The Young Turks
Profile by Dr CUTHBERT CHIDOORI
My First General Conference of the Assemblies of God
The Congress on Mission and Evangelism held in Durban
W F P Burton and some Congo Missionaries
Nicholas
Bekinkosi Hepworth Bhengu
– His Youthful Dreams
– His Preaching
- Bhengu and Education
- Bhengu and Money
- Miraculous Experiences
- Spiritual Happenings
- The Sanctifying Spirit of God
– His Departure
Bhengu’s “Isinthunzi”
- Government and Politics
– Some Faults, Virtues and the Burden
of His Heart
President Lucas Mangope of Bophuthatswana
William
Frederick Mullan
The Fairview Assembly
Fred Mullan and the Gifts of the Spirit
A Miracle and a Vision
The Revival in Norwood
James E Mullan
Paul O Lange
William Branham in Durban
Oral Roberts in South Africa
Billy
Graham in Salisbury and Durban
The American Missionaries from Springfield, Missouri
C. Austin Chawner and the Portuguese Work
August Kast and the Mount Tabor Mission Station
Colin
La Foy and the Coloured Leadership
The Work in Zimbabwe
Mauritius and Reunion Island
Special
Answers to Prayer – 1
Special
Answers to Prayer – 2
A Beautiful Square with Good Vibes
Prayer and the Hippie Revival
The Young Turks
Tensions within the Group
The Split
of 1981 – Part One
The Split
of 1981 – Part Two
The Beginnings of the Faith Movement in South Africa
The Statement of September 1989
The Charismatic Renewal
The Start of the Pentecostal Revival World Wide and The Swedish Pentecostal Assemblies
Epilogue
APPENDIX 1 : How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit
APPENDIX 2 : The National Church by Nicholas Bhengu
APPENDIX 3 : Article from the Argus 5/02/1981
APPENDIX 4 : Pointers to the future of the Assemblies of God in the New South Africa (10/06/94)
In
1967 I moved with my family from Pretoria to Harfield Road, Cape Town.
I had spent four years in Pretoria and now, for the only time in my
life, I had requested James Mullan to send me to a particular place
where I had a strong feeling I should minister. I knew Paul Lange was
about to leave Harfield Road where he had enjoyed a successful run
of ministry, so the door was open for a move to Capetown.
On reaching Harfield Road, I found there a group of dedicated elders
who had determined among themselves that it was the Lord’s will
to start ten new assemblies using Harfield Road as a base. Prior to
leaving Pretoria,
I for my part already had a strong desire to start a new assembly at Fish
Hoek once I was ensconced in my ministry at Harfield Road. The vision of
the elders to start new assemblies inspired me. I threw myself whole-heartedly
into it.
The Lord worked as soon as I settled in the Harfield Road
Assembly. There I met an old friend, a Mrs Killick, the widow of a Methodist
minister. Although never a member of the Assemblies of God, Mrs Killick
asked me to take over a ladies Bible class she had been running in Fish
Hoek, the very place where I felt led to pioneer a new work. The end
result of that was that we were able to start the first new assembly
of those we wanted to establish. Today the Fish Hoek Assembly is a thriving
congregation of some 500 people with a beautiful church building at Sun
Valley, Fish Hoek.
In the following ten years that I spent in the Western Cape we did start
ten new white congregations and five coloured. In total, about twelve
fine church structures stand as testimonies to the Lord’s hand
upon us in those years.
Those were certainly years of revival. People flocked in to give a 700
per cent rate of church growth for several years. Scores of young people
were attracted and joined the Assemblies. The ball was truly at our feet.
Further afield, Noel Cromhout was experiencing a fruitful ministry at
Grahamstown. Numbers of students from Rhodes University joined the assembly
in Grahamstown. Some later entered the ministry with us. They in turn
attracted others of like calibre so that there developed a coterie of
zealous and talented young men who gave a thrust of zest and theological
thought to the work. I personally relished the youthful enthusiasm and
intellectual debate that flowed about me. I grew very fond of my “young
Turks” and I trusted them.
