First Gathering of Charismatic Renewal Streams Seeking Unity in the Spirit in Kansas City 1977
- 40th
Anniversary of
a Remarkable
Ecumenical
Gathering
50,000
Christians
from many
denominations
and streams of
charismatic
renewal
gathered for
an ecumenical
conference on
"Charismatic
Renewal in the
Christian
Churches" in
Kansas City,
USA in July
1977
Charismatic
Renewal: The
Conference
'Heard Around
the World'
.
A
Report by Rev.
Robert H. Hawn
When
I was asked to
write this
article I
accepted
readily. But,
later it hit
me. How does one write about the powerful acts of God in our
midst? What
words can
describe the
most
historical,
the largest
and most
powerful
ecumenical
conference
ever held -
the 1977
Conference on
Charismatic
Renewal in the
Christian
Churches?
I have an inkling of what Luke
went through
in describing
that first
Pentecost in
Acts 2.
"Kansas City
was super,
great,
dynamite and
all the other
adjectives
young people
use today,"
wrote a person
who attended
the
conference.
These words
only begin to
describe the
fantastic
experience in
the Holy
Spirit that we
all had as we
gathered
50,000 plus
strong in
Kansas City,
Missouri on
July 20-24 to
witness that
"JESUS IS
LORD" and to
praise His
Holy Name.
Maria Von Trap gives her testimony on the work of
the Holy
Spirit
The conference was really a
"conference of
conferences."
Eleven
denominational
conferences
were held each
morning. The
afternoons
included
workshops led
by almost all
the
charismatic
leaders and
teachers in
the country.
The selection
of which
workshop to
attend often
became a major
decision. How
does one
decide between
teachers like
Francis
MacNutt, Bob
Mumford, Derek
Prince, Roy
Harthern,
Larry
Christenson or
Mike Evans?
Unity
in the Spirit
Each evening
the day was
climaxed as we
gathered at
Arrowhead
Stadium to
praise Jesus
as Lord in one
united body.
Each night had
a different
theme given by
the Lord to
which the
major speaker
addressed the
body.
Kevin Ranaghan from South Bend, Indiana was the
Conference
Moderator
Wednesday night Dr. Kevin Ranaghan
[a
Catholic
Charismatic
Renewal leader
from South
Bend, Indiana]
spoke
on the
"Lordship of
Jesus." He
said, "Few of
us here are
bishops or
theologians.
We are just
people of God.
The Lord is
saying if you
want to be
together, to
be one, then
love one
another."
It has been
more than
three years
since several
charismatic
leaders
discussed the
possibility of
holding
leadership
conferences
for the whole
church. It
seemed a waste
of time,
talent and
tithe for each
denomination
to hold its
own
conference.
From that seed
the Lord
continued to
widen our
vision until
the fullness
of His Will
came into
being with the
commitment to
hold the
Kansas City
Conference.
Bob Mumford (left), Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens
(center),
Rev. Charles
Simpson
(right)
A
Planning
Committee was
formed 18
months ago
from leaders
of charismatic
organizations
and was added
to as other
groups and
denominations
became part of
the
conference.
Meetings were
held every
three months
as we
prayerfully
and carefully
planned each
part of this
great task.
The Catholic Renewal Services
volunteered
their
expertise to
do the
physical
planning and
handling of
the
conference.
Their
obedience to
the Lord was
the key factor
in making the
conference a
success.
Ranaghan was
selected as
planning
committee
chairman and
the Lord's
anointing
became
obvious.
Through his
guidance the
complexities
were made
plain and the
decisions were
made in unity.
The planning
committee
itself was a
miracle of the
Lord. Who
would have
thought that
church and
organization
leaders from
such diverse
backgrounds
and set ways
could ever be
molded into a
unified body?
Just look at
the
diverseness of
the members of
the committee:
Kevin
Ranaghan,
Catholic;
Larry
Christenson,
Lutheran;
Brick
Bradford,
Presbyterian;
Vinson Synan,
Pentecostal
Holiness; Bob
Hawn,
Episcopalian;
Ithiel
Clemmons,
Church of God
in Christ; Bob
Mumford,
nondenominational;
Nelson
Litwiller,
Mennonite;
Howard
Courtney, Four
Square Gospel;
Ross
Whetstone,
Methodist;
Carlton
Spencer, Elim
Fellowship;
David Stern,
Messianic
Jews; Ken
Pagard,
American
Baptist; Roy
Lamberth,
Southern
Baptist.
Other church
bodies sent
official
representatives
to the
conference.
The Assemblies
of God was
represented by
Thomas F.
Zimmerman, the
General
Superintendent,
and others.
From this
diversity the
Lord brought a
unity in the
Spirit that
molded us as
true brothers
in Christ to
the degree
that I believe
any one of us
would give our
life for any
of the others.
This is a
miracle.
Rev. Larry
Christenson
from
Minneapolis
addresses the
Conference
On Thursday night, Larry
Christenson [a
Lutheran
Charismatic
Renewal leader
from
Minneapolis]
spoke about
"wholeness"
and how there
are many doors
in the house
we live in and
Jesus comes to
knock on any
one of them.
