church. Mission is the spiritual organization that promotes collective unity, and provides meaning and a sense of belonging and commitment to its members. Missions were built into the Judson Baptist Church organization fi'om the very first day they met as a charismatic body. While Judson Baptist Church is clearly a mission oriented church, there was not a clear concise statement or plan of the firture scope of their church established by the founders. There was not a shared sence of direction that provided everyone in the church with a shared sense of what they want the church to be. The difficulty in not providing clear directions resulted in their conditional commitment to church norms, but as members of the system they were confinle deviant within the system, uncommitted to its control. The lack of direction was evident during interviews and 70 discussions, with members who have been with Judson since its inception. Members with ten or less years described a variety of responses as to what they believe constitutes their vision. They include: evangelism and missions, a place of worship for people from multi-racial backgrounds and religions who receive the charismatic experience; a house of prayer, a hospital to those people who are hurting, a light house for the community and a cafeteria like environment where people could be fed with many different spiritual foods. Not having a clear vision in setting the direction of their church created a weakened condition for them and ultimately a weakness in promoting commitment, especially what Kanter calls continuance commitment, where people can see especially their own vision and the community’s meshing, and they rationally decide to commit over the long haul. The organizational strategy that was strongly promoted and supported in their spiritual community was Evangelism Explosion, an outreach ministry to encourage non-Christians to give their lives to the Lord. This outreach ministry was implemented by the pastor. Teams of people from the congregation who had been trained in this outreach ministry went to the homes of those people who places their name on the attendance pad during Sunday morning church service, or by family members and friends to witness to them the message of salvation. The people to whom they witnessed were referred by a family member, fiiend, or by the individual requesting a visitation by indicating it on the church attendance pad. Evangelism Explosion was Judson Baptist Church’s main outreach ministry in the community. It flourished until 1988, when the pastor retired. Other witness outreach activities that helped their growth state, but not commitment, were the performing of cantatas of the Pentecost performed by members of their church and people of the community. They were presented at Whiting Auditorium, a local civic auditorium in Flint. There were salvation musicals given by Francis and Charles Hunter, Charismatic performers. They also gave financial 71 support to the distribution of Bibles in India. Another strategic mechanism they embarked upon for spiritual enrichment was satellite Bible training from a Bible school in Texas and adopting a local low income housing facility for an outreach children's ministry in the Flint community. The one area that helped Judson Baptist Church sustain itself, other than the charismatic belief and practices, was their organizational structure, both formal and informal. Their organizational structure is based on traditional style church management. The pastor and other members informed me that during the original church schism half the members left and the other half stayed at First Baptist Church and this included people in management positions in the church. Therefore, when Judson Baptist Church organized its business structure, the structure included a pastor, a youth pastor, a secretary, a Board of Deacons and Deaconesses, a Board of Trustees, and a Board of Missions. The Board of Deacons is responsible for managing the spiritual affairs of the church, and the Board of Trustees manages the church financial affairs. In addition to Judson's main staff there is a Board of Deaconesses, a Minister of Visitation, an Administrator, a Gap Coordinator and a Christian Education Director. The Board of Deaconesses prepares sacraments and ministers and supports the Board of Deacons in managing the spiritual matters of the church. The duties of the Minister of Visitation is to care for the welfare of the sick and the shut in. The Gap Coordinator supervises and coordinates a children’s ministry for a local low income housing facility that was adopted by Judson Baptist Church in promoting the message of salvation. The Christian Director manages the youth church and church library. Judson's formal organization represents the institutionalizing of spiritual gifts other than speaking in tongues. The informal organization supports the practicing of these gifts by both the leadership and the members in their community. In the formal organization, these gifts are an active part of their services. Specific time is allotted 72 to administer to the specific needs whether they are healing, prophecy, words of knowledge, teaching, along with other spiritual gifts. The institutionalizing of the Spiritual gifts at Judson Baptist Church is a continuance commitment mechanism of positive cognitive orientation of their members to be attached to the charismatic religious system. The members, as well as the leadership, are bound up in the role together in the administering of Spiritual gifts that is rewarding both to the church and the individual. The freedom of practicing of the Spiritual gifts is what created an attraction to people in the Burton, Flint and Davison areas who wanted the charismatic experience. Members of Judson Baptist Church sacrificed their mainstream religion family to belong to a charismatic church, and they invested both their time and assets to the church and the charismatic beliefs and practices. Kanter refers to investment as the process that provides the individual with a stake in the organization. He