CYBERJOURNAL FOR PENTECOSTAL-CHARISMATIC RESEARCH

THE ECUMENICAL QUEST OF PENTECOSTALISM

By David Bundy

Among the mainline churches, it has been a truism that Pentecostalism is anti-ecumenical, or, at best, marginally interested in the unity of the Church. Indeed, the primary theories about Pentecostal identity (sect theory, deprivation theory and eschatological preoccupation) conceal any concern for this-worldly ecumenism.⁽¹⁾ Such an estimation, it is argued here, is contrary both to the self-understanding of the tradition and to the complex global history of interaction with other traditions. To make this assertion is not new. Walter Hollenweger insisted that "the Pentecostal Movement started as an ecumenical revival movement within the traditional churches."⁽²⁾ Remarkably, however, there have been few discussions of the historical evidence.⁽³⁾ This essay documents aspects of the ecumenical quest of the Pentecostal movements with attention to the early vision of Pentecostalism in U.S.A. and Europe, the search for unity among Pentecostals in Europe and the U.S.A. with special attention to a previously unnoticed effort in Indianapolis, the developments of the post World- War II era as Pentecostalism reappeared in mainline churches as the "charismatic movement," and finally attention will be given to events of the last two decades.

THE EARLY PENTECOSTAL VISION

The earliest fascicle of The Apostolic Faith, in the initial introductory paragraph of the statement of faith, identified the new movement:⁽⁴⁾

The Apostolic Faith Movement. Stands for the restoration of the faith once delivered unto the saints--the old time religion, camp meetings, revivals, missions, street and prison work and Christian Unity everywhere.

The theme of "Christian Unity everywhere" continued an emphasis that had been quite constant within the American Holiness movement was evident in the earlier work of Charles F. Parham, one of the other founders of the "Apostolic Faith" tradition which evolved into Pentecostalism.⁽⁵⁾

Charles F. Parham (1873-1929). Parham had experienced the alienation of fights with the Methodist Episcopal Church, the internecine fighting within the Holiness movement (to which discord he was an active contributor!), as well as the inter-denominational conflicts between the more established churches of the era. He argued that unity could not be accomplished either by the subordination of the smaller groups to the larger or by particular schemes of organization.⁽⁶⁾

    Unity is not to be accomplished by organization or non-organization. Unity by organization has been tried for 1900 years and failed. Unity by non-organization
    has been tried for several years and resulted in anarchy, or gathered in small `cliques' with an unwritten creed and regulations which are often fraught with error and
    fanaticism.
   Continuing our prayers and studies for unity, we found that He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one. (Heb. 2:11).

Instead, he insisted, that unity was to be based on the spiritual experience of "Jesus Christ, source of all unity."⁽⁷⁾ He reminded the reader of the division of Israel into twelve tribes, a program which did not preclude united national action for the biblical Israel when that Israel was following the will of God. He observed:⁽⁸⁾

    ...we expect to see the time, when baptized by the Holy Ghost into one Body, the gloriously redeemed Church without spot or wrinkle, having the same mind,
     judgement, and speaking the same things, led by the true Elijah, shall go forth with the everlasting gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
    As there are counterfeiters of this unity and evangelization, we lift up our eyes to see God manifest the real.

William Joseph Seymour (1870-1922). Parham was discredited, already by late 1906, for a variety of reasons and allegations, in the movement he helped found. However, his theological and ecumenical concerns were, with inevitable modifications, continued.⁽⁹⁾ It is to The Apostolic Faith, the periodical published at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles from 1906-1908, which one must turn for data which was, at the beginning of Pentecostalism, considered authoritative for the new tradition throughout much of the world.⁽¹⁰⁾ This was not, even in the early period, the only Pentecostal voice. However, the Azusa Street Mission, its personnel and its publications had paradigmatic status for the first two years of the movement's history and its influence far outlived its publication period. Many of the contributions to The Apostolic Faith were anonymous. Some were signed and among these, the works of William J. Seymour deserve special attention. These provide an entré into the concerns of the Azusa Street Mission which he inspired and led.⁽¹¹⁾ While it is highly probable, on the basis of style and content, that some of the anonymous contributions are from his pen (especially the statements of faith) or precise transcriptions of his sermons, the uncertainty of provenance makes them less useful for our analysis.

Seymour believed the unity of the church was dependent upon the decisions and actions of the individuals within the corporate confines of the church; and, the eventual corporate entity had to be in submission to God, not to be identified with either human ideas or human constructions of power.⁽¹²⁾ After the individual's act of consecration to God resulting in justification, sanctification was to be sought to deal with original sin and, then, laying oneself on the altar, the individual became ready for "the baptism of the Holy Ghost."⁽¹³⁾ This was normative, as Seymour understood it, biblical spirituality. It was this individual experiential and doctrinal unity (nota bene, not uniformity) which provided a basis for corporate Christian unity. Only such a transformation of individuals and thereby of the church, with a concomitant renewal of energy and power for the tasks of the church (to care for the sick, aid the poor and pursue the peace)⁽¹⁴⁾could fulfill the promise of "the latter rain" of God's Spirit upon all humanity which would transform all into "co-worker[s] with the Holy Ghost."⁽¹⁵⁾ The problems detracting from true Christian unity were as old, he suggested, as the description of churches provided in the first three chapters of the Apocalypse.⁽¹⁶⁾ In the sermon on "Christ's Messages to the Church" he described in detail the pitfalls into which congregations and individuals could fall. The result of disobedience to God was disunity and a failure to fulfill God's goal for the church. In the last fascicle of The Apostolic Faith published under his leadership, he wrote:⁽¹⁷⁾

    Apostolic Faith doctrine means one accord, one soul, one heart. May God help every child of His to live in Jesus's prayer: `That they all may be one, as Thou,
    Father, art in Me and I in Thee; that they may all be one in us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. Praise God! O how my heart cries out to God
    in these days that He would make every child of His see the necessity of living in the 17th chapter of John, that we may be one in the body of Christ, as Jesus has
    prayed.

THE EARLY EUROPEAN PENTECOSTAL EXPERIENCE

Thomas Ball Barratt 1865-1940). It was Thomas Ball Barratt, founder of Pentecostalism in Norway, most of Europe and much of the so-called "Third-World," who realized that Christian unity was a particular complex issue for Pentecostals.⁽¹⁸⁾

He himself had been expelled from the Methodist Episcopal Church for accepting the Pentecostal understanding of Christianity. Joining him and other Methodists in Pentecostal exile were former members of the Salvation Army and the Catholic Church as well as Baptists, and Lutherans. In other countries [Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Egypt, Syria, England, Estonia, Poland, India] he met persons coming to Pentecostalism from even more diverse backgrounds. He observed that these persons brought theological and ecclesiological values with them to their new expression of faith. Barratt realized that the diversity, albeit desirable, posed a significant challenge to unity among Pentecostals, and especially to any representation of Pentecostal views in the larger world. How could Pentecostals relate to each other, value the diversity and avoid the pitfalls of rigid uniformity? Barratt also had no desire to repeat his experience of the heavy handed control of the Methodist Episcopal Mission Board and so was committed, from the beginning to a radical congregationalist ecclesiology.⁽¹⁹⁾

Barratt proposed to his fellow Pentecostal leaders in early 1908, a "Spiritual Alliance," and then published in October of that same year the text of his call for a "Spiritual Alliance" among Pentecostals.⁽²⁰⁾

This, he envisioned, would allow each national Pentecostal Movement to find its own identity within its own cultural structures while recognizing the mission and integrity of other expressions of the movement. No one would speak "ex-cathedra" for the whole and yet the leaders of the various groups could take a common stand on issues of mutual concern. There would be no infra-structure to be supported. Barratt had no desire to establish a Pentecostal bureaucracy in Norway, much less in Europe or the larger world. His plan would allow interested parties to cooperate in structures designed to further the common mission of the tradition, especially, as Barratt understood it, mission in areas where Pentecostalism had not yet been introduced. Thus following the suggestion of Barratt to British Pentecostal leader A.A. Boddy in early 1908, the Pentecostal Missionary Union was developed by British Pentecostal Cecil Polhill.⁽²¹⁾ Barratt would later find this arrangement unsatisfactory, but that is another story.

