Sunday, October 12, 2003

John Wimber...what if...

I stumbled across the following article quite by accident while researching something else. It's from the website of Dawn Ministries (http://www.dawnministries.org/regions/nam/index.html), an organization that works with networks of "Simple Churches" (aka house-based churches). As one who has been closely associated with the Vineyard for many years, I found it to be thought provoking:


John Wimber...what if...

Dear Church,

In the 80's and early 90's, the Lord used John Wimber and the Vineyard movement in my life in significant ways. It was through their books and conferences that I went through a "paradigm shift" regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit. So, it was with great interest that I recently read Carol Wimber's tender and personal biography of her husband (John Wimber: The Way It Was).

One part of the story struck me as being particularly significant and I found myself wondering what would have happened if John had chosen a different path than he did. It was the fall of 1976 and the Wimbers were still part of a Quaker church in Yorba Linda, CA. (They wouldn't plant their church until May of 1977.) Following the Evening Service each Sunday, a group of people began to meet together in a home.

Carol records what it was like (my bold):

November 28, 1976

There is a group of us that meet at Wickwires after church on Sunday night...It is a worship time. We just talk about Jesus, sing to him and pray. It's really great. We love it and it is the highlight of my week. No one leads. Different men are asked to share some verses or a thought from the Word, but everybody gets to share.

January 19, 1977

God has had mercy on us and we are in the midst of a beautiful renewal. The way the Spirit of Jesus moves on people is the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced...

February 16, 1977

God continues to move and it's so beautiful to be a part of it and to watch what he does. I have never seen or heard anything like this before...With no one person being predominant, this thing continues to grow and grow...We have no program, no lesson from an appointed individual, but after worship (and sometimes during), different ones will share from the scriptures...and all on the same theme. God's desire to feed and nourish the hungry ones. His care of the weak and wounded. God works it all together....There is a sweet heaviness that keeps control and orders the meeting. At the end we break up into small groups and pray.

Perhaps without realizing it, Carol is describing key elements of the New Testament church, elements which are often significantly different from the experience of the traditional church in America.

1. "God works it all together....There is a sweet heaviness that keeps control and orders the meeting...no program, no lesson from an appointed individual...No one leads". Jesus as the Master of Ceremonies vs the Honored Guest. He brings the agenda. He runs the show. The meeting is spontaneous, creative. No (Human) Order of Service here.

2. "everybody gets to share...different ones will share from the scriptures" Participatory church vs spectator church. See 1 Cor. 14:26. The group is small enough that everyone can share.

3. "There is a group of us that meet at Wickwires" I can't quite tell from the context but it sounds like Wickwires is simply a large home. In the New Testament, they would say "the church that meets at Wickwires". It was a house church. See Romans 16:5. The key thing here is not the house (it could just as well meet under a palm tree or in a pub). Rather, the critical component of church is a small group of people experiencing family like, intimate relationship.

To my way of thinking, this group was experiencing genuine New Testament church! However, because of their "paradigm" they soon felt the need to start a "real" church on a Sunday morning.

So, in the end, another traditional church was planted. Oh, it wasn't traditional compared to other churches of the time but in it's essence it was still a traditional church. The distinctives of those early meetings were left behind. In the end, it became a denomination not too terribly different from other denominations.

This is in no way a criticism of John because God used him to restore many things to the church. God has done many good things through the Vineyard movement. However, I wonder where things would be today if the original distinctives had been retained and a house church planting movement had been launched (as in the New Testament) instead of another denomination.

Wolfgang Simson (Houses that Change the World) writes: "The New Testament church was made up of small groups, typically between 10 and 15 people. It grew not by forming big congregations of 300 people to fill cathedrals and lose fellowship. Instead, it multiplied 'sideways', dividing like organic cells..."

What if... John had chosen this path instead of the one he did?

In these days, I believe God is beginning to raise up people who understand that America does not need another mega church or another denomination or another parachurch ministry. Rather, America (and the world) needs a return to the original plan - a multitude of small, organic, family like churches functioning under the direct leadership of Jesus.

Keep your eyes open! A new "paradigm shift" is coming.

John White
House Church Coach
Denver, CO

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