Chapter 5: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals

IN THIS CHAPTER, you will discover:       

·   The healing evangelists and their spiritual legacy.       

·   The effects of the Jesus and charismatic movements.    

AS A RESULT, you will be able to:       

·   Incorporate prayer for healing in your evangelistic work.       

·   Learn how societal trends can be used in sharing the gospel.

Key Scripture: “News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them” (Matt. 4:24).

The effects of the Welsh Revival spilled over into England and the United States. As a result, revival fires were lit in various individuals. Because many people were healed of physical illnesses during this period, these evangelistic campaigns became known as healing revivals. John Alexander Dowie, Maria Woodworth-Etter, John G. Lake, and Charles S. Price had prominent healing ministries. Perhaps the best known healer was Smith Wigglesworth. The ministry of Aimee Semple McPherson, the founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, also emerged during this period. Not every evangelist who ministered during this time had a healing ministry, however. Billy Graham held his first revival in Los Angeles in 1949. In a spiritual sense Graham was a healer, for his evangelistic ministry has been responsible for transforming the lives of tens of thousands of sinners worldwide.

Smith Wigglesworth

Smith Wigglesworth was born in Yorkshire, England in 1859. His father, a poor ditchdigger, later became a weaver in a textile mill. When Wigglesworth joined his father in the mill at a very early age, his education was sorely neglected. But his devout grandmother encouraged him spiritually. At the age of eight he was converted in the Wesleyan Methodist church that they attended. As a result of the young boy’s efforts, his mother was also converted.

Five years after his conversion, the Wigglesworths moved to Bradford, England. There Wigglesworth began working in the local mill and volunteered in the Salvation Army at age sixteen. One of his coworkers was a pipefitter who belonged to the Christian Brethren faith. This godly man not only taught Wigglesworth the Bible during work breaks, but he also trained him in plumbing. When Wigglesworth left the mill, he was hired immediately as an independent plumber.

In 1879 Wigglesworth moved to Liverpool. Like every other large city, Liverpool had more than its share of poor people. Homeless children were of particular interest to Wigglesworth. He found a multitude of them in the sheds lining the docks. Because of his evangelism and social work, hundreds of these young people came to know Christ.

When Wigglesworth moved back to his hometown, he settled down with a new wife and an established plumbing business. The couple started a little mission where they ministered together. Polly, a former member of the Salvation Army herself, preached and Wigglesworth prayed. The young man, practically illiterate, stammered and cried when he tried to preach. All the while his plumbing business was growing. Yet the more successful he became, the further he slipped away from the Lord. Wigglesworth totally backslid for two years. He was unkind to his wife and stopped his missions work, but his wife never gave up praying. Finally, Wigglesworth repented and once more the Wigglesworths opened their home for hospitality and ministry.

Then, at the age of forty-eight with a successful business and a healthy spiritual life, Smith Wigglesworth underwent a drastic change. In 1907, when he was baptized in the Holy Spirit, Wigglesworth received unbelievable power for ministry. Suddenly he was able to speak with authority. The first time he got up to preach in their assembly, he spoke on Isaiah 61. Eleven people fell down laughing as they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. But this was only the beginning. Because of Wigglesworth’s influence, hundreds in the town were baptized in the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues.

A spiritual revival took place in Lancashire when Wigglesworth preached at a factory during working hours (at the request of the factory owner). Wigglesworth’s ministry expanded into America, Europe, Norway, and Denmark where he boldly proclaimed healing. Countless people were healed of disease, physical impairment, and even demon possession. This untiring preacher held huge evangelistic meetings where thousands of people were saved. Wigglesworth visited the sick and literally raised people up through the power of God. Smith Wigglesworth left this world at age eighty-eight. He was seated by a fire in a little church in Wakefield surrounded by friends. Apparently he just closed his eyes and fell asleep — smiling.