The European Leaders Meetings. Also at the suggestion of Barratt, and at the invitation of Pastor Meyer of the Strand Mission in Hamburg and a number of women in Hamburg, at least fifty European Pentecostal leaders met from 8-11 December 1908 in Hamburg to discuss a number of issues, primarily pastoral, historical, and theological concerns. Barratt's efforts to encourage more intense cooperation between independent centers came to naught for the moment primarily because of the hesitations expressed by the British A.A. Boddy.⁽²²⁾ These loosely defined "Leaders Conferences" met annually through 1911.

Early in 1911, Barratt's "An Urgent Call for Charity and Unity,"⁽²³⁾ was published in Confidence by the editor A.A. Boddy who had earlier refused to seriously consider the idea. Lest anyone should misconstrue the intent, Boddy contributed an editorial entitled "Unity not Uniformity."⁽²⁴⁾ Barratt's article expanded on ideas first promulgated in the 1908 missives and article:⁽²⁵⁾

    Must we everlastingly live our congregational lives in different communities, separated, not because of the growth and extension of the Kingdom, but because we
    cannot all see alike in every question?... We have to do with FACTS: that, people honestly professing to having received the Holy Ghost, do not agree in
    everything on doctrinal points. We have knowledge that we all "know in part and prophecy in part!" (I. Cor. xiii.9)... We must either find some form of union, or
    stand as separate bodies, and aim at some form of alliance between these.

In 1912, following the suggestions of Barratt, these meetings became the International Pentecostal Council, a structure which lasted until the outbreak of World War I.⁽²⁶⁾ The Council was, because of disagreements between the British and the Germans, unsatisfactorily and temporarily reconstituted in 1921 (Amsterdam). The meeting proved so difficult that the Council never met as a whole again although Barratt remained an active communicator, maintaining his correspondence and influence. It was eventually replaced, at the suggestion of the then elderly Barratt, by the Pentecostal European Conference (1939)⁽²⁷⁾ which continues to meet on a regular basis, now attracting thousands of participants. This organization still works on the basis of Barratt's 1908 plan!

THE INDIANAPOLIS EXPERIENCE

The decision of North American Pentecostals to organize into distinctive Pentecostal denominations was not easily made. Most early Pentecostal clergy had no official ordination or denominational recognition. The Holiness tradition of independent ministries whereby the clergy were recognized by those served, continued. Two primary factors initially served to encourage development of organizations in the U.S.A. The first was the availability of free or inexpensive railroad travel to ordained clergy of recognized denominations; the second was the racism in the larger society.⁽²⁸⁾ The Azusa Street Mission had insisted that there should be no more division between the races, an argument which was difficult to maintain in California, and impossible in the U.S. Midwest and South. For example, African American Indianapolis Pentecostal leader Ernest Lloyd narrowly escaped a lynching for performing an exorcism on a young "white girl."⁽²⁹⁾ Seymour, also an African American was severely criticized in the Indianapolis press for baptizing "white women" and was named as the aggravating factor in several high profile divorces because of these baptisms.⁽³⁰⁾ The African American and European American clergy traveling and ministering together were frequently harassed and/or imprisoned. C.H. Mason's Church of God in Christ was unable to offer any protection from such persecution.⁽³¹⁾ The Pentecostals were experiencing the difficulties incumbent in the efforts of minority groups with marginal social status to change dominant cultural structures and social practices. In Indianapolis it became necessary to have both African American and European American venues, as well as the interracial meetings at G.T. Haywood's Apostolic Faith Assembly, which by 1913, owned a building at the corner of Eleventh and Senate Streets seating 1000 persons.⁽³²⁾

Something was needed to provide larger scale organizational security. It was first decided to attempt regional organizations. Therefore between 15 and 22 June 1913, a "Convention and Campmeeting" was held at "Gibeah Bible School in Plainfield, Indiana, to form the Pentecostal Assemblies of Indiana and the Central States."⁽³³⁾ It is uncertain how many persons attended the meetings; the Gibeah Bible School, which still stands as a private residence, could not have accommodated many people but the 13 acres of grounds could have provided haven to numerous campers. It was only minutes on the interurban train from downtown Indianapolis. The racial composition of the participants in unknown, although most of Indiana was, then as now, primarily European American. G.T. Haywood, the African American Pentecostal leader of what must have been one of the largest Pentecostal congregations in North America, attended at least one afternoon and spoke to the assembled on John 21:16, "Feed My Sheep." His sermon, which was the keynote address, argued that competent pastoral leadership for the emerging congregations of Pentecostal believers was a necessity. There was, he asserted, "a dire need of shepherds--not cowboys who drive and whip up the cattle, but shepherds who will feed the flock."⁽³⁴⁾ It was the need to develop pastoral leadership and to facilitate the development of a pastoral ministry to consolidate the work of the Pentecostal evangelists which energized the gathering. It was clear that Pentecostals would have to function outside the churches which had rejected them and their message. They felt strongly the need to provide for those who had found a new spiritual and social identity in the Pentecostal camp. Haywood's sermon articulated clearly the agenda of the conference leaders, D. Wesley Myland, Director of the Gibeah Bible School, and J. Roswell Flower, Indianapolis resident, erstwhile law student and editor of The Christian Evangel. A committee of twelve was chosen on 21 June to "confer together and then prepare a statement and arrange an order of procedure for definite and systematic service in uniting and developing the work, and then to make a report at the next meeting of the convention."⁽³⁵⁾ The committee included, in addition to Myland and Flower, six men and four women clergy from Indiana.

The committee brought in a proposal with five recommendations: (1) "That the name of this movement in Indiana and the Central States be called THE ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLIES;" (2) "That the purpose of said Association...be to represent and propagate a full Pentecostal Gospel according to Apostolic Faith and practice in unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace...we invite all who desire to be better fitted for service...to unite with us as workers together with Christ...;" (3) "That an advisory committee be formed composed of representative members of local assemblies...for mutual fellowship and conference in the furtherance of the work of God committed to our care...;"⁽³⁶⁾ (4) "That a Board of Trustees be formed for the holding of the properties located at Plainfield, Indiana, know as `Gibeah Bible School and Home'..."; (5) that the officers include Myland (General Superintendent), Flower (General Secretary) and George R. Anthony (General Treasurer) and a "Vice-Chairman" to be appointed by the General Superintendent. These recommendations were presented to the gathering on Sunday, 22 June 1913, and accepted unanimously as "the first crystallization of a general desire of the Pentecostal saints throughout the state of Indiana."⁽³⁷⁾ A second meeting was scheduled 29 August to 7 September. The effort provided for corporate ownership of property and maintained congregational autonomy. No cooperative agenda was established beyond the goals of "mutual fellowship and conference."⁽³⁸⁾ The process of establishing unity within the diversity of the early Pentecostal movement had begun.

On a national level, things moved quickly. In 1914, J. Roswell Flower, the editor of The Christian Evangel and prime mover of the Indianapolis/Plainfield convention became the dominant force in the establishment (1914) of the Assemblies of God, U.S.A. and his periodical became the official organ of the new denomination, The Pentecostal Evangel.⁽³⁹⁾ G.T. Haywood attended the Hot Springs, AK, constitutional meeting of the Assemblies of God, but soon thereafter led most of Indianapolis Pentecostalism into the "Oneness" or "Jesus Only" perspective.⁽⁴⁰⁾ He became the leader of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World which has its international headquarters in Indianapolis. The denomination has continued to be active in ecumenical endeavors.

