History of Holiness, Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches

Introduction and Overview

In this episode, Matt Baker introduces the topic of Christian denominations and explains that there will be an additional episode to cover all the information. He also mentions the delay in launching the poster and introduces a sponsor for researching family trees.

Researching Family Trees with MyHeritage

• Matt Baker introduces MyHeritage as a sponsor for researching family trees.

• He explains that users can start by creating a simple tree using their parents' and grandparents' names.

• MyHeritage helps users grow their tree by providing Discovery links.

• Matt demonstrates how to research ancestors' religions using census records on MyHeritage.

The Third Great Awakening and the Holiness Movement

Matt discusses the third Great Awakening, which emerged from the Holiness movement within Methodism. He explains the concept of entire sanctification and its gradual transformation into instantaneous sanctification.

The Holiness Movement

• The Holiness movement originated within Methodism, particularly through Phoebe Palmer's promotion of instantaneous entire sanctification.

• The Wesleyan Methodist Church was one of the earliest Holiness denominations, formed in 1841 due to disagreements over slavery.

• The Free Methodist Church, formed in 1860, broke away from Methodism over various issues including renting pews to the rich.

• In 1865, William and Catherine Booth established the Salvation Army as a Protestant denomination with ministers and Sunday services.

Expansion of the Holiness Movement

• In the 1880s, numerous new denominations emerged as part of the Holiness movement during the third Great Awakening.

• One example is the Church of God Anderson in Indiana, which is a Holiness denomination distinct from other denominations with similar names.

• Another example is the Church of God Cleveland, which is a Pentecostal denomination that allows speaking in tongues during worship.

Conclusion

Matt concludes the episode by mentioning the distinction between Holiness and Pentecostal denominations and hints at the upcoming topics to be covered in the next episode.

• The Church of God Anderson is a Holiness denomination that does not allow speaking in tongues during worship.

• The Church of God Cleveland is a Pentecostal denomination that embraces speaking in tongues.

• Matt teases that more topics will be covered in the next episode, including Christian Science, African initiated denominations, Chinese house churches, and Messianic Jews.

New Section

This section provides an overview of the Church of the Nazarene, the association of Pentecostal churches of America, and other Holiness denominations. It also explains the origin of the term "Pentecostal" and its association with speaking in tongues.

The Church of the Nazarene and Pentecostal Churches

• The Church of the Nazarene and the association of Pentecostal churches of America, along with other Holiness denominations, joined together.

• Originally called the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene, they later dropped the word "Pentecostal" to avoid confusion.

• The Wesleyan Church was formed in 1968 through a merger between the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Pilgrim Holiness Church.

The Higher Life Movement

• The Higher Life Movement started in Keswick, England and led to the creation of Christian Alliance and Evangelical Missionary Alliance.

• In 1897, these two organizations merged to form Christian and Missionary Alliance.

Introduction to Pentecostals

• The term "Pentecost" refers to the Jewish Festival of Shavuot observed on the 50th day after Passover.

• According to Acts in the New Testament, it was on this day that Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus' disciples allowing them to speak in tongues.

• Pentecostals interpret speaking in tongues as both speaking foreign languages miraculously understood by others and speaking in a Heavenly language.

Three Works of Grace

• All Christians believe in justification as a first work of grace for being made right with God.

• Holiness Christians add entire sanctification as a second work for being made holy and perfect.

• Early Pentecostals added the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a third work, evidenced by speaking in tongues.

Charles Parham and William J Seymour

• Charles Parham connected speaking in tongues with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

• William J Seymour, a former student of Parham, is considered the founder of Pentecostalism.

• Seymour led the Azusa Street Revival in 1906, which sparked the Pentecostal movement.

The Azusa Street Revival

• The Azusa Street Revival took place in an old building on Azusa Street in downtown Los Angeles.

• People experienced shouting, speaking in tongues, healing, and other manifestations at this revival.

• Despite racial and social barriers during that time, people from different backgrounds attended the revival.

Growth of Pentecostalism

• Many Holiness denominations transitioned into Pentecostal denominations.

• Examples include Church of God in Christ, Camp Creek Holiness Church (split into Church of God Cleveland and Church of God of Prophecy), Fire Baptized Holiness Church, and Pentecostal Holiness Church (merged to form International Pentecostal Holiness Church).

• The largest Pentecostal denomination is Assemblies of God formed through mergers with participants from Azusa Street Revival and members who left Christian and Missionary Alliance.

Assemblies of God's Beliefs

• Assemblies of God holds to a finished work doctrine where justification and sanctification occur simultaneously.

• This differs from other Pentecostal denominations that teach three stages: conversion, sanctification, and baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Pentecostal Denominations

This section discusses the formation of different Pentecostal denominations and their origins.