Events proved I was too euphoric, I misjudged the immaturity of the “young
Turks” and the propensity for vanity, ambition and even cynicism
in human nature. In 1981, the Assemblies of God suffered a serious split,
affecting both the black and white assemblies, but impacting chiefly
with great damage on the white assemblies. Events culminated in 1981
but under-currents and divisions had been mounting for several years.
Much of the controversy was directed at me, I suppose because I was General
Chairman as well as the leader of a strong group of assemblies.
My “young Turks” were fully aware of all that was going on.
At the same time, the charismatic movement had an increasing influence
in our churches through brilliant overseas leaders and a cascade of writings
that poured forth teachings and ideas which often were in conflict with
the more traditional approach on which the Assemblies of God had been
built.
Powerful ministries like those of John Wimber and Lonnie Frisbee were
coming into prominence. These and other factors undermined my personal
influence, bringing challenges to my leadership in the group and promoting
contrary opinions that brought about serious discussions among the ministers,
for the main part among those in the Western Cape.
While I lived in the Western Cape I encouraged the discussion that took
place and I thought that to some extent I could influence it. When in
1978, I moved to Johannesburg, I was at a remove and lost direct contact
with what was developing in the Cape. When it eventually became more
apparent, a degree of sourness had already set in. Under-currents and
marked differences of opinion surfaced. Perhaps I should have been more
flexible. Or perhaps I should have been stronger as a leader. Whatever
the position, I did not realise the world-wide tides of thought that
were influencing our own situation and the degree to which they would
affect us. As opinions surfaced more clearly, I was told that the situation
could be compared to an ocean liner steaming ahead. If I did not get
on board with the ”young Turks”, I would be left like someone
bobbing about in a life-boat while the steamer ploughed on, leaving me
in its wake. In fact, the opposite turned out to be more true. I was
on the ship steaming ahead. Others who bobbed about then are clean out
of sight today.
Thankfully I had the sense to ignore the advice I was then being given.
Our work was affected indeed. We lost a number of young ministers, some
of whom sought to split assemblies and so score a personal advantage
for themselves. We even lost two churches which were successfully manipulated
out of our ranks by disaffected young incumbents.
After a score of years, one looks back on this nightmarish episode with
resignation and some relief. Though shaken, our assemblies stood fast.
Most ministers held true. Those we lost have had mixed fortunes since
leaving us. Some are still in the ministry somewhere and one or two of
these are doing well. Alas, there are those whose lives have been less
propitious. One is not called to judge anyone other than to say we feel
weaker for the loss of so much talent, and they would appear to have
lost great opportunities by leaving our ranks. It is as though a fruitful
branch ripped itself from a tree to plant itself as a rival tree; but
the branch never took root to become the great national entity it had
in its youthful conceit hoped to be. But the mother tree has gone on
growing to become strong. Yet the scars remain after many years.
John Wimber, the American leader, thinker and writer was one who had
a strong negative influence on those I have called my “young Turks”,
though he did leave some good things with us as well.
When I met John Wimber and with Enid, my wife, spent a few days being
hosted by him in Los Angeles, I felt a strong affinity with him. We had
long in-depth discussions. I asked him to pray for me and even to give
me a prophetic word if he felt so inspired. He did so, offering counsel
which I think is still valid. I judged him to be utterly sincere, keenly
intelligent, with the courage to stick independently to any course of
action or teaching once he felt it was from the Lord. He made some mistakes
but acknowledged them with repentance.
I did fault him on his approach to Scripture which I felt was cavalier
and too subjective because of what might have been an over-emphasis on
prophetical guidance even in shaping church policy. He had a Quaker background
and that might have influenced his philosophy as to the Scriptures.
I felt that in South Africa he had transgressed by listening with undue
sympathy to the sundry opinions and complaints of the “young Turks”.
The time came when I wrote to him about it, charging him with having “led
them on a road to nowhere”. He could easily have been offended
by my letter. As it was, I received a most gracious reply. I took it
as an apology. His honesty and humility enhanced my opinion of him as
a true man of God and Christian gentleman. Truly a man of calibre whose
untimely death we lament.