PENTECOSTAL ECUMENISM AND THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT

The origins of the spread of Pentecostalism into the established churches of Britain and North America can be traced primarily to the ecumenical work of two individuals: (1) Donald Gee, a London shopkeeper and then farm worker (alternative service in World War I) turned British Pentecostal Pastor; and (2) David du Plessis, South African President of the South African Pentecostal Mission. In other areas of the world, the situation was different although the influence of both individuals was widespread.⁽⁴¹⁾ In an interview, Flemish theologian and influential theorist for Vatican II, Piet Franzen, when asked which Protestants had had the most influence on the Council, responded immediately with two names: Albert Outler and David du Plessis. The latter he observed "taught us the life of the Spirit.⁽⁴²⁾ Outside the English speaking world, two other figures played prominent roles. Lewi Pethrus, the creative and independent minded Swedish Pentecostal theologian, is but one of many examples of the outworking of the ecumenical Tendenzen of the Pentecostal movement as he influenced the development of the Charismatic movement. He supported Donald Gee, but was suspicious of the intentions and self-aggrandizing rhetoric of du Plessis. Lewi Pethrus conceptualized and worked for an active political and ecumenical role for Pentecostals in Sweden. Walter Hollenweger, Professor Emeritus of the University of Birmingham, England, who related to each of the above leaders, led the Pentecostals into ecumenical developments in still other directions. All worked to develop and maintain ecumenical relationships, both between Pentecostal traditions and between the Pentecostal churches and the established churches.

Donald Gee (1891-1966). In January 1921, Gee made his first contacts in the larger Pentecostal world at the International Pentecostal Conference at Amsterdam.⁽⁴³⁾ The first international Pentecostal leaders meeting after World War I afforded Gee the opportunity to meet Pentecostal leaders such as Polman, Voget, Paul, Barratt, Pethrus and Steiner with whom he established lifelong friendships.⁽⁴⁴⁾ This was his first Pentecostal ecumenical effort and a particularly difficult meeting because of residual grief about the War. In addition to knowing the Pentecostal theologians and their works, Gee had earlier encountered established church figures by reading their scholarly work. He was a self-made theologian and scholar, having read widely in theology, devouring the works of Anglicans and Methodist authors.

The telegram which arrived one morning in January 1928 inviting him to Australia and New Zealand catapulted him onto the world stage. He traveled to Australia, New Zealand and the United States before returning via New York in time to celebrate the New Year at his parish at Bonnington Toll, Scotland.⁽⁴⁵⁾ The series of sermons which had provided the backbone of his presentations was published in the USA.⁽⁴⁶⁾

The reports of his ministry "down under" and in the U.S.A. prompted invitations from Lewi Pethrus to Sweden and return engagements to the United States. The publishing record continued to grow with frequent contributions to Redemption Tidings. He also published The Fruit of the Spirit⁽⁴⁷⁾ and The Ministry-Gifts of Christ.⁽⁴⁸⁾ Unable to fulfill roles as both pastor and international evangelist/teacher, he resigned from his only pastorate on 10 February 1930. That year he visited Sweden and the U.S.A. again. In 1931, Gee ministered in ten countries, beginning a decade-long relationship with the Bible School in Danzig where he taught nearly every year until it was closed by the Nazi invasions.⁽⁴⁹⁾ The following year Gee visited numerous countries including France where he lectured at the invitation of Louis Dallière to the Theological Faculty at Montpellier on the development of Pentecostalism and on Pentecostal theology.⁽⁵⁰⁾

By the end of 1933, Gee's transformation to a Pentecostal theologian with international stature was complete. He was a published author in at least five languages. This metamorphosis was recognized by his colleagues who, in 1934, elected him vice-chairman of the Assemblies of God of Great Britain and Ireland and appointed him editor of Redemption Tidings. The latter gave him a platform from which to communicate bi-weekly to his church. There was always at least an editorial from his prolific pen until he was forced, because of illness, to halt his involvement with the periodical in December 1936.

During these early years of peripatetic ministry, Gee came to accept Barratt's analysis of the global, yet diverse, nature of the Pentecostal movement. He noted that in Scandinavia, Poland, France, Australia, Germany, South Africa and the U.S.A. there were customs of liturgy and ecclesial structures as well as evangelistic technique different from those in Britain. However, the common commitments were apparent. In 1935 he observed:⁽⁵¹⁾

The absolutely world-wide character of the Pentecostal revival, probably unique in history, is a remarkable fact of which the significance cannot but impress the open and thoughtful mind. This is not a `Welsh' or an `American' or an `Eastern' revival. It is a WORLD-WIDE revival.

Living out the implications of this observation required continued travels and a forum for communications between the diverse branches of the larger Pentecostal tradition. Unity conferences were organized at London for the competing British Pentecostal Churches. He envisioned an international conference which would carry on where the 1921 Amsterdam conferences had stopped. It was by his continued importuning with the assistance of T.B. Barratt, and after Gee agreed that the first meeting should include only Europeans, that Lewi Pethrus issued invitations to the 1939 European Pentecostal Conference at Stockholm. The Conference was chaired by Barratt. Gee served as one of the three vice-chairpersons and addressed the Conference several times.⁽⁵²⁾

This was a moment of calm before World War II engulfed Europe and broke apart the bonds made during two decades. The War and its aftermath were seized upon by Gee as a context within which to reaffirm the nature and mission of Pentecostalism.⁽⁵³⁾ He realized also that the narratives of the origins of the tradition which had energized it in its mission were becoming forgotten. This awareness led him to write The Pentecostal Movement⁽⁵⁴⁾ and to write of his concerns in the magazines Pentecost and Study Hour. The effort to re-envision Pentecostalism would lead to significant conflict and to the rejection of his leadership within the British Assemblies of God.⁽⁵⁵⁾

In Zurich, 4-9 May 1947, Gee participated in the realization of a long-time dream, the first World Pentecostal Conference. Delegates gathered from all over the world, hosted by the pastor, theologian and historian Leonard Steiner. At this conference, relief structures were organized for portions of Europe ruined by the War. Gee's friend and admirer, David du Plessis, was elected secretary of the World Pentecostal Conference and Donald Gee was named founding editor of the new international periodical, Pentecost. This gave him a global forum for his ideas and relative freedom from the increasingly narrow denominational strictures. From 1947 to 1966, Gee's wit and wisdom, especially the carefully written editorials, were avidly and/or nervously awaited by thousands of readers. In a period where Pentecostal journalism was descending into denominationally focused irrelevance, Gee provided a daring alternative.

These editorials were not always well accepted. For example, he began a discussion of the World Council of Churches Assembly in Amsterdam, which he attended as an observer, with a positive reference to Karl Barth. The report and the comment were condemned by anti-ecumenicals within the American Assemblies of God.⁽⁵⁶⁾ Above all, he argued, the Pentecostal Churches had to learn how to communicate their perspective in the modern world; one could not remain isolated and expect to win converts to the life of the Spirit. This intellectual independence was also reflected in his discussions of the Pentecostal doctrines.⁽⁵⁷⁾

In 1954, he, together with J. Roswell Flower, attended the Evanston Assembly of the World Council of Churches. Gee went as a journalist; Flower was an official observer of the Assemblies of God. Gee observed the disunity within the WCC, but lamented, "Before the Pentecostal churches can criticize others, they should confess their own often ineffectual struggles to achieve unity among themselves."⁽⁵⁸⁾ He also noted that there was no reference to the Pentecostal churches during the Assembly. They were, in that context, unseen, irrelevant and without a witness. This situation was created, he believed, in part by the acceptance of the "radical attitude of some extreme fundamentalists who see nothing in the WCC but a movement towards anti-Christ...(which) does little service to the truth."⁽⁵⁹⁾ He also heard the need of the churches for renewal by the Holy Spirit. He argued:⁽⁶⁰⁾

    The Pentecostal churches, by their special testimony to the baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire as a present experience for Christians believe they have something
    to offer of urgent importance to the whole Church. They ask forgiveness where their message has failed by its incompleteness and method of presentation. They
    pray for themselves that God will give them yet mightier outpourings of the Power that fell at Pentecost.