or she commits his or her “profit to the organization, so leaving it will be costly.”55 The members financial investment to the church is through tithes and offerings. Judson Baptist Churches teaches that a tenth of ones net earnings are to be given to the church as tithes, and offerings are monies given for benevolent purposes to help members in the church and people in the community who may have special needs such as food, heating, and shelter. Other investments made are members continual participation in Spiritual gifts. They invest their time in the practicing of these gifts within the membership. They are integrated in the system since their time and economics are woven into the structure. The members are stakeholders in Judson Baptist Church and the members have stake in Judson Baptist Church operation. The organization structure coupled with the charismatic beliefs and practices was the drawing attraction for people who wanted to be vested in Judson Baptist Church charismatic beliefs and practices system. The problem they encountered is that the second generation members are not totally committed to the same set of 73 norms. They are those people who Lyle Schaller refer to as commuters who will travel as long as 20 minutes to find a church that is attractive. The second generation church goers ignores denominational labels and searches for those churches that meet their needs. The fulfilling of the new members interest represent the firlfillment of religious and personal needs. Judson Baptist Church commitment was attached to the fulfillment of the religious needs with not enough attention given to their personal needs, and standards drives competition between the old norms and the new norms with changing commitment. Their organizational structure encompassed activities to include newer members involvement, but they did not employ concrete strategies that provided them with gratification for securing commitment. Judson Baptist Church was weak in strategy development for group cohesion essential for commitment and community, and continual membership growth. The diversity of outreached strategies they employed did not translate into concrete spiritual practices to build strong commitment for Judson Baptist Church. These strategies had a great deal of value in supporting and promoting the charismatic beliefs, but they were too abstract to contribute to Judson Baptist Church’s ability to continually satisfy its members, enhance continual membership growth, reveal commitment and community. Judson Baptist Church initially showed promise of a utopian community in their early existence. They had what Kanter’s research described as high member involvement despite the external competition, which did not affect their charismatic ideals. However, the potential of utopian community was lost through the emergence of growth. There was major changes in technology capacity to project faith on to the airwaves which brought changing opportunities. Additionally there were other denominations providing quality services and other marketable attractions. There are three kinds of commitment Kanter emphasized that are important for success for maintaining optimal social existence. Cognitive- 74 continuance commitment is commitment to social roles or position in a social system, with no affectivity of evaluation attached to the role; the role merely has a positive valence, that a person perceives that it is worth while, to maintain membership in the group. Cathectic cohesion commitment is attachment to social relationships, which absorb the individuals’ firnd affectivity, but again do not have internal moral imperatives attached to them. Cathectics cohesion commitment is built through personal interaction, fiiendship, shared activitiec. Evaluative-control commitment is commitment to norms, the values and inner convictions which morally obligate the individual.56 Where they continue to not do so well is in forming evaluative- commitment control- commitment and this became clear when the pastor retired and no stable authority figure took place. Members do not ignore eternal influence on group life which can affect commitment to norms, the values and inner convictions that obligate the member. The enhancement to membership growth was jeopardized when older members did not secure newer members’ evaluative orientation, redefining symbolic environment so that the church demands was considered right in terms of their self identity and obedience to the charismatic order. By not redefining evaluative orientation it resulted in what Kanter calls mortification. It is a process that emphasis the smallness before the greatness of the organization. The institutionalizing the charismatic beliefs and practices was not adequate for commitment for new members because it did not satisfy their intellectual and emotional needs. Therefore newer members did not totally surrender to the norms and values of the church, thereby not completely attaching themselves to Judson Baptist Church Many of the strategies were instituted when they were in a period of rapid growth between 1975 and the mid 1980’s. During the growth stage the leadership and the congregation were immersed in the charismatic fervor on worship style and practices. The commitment mechanism that generated strong commitment for its 75 members was the construction of the church building for the freedom of charismatic expression. They instituted strategies to meet temporarily in a Davison Junior High School for Sunday morning services, and they met at a store front building on Lapeer Road for their Wednesday night services. They relinquished their membership from First Baptist Church and other Protestant churches to build Judson Baptist Church. Their motivation to remain as a charismatic church is consistent with the reasons that brought about the emergence of Judson Baptist Church. However, the diversity of strategies and the unclear vision served to weaken its communal existence to the extent that they suffered dramatic membership loss. There were signs of Judson Baptist Church’s