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Encountering the Divine: What Is Contemporary Charismatic Worship

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Encountering the Divine: What Is Contemporary Charismatic Worship Encountering the Divine: What is Contemporary Charismatic Worship Trying to Tell the Whole World? LAM, Chi Ho Ansel A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Divinity In Graduate Division of Theology © The Chinese University of Hong Kong July 2009 The Chinese University of Hong Kong holds the copyright of this thesis. Any person(s) intending to use a part or whole of the materials in the thesis in a proposed publication must seek copyright release from the Dean of the Graduate School. Abstract Pentecostal/Charismatic (Pent/Char) worship, which largely emphasizes the divine presence of God and the instantaneous move of the Holy Spirit, tends to be spontaneous and less structured. Insiders claim such spontaneity as "led by the Holy Spirit"; nevertheless Pent/Char worship seems, in the view of some outsiders, to be rather disorderly. Furthermore, Pent/Char worship's emphasis on the supernatural presentation of spiritual gifts {Charismata) is viewed by some outsiders as irrational. In this thesis, an account concerning Contemporary Pent/Char worship will be made. I will illustrate how Pent/Char worship is developed through the inheritance from its historical and theological roots and under the influence of the interactive development between their charismatic religious experience and their doctrinal knowledge about God, in which "Encountering the Divine" serves as the fundamental guiding principle of Pent/Char worship. A Pent/Char understanding about God, such as His lively presence, spontaneity and supernatural participation in the world, is being presented through the lively, joyful, supernatural and spontaneous presentation of Pent/Char worship. i 論文摘要 五旬節/靈恩敬拜強調上帝於敬拜進程中的同在，並聖靈在當下即時並自由 的活動，因此在流程和形態上趨向於簡單，具彈性，且容許即時並多樣的變化。 五旬節/靈恩敬拜的參與者認為這種敬拜聚會中的彈性能有助敬拜群體體會並 跟隨聖靈的帶領；然而這種敬拜同時亦被認為是缺乏秩序而遭受到一些非參與 者的批評。另外，五旬節/靈恩敬拜亦因重視聖靈恩賜超自然層面的表達而被部 分人士視為缺乏理性。 本論文嘗試就現代的五旬節/靈恩敬拜進行分析。筆者嘗試勾畫出現代五旬 節/靈恩敬拜的形態如何被其歷史根源和神學傳統所塑造，並受其靈恩經驗和教 義認知的互動影響而發展出來的。筆者提出五旬節/靈恩敬拜以「與神聖相遇」 作為其基本原則，而當中充滿活力、喜樂、超自然並具彈性的敬拜形態，則呈 現出五旬節/靈恩派對於上帝的理解，包括聖靈即時的活動、上帝當下的臨在以 及其在世界中超自然的參與等等。 ii Acknovvledgement I truly thank my supervisor Rev. Dr. Tobias Brandner, who gave me lots of insights and advises. Thank you for all his patience and care throughout the writing progress. With a father's heart, Tobias always leads me to a deeper theological reflection. My thesis could not have been finished without his kindly help. I would like to thank also my fellow classmates, especially Kelvin, Chak Tong, Rachel, Murine, Christine, Connie, Maggie and Samuel. Thank you for their warm cares and regards. Thanks especially to all my intercessors, who pray for me constantly. I cannot imagine how I am going to be if without all their concerns and supportive intercessory prayers. I would like to thank a lot my family. My parents always give me enough room to explore, to think, to try and to dream. My father is a man who knows nothing but works extremely hard and patient in order to bring me up. My mother is an insightful woman who has dedicated her whole life in guiding and leading me. I truly appreciate all of what they have done for me. Lastly, I want to thank God for all His love, mercy and grace. There cannot be a single moment in my life without the presence of His love. "Let them praise the name of the Lord, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven." Psalm 148:13 iii Table of Contents Content Page Abstract in English ....................................................................................... i Abstract in Chinese .................................................................................... ii Acknowledgement ...................................................................................... i i i Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 1 1.2 Framework of the Thesis ............................................................. 3 1.3 Keyword ........................................................................................ 5 1.3.1 Pent/Char Worship .......................................................... 5 Chapter 2: The Pentecostal-Charismatic Tradition ............................... 7 2.1 A Charismatic Tradition ................................................................. 7 2.2 Two Essential Historical Roots ...................................................... 9 2.2.1 The Black Tradition ............................................................. 9 2.2.2 The Holiness Tradition ...................................................... ll 2.3 The Diversity of Contemporary Pent/Char Worship ............... 