The Sword of the Spirit is an international,
ecumenical
Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
association of Christian communities within the
charismatic movement
The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spirit ...
.
The member communities are composed predominantly of
laypersons.
It takes its roots from the
Shepherding movement.
The Sword of the Spirit has 65 member communities across 24 countries, and approximately 10,000 total members.
History
The Sword of the Spirit was founded by Ralph Martin and Steve Clark in 1982.
Clark was born in 1940, and studied at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...
, and the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
.
He worked with
Ralph Martin as an early leader of the Charismatic Movement in Michigan, publishing several books on charismatic spirituality and Christian community building,
many through the Sword of the Spirit self-publication Servant Publications (often Servant Books).
The Sword of the Spirit developed as the umbrella network centred around the
Word of God (community) The Word of God is an ecumenical, charismatic, missionary Christian community in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The community began in 1967.Bord & Faulkner. 1983. ''The Catholic charismatics''. Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 11.
Origins 1967-1976 ...
in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
, where it was a prolific organisation amongst the initial charismatic covenant community organisations such as
People of Praise
People of Praise is a network of lay Christian intentional communities. As a parachurch apostolate, membership is open to any baptized Christian who affirms the Nicene Creed and agrees to the community's covenant. The majority of its members ...
and
Mother of God Community.
Notable member communities
Word of God
The initial federation of Sword of the Spirit communities included the
Word of God community in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
.
In 1990, the Word of God disaffiliated with the Sword of the Spirit following an investigation into abuses within the community by Bishop Albert Ottenweller.
Founders Steve Clark and Ralph Martin split, Martin remaining with Word of God, and Clark remaining with Sword of the Spirit. Following the disaffiliation, Martin said that the Sword of the Spirit training course was "an ill-advised venture that led to considerable confusion, turmoil, spiritual distress both in individuals and in the community as a body," "fostered elitism," "attempted to build a comprehensive Christian culture by fiat," was especially harmful to women and "had a negative impact on many marriages and placed undue stress on many families."
The split from Word of God saw 15 further communities leave the Sword of the Spirit.
The Word of God community has traditionally implemented a hierarchical structure, where male 'leaders' within the group were in charge of male community members' decisions "down to minor family matters", and female community members were similarly subject to relevant male household heads.
People of Praise (US)
The Sword of the Spirit historically devolves from an initial 'association of communities' created by the
Word of God (community) The Word of God is an ecumenical, charismatic, missionary Christian community in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The community began in 1967.Bord & Faulkner. 1983. ''The Catholic charismatics''. Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 11.
Origins 1967-1976 ...
and the People of Praise. In 1981 the association was disbanded due to lack of agreement between leadership of the two groups, prompting the founding of the Sword of the Spirit to act as a replacement association of communities centred around the Word of God community. People of Praise have not been affiliated with the Sword of the Spirit since 1981.
Servants of Christ the King
The Servants of Christ the King community,
Ohio, led by Sword of the Spirit senior coordinator Father Michael Scanlan was among the initial federation of Sword of the Spirit communities.
The Servants of Christ the King disaffiliated from the Sword of the Spirit in 1991 under the orders of Bishop Ottenweller, following findings that the Sword of the Spirit influence was controlling, elitist, secretive, fundamentalist, and intruded on family life.
Servant of Christ the King leader, and Sword of the Spirit senior coordinator, Father
Michael Scanlan (priest)
Vincent Michael Scanlan, T.O.R. (December 1, 1931 – January 7, 2017) was a Catholic priest of the Franciscan Third Order Regular. He was responsible for the revival of the College of Steubenville, now known as Franciscan University of Steuben ...
, was involved in a sex abuse scandal at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, where he presided as president of the institution. A revelation came about in late 2018 that a former chaplain at Franciscan of Steubenville, Father Sam Tiesi, had engaged in years-long abuse of women at the university. It has been reported by multiple victims that they made Father Scanlan aware but he did nothing or, in at least one case, verbally assaulted the accuser. Instead of dealing with the abuse he participated in covering up and silencing those who would report his close friend, Father Tiesi.
Alongside Tiesi and Scanlan, a third Servants of Christ the King member is noted as involved in this sex abuse scandal: televangelist John Bertolucci, who is noted as having multiple previous sex abuse allegations, and was dismissed by the Diocese of Albany in 2002 following previous admission of paedophilia and other abuse of minors by Bertolucci. John Bertolucci was also involved in Sword of the Spirit leadership, where he headed FIRE, a Catholic Sword of the Spirit branch.
People of Hope
The People of Hope became affiliated with the Sword of the Spirit in 1983. In 1986, the Archbishop of Newark, Peter L. Gerty, ordered the People of Hope community to end their affiliation with the Sword of the Spirit.
Rev. Philipp Rotunno, liaison for charismatic renewal, stated the Sword of the Spirit believed they were "fighting an Empire of Evil". Previous membership of the People of Hope have made claims that leadership thought they were "anointed by god", exerted excessive control over community members, and enforced the subservient role of women, dubbed "handmaidens", in the community.