weakened communal state as early as the late 1970’s, when the membership level became stagnated and entered into a plateaued condition until approximately 1987, at which time a decline in membership was more noticeable during the Sunday morning worship services. Around 1988, a split occurred in the congregation when a large number of the choir members detached themselves from the church. The church itself went into a freefall state also during 1988. The weaknesses as we have seen, the reason that was given in the interview sessions was that there was a difference of opinion concerning the time allotted for singing and leading the expressive ceremonies portion of the services. As a result of this discrepancy their church membership decreased from approximately 600 members to around 500 members. Additionally, in late 1988, the assistant pastor left as a result of being removed by the leadership. The reason expressed was that the assistant pastor did not perform some of this contractual duties other than teaching. The membership experienced further decline to around 400 members. Around 1989 and 1990, a minister who was a retired insurance executive from California, served as Judson Baptist Church’s interim pastor. This minister was married to a relative of the person who donated the land for building Judson Baptist Church. He as well as some of the members wanted him to become pastor, but the 76 interim pastor could not apply for position as pastor. Others felt that he was using his family influence to obtain position as pastor. Again there was disagreement among the members and interim pastor resigned fiom that position in order to be considered for the pastor position. The membership voted and he was not chosen. The membership further declined to approximately 300 members. Another minister from the east coast was hired by the leadership around 1991. His ministry was very different fiom that of historical Judson Baptist Church pastors, wherein his focus was a type of “street ministry” where he appealed to those who were on drugs or other related problems. Even though he was a professed charismatic minister he was terminated by the leadership in 1992, because he and Judson Baptist Church was not compatible. The membership had decreased further to approximately 150 members, a loss of seventy-five percent of the 1988 membership. In 1993 the leadership hired an interim pastor from the Assemblies of God educational area to allow the appropriate time for the pastorate search committee to research and select candidates for the church to consider. During this process the membership declined even further to approximately 100 members. The search for a pastor took approximately one year, and in 1993, another pastor was hired. This minister was from the Assemblies of God ministry and it was the first time he had ever held a position as pastor. He was a young minister approximately 38 years old. The leadership believed that Judson Baptist Church and this young ministers were aligned and that his Assemblies of God background would not be a deterrent. There were no plans for Judson Baptist Church to become a part of the Assemblies of God. Under the new pastor the membership had a slight growth to around 130 members. The church appeared to be healing its turbulent membership until an undercurrent began to surface that the pastor was trying to align their church under the Assemblies of God ministries. The leadership nor the church was in 77 agreement with this action, and once again the pastor was fired after serving from 1993 to the middle of 1995. In the fall of 1995, the pastor who had led Judson Baptist Church fiom the begining terminated his emeritus retirement status and resumed the position as pastor of Judson Baptist Church after a hiatus, during which Judson Baptist Church had eighty-three percent of the members it had at his retirement. He indicated that he was there by Divine appointment. His purpose to help Judson Baptist Church heal and that his work was not yet completed at Judson Baptist Church. He did not know how long that Divine appointment was to be, and that he will be there until indicated otherwise by the Holy Spirit. The leadership and the church appears to be satisfied with this arrangement. I saw members who left the congregation return to the Sunday morning worship, and the contributions have increased. The lack of stability in the pastorate leadership from late 1988 to the middle of 1995 definitely contributed to Judson Baptist Church’s membership decline. However, there is a variety of circumstances that also contributed to erosion. One is that charismatic fervor has spread across the religious community because the more charismatic practices were accepted in mainstream religion. The membership of these mainstream churches began to be included in a more participatory role in worship and ministering to each other’s needs. The worship became more expressive and included hand clapping during singing, playing of musical instruments and holding hands during prayer. These expressive traits were typically found in charismatic congregations, and now less intimidating versions are found in mainstream congregations. The economic state of the automotive industry contributed to Judson Baptist Church membership decline. The charismatic practices adopted in the mainstream churches that I visited in Burton, Flint, and Davison included additional musical instruments such as pianos, drums, and electronic keyboards. 