Reformed and Charismatic:
The Influence of Pentecostalism in the Reformed Tradition –
Theological Analysis of a Minority Subculture

Abstract

Historic reconstructions of Pentecostalism and Pentecostal influence in the United States are usually framed around three epochal shifts: fifty years of classical Pentecostalism in the first half of the twentieth century morphed during the Charismatic Renewal of the 1960s-1970s then splintered into various independent Charismatic churches and networks from the 1980s to the present. There are debated versions of this framework and nuanced additions related to global influence and expansion. This study suggests an amendment to the overall framework. Post-Charismatic renewal, rather than a movement in decline and splintering into independent churches, Pentecostalism also went underground in the form of minority theological subgroups. Reformed Charismatics demonstrate a particular version of Charismatic theology and praxis comprised of those who have stayed in their historic churches, yet stand markedly in contrast to their majority church norms.
Ethnographic methods are used to access the beliefs and praxis of these ‘ordinary’ Reformed Charismatics framed as an internally diverse minority navigating the majority theological norms of their Reformed congregation. The project unfolds as a dialogue between academic theology, ordinary theology, autoethnography and interdisciplinary interaction with relevant sociologists and anthropologists. A unique ecumenical movement unto themselves, Reformed Charismatics are often operating subversively, all the while dynamically integrating two divergent traditions in church history. Theological critique and debates over interpretations of the bible only go so far in addressing the tensions Reformed Charismatics experience. The use of cultural analysis in this study offers insights about the experience, behaviours and spirituality of this internally diverse often overlooked ecclesial subculture all toward deeper understanding of Pentecostal influence more broadly in its myriad of ‘glocal’, contextual forms.