He went on to
say, "We did
not choose
these gifts
(of the
Spirit). The
Lord has
chosen to come
knocking at
these doors,
and we have
responded to
His knocking.
The
controversy
over these
gifts has to
be with the
Lord Jesus and
not with us.
The issue is
not spiritual
gifts; the
issue is the
Lordship of
Christ."
JESUS
IS LORD!
Friday night,
Bob Mumford
spoke about
"holiness"
and, as the
Holy Spirit
swept over the
stadium, Bob
stopped for
what he called
a "Holy Ghost
Break."
He shouted
"JESUS IS
LORD!" and a
thunderous
response
initiated a
period of
exultant
praise as the
crowd
acknowledged
that Jesus was
Lord.
Meanwhile, the
electric
scoreboard
flashed
alternately
"JESUS IS
LORD" and a
picture of
Jesus Christ
with
outstretched
arms. That
"Holy Ghost
Break" lasted
about 15
minutes.
Saturday night was a night of
commissioning
us to go into
the world with
a powerful
talk by Rev.
James Forbes
Jr. of Union
Theological
Seminary in
New York. He
said the
Lord's message
was, "See Me,
saith the
Lord" and
everyone in
the stadium
lifted their
hands and eyes
toward heaven
as they gave
themselves
totally to
Jesus.
Prophetic
call to repent
and pray for
unity
One
of the most
powerful
moments of the
conference
came when a
prophecy on
repentance was
manifested.
More than
50,000 people
responded
immediately to
the call to
"fall on your
knees before
the Lord."
People knelt
on the hard
concrete in
between the
tightly spaced
stadium seats,
or they
prostrated
themselves in
the aisles and
on the
staircases.
Those in
wheelchairs on
the stadium
floor
struggled to
get out of
them and many
came to their
knees or were
prostrate on
the turf.
A prophecy given by Ralph Martin at the Kansas City
Conference
1977
"The Body of My Son is Broken"
Come
before me with
a broken heart
and a contrite
spirit for the
body of my Son
is broken.
Come before me
with tears and
mourning for
the body of my
Son is broken.
The light is
dim, my people
are scattered
- the body of
my Son is
broken. I gave
all I had in
the Body and
Blood of my
Son. It
spilled on the
earth. The
body of my Son
is broken.
Turn from the
sins of your
fathers and
walk in the
ways of my
Son. Return to
the plan of
your
father. Return
to the purpose
of your God.
The body of my
Son is broken.
|
Tears of repentance fell from the
eyes of both
men and women
as every soul
knew that we
all were part
of the sin of
the broken and
separated body
of Christ.
That night I
believe we all
vowed to the
Lord Jesus
that we would
work toward
coming
together as
one united
body
regardless of
the cost to
each of us.
The
conference
message as
given to us by
the Lord Jesus
was: "Love one
another and
come together
as My body
that the world
may truly know
that I Am
Lord."
This message
was manifested
in the great
outpouring of
love among the
conferences
and reached
out to not
only Kansas
City but the
world. It was
manifested in
the deep
realization
that Christ's
broken,
separated Body
MUST be
brought
together in
the unity of
the Holy
Spirit.
The message
was "Unity but
not
uniformity,"
and everyone
realized that
we must apply
this in our
local church
situations.
We must begin
to come
together
regardless of
denomination,
that the world
can see the
One Body of
Christ in each
place. Only
then will the
world notice
the church.
Only then will
God pour His
power fully
through that
body.
Only then will
the church be
obedient to
her Lord. Only
then will we
bring a new
hope, a new
message and a
full salvation
to the world.
Only
then...will we
truly be able
to proclaim to
the world that
"Jesus Is
Lord."
A
prophecy given
by Bruce Yocum
at the Kansas
City
Conference
1977
Stand
in Unity with
One Another
The Lord
says to you,
Stand in unity
with one
another and
let nothing
tear you
apart. And by
no means
separate from
one another
through your
jealousies and
bitternesses,
and your
personal
preferences.
But hold fast
to one
another, for I
am about to
let you
undergo a
servere time
of trial and
testing. You
will need to
be in unity
with one
another. I
tell you this
also, I am
Jesus the
Victor King
and I have
promised you
victory.
|
Only in our
unity will the
world hear and
repent and
also come to
know Him and
His love. We
have been
given our
marching
orders and the
time for the
battle is not
far away. Our
individual and
collective
obedience to
the call for
unity in the
body of Christ
is the key to
the fulfilling
of God's
mission for
His church in
the world.
The words of a
song sum up
what I believe
our Lord Jesus
wants in His
Church: "One
body, One
Spirit, One
faith, One
Lord. One
people, One
nation
praising the
Lord."
Rev. Robert H. Hawn has been actively involved in
leadership in
the Lutheran
Charismatic
Renewal. This
article first
appeared in
the
September-October
1977 issue of
Charisma
magazine.
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