This evolution, from sectarian to budding ecumenical statesman, did not please the nouveau fundamentalist leaders on either side of the Atlantic. Gee was attacked by the new American General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, U.S.A., T.F. Zimmerman, earlier a pastor in Indianapolis, who argued the any contact with other churches involved compromise.⁽⁶¹⁾ Zimmerman intimidated the younger European leaders into forbidding Gee to represent the World Pentecostal Conference at the New Dehli Assembly of the WCC (1961). Gee rejoined, "These are not days of compromise, but they are days of deep searching of heart.… The Spirit of Christ will lead us to examine very carefully the things that separate us from our fellow Christians."⁽⁶²⁾ Gee's colleague, David du Plessis, was disfellowshipped by the American Assemblies of God for his continued involvement with other Churches. This rejection of the global vision of Barratt, Gee, du Plessis, and Hollenweger, inter alia, meant, it can be argued, that the Assemblies of God, U.S.A., abrogated any significant leadership role for the global Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. From the 1960's onward, the Assemblies of God became identified globally by what they were against, rather than by what they were for. Efforts continue to be made to control action and thought in vulnerable contexts through the allocations of funds. The long term influence appears to minimal, and certainly is not definitive or paradigmatic for global Pentecostal theology, ecclesiology and mission.

The network of Gee's contacts with a wide of churchperson's in Britain, together with his widely read publications had a stimulatory and formative influence on the British Charismatic movement. Gee's thought and example led to the development of a corps of Pentecostal scholars in Europe committed to.interaction with scholars from other traditions. Gee would begin to see this evolution in the work of his student Walter Hollenweger who enrolled, over the protests of his Pentecostal colleagues, at the University of Zurich.

David du Plessis (1905-1987). The success of David du Plessis as an unofficial envoy of Pentecostalism during 1959 to the established churches was not without a preparatory context. Already in 1955, Henry P. van Dusen, President of Union Theological Seminary, had understood the importance of the Pentecostal movement for the development of Christianity. In an article in Christian Century he described his "Caribbean Holiday" during which he had seen Pentecostals active everywhere and was prepared to argue that they could no longer be considered "fringe sects," that they had "spiritual ardor," an "immediate experience of the living Christ," and "intense apocalypticism," together with a "life-commanding, life-transforming, seven day-a-week devotion."⁽⁶³⁾ He further observed that two "illusory assumptions" were shared by mainline churches and theologians: (1) that "this [Pentecostalism] is a dangerous phenomenon, sub-Christian in theology and ethos;" and, (2) that "this is a temporary and passing phase which will shortly be civilized and domesticated within traditional Protestantism."⁽⁶⁴⁾ Another article in Life Magazine articulated the thesis and observations in a more popular context.⁽⁶⁵⁾

As indicated above, not all Pentecostals were ready for an ecumenical adventure. The Assemblies of God (USA) identified with the burgeoning National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). This organization, although begun by a Free Methodist who was serving as superintendent of seven Pentecostal churches,⁽⁶⁶⁾ was dominated by anti-intellectual anti-Holiness, anti-Pentecostal, and anti-Catholic Fundamentalist influences.⁽⁶⁷⁾ It was through the influence of J. Roswell Flower that the Assemblies of God began to associate with the NAE. However, it was especially the ascension of Thomas Zimmerman to General Superintendent of the denomination which brought the Assemblies of God into the Fundamentalist orbit with its radical antipathy for the World Council of Churches. Zimmerman arranged for the Assemblies of God to change its creed for the only time in history, to incorporate Fundamentalist elements. The change of perspective of J. Roswell Flower, who attended the Evanston (1954) meeting of the World Council of Churches and was impressed by what he saw, was too late to change the direction of the Assemblies of God. In an as yet unpublished report, he observed:⁽⁶⁸⁾

The question remains, after seeing all these bodies of Protestant faith here in one Council, if the Conservatives should abandon the WCC to the Liberals, or whether they should take part in it, and dominate it for Christ and the Bible. They can dominate it if they have a mind to. The Liberals are not in the saddle, and the Council is widely representative and democratic. It is far from an autocratically controlled body.

Into this context stepped the most unlikely of persons, David du Plessis. He grew up in South Africa, served as General Secretary of the Apostolic Faith Mission and principal of the Bible School. He was called, through Gee's influence, to organize the World Pentecostal Conference in Zurich in 1947. He continued to serve as Secretary of the World Pentecostal Conference until 1958.⁽⁶⁹⁾ After organizing the conference and relief efforts by Pentecostal churches in Northern Europe, Britain and the U.S.A. to the harder hit areas of the Continent, he moved to the U.S.A. and worked at various Pentecostal institutions.

Throughout the period 1955-1965 he spoke continuously in mainline church institutions and seminaries. including Union Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, Yale Divinity School and Christian Theological Seminary. Van Dusen, John MacKay (President of Princeton Theological Seminary) and W.A. Visser 't Hooft served as mentors and introduced him to the WCC context. For his efforts at communicating the Pentecostal vision outside Pentecostalism, Thomas Zimmerman arranged (1962) for him to be defrocked as an Assemblies of God minister. He did however retain his ordination in the South African Apostolic Faith Mission and membership in a California Assemblies of God congregation. Finally in 1980, his ministerial credentials were restored.

In the meantime, du Plessis had been active in Vatican II and had mentored a generation of Charismatic and Pentecostal leaders throughout the world. The last fifteen years of his life were focused on the Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue. Since 1972, individual Pentecostal scholars and theologians have met annually with their Catholic counterparts to explore issues of mutual concern. David du Plessis co-chaired the first ten sessions and was the moving force behind their success. Many participants from the Assemblies of God were disciplined by their church, but other groups have been very supportive of the participation of their representatives.⁽⁷⁰⁾ The results of the ministry of du Plessis included the development of the Charismatic movement in the "mainline" churches as well as the reawakening of a vision of ecumenical discussion among the Pentecostals.

Lewi Pethrus (1884- 1974). A number of persons could be chosen as examples of Pentecostal ecumenical participation. However, Lewi Pethrus, one of the founders of Pentecostalism in Sweden and its most influential leader until his death in 1974, has been selected because he was very influential in Europe and throughout the world and because he has been treated unfairly, I believe, in Pentecostal historiography. Because of his refusal to participate in the development of Pentecostal denominations or agencies, as well as because of his disputes with Swedish Pentecostal intellectuals, he has been cast as the Pentecostal leader scholars like to disparage.⁽⁷¹⁾

Lewi Pethrus was heavily influenced by T.B. Barratt and shared much of his vision for Pentecostalism. From the beginning he endeavored to bring together, within a radical congregationalist ecclesiology, the Pentecostal believers from a variety of traditions. For example, he endeavored to cooperate both with the Holiness Movement Church and the Örebro Missions-förening.⁽⁷²⁾ He participated in all European Pentecostal ecumenical activities, although he was less than enthusiastic about the World Pentecostal Fellowship because of his not unfounded concerns about American ecclesiastical imperialism.