Aimee Semple McPherson

Aimee Semple McPherson was born in rural Ontario, Canada in 1890. Her father was a Methodist organist and choir director, while her mother was raised in the Salvation Army. In 1908 she committed her life to the Lord through the ministry of a Pentecostal evangelist, Robert Semple. Later that year she married Semple, joining him in church pioneer work and evangelistic meetings. In 1910 the couple left for China as missionaries. Soon after their arrival in Hong Kong, Robert contracted malaria and died, leaving his pregnant young wife a widow.

After the birth of Roberta, Aimee returned to New York City and soon became active in Salvation Army work. In 1911 she married Harold McPherson and the young family began an active evangelistic ministry. Harold handled the business side of things and Aimee preached. But the rigors of cross-country travel took their toll, and the couple was divorced in 1921. Aimee decided to establish a preaching base and chose Los Angeles as the place to build Angelus Temple. This 5300 seat facility was dedicated January 1, 1923, and the Foursquare denomination was born.

The decade of the 1920s were crucial to “Sister” Aimee’s ministry. Her “Foursquare Gospel” — Jesus as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Coming King — drew the curious from all walks of life. In 1923 she started Lighthouse for International Foursquare Evangelism (L.I.F.E.) Bible College. In 1924 Aimee became the first woman to obtain an FCC license to start a radio station — KFSG in Los Angeles. To meet the physical needs of the poor, she opened a commissary in 1927. During the Depression this commissary gave assistance to over 1.5 million people, regardless of racial or religious background. Scandal surrounded her in the late 20s when she seemingly drowned but later surfaced in Mexico as an apparent victim of kidnapping. A trial, media scrutiny, and books pro and con failed to resolve satisfactorily in many minds the truth of the incident.

The 1930s brought continued controversy. Aimee suffered a nervous breakdown and then in 1931 entered into a short-lived marriage to David Hutton. In 1934 she held a series of highly publicized debates with a noted atheist over the existence of God. She also engaged in debates over whether miracles and divine healing were for the church today. In her ministry Aimee recognized the importance of music and was herself an accomplished composer. In 1923 she published her first hymnal, the Tabernacle Revivalist, and in 1937 it was expanded as the Foursquare Hymnal. Angelus Temple became renowned for its dramatic productions, especially its annual “Cavalcade of Christianity.” In 1936 Aimee embarked on a worldwide preaching tour, where she saw firsthand the impending clouds of war.

During World War II Angelus Temple had a special ministry to military servicemen. McPherson continued her evangelistic campaigns in the United States and Canada during the war. During a vacation in Mexico in 1943 she contracted a tropical fever that left her greatly debilitated. In September 1944 she began a crusade in Oakland, California. One night after preaching she accidentally overdosed on a prescription drug and was found dead the next morning. Her death, like much of her life, was shrouded in mystery and controversy. Sister Aimee was undoubtedly one of God’s most gifted and colorful evangelists, and the fruit of her ministry is still evident today.

Billy Graham

William Franklin (“Billy”) Graham was born in 1918 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was one of four children in a family of dairy farmers. At the age of eight, Graham’s job was to rise early and help milk the cows before school. As a teen, he had to plow the fields after his school day ended. His Methodist father and Presbyterian mother were instrumental in molding Graham’s Christian character. His mother even required that he learn the catechism.

As he grew older, Billy became an above-average baseball player. But rather than pursuing the game as a career, Billy decided to further his education. To earn money for college, he and two of his friends became Fuller Brush salesmen during the summer after graduation. Of the three, Billy progressed to district manager. When asked the secret of his success, Billy confided that he had prayed before approaching each customer.

In the fall Graham enrolled at Bob Jones College. From there he went to the Florida Bible Institute where he graduated. Graham began preaching then, but his parents wanted him to complete his education. So he enrolled at Wheaton College in Illinois where he did odd jobs to pay for tuition. Ever the entrepreneur, Billy acquired his own hauling business and prospered.

