The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit – C. Peter Wagner
The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit is a classic book written by C. Peter Wagner back in 1988. I have a ton of old books I am working my way through and finally got to this one.
If you do a Google search on Third Wave theology you might think that Peter Wagner retreated back to his lair and devised a way to deceive the church into deception and folly. Conversely, if you are from a Spirit-filled background, you might think this would be the name of a tremendous outpouring that radically shifted the course of Christianity.
Neither are true. In fact, viewed through the lens of 2010 the book is quite tame.
In the book, Mr. Wagner was detailing what he saw happening in the congregational church he was a volunteer leader in. According to his writing the first wave of the Holy Ghost was the Pentecostal movement in the 1900s and beyond. The Charismatic movement in the middle of the 20th century was marked by mainline churches being touched by the power of God with demonstrations of spiritual gifts. The third wave was marked by the move of the Holy Spirit in Evangelical churches.
That’s it. That’s the big third wave threat.
I can read almost any biography or any book on revival. So to read a biography on someone in revival has all the makings of a good book for me. The early parts of this book tells how he got touched by the anointing and had a theological shift. The remainder of the book is fairly basic by today’s standards but its impact when it was written cannot be overstated.
