Order of St. Luke International 2019: From an Anti-Cessationism past to a Fully Charismatic Future
Keynote speaker, Judith MacNutt.
Note how often Holy Communion was integrated into the sessions. This reflects both the origins of the OSL as an Anglican-Episcopal group and its present membership which includes many Lutherans and Methodists. All of these denomination have a high regard for the spiritual effectiveness of the sacrament. So it might be added that the OSL as a whole distinguishes itself from other Pentecostal and charismatic denominations and churches as being sacramental and Pentecostal at the same time.
If you are a member of one of the “lightly” sacramental churches, for instances many non-denominational churches, you might want to drop in to the next national or regional OSL convention to see how Pentecostalism and sacramental worship can unite in an intimate way.
Let me also suggest that the OSL may be useful to some of you if you are a solitary Pentecostal or closet charismatic in a nice traditional church and you don’t want to leave it for reasons of fellowship or family. Start an OSL group. Tell the pastor it is to encourage healing prayer. (Don’t mention the Pentecostal aspect). Begin practicing healing, and as the members respond encourage they to read the literature on healing. The Holy Spirit will take over from then. The membership application cost $35 and with that you get an excellent workbook on Jesus’ miracles plus other books on healing worth more than $35.
Pneuma Review readers are Spirit-filled so that none of what transpired in the OSL international conference is earth shattering news. Rather, it is a confirmation that the Holy Spirit is proceeding to transform all sections of his church. Just recently a Face Book friend informed me that even the Southern Baptists are recognizing the gifts of the Spirit, especially in regards to their missionaries. This contradicts a decades old policy to the contrary.
See you at the next national OSL conference. It promises to be as good as the international conference, since the major speakers and workshop presenters mostly come from the USA.
PR
Notes
[1] Most Christians in the USA today assume that socialism is inherently Marxist and anti-Christian, sometimes in a disguised way. There was a time when Christians tried to form a non-violent form of socialism, as in the Christian Social Union.
[2] Percy Dearmer produced a masterpiece on the subject of healing prayer, showing that healing continued throughout all of the Church Age (anti-cessationism). The first edition of Body and Soul: An Inquiry into the Effect of Religion Upon Health (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1929) published in 1909.
[3] I cover the CFO as well as the OSL in my recent work, Agnes Sanford and Her Companions: The Assault on Cessationism and the Coming of the Charismatic Renewal (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2015).
Category: Church History, Summer 2019
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