In 1945 Torrey Johnson, who had heard Billy preach, gave him a slot for a radio show. But the time cost $150 a week, and Billy’s fledgling congregation numbered less than one hundred. But in faith, the little group signed on. The show consisted of songs and hymns interspersed with short messages from Graham.

The Los Angeles Crusade in 1949 was the national launching pad for Graham’s evangelistic career. The great crowds listened raptly as he preached on salvation. Those in attendance felt that a power greater than Billy Graham took over. Throughout his ministry Graham’s message has remained the same. He teaches that being born again takes three steps: (1) repenting of sins, (2) placing faith in Christ, and (3) being born again of the Spirit. The first two are the responsibility of the sinner and the last one of God. Graham’s whole gospel is based on the Bible, which he considers infallible.

Graham’s radio program, “The Hour of Decision,” began in 1950, broadcasting his message to thousands of homes. When television became popular, he never chose to do a weekly show. Instead he decided to televise his crusades several times a year. In addition, his ministry produces and distributes religious films worldwide. From the beginning, Graham chose to work together with area churches during his crusades, rather than with special interest groups. That decision has been criticized both by liberal and conservative groups, who feel that he should work with them. Each campaign is carefully planned months in advance. After the altar call, team members follow up with counseling and attempt to direct new converts to local churches.

Graham’s preaching is open and single-minded, just like the man. He calls himself an evangelist rather than a revivalist. Graham preaches with a natural voice yet with authority. He paces as he preaches, using many gestures, but his listeners always understand exactly what he is saying. Even his detractors agree that Graham communicates the gospel more effectively than most of his contemporaries. Through his televised campaigns he has reached more people for the gospel than anyone up to the present time. Through his eighties, Graham continued to hold evangelistic campaigns all over the world. In 1992 a Billy Graham crusade was held in Moscow. The turnout of 30,000 people was so good that officials of the Russian Orthodox Church complained. They feared that foreign missionaries were proselytizing their members.

Billy Graham remains one of the world’s most respected men. He has befriended every president since Harry Truman and has received many major awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983. But more importantly, Graham is known as a family man. He has been married to Ruth Bell Graham since their student days at Wheaton College. All these years Ruth has stayed home to raise their four children, now grown, while Billy travelled. He gives his wife credit for their successful home life.

Revival Timeline

Conclusion

Although the ministry styles of Smith Wigglesworth, Aimee Semple McPherson, and Billy Graham are extremely different, they all had certain characteristics in common. Wigglesworth, more than the other two, fits the description of a healing evangelist. Physical healings and exorcisms were important facets of his ministry. Both he and Aimee Semple McPherson were involved in “hands-on” social work. Sister Aimee and Billy Graham had a gift of evangelism to preach before large crowds. Both used the media effectively to broadcast the gospel message. Graham’s forte has been in organization and follow-up. He has preached in every state in the United States and in most major cities around the world. These three revivalists prove that God’s callings are unique and individual. Each of us has specific work in the harvest, and we must simply obey his direction.

Life Application: Sister Aimee said: “But I still believe that only one thing can cause people to fly, and that’s the two wings: the wing of material prosperity and the wing of spiritual recovery. Now I hope that out of all this suffering may come a better understanding and a national revival.” Acknowledging the context of the Great Depression for her statement, what conditions in society today might serve as a precursor for national revival? Given the success of the social aspects of the ministry at Angelus Temple, list some activities your church can develop to minister effectively to society.

Key Scripture: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The Jesus Movement

America in the 1960s and 1970s was devoid of ideals, reeling from the effects of the Vietnam War. Society’s foundation, based on aspirations of wealth and success, was crumbling. Families began to break apart, and the divorce rate was spiraling. Alcoholism, drug use, and venereal disease were soaring. Still worse, some denominations were preaching only a “social gospel,” while others were simply entertainment centers. Society was ripe for a change! Who would have thought spiritual change would come through the hippie movement? Because adults said one thing and did another, many young people had wearied of their hypocrisy. So they simply dropped out. Since God never allows society to be without a witness, He sent godly people to minister to this lost generation.