In 1955, alarmed by the developing post-World War II secularization of Swedish society, and feeling the need for a Christian response,⁽⁷³⁾ he went to the newly elected bishop of Stockholm, Sven Danell. Together they established an organization called Kristet Samhälls Ansvar (KSA = Christian Responsibility in Society). This provided a powerful national platform which had some success in electing Pentecostals (from 1959) and active Lutherans to the Parliament. After 1960, Pethrus abandoned the KSA to advocate the participation of individual Pentecostals in the arenas of politics and government.⁽⁷⁴⁾ In 1965, an ecumenical Christian oriented party, the Kristen Demokratisk Samling (Christian Democratic Party) was established through the influence of Pethrus. It has been led for most of its history by a Pentecostal. However, Swedish Pentecostals represent a number of parties, both Socialist and non-Socialist at all levels of government.⁽⁷⁵⁾

It can be argued that in Sweden as in the U.S.A., the Charismatic movement received impetus and support from the involvement of a Pentecostal, in this instance Lewi Pethrus, in ecumenical activities.⁽⁷⁶⁾ The ecumenical contact of Gee, du Plessis, Hollenweger, and Pethrus, inter alia, interpreted Pentecostal theological claims and worship to a wide audience among the established churches. Their work was essential to the establishment of the Charismatic movement in the older churches.

FINDING A PLACE IN THE ECUMENICAL WORLD

In 1961, the first Pentecostal churches joined the WCC: the Iglesia Pentecostal de Chile and the Misión Iglesia Pentecostal (also of Chile).⁽⁷⁷⁾ However it was through the efforts of Walter J. Hollenweger,⁽⁷⁸⁾ protegé of Gee and du Plessis, who served (1965-1971) as the first Secretary for Evangelism in the Division of World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches, that Pentecostal churches began a world-wide relationship to the Council. Hollenweger had served as a minister in the Swiss Pentecostal Mission (1949-1958) and had written a ten volume dissertation Die Pfingstbewegung (Zürich, 1968). Ordained (1962) as a Swiss Reformed Pastor, he worked to interpret the "ecumenicals" and Pentecostals to one another. For example, he hosted (October 1966) a meeting of twenty-three European Pentecostal leaders and twelve WCC representatives at Gunten, Switzerland.⁽⁷⁹⁾

Eventually his efforts began to bear results. In 1969, the Igreja Evangélica Pentecostal "O Brasil para Cristo" joined the WCC. Following suit were the Iglesia de Dios (Argentina) which became a member in 1980, Missão Evangélica Pentecostal de Angola in 1985, and the Iglesia de Misíones Pentecostales de Chile in 1990. In addition, other Pentecostal churches established relationships with mainline churches. For example the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has had long term relationships with five Latin American Pentecostal Churches: (1) Unión Evangélica Pentecostal Venezolana; (2) Iglesia Cristiana Pentecostal de Cuba; (3) Iglesia de Dios, Argentina; (4) Iglesia Pentecostal de Chile; and, (5) Misión Cristiana Unida Pentecostal de Nicaragua. It is important to note that not all of the hesitation about Pentecostal involvement in the WCC has come from the Pentecostal side. The possibility of hundreds of independent Pentecostal churches dominating the council has led to reservations on the part of several European and at least two North American churches about further involvement.⁽⁸⁰⁾

The most interesting developments in Pentecostal ecumenical endeavor have been in Latin America.⁽⁸¹⁾ Pentecostal churchpersons have been involved in the World Council of Churches in Geneva as staff, in the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), and in the Encuentro Pentecostal Latinoamericano, an occasional gathering of church leaders sponsored in part by the WCC.

THE QUEST

Ecumenism has been an essential and foundational quest of Pentecostalism. Despite the pressures, from within and without, to succumb to the temptation of sectarian values, the tradition has maintained an ecumenical dimension as a core value. This has been necessary even to relate as individual ecclesial elements within the diverse tradition itself. However, for the rest there has been an intense desire (often defined and expressed in sectarian ways) to see the unity of all Christians for the accomplishment of the mission of the Church. This has been most easily undertaken in local communities where Pentecostal ministers have been active members of ministerial alliances. However, on a global level, through the leadership of William Seymour, Thomas Ball Barratt, Lewi Pethrus, Donald Gee, David du Plessis, and Walter Hollenweger, or more recently through the efforts of Carmelo Alvarez,⁽⁸²⁾ Gameliel Lugo,⁽⁸³⁾ Cecil M. Robeck,⁽⁸⁴⁾ Steven J. Land,⁽⁸⁵⁾ Cheryl Bridges-Johns,⁽⁸⁶⁾ Bishop James Tyson⁽⁸⁷⁾ and others, the ecumenical quest of Pentecostalism has remained vital. One final observation: there is less of a concern among Pentecostals for a unity of theological opinion (as per T.B. Barratt, cited above) than for common activity for the Kingdom of God. In other words, ecumenism for mission has precedence over ecumenism for koinonia.

1See for example the analyses of Robert M. Anderson, Vision of the Disinherited: The Making of American Pentecostalism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979); and, N. Bloch-Hoell, Pinsebevegelsen: En ondersøkelse av pinsebevegelsens tilblivelse, utvikling og saerpreg med saerlig henblikk på bevegelsens utformning i Norge (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1956), partially translated as, idem, The Pentecostal Movement: It's Origin, Development and Distinctive Character (Oslo: University of Oslo Press, 1964).

2. ² Walter J. Hollenweger, "The Pentecostal Movement and the World Council of Churches," Ecumenical Review 18(1966), 313. Given the loci of early Pentecostal development, it would have been more accurate to say that it was a revival movement on the fringes of the churches with an ecumenical agenda.

3. ³ See the essays of Christian Hugo Krust, "Pentecostal Churches and the Ecumenical Movement," The Uppsala Report, 1968 ed. Norma Goodal (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1968) and K. McDonnell, The Baptism in the Holy Spirit as an Ecumenical Problem (Notre Dame: Charismatic Renewal Services, 1972) as well as the unpublished essay of Cecil M. Robeck, "Name and Glory: The Ecumenical Challenge," Presidential Address, Society for the Pentecostal Studies, 4 Nov. 1983.

4 "The Apostolic Faith Movement," The Apostolic Faith 1,1(Sept. 1906), 2. Note that each of the forums of ministry mentioned were traditionally non-sectarian.

5 Charles F. Parham, A Voice Crying in the Wilderness (Baxter Springs, KS: Apostolic Faith Bible College, n.d.). This book was originally published in 1902 and reprinted in 1910. On Parham, see James Goff, Fields White unto Harvest: Charles F. Parham and the Missionary Origins of Pentecostalism (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1988).

6 Parham, A Voice Crying in the Wilderness, 62-65; the quote is from page 65.

7Parham, A Voice Crying in the Wilderness, 67.

8. ⁸ Parham, A Voice Crying in the Wilderness, 64-65.

9 There are an enormous number of early Pentecostal treatises on Christian unity. To cite them all would be impossible in the space available. Some of these cited in the unpublished essay of Cecil M. Robeck, "Name and Glory: The Ecumenical Challenge."

10. ¹⁰ Like as of Fire: (a reprint of the old Azusa Street Papers collected by Fred T. Corum (Wilmington, MA: n.p. 1981). An index was prepared by Wayne Warner and can be obtained from the Assemblies of God Archives, Springfield, MO.

