in tongues’ to some people, though.” He paused a moment and then added casually:
“Of course, I understand it.”
I was so surprised that I simply said again: “You do?”
“Sure! You see, the speech centers dominate the brain. If they were yielded to God, then every other area would be affected, too. Besides,” he continued, “I think about God sometimes, and I run out of words. I don’t see why He shouldn’t give me some additional words to use.”
Others disagreed, and found it threatening or inappropriate. Bennett’s second assistant publicly threw his vestments on the altar at the end of the second of the three morning services on Passion Sunday, 3 April, 1960, saying “I can no longer work with this man!” That Sunday Bennett had told his testimony of being baptized in the Spirit five months previously and urged openness and acceptance of this transforming experience now common in the parish. A small but volatile group erupted in open opposition, including a vestryman who urged Bennett to resign, which he did that day, to avoid a parish split.
Bishop William Fisher Lewis in Seattle invited Bennett to ‘bring the fire’ north and offered him the run down church of St. Luke’s, Seattle, which rapidly became a nationally known charismatic Episcopalian church, and model for hundreds of other denominational churches.
Typically, charismatic renewal disrupts established congregations, and is usually expressed in renewal home groups in the church or in a renewal service during the week or on Sunday night. However, it is often an uneasy partnership. Many people shift toward independent congregations or Pentecostal assemblies for a fuller expression of this dynamic renewal, as is examined in chapter nine: charisma and institutions.
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1960 – May: Darjeeling, India (David Mangratee)
A revival broke out in Darjeeling in 1960. God used David Mangratee. Born into a Hindu family, he had a wonderful birth. His father died in the year 1933, and was to be taken for burial. People had made everything ready. He was kept inside the coffin ready for taking him the burial place. But before they could take him he woke up and lived again. David reported:
During this time two death angels were taking him somewhere. There was a big dark hell which had a wide door. Inside were animals and skeletons of human beings and animals. But as the angels were about to take him in, the door suddenly become small and they could not take him in. Instead a voice was heard: “Go back to earth. Your time has not come.” After this my father lived for another 20 years and died again in 1953 never to rise again.
During a vision I asked the Lord whether this was true. The Lord answered, “Yes, because I wanted a man with a miracle birth.” It was God’s great grace that He raised me for this great work which one can see at present among the Nepalese. It is now, according to some, the fastest growing church in the world. I accepted the Lord as my personal saviour on 3rd June 1953, after the death of my father.
I underwent a Bible Training Programme at Southern Asia Bible Institute (now College) and returned to Darjeeling. Rev. David Dutt of Calcutta, Rev. Virus Shipley of Baraily, U.P., and I went Gospel Trekking to East Sikkim beginning from Rhenock, and covered Rorathang and Rongpo. Then we went to Kalimpong. We did not receive a warm welcome in Kalimpong and so we went to Darjeeling. We came to Mt. Hermon and held three days of special meetings. 35 people expressed their desire to know more about the Lord and this led to my staying back in Darjeeling looking after the 35 newly converted.
Regular church services were started and week day meetings were also started. New songs in Nepali folk tunes were composed. Songs that were already used were translated from English hymns. The new songs were in popular tunes and folk tunes which attracted many people but mainly the young people. Gospel preaching was carried on vigorously. Many souls began to take an interest in the Lord.
On Pentecost Sunday in the month of May 1960, one of our church members got filled with the Spirit of Go