What I learned from the--gasp!--Word of Faith movement

Perhaps you’ve heard of them. Televangelists with bouffant hairstyles and Rolex watches saying send me a dollar and God will give you a hundred, women with gaudy make-up, and the ever-famous “Be healed in the name of Jeeeee-sus” while pushing people to the ground. These are the excesses that come to mind when the average Christian thinks of the “Word of Faith” movement. I’ve been writing progressive evangelical articles for about a year now on the Sojourners website, but I think it’s time for me to come out of the closet. Not only was I raised in a Word of Faith church; one of the most profound intellectual influences on my life is a female Word of Faith teacher.

I met Dianne Kannady when I was a student in public high school. Dianne was a history teacher and I was the high school evangelist. I started a prayer club and Dianne was kind enough to be the host. It didn’t take me long to figure out that Dianne knew a lot more about Scripture than I did, so I went to her with all of my questions. After I graduated from high school, I started attending her Friday night Bible studies at a church near downtown St. Louis. I also started listening to her daily radio program and for several years met with her on numerous occasions to discuss theology—often for hours on end.

I realize that some people may write Dianne off because of the dreaded words “Word of Faith” but before you do, let me tell you what I learned from Dianne. The first thing I learned from Dianne is that the Bible is progressive revelation and that it should be interpreted through the lens of Jesus (ring a bell Anabaptists?). I also learned that through Christ’s death and resurrection, I’ve been given “everything that pertains to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3), “been made a partaker of the divine nature” (Vs 4), I’ve been “seated with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:6) and that Christ is my “wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” (I Corinthians 1:30). I learned that there are unseen realities all around us and that God’s Word spoken on the lips of faith has limitless power to change what we see and feel. Perhaps most importantly, I learned that love isn’t merely an attribute of God. It’s who God is.

I would have a hard time identifying with the Word of Faith movement today. For one thing, the Word of Faith movement, and modern day Pentecostalism in general, has some pretty huge blind spots. To the average Word of Faith practitioner, the definition of living like Jesus is limited to healing the sick, casting out demons, and saving souls. It has very little to do with practicing non-violence and challenging institutional structures that perpetuate inequality.

Having said that, I often wonder if the emergent /progressive evangelical movement will have the same staying power as the faith that Dianne teaches. If there’s one thing that remains consistent about all of the Word of Faith practitioners that I know, it’s a deep appreciation for the work of Christ on the cross, and an unshakable conviction that the benefits of the cross—be it eternal life, healing, victory over sin—are appropriated by personal faith. While Dianne is hardly a fundamentalist, you won’t find Dianne wishy-washy on issues like the Virgin Birth, the Incarnation, the Deity of Christ, the atonement, or salvation by grace through faith.

Liberation theologians may have a preferential option for the poor, but I hate to be the bearer of bad news for liberation theologians, if we look at the kind of Christianity exploding in the global south, it appears that the poor have a preferential option for Pentecostalism. Emergent groups may congratulate themselves on their intellectual ability to “deconstruct” the Bible in the light of postmodernism, but we’ll see how long that lasts. Because unless a theological movement can bring God from the head to the gut, it runs the risk of having a form of godliness, but denying it’s power. It may save social security, but will it save Sally?

Listen to my interview with Robert Kellemen!

Last week I had the privilege of interviewing Robert Kellemen, co-author of Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith on my blog talk show.

Robert Kellemen served for over a decade as founding Chairman of the Master of Arts in Christian Counseling and Discipleship (MACCD) Department at Capital Bible Seminary. He is now professor of large at that department and the founder of RPM Ministries.

What I enjoyed about the interview, and what I'm sure many will enjoy about the book, is that Kellemen addresses the issue of female Christian heroes in a way that transcends the traditional egalitarian/complementarian divide. Although it seems to me that Kellemen is a complementarian (meaning he sees prescribed gender roles in the family and church) what is also clear from the interview is that Kellemen also feels that women have been wrongfully silenced due to poor theology and a patriarchal culture.

The subject of women in ministry is of no passing interest to me. When I attended Christ for the Nations Institute, I sat under the teaching of Dr. Eddie Hyatt, a preacher and teacher on revival and women's issues. In Hyatt's writings (along with that of his wife Susan Hyatt), he makes a compelling argument that in every genuine revival in church history, the status of women is always elevated. Eddie and his wife are some of the chief proponents of egalitarianism (which rejects the notion of prescribed roles for women) today. Due to Eddie Hyatt's influence (and not to mention the plethora of women preachers in historic pentecostalism), my theology over the years has tended to flow in the direction of egalitarianism and I've tended to--wrongfully I think--equate the complementarian view with sexism.

Robert Kellemen has effectively shattered that stereotype for me! Judging by the book and the interview, it's clear to me that Robert Kellemen makes essentially the same argument that Eddie and Susan Hyatt write about in their books--that women are a crucial key to any genuine move of God--and they need not be silenced! Wait till you hear Kellemen's response to when I asked him tongue and cheek "Are you trying to emasculate us men?" Kellemen's reply was very revealing.

And for that, you'll have to listen to the interview.

And when you finish with the interview, don't forget to pick up the book.

Regardless of what side of the egalitarian/complementarian divide you find yourself on, I think you'll find the profiles of women Christian heroes throughout history fascinating!