11. ¹¹ Despite the significance of William J. Seymour, the African American leader of early Pentecostalism in Los Angeles, he has not received the scholarly attention he deserved. Perhaps the best treatment is that of Dale T. Irwin, "`Drawing All Together into One Bond of Love': The Ecumenical Vision of William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival," Journal of Pentecostal Theology 6(1995), 23-53. The forthcoming work of C.M. Robeck will address much more completely the role of Seymour in Los Angeles and within the larger context of Pentecostalism. The unpublished dissertation of Douglas J. Nelson ["For Such a Time as This: The Story of Bishop William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival," Ph.D. Diss. University of Birmingham, England, 1981] collected significant data, but the uncritical and hagiographical nature of the work has detracted from its usefulness. See the article of H.V. Synan, "Seymour, William Joseph," in Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988), 778-781. Articles by Seymour in The Apostolic Faith [= AF] included: "The Precious Atonement," AF 1,1(Sept.1906), 2; "The Way into the Holiest, AF 1,2(Oct. 1906), 4; "River of Living Water," AF 1,3(Nov. 1906), 2; "In Money Matters," AF 1,1(Nov. 1906), 3; "Counterfeits," AF 1,4(Dec. 1906), 2; "Behold the Bridegroom Cometh!" AF 1,5(Jan 1907), 2; "Receive Ye the Holy Ghost," AF 1,5(Jan 1907), 2; "Gifts of the Spirit," AF 1,5(Jan 1907), 2; "Rebecca: Type of the Bride of Christ," Af 1,6(Feb.-Mar. 1907), 2; "The Baptism with the Holy Ghost," AF 1,6(Feb.-Mar. 1907), 7; "The Holy Spirit: Bishop of the Church," AF 1,9(June-Sept. 1907), 3; "Letter to One Seeking the Holy Ghost," AF 1,9(June-Sept. 1907), 3; "The Marriage Tie," AF 1,10(Sept. 1907), 3; "Christ's Messages to the Church," AF 1,11(Oct. [1907]-Jan. 1908), 3; "Tho the Married: I Cor. 7," AF 1,12(Jan. 1908), 3; "Sanctified on the Cross," AF 2,13(May 1908), 2; "The Baptism of the Holy Ghost," AF 2,13(May 1908), 3; "The Holy Ghost and the Bride," AF 2,13 (May 1908), 4.

12.

12 W.J. Seymour, "The Holy Spirit: Bishop of the Church," AF 1,9(June-Sept. 1907), 3.

13. ¹³ W.J. Seymour, "The Way into the Holiest, The Apostolic Faith 1,2(Oct. 1906), 4; idem, "Receive Ye the Holy Ghost," AF 1,5(Jan. 1907), 2.

14. ¹⁴ W.J. Seymour, "Sanctified on the Cross," AF 2,13(May 1908), 2; idem, "The Baptism of the Holy Ghost," AF 2,13(May 1908), 3.

15. ¹⁵ W.J. Seymour, "The Holy Ghost and the Bride," AF 2,13(May 1908), 4.

16. ¹⁶ "Christ's Messages to the Church," AF 1,11(Oct.[1907]-Jan. 1908), 3.

17. ¹⁷ W.J. Seymour, "The Baptism of the Holy Ghost," AF 2,13(May 1908), 3.

18.

18 On Barratt, see Thomas Ball Barratt, When the Fire Fell and An Outline of My Life (1927) [reprinted in The Works of T.B. Barratt (ed. D. Dayton; The Higher Christian Life, 4; New York: Garland, 1985)] and his memoirs T.B. Barratt, Erindringer (ed. Solveig Barratt Lange; Oslo: Filadelfiaforlaget, 1941). Studies include: N. Bloch-Hoell, Pinsebevegelsen, partially translated, without the chapter on Barratt, as, idem, The Pentecostal Movement; D. Bundy, "T.B. Barratt: The Methodist Years," Pentecostalism in the Context of the Holiness Revival (Wilmore: n.p., 1988), 62-75; idem, "T.B. Barratt's Christiania (Oslo) City Mission: A Study in the Intercultural Adaptation of American and British Voluntary Association Structures," Crossing Borders (Zurich: n.p., 1991), 1-15; idem, "Thomas B. Barratt and Byposten: An Early European Pentecostal Leader and His Periodical," in Pentecost, Mission and Ecumenism. Essays on Intercultural Theology (Hollenweger Festschrift; Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1992), 115-121; idem, "Spiritual Advice to a Seeker: Letters to T.B. Barratt from Azusa Street," Pneuma 14(1992), 159-171; idem, "Thomas Ball Barratt: From Methodist to Pentecostal," EPTA Bulletin 13(1994), 19-49; W.J. Hollenweger, Handbuch der Pfingstbewegung (Diss. Zürich, 1965-1967), § 05.02; idem, Enthusiastisches Christentum: Die Pfingstbwegung in Geschichte und Gegenwart (Zürich: Brockhaus, 1969) published into two significantly different versions: The Pentecostals. The Charismatic Movement in the Churches (1972) and, El Pentecostalismo, historia y doctrina (Buenas Aires: La Aurore, 1976); Solveig Barratt Lange, Et Herrens sendebud (Oslo: Filadelfiaforlaget, 1979).

19.

19 D. Bundy, "Thomas Ball Barratt: From Methodist to Pentecostal," EPTA Bulletin 13(1994), 19-49.

20.

20 T.B. Barratt, "Alliance-Aand," Byposten 5,21(Lørdag 24. oktbr. 1908), 81.

21.

21 T.B. Barratt, "En Pintse Missions-Forening," Byposten 6,3(1. februar 1909), 11.

22.

22 Reports on the Hamburg Conference were published in Pfingstgrüsse 1,1(Feb. 1909), 4-9. and 1,2(April 1909), 4-14; Confidence no. 9 (15 Dec. 1908), 24, and in "Special Supplement to `Confidence' No. 9," (December 1908), 1-4; the most detailed being that of T.B. Barratt, "Konferensen i Hamburg," Byposten 5,24(Lørdag 19 decbr. 1908), 94-95; 6,1(Lørdag 1 januar 1909), 2-3; 6,2(Lørdag 15 januar 1909), 7-8; 6,3(Lørdag 1 februar 1909), 11; 6,4(Lørdag 15 februar 1909), 13-14; G.R. Polman, "De conferentie te Hamburg," Spade Regen nr. 5(December 1908), 2-4.

23.

23 T.B. Barratt, "An Urgent Call for Charity and Unity," Confidence 4,2(February 1911), 29-31; 4,3(March 1911), 63-65.

24. ²⁴ A.A. Boddy, "Unity not Uniformity," Confidence 4,3(March 1911), 60.

25. ²⁵ T.B. Barratt "An Urgent Call," Confidence 4,2(February 1911), 31, emphasis in original.

26.

26 For a brief initial survey of these meetings based on English, German and Dutch sources, see Cornelis van der Laan, "The Proceedings of the Leaders' Meetings (1908-1911) and of the International Pentecostal Council (1912-1914)," EPTA Bulletin 6(1987), 76-96. Note that this essay does not actually contain "proceedings" of the councils, but is a survey of several of the published accounts.

27. ²⁷ Europeiska Pingstkonferensen i Stockholm den 5-12 juni 1939: Tal, samtal och predikningar (Stockholm: Förlaget Filadelfia, 1939). For Barratt's perspective on the period, see his posthumously edited Erindringer; especially chapter 28.

28.

28 After the outbreak of World War I, many Pentecostals were persecuted by the government for their pacifism and could be (somewhat) protected only as part of a recognized denomination. The problems experienced by independent clergy in relating to the U.S. government led to consolidation and expansion of denominations.

29. ²⁹ "Negro Bluk Beats Demon from Girl," Indianapolis Sunday Star (5 May 1907), 1 [col.2] (the Indianapolis press called the early Pentecostals "bluks," a term perhaps related to an overheard ecstatic utterance of glossolalia).

