A few years ago, a friend of mine and I were discussing the then current Neo­-Charismatic Movement which was sweeping the churches. My friend was a fellow United Methodist pastor, and graduate of Duke. We had met during doctoral work at Emory. As a fellow intellectual, someone quite thoughtful and astute, I wanted him to help me think through this strange outbreak of spiritual gifts and weird behavior called Charismatic. I was telling him how I, as a pastor, had struggled with an outbreak of Charismatic fervor in my own congregation—people speaking in tongues, attending faith healing services, being filled with the Spirit. I found such behavior somewhat bizarre, particularly for Methodists.

As I was talking, I looked over at my friend. He had an odd look on his face. I said, "Wait a minut…