Catch the Fire
Soaking Prayer and Charismatic Renewal
Michael Wilkinson and Peter F. Althouse
“Although there has been an increase in the number of social scientists researching and writing about prayer, few attempt to journey into what might be called 'the heart of prayer.' Wilkinson (a sociologist) and Althouse (a theologian) have skillfully worked as a team to present one form of prayer (soaking prayer) within a particular historical context (a contemporary revival) and to explore its rituals, affective experiences, and psycho-social effects. In drawing from social science as well as theology they have captured the heart of soaking prayer.”-Margaret M. Poloma, University of Akron
A recent phenomenon of charismatic renewal took place in Toronto in the mid-1990s. Commonly known as the “Toronto Blessing” and operated by the former Vineyard Church leaders John and Carol Arnott, the renewal was defined by reports of uncontrollable laughter, weeping, speaking in tongues, animal noises, and falling on the floor during worship. Sympathetic Christians embraced these practices while others who believed that this form of worship boarded on spectacle rejected them. By the end of the 1990s most people thought that the renewal was over.
Yet, in the first decade of the 21st century, the authors-a sociologist and a theologian-heard rumors that the Toronto church, now known as “Catch the Fire” ministries, was still holding mass meetings with upwards of 2,000 people in attendance. They also learned of an emerging practice of “soaking prayer,” an adaption of Pentecostal-charismatic prayer that, participants and leaders claim, facilitates and expands the reception of divine love in order to give it away in acts of forgiveness, reconciliation, compassion, and benevolence. Soaking, the authors reveal, is a metaphor for practices like resting in the Spirit, prayer for spiritual gifts, healing, unstanched prophecy, and impartation, and supports overall charismatic spirituality. Attending “Catch the Fire” conferences, churches, and house meetings in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, Wilkinson and Althouse observed firsthand how people soak, what it means to soak, and why soaking is considered an important practice among charismatics.
Michael Wilkinson is professor of sociology at Trinity Western University, director of the Religion in Canada Institute, and coordinator of the Canadian Pentecostal Research Network. He is author most recently of Global Pentecostal Movements: Migration, Mission, and Public Religion.
Peter F. Althouse is associate professor of religion at Southeastern University and the author of Spirit of the Last Days: Pentecostal Eschatology in Conversation with Jurgen Moltmann. He is the editor of the Canadian Journal of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity.
March 2014, 6x9, 242 pp., 21 tables
$35.00 x Paper
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