Assemblies of God and Pentecostal Assemblies of the World

• In 1917, some members left the Assemblies of God to join the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, which is the main Oneness Pentecostal denomination.

• Two other denominations later split from them and eventually merged to form the United Pentecostal Church International.

Four Square Church

• Founded in 1923 by Amy Semple McPherson.

• The four squares represent Jesus as savior, baptizer, healer, and king.

• McPherson was an early example of a faith healer associated with Pentecostalism.

• She drew large crowds with people often bringing the sick for healing.

Controversy Surrounding Amy Semple McPherson

• In 1926, McPherson was allegedly kidnapped and went missing for five weeks.

• Later she was accused of setting up the whole incident herself as a publicity stunt or to hide an affair she was having.

• The truth behind these allegations remains unknown.

Fundamentalist vs. Modernist Debate

This section explores the fundamentalist versus modernist debate that impacted not only Pentecostalism but Christianity as a whole during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Advances in Science and Biblical Interpretation

• Major advances in science, archaeology, and textual criticism led biblical scholars to understand the Bible more as a literary work rather than a primary source for history and science.

• This shift created a divide between more liberal Mainline denominations and more conservative Evangelical denominations.

Fundamentalists and The Fundamentals

• The term "fundamentalist" originated from the 1910 book called "The Fundamentals."

• Fundamentalists emphasized a literal interpretation of the Bible.

• Pentecostals and Baptists generally aligned with the fundamentalist approach to the Bible.

Apostolic Church and Global Expansion

This section discusses the Apostolic Church, which originated outside of the U.S., and highlights how Pentecostal denominations have spread globally.

Apostolic Church

• Originated from the Welsh revivals of 1904 and 1905.

• Grew out of the spiritual awakening during that time.

Global Spread of Pentecostalism

• All Pentecostal denominations have planted churches worldwide.

• Pentecostals now make up the second-largest group within Christianity after Roman Catholics.

Charismatic Movement

This section explores the charismatic movement, which emerged as a second wave of Pentecostalism in the 1960s, and its impact on existing denominations.

Charismatic Movement vs. Pentecostalism

• The largest charismatic church is The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Brazil.

• Unlike Pentecostalism, which led to new denominations, charismatic movement mostly influenced existing denominations.

• Anglican and Roman Catholic churches now have congregations with charismatic characteristics.

Non-Denominational Churches

This section clarifies that non-denominational churches are not truly non-denominational but rather belong to their own denomination within Christianity.

Definition of Denomination

• While defining "denomination" can be challenging, it refers to any grouping of Christians based on shared characteristics or history.

• The Roman Catholic Church, Baptist churches, Churches of Christ, and Quaker meetings may not be considered denominations by some.

Non-Denominational Churches

• Most newer non-denominational churches share commonalities and emerged around the same time.

• These churches can be grouped together as their own denomination within Christianity.

For a more detailed understanding of the term "denomination" and Pentecostals, refer to the video linked in the description.

New Section

This section discusses the Jesus Freaks of the 1960s, the founder of Maranatha music, and the rise of the charismatic movement.

Jesus Freaks and Maranatha Music

• The Jesus Freaks were Christian hippies in the 1960s.

• They were considered a Christian version of hippies.

• The founder of Maranatha music, which produces worship songs used worldwide, was also associated with the Jesus Freaks.

Rise of Charismatic Movement

• Some people view the charismatic movement in the 60s and 70s as a fourth Great Awakening.

• However, there is debate about using this term to describe it.

• The chart creator has chosen not to use this term on their chart.

New Section

This section mentions upcoming topics for discussion and an update to the chart.

Upcoming Topics and Poster Release

• There are still several topics to be discussed in future episodes.

• Episode 8 will be released on June 23rd along with the release of a poster.

Update to Chart

• The Westboro Baptist Church has been removed from the chart based on requests from viewers.

• Initially, they were included because they were notable, but concerns about being an arbitrator led to their removal.

• The flds (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and Branch Davidians have also been removed due to space constraints.

New Section

This section concludes discussions about changes made to the chart.

Removal of Controversial Groups

• The Westboro Baptist Church was removed due to its reputation as more of a hate group than a church.

• Although opinions differ on who is or isn't a Christian, a veteran convinced the chart creator to remove them.

• The flds and Branch Davidians were removed primarily because of their small size and limited space on the chart.

New Section

This section concludes the discussion on Holiness churches, Pentecostals, and charismatics.

Conclusion

• The Holiness churches, Pentecostals, and charismatics have been covered in this episode.

• Stay tuned for the final episode.

• Viewers are encouraged to provide suggestions based on what they have seen so far.

New Section

This section marks the end of the transcript with no additional content.

No further information is provided in this part of the transcript.