David du Plessis

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David Johannes du Plessis (February 7, 1905 - January 31, 1987) was a South African-born Pentecostal minister, and is considered one of the main founders of the charismatic movement, in which the Pentecostal experience spread to non-Pentecostal churches worldwide.

He was converted to evangelical Christianity at 16, and received what Pentecostals call the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at the age of 18, a spiritual experience accompanied by speaking in tongues. He was ordained in 1928 by the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, and moved to the United States in 1949, where his ordination was transferred to the Assemblies of God.

Originally shunning other movements, he became an active believer in ecumenism, beginning his efforts in the 1950s to share the Pentecostal experience with Christians in the historic denominations, chiefly Roman Catholicism. His main gateway into ecumenism was through his friendship with John McKay, then President of Princeton Seminary, New Jersey. McKay invited Du Plessis to address the International Missionary Council in Willingen, West Germany, in 1952. There he earned the nickname "Mr Pentecost".

He was a member of staff and Pentecostal "observer" at the World Council of Churches in 1954 and 1961, respectively, and was invited to serve as Pentecostal representative at the Second Vatican Council.

Du Plessis entitled his autobiography The Spirit Bade Me Go, as he believed God had commanded him to take the Pentecostal message to other denominations, and in particular the World Council of Churches. Recounting a meeting with 24 ecumenical leaders in Connecticut, Du Plessis wrote:

I could remember days when I had wished I could have set my eyes upon such men to denounce their theology and pray the judgment of God upon them for what I considered their heresies and false doctrines. ... After a few introductory words I suddenly felt a warm glow come over me. I knew this was the Holy Spirit taking over, but what was He doing to me? Instead of the old harsh spirit of criticism and condemnation in my heart, I now felt such love and compassion for these ecclesiastical leaders that I would rather have died for them than pass sentence upon them.

[edit] References

Du Plessis, David J., The Spirit Bade Me Go, (Self-published, n.d.)
Harper, Michael, As at the Beginning: The Twentieth Century Pentecostal Revival, (Hodder & Stoughton, 1965)
Spittler, R.P., "David Johannes du Plessis" in The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, revised edition, ed. Stanley M. Burgess & Eduard van der Maas, (Zondervan, 2003)
From prosecutor to defender: An intellectual history of David J. du Plessis, drawn from the stories of his testimony by Rutherford, Brinton L., Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Theology, 2000, 274 pages; AAT 9962623