78 In the 1974 time frame, the effects of the oil embargo created great stress in the automotive industry. The oil embargo sent high prices to the gas pumps, the demand for fuel efficient cars increased, and the big three automobile makers, General Motors, Ford, and Chysler did not produce small efficient cars at that time. This impact almost devastated the Genesee County community because it was the home of the Buick LeSabre and trucks with the large engines. This change in the market created turmoil in the area because the automotive industry dominated the market that provided employment for people in the Burton, Flint, and Davison communities. People were laid off, and they had to seek employment in other states or take lesser paying jobs for survival. People lost their homes, businesses went into bankruptcy and churches lost members, revenues and contributions. This economic downturn in the Burton, Flint and Genesee County communities impacted the potential of Judson Baptist Church to attract new members who wanted to become aligned to a charismatic congregation. During 1977 to approximately 1985 Judson Baptist Church began plateauing, and its membership started to undergo significant changes. This was also the beginning of the breakdown of commitment and community in the Judson Baptist Church religious environment and the evolving external social and economic problems. The issues surrounding these social concerns was power and leadership. Members were feuding about worship styles and the method in which it was carried out. There were differences of opinions concerning handling conflict, methods of teaching, and even charismatic greetings. Instability at each point in Kanter’s analysis of the issues a utopian community must solve were evident. Continuance commitment, allowing members to see rational or cognitive personal profit in continuing membership had died with the absence of a clear vision made clear with the departure of the pastor. Cohesion commitmen the “stick-togethemess” of the community fell to infighting about leadership and worship style. Control 79 commitment, involving acceptance of authority within the community and norms the leaders set -- Kanter’s evaluative orientation -- was devalued when leadership could not be maintained. Judson Baptist Church is confronted with some difficult considerations if they are to achieve commitment and community in a constant changing environment. There are basic structural foundation considerations that are inherent to building commitment, cohesion and growth within groups. The success of any church and/or community is strongly dependent on having a clear vision, concrete strategies, and process mechanisms to build commitment, growth, and have continual success. In my effort to draw some correlation between the state of the Charismatic Movement and Judson Baptist Church, I found that they both had a flourishing beginning, but they both deteriorated. The deterioration in membership occurred at a rapid rate over a very short period of time as external factors impacted them. They both had a clear concept of being a charismatic community that is committed to the charismatic beliefs and practices. There was nothing else to distinguish their community from any other evangelical group besides those specific charismatic beliefs and practices. The boundaries that had provided them with distinction were not clear. Regardless of Judson Baptist’s present state they have great potential to re- develop into a florishing charismatic community. The maintaining of their historicalexistence is of itself a celebrated success. Kanter’s research on empirical setting measures success by length of time in existence. A system had exist as a utopian community for at least twenty-five years in order to be considered successful.” Judson Baptist Church began its life in 1975 and is still alive and continues to function as a charismatic congregation. 80 Chapter 4 Endnotes 34. Interview with the Pastor, Judson Baptist Church, October 19, 1988. 35. Rosebeth Moss Kanter, Comminnemandflommnnity, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, p.65. 36. Interview with splinter group home owner, November 30,1988. 37. Interview with the Pastor, Judson Baptist Church, October 19, 1988. 38. Ibid. 39. Ibid. 40 Rosebeth Moss Kanter, WWW AmencarLSociolcgicalmsaeiation: V0133 No 34 August 1965 41. Ibid. p. 500. 42. Rosebeth Moss Kanter, W, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, p.67 43. Interview with the Pastor, Judson Baptist Church, October 19, 1988. 44. "Dispute Triggers Davison Church Split", W, June 25, 1975, p. A1. 45. Original members, Judson Baptist Church, October, 1988. 46. Ibid. 47. Ibid. 48. Lyle E. Schaller, “Megachurch,” W, March 5, 1990, p. 20. 49. Kanter, Commitmentandilcmmuninr P- 114-122- 81 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. Kanter, AmericmSocinggicalReyim Vol.33, No. 34, August, 1965, 513-516. Judson Baptist Church, “Belief”. Personal Observations at Judson Baptist Church Kanter, WVOUL No. 34, August, 1965, p.509. Kanter, WVOL33, No. 34, August, 1965, p.504. Ibid. p. 500. Ibid., p.502. 82 Chapter 5 Future Implications for the Charismatic Movement The historical development of Judson Baptist Church parallels the Charismatic Movement in many respects. Seekers of the charismatic experience went to splinter prayer groups to witness and participate in the phenomenon. People who received the charismatic experience continued to attend their mainstream church until mainstream members feared a charismatic movement would erupt within the church. This fear led to congregational splits. Charismatic congregations were formed out of the need to practice the charismatic beliefs. They grew very rapidly in their early existence. Their primary focus was charismatic beliefs and practices. Because Judson Baptist Church and the charismatics were micro focused, and did not attend to people’s other needs they declined almost as fast as they grew, consequently they became normalized. Some charismatic beliefs and practices, since being slain in the spirit or tongue- speaking are not accepted by mainstream religion, some charismatic beliefs and practices have been accepted in the mainstream religious Community. After the fervor subsided in both Judson Baptist Church and the Charismatic Movement, the of worship style in and of itself was no longer sufficient to retain a large congregation and provide for increased growth. While Judson Baptist Church and the Charismatic Movement as a whole were both very clear concerning their worship preferences, they did not exhibit this level of clarity with a specific vision supported by the implementation of concrete