Chuck Smith, pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California, was one of them. Smith and his church became nationally identified with the Jesus Movement. Pastor Chuck, in his early forties when the movement began, welcomed the young people into his church. He paid no attention to the way they dressed, but he was interested in their language. By learning the hippie lingo, Smith related to them on their level. Young people hungry for acceptance flocked to his church. They arrived early and stayed late. As Smith spoke, he affirmed them — assuring that the Lord was talking to them all the time, if they would but listen.

While Calvary Chapel accepted the hippies with open arms, many mainline churches were offended by their outrageous dress and speech. They felt that Jesus People were no more than dirty radicals — and they were not welcome. Therefore, new converts in the movement usually stayed away from established churches. Instead they gathered in coffee houses and shelters provided by various street ministries. These young people began to study the Bible in earnest, attend churches that would accept them, and witness with a vengeance. People on the street easily recognized them by their conspicuous Bibles and their aggressive witnessing.

The foundational premise of the Jesus People was their belief in the deity of Jesus. Christians who accept Him as the Son of God can then accept His love as personal. This personal relationship assures believers that Jesus hears and answers prayers. And as the Son of God, He has the power to transform lives. Since the Jesus People believed that Christians were called to work and worship together, they patterned communion after the love feasts of the early Christians. Many felt that a religious commune was the ideal situation where work and material possessions could be shared. And their sharing extended outward into the community in the form of witnessing and helping the underprivileged.

Moishe Rosen

The group Jews For Jesus was founded at this same time by Moishe Rosen, a Messianic or “completed” Jew. Immediately after accepting Jesus as the Messiah, Rosen entered Bible college in New Jersey. After his ordination Rosen worked for the American Board of Missions to the Jews in Los Angeles. From there he went to New York to become the Director of Recruitment Training.

Rosen found the college campus a fertile ground for witnessing. As a Jew he knew how to approach other Jews without being too offensive. Since being Jewish referred not only to faith but to culture, potential believers could not be confronted overtly with the gospel message. Many of the Jewish students were encountering believers in Yeshua (the Jewish word for Jesus) for the first time. As they formed friendships and began discussing their faith, a Jewish believer would be asked to come in and explain his or her unique position as a Jew who believed in Jesus. The Messianic Jew would then point out the Jewishness of believing in Jesus as the Messiah.

From New York Moishe Rosen traveled back to California where he hoped to learn street witnessing from the Jesus People. When he spoke, Rosen addressed Jews, always stressing that a Jew who accepted Christ did not lose his or her Jewishness. Under the tutelage of Paul Bryant, Rosen learned how to witness on the street and give out tracts. He began to use witnessing tools with catchy slogans such as placards and buttons. Rosen incorporated the name Jews For Jesus on the evangelistic folders he prepared. As the group grew in number and influence, Rosen encouraged them to pray with other believers. Although organized like other ministries, Jews For Jesus is unique because of its target group. Thirty years later, Jews For Jesus remains a major evangelistic outreach to Jewish people.

Bill Bright

Bill Bright was a devout Christian since childhood. Born in Oklahoma, he finished school in Los Angeles and went into business there. In 1946, after feeling a call to ministry, Bright entered Princeton Theological Seminary. He later transferred to Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California.

When he married, the couple mutually agreed to put the Lord first in their lives. Bright taught a Bible class; and as a couple, Bill and Vonette became involved in jail, hospital, and mission ministries. The longer they participated in all these outreaches, however, the more they realized that everyone else was volunteering in the same areas.

Then the Lord revealed to Bright the plan for his life. He was to work with college students, not as an ordained minister but as a lay person. Bill shared his vision with a professor, Dr. Wilbur Smith, who offered to pray for him. The next day the professor gave him the name for his ministry that had been revealed in prayer — Campus Crusade for Christ.

The first home for Campus Crusade was near the campus of the University of California. Miraculously, the Brights were able to rent it cheaply. Campus Crusade’s first outreach was to campuses in California, Oregon, and Washington. The organization moved three more times, each to a larger facility miraculously provided by the Lord.

