The Spirit Of Love
I was 25 years old in early 1977, when an old friend from 1969 popped back into my life - the Pastor I had assisted while attending college in Beaumont. My sister-in-law had stayed in touch with him after he left Beaumont, and she was aware of the amazing success he was having with his ministry in Waco, Texas. She wanted me to re-connect with him and let him tell me what he was doing in Waco.
I invited him to come speak for us at The Gospel Lighthouse. He came, and we spent a couple of days in intense discussion about “what God was doing.”
He and his family had gone to Waco to assume the pastorate of his retiring elderly father-in-law. They had a fine older Church plant, but almost no people. It was an Assembly of God Church, but he renamed it “The Spirit of Love Church.” In his first year there, the congregation of 35 exploded to over 350. He raided Baylor University and was harvesting Baptist college kids by the scores, making Charismatics out of them.
Ecumenicalism and the Charismatic Movement
You would have to understand some of the major forces at work in the religious world at that time to appreciate the major upheaval that was about to take place in my life.
Almost nobody realized in those days the impact that the Vatican II "Ecumenical" Council of 1962-1965 was having on the entire Christian community around the world, just a little more than ten years after the fact. A part-stealth, part-celebrated Roman Catholic presence had invaded the Pentecostal-Charismatic arena and was working feverishly to break down all denominational and doctrinal distinctives of Protestant Fundamental Evangelical Christianity.
In its most technical terms, Vatican II was meant to reach out to all its departed "daughter" churches (Protestants), and bring them back into the fold of the "Mother" Church in Rome. But that certainly was not evident on the face of the ecumenical movement. It merely appeared that all Christians of all denominations were finally becoming one. Everybody seemed to forget that "Mother" was "the Great Whore," the Harlot Church of Revelation 17.
Dismantling the Protestant Reformation
It would not be until 1994, in a historic declaration, that Evangelicals including Pat Robertson, Charles Colson (one of the chief originators), Jesse Miranda (Assemblies of God), Bill Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ), Mark Noll (Wheaton University) and several other notables, would officially join with Roman Catholic leaders to sign a "non-proselytization" pact. That move, more than anything else, effectively nullified the Reformation and abolished Protestantism. The great anti-Catholics from the past, like Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Wesley, and even Charles Spurgeon, must have rolled over in their graves. Protestants would no longer object to the Roman Catholic Church, but would actually call them brothers and sisters in the Lord. No need for Protestants to convert Catholics any more. The Catholics had pulled off a major coup.
There were new faces and new voices breaking onto the religious scene that were introducing radical new concepts about how to have Church. One example of the homogenization of Pentecostalism with Catholicism was the fact that Jim Bakker, President of the PTL Club, and Pat Robertson, President of the Christian Broadcasting Network, both warmly welcomed Mother Angelica, a Roman Catholic nun, to their national satellite television audiences in the mid to late 1970s. Her popularity grew so quickly across America that by 1979, she began organizing her own Catholic television network - the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) in Irondale, Alabama. Today, EWTN now reaches almost 150 million homes on more than 5000 cable systems in 127 countries, making it the LARGEST religious television network in the world. All of this began when those two Pentecostal ministers ignored the long-held objections to the Roman Catholic Church and began not only to consent to Roman Catholicism, but also to actually welcome it into Protestant Evangelical and Pentecostal circles. (EWTN offers a 24-hour fare of Masses, Rosaries, Catechisms, and Papal events, along with Catholic-slanted international news reporting and other programming.)
Years later, Paul Crouch, President of the Trinity Broadcasting Network would declare, "I’m eradicating the word Protestant even out of my vocabulary… I’m not protesting anything… it’s time for Catholics and non-Catholics to come together as one in the Spirit and one in the Lord." Robert Schuller, Hour of Power author, and Pastor of the Garden Grove Community Church said, "It’s time for Protestants to go to the shepherd [the Pope] and say, 'What do we have to do to come home?'"
The net result of the new "non-denominationalism" (more accurately called "Ecumenicalism") was that thousands of Churches across America were abandoning their denominational ties AND their doctrinal identities, and joining up with countless para-Church organizations, often laity-led (and in many cases, forbidding the participation of the clergy).