30. ³⁰ "Bluks Divide Home," Indianapolis Morning Star (Tuesday 4 June 1907), 3 [col.1]; "Oddy Asks Divorce Because of Bluks," Indianapolis Morning Star, (Thursday 6 June 1907), 3 [col.1]; "Police after Bluks," Indianapolis Morning Star (Tuesday 11 June 1907), 15 [col.3]. For a more detailed discussion of hostility of the public and press toward Black-White Pentecostal cooperation in Indianapolis, see my forthcoming essay, "Pentecostalism in Indianapolis, 1906-1914."

31. ³¹ The Church of God in Christ was an African American Holiness church which became Pentecostal. Some European American Pentecostals sought ordination through this church, before the founding of the Assemblies of God in 1914.

32. ³² "Mid-Summer Pentecostal Convention," The Christian Evangel 1,1(19 July 1913), 8.

33.

33 "A Closer and Deeper Fellowship," The Christian Evangel 1,1(19 July 1913), 1-2.

34. ³⁴ "A Closer and Deeper Fellowship," 1.

35. ³⁵ "A Closer and Deeper Fellowship," 1.

36.

36 Proposed members of the advisory committee came from Plainfield, Indianapolis, Marion, Jasonville, Gilmore, Warsaw, Noblesville, Shirley, Martinsville, Greencastle, Terre Haute, and "Eastern Indiana." See "A Closer and Deeper Fellowship," 2, for a list of names. At least ten of the twenty-four names presented were women.

37. ³⁷ "A Closer and Deeper Fellowship," 2.

38. ³⁸ "A Closer and Deeper Fellowship," 2.

39.

39 Cfr. the account of Edith Blumhofer, The Assemblies of God: A Chapter in the Story of American Pentecostalism (Springfield: Gospel Publishing House, 1989) who does not mention the Indianapolis event. See the article of G. McGee, "Flower, Joseph James Roswell (1888-1970) and Alice Reynolds (1890- )," Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988), 311.

40. ⁴⁰ This Pentecostal perspective grew out of the liturgical observation that in the Acts of the Apostles, all were baptized "in the name of Jesus" rather than according to the later trinitarian formula. I am currently working on a study of G.T. Haywood.

41.

41 For example, in Germany the Mülheimbewegung (Pentecostal) never left the state Lutheran church, and in France the Union de Prière remained in the Reformed Church. The historical complexities can be illustrated by the disparate histories of the Charismatic movement in Italy [Marion Panciera, I1 Rinnovamento carismatico in Italia (Collana Oggi e Domani, 10; Bologna: Edizione Edhoniane, 1977)], The Netherlands [Fem Rutke, ed. Charismatisch Nederland: Overzicht van de ontwickkeling van de Pingstervernieuwing (Serie Nieuw Leven; Kampen: J.H. Kok, 1977)], and New Zealand [Colin Brown, "The Charismatic Contribution," in Religion in New Zealand Society ed. Brian Colless and Peter Donovan (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1980). No one has attempted a global history of the Charismatic movement. There is extensive bibliography.

42. ⁴² Oral history interview with David Bundy, 25 September 1979.

43.

43 On Gee, see D. Bundy, "Donald Gee: The Pentecostal Leader Who Grew in Wisdom and Stature," Assemblies of God Heritage 12,3(Fall 1992), 9-11, 28-30; and Brian Robert Ross, "Donald Gee: Sectarian in Search of a Church," Unpubl. Th.D. thesis, Knox College, University of Toronto, 1974.

44. ⁴⁴ An account of this event can be found in Gee's unpublished text, Pentecostal Pilgrimage: World Travels of a Bible Teacher, 11-15. See also Donald Gee, These Men I Knew: Personal Memoirs of Pentecostal Pioneers (Nottingham: Assemblies of God Publishing House, 1980).

45.

45 An account of this trip is provided by Gee, Pentecostal Pilgrimage, 15-25.

46. ⁴⁶ Donald Gee, Concerning Spiritual Gifts (Springfield: Gospel Publishing House, 1928). This, and many of his other books, remains in print.

47.

47 (Springfield: Gospel Publishing House, 1928).

48. ⁴⁸ (London: Assemblies of God Publishing House, n.d.).

49. ⁴⁹ For an analysis of the beginnings of Pentecostalism in Poland with significant attention devoted to the Bible School in Danzig, and with references to Gee, see H.R. Tomaszewski, Grupy Chrze_cija_skie typu Ewangeliczno-Baptystyczego no terenie Polski od 1858-1939 (Unpubl. Doctoral diss. Theological Academy, Warsaw, 1978), 218-243. Gee's recollections are in Pentecostal Pilgrimage, 26, 28. This institution formed most of the leadership of Pentecostalism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Many of these leaders who came to influence during and immediately after World War II are just now passing from the scene.

50. ⁵⁰ See Gee's evaluation of Pentecostalism in France and Belgium, "Latter Rain Falling in France and Belgium," Pentecostal Testimony (March 1933), 1-2. D. Bundy, "Louis Dallière: Apologist for Pentecostalism in France and Belgium, 1932-1939," Pneuma 10(1988), 82-115.

51.

51 Donald Gee, Upon All Flesh (Springfield: Gospel Publishing House, 1935), introduction, italics his. See also the discussion, in idem, Pentecostal Pilgrimage, 30-36.

52.

52 Summaries of the proceedings were edited in Europeiska Pingskonferensen i Stockhom den 5-12 juni 1939: Tal. samtal och predikningar (Stockholm: Förlaget Filadelfia, 1939. See also, Donald Gee, Wind and Flame (Croydon: Heath Press, 1967), 171-177; and, Arthur Sundstedt, Pingstväckelsen--en världsväckelse (Pingstväckelsen, 5; Stockholm: Normans Förlag, 1973), 13-23.

53.

53 See, for example, a sermon preached at the Stone Church in Chicago on 21 Oct. 1930, "Is Our Modern Revival Deep Enough? Spiritual Shallowness Due to Lack of Repentance," The Latter Rain Evangel (May 1931), 8-12.

54. ⁵⁴ (London: Elim Publishing House, 1941); revised ed. 1949; 3rd ed. published as Wind and Flame (Croydon: Heath Press, 1967).

55. ⁵⁵ For a narrative of these events, see William K. Kay, Inside Story, A History of the British Assemblies of God (Mattersey: Mattersey Hall Publishing, 1990); Whittaker, Seven Pentecostal Pioneers, 95-98; Knox, Donald Gee, 48-86, et passim.

56.

56 Donald Gee, "Amsterdam and Pentecost," Pentecost 6(1948), 17/

57. ⁵⁷ See, for example his address to the 1955 World Pentecostal Conference, Donald Gee, "Pingstväckelsen--Tungotal och profetia," Världspingstkonferensen i Stockholm den 13-20 juni 1955 i ord ock bild (Stockholm: Förlaget Filadelfia, 1955), 62-83.

58.

58 Donald Gee, "Pentecost and Evanston," Pentecost 30(1954), 17.

59. ⁵⁹ Ibid.

60. ⁶⁰ Ibid.

61.

61 T.F. Zimmerman, "20th Century Pentecost," The Sixth Pentecostal World Conference (Toronto: Testimony Press for the Conference Advisory Committee, 1961), 51-55.