The basic premise of Campus Crusade is simple yet vital. Once we turn our life over to Christ, the Holy Spirit will guide us. But it is necessary to pray and read the Bible. Developing Christian relationships and fellowshipping in a church are as vital as witnessing. Furthermore, training is an important aspect of this organization. Campus Crusade believes in aggressive evangelism and making disciples. Today Campus Crusade enjoys world renown. Although Bill died in 2003, thousands of people are still being brought to Christ through the efforts of this vibrant organization.

The Charismatic Movement

The charismatic movement was far-reaching in its scope. Many of the leading evangelists and teachers today were either part of the movement or influenced by it. One well-known leader is David Wilkerson, who ministers from a renovated theater in New York City, where hundreds of drug addicts and homeless persons are converted yearly through his efforts. Teen Challenge, which he founded, continues its outreach to young people with drug and alcohol problems. Some who contributed greatly to the charismatic movement never lived to see the fulfillment of their visions. Gordon Lindsay and Keith Green both died prematurely, leaving vibrant ministries in the hands of their wives. Freda Lindsay’s son Dennis now heads the influential Christ For The Nations Institute, where thousands are trained for missions and pastorates. Melody Green Sievright, who co-founded Last Days Ministries with her late husband, continues Keith’s vision. Today Melody concentrates on missions and social issues such as abortion.

Kathryn Kuhlman

One famous charismatic who died without leaving an heir to her ministry was the controversial Kathryn Kuhlman. Kuhlman was born on a farm near Concordia, Missouri in 1907. Her parents Joseph and Emma became quite well-to-do because of her father’s astute business sense. Since her mother was a strict disciplinarian, her father became Kuhlman’s idol. As far as religion was concerned, the family was divided. Emma attended church and all its social functions. Kuhlman was born again at the age of fourteen in this church. Joseph, who belonged to the Baptist church, seldom attended saying that he was disgusted with preachers.

Much to her father’s dismay, Kuhlman’s sister Myrtle had married Everett Parrott, a traveling evangelist. When she was sixteen, Myrtle convinced their mother that the teenager should travel with them for the summer. But the summer turned into several years while Kuhlman was being groomed for a ministry of her own. When the evangelistic team split up, Kuhlman and Helen Gulliford, a talented musician, struck out on their own. These two attractive single women caused quite a stir on the evangelistic circuit.

In 1935 Kathryn Kuhlman decided to settle in Denver. There a huge old building was renovated, and services began. Kuhlman preached salvation and faith, and multitudes were saved. At first the group simply wanted to supplement the meetings of the local churches. But the ministry grew until it became a full-fledged church. Kuhlman performed marriages, funerals, and baptisms. The church had a Sunday school, a bus ministry, a jail ministry, a ministry to institutionalized people, and Kuhlman had her own radio show. Of course, the work load was too much for one person, so many visiting evangelists and song leaders were brought in for weeks or months at the time.

One of these visiting evangelists proved to be the young woman’s undoing. He divorced his wife and left his two children. In spite of warnings from her friends in the ministry, Kuhlman married the evangelist. Many believed that he had left his wife because of Kuhlman. The scandal was too great, and her ministry failed. Finally, after several years of marriage, Kathryn made a difficult choice. Because God had called her to preach, she chose to leave her husband and reenter the ministry. Unfortunately for Kuhlman, this indiscretion caused her later embarrassment.

In 1946, after the separation, Kuhlman started over in a new area. She held tabernacle meetings in Franklin, Pennsylvania and began a radio show in Oil City, a few miles away. In 1947, when Kuhlman taught a series on the Holy Spirit, healings began to proliferate in her newly formed healing lines. Although people insisted that she had the gift of healing, she denied it. Instead, she claimed that those healed had the gift of healing. Furthermore, she declared, it was a love gift from God. Therefore it depended more on the divine Healer than on any minister or evangelist. However, Kathryn did acknowledge her gifts of faith and the word of knowledge.