It was the beginning of a new day for Christianity. It was an "anything goes" day for Christianity. The old-game rules became the worst taboo. Denominationalism became the scourge of religion, and preaching doctrine its greatest sin. People from every denomination were coming together in free-style worship and ministry. Anything that felt good, and anything that could pull a crowd was permissible. The denominations could not compete.
The contrast was glaringly obvious in my particular situation. I had spent two years building a congregation from zero to 100, following a traditional model. The Church in Waco, following a maverick, free-style approach, hit 350 in less than a year with an almost completely experimental model. I asked him what he was doing to have that kind of revival.
"You've Got To Quit Preaching Hell, Fire, and Damnation!"
He told me, “Ken, you’ve got to quit preaching hell, fire and damnation. You’ve got to quit telling people they can’t do this and can’t do that. You’ve just got to LOVE THEM! People are starving for love!” He continued, “You know I used to preach hell so hot that you could smell the flames, but I don’t do that anymore. God doesn’t care how you dress, or whether you go to the movies, or things like that. He loves you, and He wants to save you. That is the message.”
I was skeptical. I argued dogmatically with him.
He proposed two things to convince me.
First, he said, “I want you to come to Waco and see what God is doing.” He had a Youth Training Seminar scheduled with Winkey Pratney, an author and speaker from New Zealand. Winkey was internationally-known for his powerful books on youth conflicts.
So, on August 16, 1977, Dixie and I packed up and went to Waco to hear Winkey. It was the same day that Elvis Presley died, because we heard the news of Elvis dying while listening to the car radio on the way to Waco. Dixie had just learned that she was pregnant with our second child.
We spent several days in Waco, and spent quality time one-on-one with Winkey. We had sessions with him at the church, at restaurants, in his room back at the hotel, even played a table-tennis tournament with him.
What we saw and heard in Waco was definitely impressive. The Spirit of Love Church had an astonishing amount of talent. Kevin Gould was a Christian recording artist with Light Records in the UK, and he had moved from Wales, Great Britain to work stateside with Word Records, which was headquartered in Waco. Kevin was heavily featured in the ministry there. Several influential local TV and Radio personalities attended that church, along with several prominent businessmen and local citizens. The Spirit of Love Church had a large staff, including three other full-time ministers - young couples who provided truly incredible music, youth, and children’s ministries.
"New Wineskins For New Wine"
The church owned a huge old three-story mansion which they converted into a teen half-way house/coffee house. About a dozen kids from the streets lived in the house, and it was a cauldron of activities day and night: concerts, seminars, parties, activities, etc. Hundreds of kids came and went from “The Wine Cellar - home of New Wineskins” - incorporating some of the popular concepts in Howard Snyder's smash-hit book, "The Problem With Wineskins." The church also had a day care center with about sixty children in it. The whole place was a bee-hive of activity and excitement.
Secondly, the Pastor had another big idea for me. “There is one more person I want you to meet. His name is F.E. Ward.”
Ward had been a Full-Gospel missionary to South America for many years, but in recent years had joined forces with Demos Shakarian to form the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International. Demos Shakarian was a wealthy dairyman from California who worked very closely with Oral Roberts, and at one time, with William Branham. Ward was a “front man” for the organization, which at that time was the primary engine behind the Charismatic movement in the United States, and in many other countries. Ward traveled all over the United States, meeting with ministers and business men, and forming new chapters of the F.G.B.M.F.I. At that point, he had already chartered over 200 chapters. Jim Bakker and Pat Robertson collaborated with the F.G.B.M.F.I. again and again in huge national and regional events. Shakarian and Oral Roberts were frequent guests on CBN and PTL.
A New Thing
Dixie and I met Ward in Waco at "Surf and Turf," a local fine-dining seafood-and-steak restaurant with live music. Ward was a huge man and had a commanding way about him. Ward leaned into my face and said, “Ken, you’ve got to see what God is doing. He’s doing a new thing.” He invited me to Houston to the upcoming F.G.B.M.F.I. conference at the Marriot near the Medical Center. I promised him I would be there.