62. ⁶² Donald Gee, "What Manner of Spirit?" Pentecost 57(1961), 17. Gee's protagonists (and some friends) were eager to reclaim him after his death on 20 July 1966. See for example, A. Missen, "Donald Gee With Christ," Pentecost 77(1966), 1-2; idem, "The Funeral of Donald Gee," Redemption Tidings 42(12 Aug. 1966), 17-18; cd. idem, The Sound of A Going, The Story of the Assemblies of God (Nottingham: Assemblies of God Publishing House, 1973), 37-40; anonymous, "Donald Gee With the Lord," Pentecostal Evangel (28 Aug. 1966), 2; J. Carter, "The Man as I Knew Him," Redemption Tidings 42(19 Aug. 1966), 7-8; J. Phillips, "Donald Gee--A Gift of Christ to His Church," Redemption Tidings 42(19 Aug. 1966), 3-5. There is also the obituary by Lewi Pethrus [?], "Till minnet av Donald Gee; Död den 20 juli 1966. Hans vittnesbörd om sin pingsterfarenhet," Julens Härold. Femtioandra årgången Förlaget Filadelfias Arsbok 1967 red. Abner Dahl Göran Strömbeck (Stockholm: Ab Godvil, 1967), 6-13.

63.

63 Henry P. van Dusen, "Caribbean Holiday," Christian Century 72,33(17 Aug. 1955), 947.

64. ⁶⁴ Ibid., 948.

65. ⁶⁵ Henry P. van Dusen, "The Third Face in Christendom," Life Magazine (9 June 1958), 113-124.

66.

66 The life of James Edwin Wright has been analyzed by Elizabeth Evans, "The Wright Vision: The Story of the New England Fellowship," Unpublished manuscript.

67. ⁶⁷ Although comprising more than 87% of the NAE, Holiness and Pentecostal churches have had no influence in defining the ethos or mission or the organization, despite having several individual leaders serve as President of the organization.

68. ⁶⁸ Cited in Cecil M. Robeck, "A Pentecostal Looks at the World Council of Churches," The Ecumenical Review 47(1995), 62.

69.

69 The basic details of du Plessis' life are well known, See R.P. Spittler, "du Plessis, David Johannes," in Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988), 250-254. For accounts by du Plessis, see Pentecost Outside Pentecost: The Astounding Move of God in the Denominational Churches (n.p.: n.p., circa 1961) The Spirit Bade Me Go, rev. ed. (Plainfield, NJ: Logos, 1970), David du Plessis with Bob Slosser, A Man Called Mr. Pentecost (Plainfield, NJ: Logos, 1977). The last two volumes were translated into a number of languages. The papers of du Plessis are housed at the David J. du Plessis Center for Christian Spirituality at Fuller Theological Seminary Library. A detailed guide to the collection has recently been completed and is available.

70.

70 For discussions of this dialogue, with publication of documents, see A. Bittlinger, Papst und Pfingstler: Der römisch katholisch-pfingstliche Dialog und siene ökumenische Relevanz (Studies in the Intercultural History of Christianity, 16; Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1978), and J.L. Sandidge, Roman Catholic/Pentecostal Dialogue (1977-1982): A Study in Developing Ecumenism 2 vols.(Studies in the Intercultural History of Christianity, 44; Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1987).

71.

71 Pethrus will be discussed in forthcoming articles on his role in Swedish politics and in the development of mission theory. For a foundational scholarly evaluation, see Hollenweger, The Pentecostals, 7 et passim. For an initial critique of Hollenweger's analysis of Swedish Pentecostalism, see Carl-Erik Sahlberg, The Pentecostal Movement, Five Case Studies (Nairobi: Evangel Publishing House, 1985)

72.

72 The earliest expression of his ecumenical vision was presented by Lewi Pethrus, De Kristnas Enhet (Stockholm: Förlaget Filadelfia, 1919).

73.

⁷³ Lewi Pethrus, I dad lek--i morgan tarar (Stockholm: Förlaget Filadelfia, 1942) and idem, Given Kejsaren vad kejsaren tilhör (Stockholm: Förlaget Filadelfia, 1944).

74. ⁷⁴ See Carl-Erik Sahlberg, Pingströrelsen och Tidningen Dagen--fran sekt til kristet samhälle, 1907-63 (Skrifter utgivna av Svenska kyrohistoriska föreningen, II. Ny Följd, 26; Uppsala: n.p., 1977) for a thorough analysis of this period.

75. ⁷⁵ For an initial analysis of the theological and social commitments of Lewi Pethrus which influenced these complex historical, political and theological developments, see, Carl-Gustav Carlsson, Människan, samhället och Gud: Grunddrag i Lewi Pethrus kristendomsuppfattning (Studia Theologica Lundensia, 44; Lund: Lund University Press, 1990).

76.

⁷⁶ See the studies edited by Nils G. Holm, Pingströrelsen och den karismatiska väckelsen. Rapporter från ett seminarium i Åbo 1983 (Religionsvetenskapliga skrifter, 5; Åbo: Åbo Akademi, 1984). Note that Pethrus was not the only Pentecostal with influence on the Charismatic movement.

77.

⁷⁷ "The Significance of the Chilean Pentecostals' Admission to the World Council of Churches," International Review of Mission 51(1962), 480-482; Manuel de Mello, "Participation is Everything," International Review of Mission 60(1971), 245-248; Narcisco Sepúlveda, "Breve síntesis histórica del movimiento pentecostal en Chile," in Pentecostalismo y liberación: una experiencia latinoamericana ed. Carmelo Alvarez (San José: DEI, 1992). There is an extensive literature about these events, but, again, that is another story.

78. ⁷⁸ On Hollenweger, see Paul N. van der Laan, "Walter J. Hollenweger: A Pluriform Life," Pentecost, Mission and Ecumenism. Essays on Intercultural Theology: Festschrift in Honour of Professor Walter J. Hollenweger (Studies in the Intercultural History of Christianity, 75; Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1992), 5-13; as well as other essays in the volume.

79. ⁷⁹ Walter J. Hollenweger, "Pfingstewegung und Ökumene," Ökumenische Rundschau 17,1(Jan. 1968), 57-59.

80.

⁸⁰ For an evaluation of this problem, see D.W. Dayton, "Yet Another Layer of the Onion, or, Opening the Ecumenical Door to Let the Rifraff In," Ecumenical Review 40(1988), 87-110.

81.

⁸¹ There is vast literature about these efforts. A thorough study is underway by Carmelo Alvarez to be submitted as a dissertation at the Free University of Amsterdam.

82.

⁸² C. Alvarez, "Latin American Pentecostals: Ecumenical and Evangelical," Pnuema 9(1987), 91-95. His contributions to the volume he edited entitled Pentecostalismo y liberación, 89-100, et al. are very important. Alvarez is Visiting Professor at Christian Theological Seminary.

83. ⁸³ "Etica social pentecostal: santidad comprometida," in Alvarez, ed. Pentecostalismo y liberación, 101-124.

84. ⁸⁴ Professor of Ecumenism at Fuller Theological Seminary. He served as editor of Pneuma, has wide experience in ecumenism, and is an ordained Assemblies of God minister. See his "Taking Stock of Pentecostalism: The Personal Reflections of a Retiring Editor," Pneuma 15(1993), 35-60; and many other publications.

85. ⁸⁵ Steven J. Land, Pentecostal Spirituality: A Passion for the Kingdom (Supplement to the Journal for Pentecostal Theology, 1; Sheffield: Sheffield University Press, 1993). Land is Dean at the Church of God School of Theology, Cleveland, TN.

86. ⁸⁶ Professor at the Church of God School of Theology, Cleveland, TN and active participant in Faith and Order Conferences, author of Pentecostal Pedagogy: (Supplement to the Journal for Pentecostal Theology, 2; Sheffield: Sheffield University Press, 1993).

87. ⁸⁷ Tyson, Pastor of Christ Church Apostolic, Indianapolis, has been active nationally in ecumenical work, and has been a leading force in the re-envisioning of Christian cooperation in Indiana after the demise of the Indiana Council of Churches.