organizational strategies and process mechanisms. At least not after their church building was completed in 1976. These organizational strategies and process mechanisms are imperative for any organization, and it is especially important to the church. Their efforts should be concentrated on attracting those people who align with their vision and strategies. Their process 83 mechanisms should be continuously monitored for improvements to ensure that the necessary changes are made to fulfill the internal and external needs of their members are made. Judson Baptist Church, like the Charismatic Movement, in its early development grew so rapidly that the leaders did not have the experience base to cope with the dynamics that accompany accelerated growth. Their membership eroded drastically and today the leadership wrestles with normalization and the struggle to return to the vibrant, flourishing church they once were. Whatever mechanisms they establish within the community, they face constant bombardment by other charismatic congregations and the external religious environment. For example, those congregations that are large and have continual growth have flexible structures which adapt to the latest developments in technology, such as the electronic church and satellite ministry. While certain parts of large congregations continue to change the underlying basis for existence of their community continues to be a constant. An other implication for Judson Baptist Church to consider is that the people who started out with them in the charismatic Movement twenty years ago have grown older and some have died. This also poses a problem in maintaining commitment and community. The challenge is to employ those organizational strategies that attract diversity in age and ethnicity. A vision that aligns with the population is needed. Judson Baptist Church must create process mechanisms that will effectively integrate the experience of the mature member into the younger members; while making revisions to the strategies and process mechanisms as the Charismatic and external religious communities respond to changes in society. The difficulty with this is that the leadership has to keep abreast of the pulls in social life, and this includes technology, education, political, and economic reform. With this change in the religious environment the firture challenge of the charismatic congregations is for them to concentrate their efforts on that unique 34 characteristic that initially attracted people to the charismatic beliefs and practices and re- organize their strategies to produce vitality in the membership and achieve optimal growth. The following are proposed considerations for charismatic leadership: 1. Become astute in the exploitation of the Spiritual gifts with specific concentration on the particular Spiritual gifts that are unique to each charismatic church. 2. Orient to a vision that has concrete strategies for supporting the vision to obtain commitment. Research those religious organization that have excelled in this area. 3. Organize charismatic congregations around unique Spiritual gifts. The strength in organizing charismatic congregations around unique Spiritual gifts is that the individualized charismatic congregations will become Spiritual gift specialists, and function as a collective large church using all the gifts to meet the spiritual needs of the religious environment as a whole. The large charismatic church will be functioning according to the Scriptures. I Corinthians 12:12 explains that all Spiritual gifts are given by the selfsame supernatural Spirit and divided severally as the Spirit wills. Additionally, the working together of the Spiritual gifts are part of a whole, like the ear and the eye are part of the human body among other fimctioning parts, yet performing their own unique individual specialized functions. Operating as a large collective also promotes unity within the charismatic churches, and working in oneness produces strength. According to the Scriptures, there are diversities of Spiritual gifts, differences of administrations of gifts, and diversity of operations of the Spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:4:14, records: Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledgeby the same Spirit. To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit. To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another 85 divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond of fiee; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.57 These multifunctioning Spiritual gifts characterize charismatic strength. Focusing attention upon practicing and promoting that specific Spiritual gift that is unique to a charismatic church can effectively retain members while simultaneously growing charismatic membership. This technique is based on the particular Spiritual gift a charismatic congregation is highly effective in performing. Charismatic congregations are not proficient in every Spiritual gift outlined in I Corinthians 12, but they all have a gift that is dominant and practiced expertly in the membership. For example, Judson Baptist Church practices speaking in various kinds of tongues, and interpreting tongues, but the specific Spiritual gift that did the most good for this charismatic group is the Spiritual gift of “faith”. The exercising of this gift appeared to connect them to a relationship with a supernatural entity. This was most evident in their expressive ceremonies during their worship services. In this worship ceremony they believed that they were in the presence of God, and the evidence to that connection appeared to result in the tongue speaking followed by the interpretation of tongues. In my observation of this group they believed in supematural occurrences and spoke of them often. Judson Baptist Church believes. “Faith” is something that they hope for even though it can not be readily seen or proven scientifically. “Faith” is a supematural occurrence or intervention. They spoke of various instances of supernatural occurrences that happened among