Kuhlman moved her ministry to Carnegie Hall and Stambaugh Auditorium in Pittsburgh. She started to hold Friday night healing services at the hall and Sunday services in the auditorium because her charismatic personality was attracting increasingly larger crowds. She also held evangelistic campaigns in other major cities. In every meeting Kuhlman prayed for the anointing before attempting to preach. Her services were always dramatic, with hundreds often being “slain in the Spirit.” Thousands testified of being healed during her meetings, but her unorthodox methods also brought great controversy.

Detractors inside the established churches criticized Kuhlman’s showmanship, her ostentatious clothing, and the large offerings she collected. Kuhlman was a woman of contrast. On the one hand, she loved expensive clothes and jewelry and the finer things of life. But she also loved her relationships with common people. There were times she had trouble reconciling the two. Yet Kuhlman continually preached the Word of God. Never assuming that she personally had any healing power, she simply preached faith in God. And the faith inspired by her preaching brought healing to multitudes who flocked to her meetings. She tirelessly committed herself to preaching and healing up to her death in 1976.

Demos Shakarian

Demos Shakarian’s grandfather brought his family from Armenia to the United States in response to a prophecy. This godly man started a dairy farm in southern California, which became quite prosperous. His son and grandson followed in his footsteps as dairy farmers — and spiritual giants.

In 1940 Demos Shakarian began sponsoring revivals. A turning point in his ministry came in 1951 when he helped Oral Roberts organize his evangelistic campaign in Los Angeles. From that time on, Roberts became Shakarian’s mentor. In 1953 both Shakarian and his wife Rose received a word from the Lord. Upon comparing them, they discovered God had told each of them the same thing: they were to move to Fresno, California. There Demos was to meet with Christian businessmen already established within their churches. The purpose was to encourage them to develop a more responsive relationship with the Holy Spirit while staying in their own churches.

The first meeting of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship (FGBMF) met in Fresno with twenty-one businessmen. The only common bond among them was the full-gospel experience. Oral Roberts was the speaker, and Demos Shakarian became the president. The group declined to be aligned with any other group. As a result, the denominational churches considered them rebellious. They also felt the group was funneling support and funds away from the church. Although the FGBMF group did not sponsor evangelistic campaigns, they invited several well-known revivalists to speak at their meetings and conventions. The FGBMF formed chapters all over the country. In the first nineteen years of operation, the organization’s budget reached one million dollars. Its membership rose to three hundred thousand. Because FGBMF groups meet all over the world today, the organization’s name has been officially changed to Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI). The influence of these dedicated businessmen continues to reach millions for Christ. A similar organization for women — Women’s Aglow Fellowship — was started in Seattle in 1967 and likewise has grown into a worldwide outreach.

Conclusion

Kathryn Kuhlman and Demos Shakarian are examples of the diversity within the charismatic movement. At first Kuhlman reached out to individuals who stayed within their own churches, but soon established her own church in Denver. Later she returned to the evangelistic circuit with regular services in Pittsburgh on Fridays and Sundays. Kuhlman is remembered today by the many people who were healed under her ministry. Shakarian began by planning revivals, but the Lord led him to minister to businessmen who wanted to experience more deeply the work of the Holy Spirit. As a result, these men went back to their own churches with renewed vigor. The FGBMFI has grown into an organization that ministers to men everywhere, and Shakarian, who died in 1993, will forever be linked to that great work.

Life Application: Calvary Chapel pastored by Chuck Smith was one of the few congregations to welcome members of the Jesus Movement. These hippies with long hair and unusual clothing put off most churchgoers. The refusal by these Christians to look past appearances caused them to miss one of the unique moves of the Spirit in this century. Are there individuals or groups in your area who are being excluded from Christian fellowship for one reason or another? Your act of befriending and welcoming “the least of these” may be God’s opportunity to pour out His Spirit afresh.