A few days later, I was in Houston at the appointed time. I walked into that vast ballroom that had been set up banquet-style. I don’t know how many were in that crowd; maybe 1500, maybe 2000, from virtually every conceivable denomination. There were preachers in clerical collars, some smoking pipes or cigars, some wearing beards, some in high fashion, and some in street clothes.
The featured speaker that day was Howard Conatser, a silver-tongued orator if ever there was one. He was tall and slender, with snow-white hair and a heavy Dallas drawl. Howard was the pastor of the Beverly Hills Baptist Church in Dallas.
He testified that day of his deep hunger for God, and how it had led him to receiving the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, speaking in other tongues while in his private office. He told of being so overwhelmed with his new-found experience that he could not resist taking it to his Baptist congregation. Amazingly, many of them accepted his testimony, and in short order, nearly the entire congregation had received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost as well. The church went into a massive, explosive growth phase, and attendance shot from 400 to 4,000 so quickly they had no place to meet. They ended up leasing the Bronco Bowl in Dallas, and that is where their church was then meeting.
The attendees at the F.G.B.M.F.I. convention were so moved by Howard’s testimony that they responded en mass. I watched in absolute amazement as over 1000 ministers of every denomination received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost that day, speaking in other tongues!
"If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em!"
I told Ward later that I didn’t see how I could fight this. As best as I could tell, this must be the big last-days revival. I didn't think I could beat them. I came to the conclusion that I really had no choice but to join them, or get left behind. I didn’t understand it, because it broke every rule I had ever learned, but I did not know how to explain it away.
I invited Ward to come to The Gospel Lighthouse, and he came right away. He told my congregation so many amazing stories, that I was left reeling from the amazement of it all.
Looking For Role Models
I reflected back on everything I could think of to decide if this was a true move of God’s Spirit. My upbringing in two small Assembly of God churches did not provide much of a reference point. Neither of my childhood pastors were highly-educated men, nor did they have any real sensitivities to what was going on in the world outside the four walls of their local assemblies.
In the earliest days of our marriage, Dixie and I looked for mentors. I devoured the autobiographies and biographies of numerous great contemporary preachers. I had been fascinated from my childhood with Oral Roberts and A.A. Allen. I read many of Oral Robert’s books, and was especially affected by his “Seed Faith” teaching.
I remember reading A.A. Allen’s biography, “Born to Lose, Bound to Win” out loud to Dixie one day while driving down Interstate 10 East through the state of Louisiana. Allen had been an exceptionally influential tent revivalist, and despite the complaints of many of his detractors, and apparently a few real hoaxes, Allen nevertheless had left a trail of signs, wonders and miracles like nobody else in his day. He was raised in his mother’s tavern on a bar stool, and ended up preaching to some of the largest crowds in American history, with multitudes receiving miraculous healings. He finally died infamously, alone in a hotel room - a drunken alcoholic.
Kathyrn Kuhlman also had a biography written by Jamie Buckingham called “Daughter of Destiny” in which she was portrayed as a prophetess without peer. Kuhlman’s nationally renowned ministry, with an incredible boost from her weekly special on the CBS television network, catapulted her into the limelight of ecumenical Christianity, with countless multitudes attending her miracle crusades. Nagging reports of her adulterous lifestyle seemed to have little negative effect on her ministry.
I carefully followed several other national ministries, including Rex Humbard, Jimmy Swaggart, Morris Cerullo, T.L. Osborn, David Wilkerson, and R.W. Shambach. Shambach and Brother Clendennen often teamed up in crusades and tent meetings, but they had not yet bought into the Charismatic, F.G.B.M.F.I. mindset. Shambach did later. Clendennen never did.
Anyway, when F.E. Ward came to The Gospel Lighthouse, my life was forever altered by his influence. He became my de facto mentor. I started taking cues from him. He persuaded me that I had nothing to lose, and everything to gain by going with the flow of this new "move of God." For better or for worse, I jumped in. Time would tell.
Continue to:
Long Winding Road - Chapter 9
Which Way From Here?
Return to:
Long Winding Road - Chapter 7
"Transition Into Pastoral Ministry"
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Ken Raggio
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