members in their congregation during worship services. By charismatic congregations aligning themselves according to specialized Spiritual gifts they would be developing a 86 methodology around identifying groups of people who have similar religious interests while extending the charismatic beliefs and practices to satisfy those individual needs. Concentration on the specific Spiritual gift unique to a charismatic congregation alone is not enough to ensure membership retention and growth. Lyle Schaller’s research on churches indicated that second generation of church goers place emphasis on congregations that have high quality physical facilities, preaching, music, teaching, and multifaceted programs that provide an array of services from nursery to children ministries to accommodate the total family. Additionally, second generation church goers place emphasis on the type of preaching and teaching that is directed at their lives or on those things which are heartfelt. It is not enough for the preacher to be scholarly in the Scriptures, he or she must be trained and astute in the areas of counseling, interpersonal relationships, administration, communications, and motivation. More importantly the preacher must be open to change and receptive to new ideas. This new breed of second generation charismatics is very well educated, and their expectations of the preacher is one of high academic standards, one who demonstrates professionalism, and one who communicates Scriptures applicable for today. Because society sets the standards for order and second generations are accustomed to and have a quest for direction and purpose to anchor their individual lives, charismatic congregations must establish standards for meeting their needs for Spiritual gifts. Therefore for future charismatics it is necessary to operate with a vision and defined strategies to accomplish the vision. The strategies should incorporate both social and religious practices that help generate and sustain commitment to the charismatic beliefs and practices. For example, the vision of the larger charismatic organization may be the promoting of a religious environment in which people may experience the charismatic beliefs, practices and worship styles without inhibition. The concrete strategy for supporting the vision by individual congregations is the Spiritual gift that is 87 unique to the membership and the specific way that Spiritual gift orders and defines the congregation. Using Judson Baptist Church, as an illustration, it is “faith”, their particular Spiritual gift, that defines them as a unique charismatic congregation. Every aspect of their religious church life demonstrates implications of “faith” for commitment from the building of the sanctuary to the Sunday worship. Through “faith” they built their church within one year. A place to freely worship was something hoped for, but did not know how it was going to be put into existence. The land was donated and financially the members contributed generously. Faith ordering and defining their existence can be seen in their demeanor upon entering the vestibule where a team of greeters welcome all who proceed through the doors. The greeters portray warm fiiendly, smiles imaging confidence of expecting to receive something, if no more than being lavished in a loving and caring environment. The demonstration of “faith” in their expressive ceremony of singing, praising, chanting and praying creates the state of looking forward to something, and that something is supematural intervention which connects with the individual through the speaking in tongues, as well as laying on hands as a vessel of transmission in the ministering to specific needs such as physical and emotional healing. Other concrete strategies that have implications for commitment to “faith” were shown through their witnessing programs, wherein they went into the community sharing with others the receipt of the charismatic experience through faith. The most difficult problem Judson Baptist Church faced had to do with pastoral succession. The leadership and membership were to prepared for the retirement of their pastor, and the change resulted in drastic membership decline. Schaller’s research on the megachurch suggests that finding a new senior pastor often is a problem for those churches that depend on denominational seminaries and/or administered pastorate placement systems. Judson Baptist Church depended on recommendations from the American Baptist Association, and the Assemblies of God referrals. The problem they 88 encountered was that the ministers selected represented the culture of the referring association and not Judson Baptist Church. Consequently, the end results was the dismissal of the pastor. The church leaders at Judson Baptist Church should search for those assistant or associate pastors that are not only functioning in charismatic congregations and aligned to their beliefs, practices, worship styles, but those who are also aligned to the culture of the church. The pastors who were chosen and later dismissed were aligned with their beliefs and practices, but the culture of Judson Baptist Church and the ministers was diametrically opposed. It would be advantageous if the minister could work with the senior pastor a minimum of six months prior to any separation. This will lessen disruptive activity that typically occurs when the pastor retire or leave the church. In this system the minister transitions into the senior pastorate position with familiarity of the culture, leadership and membership acceptance. 89 Chapter 5 Endnotes 54. Nelson, Won, Nashville: Thomas Nelson In., 1975 p.108]. 90 BIBLIOGRAPHY Abell,TroyD.,"1' ‘ Int-.1 II‘ .01“ -"1‘ o .:_ .u‘r'i ‘1 0.1": Appalaeln’a. Markham Press, Waco, TX, 1982. Ahlstrom. Sydney Es AReligicusHistonLoflheAmericanReaple New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972. Ammerman, Nancy Tatom,Brhle_B_elrexers._Enndamentahstsrn_the_Mcdern_1Morld New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987. Anderson. 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