13 Chapter 3: Cases Studies, Basic Pattern and General Features of Contemporary Pent/Char Worship ......................................................... 16 3.1 Principles on 5ampling ................................................................ 16 3.2 Case Study i-Sunday Service of City Harvest Church, Singapore ............................................................. 17 3.2.1 Brief Introduction to the Church ..................................... 17 3.2.2 Settings of the Venue ........................................................ 20 3.2.3 An Account of the Sunday 5ervice .................................. 20 iv Table of Contents (con'd) Content Page 3.3 Case Study 2 -"Friday Revival" of Ministry on the Rock, Hong Kong ........................................................... 25 3.3.1 Brief Introduction to the Ministry ................................... 25 3.3.2 An Account of the Revival Meeting ................................. 26 3.4 Case Study 3 -Holy Spirit Miracle Crusades of Benny Hinn Ministries ................................................... 29 3.4.1 Brief Introduction to Benny Hinn and Benny Hinn Ministries ........................................................................... 29 3.4.2 An Account of the Holy Spirit Miracle Crusade ............. 30 3.5 Basic Pattern and General Features of Contemporary Pent/Char Worship ..................................................................... 32 3.5.1 The Rite of Worship and Praise ....................................... 32 3.5.2 The Rite of Pastoral Message ........................................... 33 3.5.3 The Rite of Altar/ Response ............................................. 34 Chapter 4: Theological Implications and Presuppositions of Contemporary Pent/Char Worship ..................................................... 36 4.1 Worship as "Encountering the Divine" ...................................... 36 4.1.1 Liveliness ............................................................................. 38 4 ..1.2 A Joyful Celebration .......................................................... 42 4.1.3 A Supernatural Way .......................................................... 46 4.1.4 Spontaneity ........................................................................ 49 4.1.5 Active Participation ........................................................... 52 4.1.6 High Commitment in Mission the World ....................... 54 4.2 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 56 Bibliography ... ............................................................................................ 58 v Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Introduction Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement is certainly one of the most important movements that transformed and shaped the whole Christianity, or even with no doubt the entire world, in the 20th century. Deeply rooted in varies traditions such as the Holiness tradition and the Black tradition, the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement is rather a series of spiritual revival movements. After the remarkable outbreak of a new charismatic wave at Azusa Street in 1906, which is the first wave in the 20th century in continuity with earlier waves, it took only decades to spread all over the world. Later in the 60's and 80's of the 20th century, two waves of charismatic movements, namely Charismatic Movement and the Third-wave\ emerged and entered the historical mainline denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church, and the Evangelical denominations respectively. This 3-wave Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement, forming the 2nd largest group of Christians ranking just below Roman Catholicism, has deeply shaped and transformed the 20th century Christianity world in many dimensions.2 One of these dimensions must be their spirituality, and more specifically the way of how they practice worship. Inspired by their charismatic theology, especially the doctrine 1 "Third-wave" is also termed as "Neo-Charismatic Renewal". The term "Third-wave" was developed by C. Peter Wagner to distinguish a new revival force from t he movements before. See C. Peter Wagner, 'Third Wave', in The International Dictionary of Pe ntecostal and Charismatic Movements, Revised and Expanded Edition, ed. Stanley M. Burgess (Grand Rapids, M ichigan : Zondervan Pub ., 2002), 1141. nd 2 Although claimed to be the 2 largest group of Christians in the world, Charismatics itself is not a denominational group. "Charismatics" is a general term which refers to the group of Christian claiming to have experienced the charismatic phenomena mentioned in the New Testament. Vinson Synan, The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal, 2901-2001, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Pub.,
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