The People of Hope remained an unrecognised Catholic lay community until 2007 on the grounds of complaints of "abuse, mind control, elitist behaviour and cult-like controls" from ex-members of the group. Archbishop Theodore McCarrick issued a public letter declaring that a school operated by the People of Hope, Koinonia Academy, “is not an approved Catholic school and it is not recommended for Catholic parents as a place where their children can receive Catholic education as supervised by the Church.” In 2007 Archbishop John Myers recognised the People of Hope as an official lay community of the Catholic church, saying the Archdiocese of Newark was satisfied that the People of Hope had made the changes demanded by previous investigation from officials of the Catholic church.
In Popular Culture
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...
states that the People of Hope, while a member of Sword of the Spirit in 1985, were inspiration for the book ''
The Handmaid's Tale
''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which h ...
''. Specifically Atwood calls the People of Hope a "cult" and refers to this group as inspiration due to the claims of the subjugation of women, isolationist nature, and practices of indoctrination observed within the group.
People of Praise (India)
Current affiliated Sword of the Spirit covenant communities include the People of Praise in
Bangalore, India
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, distinct from the now disaffiliated People of Praise in the United States.
Servants of the Word
The Servants of the Word is an ecumenical Sword of the Spirit community of men.
The men are committed to serving within other Sword of the Spirit communities.
Serious concerns were raised regarding Servants of the Word's child protection policy following the charging of Jamie Treadwell for sexual abuse of children while a member of Servants of the Word, where it became apparent that Servants of the Word leadership had been aware of similar allegations which had been reported to authorities regarding Treadwell and other Servants of the Word members for at least ten years.
Youth outreach
Kairos
''Kairos'' is a Sword of the Spirit youth outreach programme which aims to convert participants, encourage participants to engage with Sword of the Spirit member communities, and to educate participants to follow Sword of the Spirit doctrine.
NET Ministries
NET Ministries
NET Ministries, also simply known as NET USA or NET (National Evangelization Teams) is a Catholic youth missionary organization.
History
NET Ministries was founded in the United States and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota in the Archdiocese of ...
youth outreach was developed around the member community 'Christ the Redeemer' where community coordinator Jim Kolar is on the NET board of directors. NET Ministries retains strong affiliation with Sword of the Spirit.
Description
Religious practices
Religious practice within the Sword of the Spirit and other covenant communities within the
Charismatic Christianity
Charismatic Christianity (also known as Spirit-filled Christianity by its supporters) is a form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, and modern-day miracles as an everyday part of a believer's life. Practi ...
movement include a range of practices from
Pentacostalism. These practices have historically included
Exorcism
Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...
and
Demonology
Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may b ...
,
Speaking in tongues
Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...
,
Spiritual gift
A spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα
''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A Dictionary of the ...
s (or 'charisms'),
Faith Healing
Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...
and
Prophecy
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...
.
Finances
The Sword of the Spirit finances its operations primarily through tithing, where community members are required to pay a percentage of their income to the community treasury.
Sword of the Spirit USA tax returns show a yearly revenue of around $1.5 million, with just under $1 million paid out in wages and salary, with a workforce of just under 30 employees.
Gender roles
Gender roles within Sword of the Spirit communities have followed a conservative model of gender roles with patriarchal values, where males maintain headship over females within the communities.
A Sword of the Spirit motto for woman is given as "make a space", while the motto for men is given as "Seize the territory"
Islam, feminism, homosexuality and communism
Sword of the Spirit leader, Steven Clark, has presented a training course for disciples of the Sword of the Spirit, in which Clark identifies "global threats" which endanger the Sword of the Spirit mission to "build the Kingdom of God". These four key opponents of Clark's model for Christianity are identified as "Islam, communism, feminism and gay rights".
Reception
The Sword of the Spirit member communities have been subject to several interventions from local bishops of the catholic church throughout the organisation's history following concerns from members of the communities that community leaders were "attempting to strictly control relationships and finances, and representing that control as the will of God."
Academic study
Following the split between the Word of God community and the Sword of the Spirit some academic study was conducted at the Word of God community investigating the moral reasoning of children within the community, and analysing the capacity of the covenant community model presented by the Sword of the Spirit to transfer religion to a new generation. Csordas finds that young children "equate the conventional order of social life with the moral order of spiritual life" whereas teenagers are "often vehemently opposed to and critical of community ideology and its practices of enforcement", and proposes that such cultures may take 3 generations to stabilise.
Ex-People of Praise Catholic Theologist Dr. Adrian J Reimers has rebuked the covenant community design propagated by the Sword of the Spirt, noting that the organisation is cult-like, claiming that the covenant community model represents "powerful means of psychological and social control", and that covenant communities such as those in Sword of the Spirit present a "world in which a person loses psychological control of his or her own life".
Notable members
*
Anton Colella
*
Michael Scanlan (priest)
Vincent Michael Scanlan, T.O.R. (December 1, 1931 – January 7, 2017) was a Catholic priest of the Franciscan Third Order Regular. He was responsible for the revival of the College of Steubenville, now known as Franciscan University of Steuben ...
(former member)
* Jamie Treadwell ( former member)
* Ed Conlin
See also
*
Emmanuel Community
The Emmanuel Community is a Catholic association of the faithful of pontifical right, founded in 1972 by Pierre Goursat and Martine Lafitte-Catta, starting from a prayer group belonging to the Catholic charismatic renewal.
History
The Emmanuel ...
References
External links
The Sword of the SpiritThe Servants of the Word
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sword of the Spirit
Nondenominational Christian societies and communities
Ecumenical councils