Is anyone familiar with the Vineyard Churches?
I know the “Toronto Blessing” is an area of concern, but that is NOT what I want to know about or want to discuss.
If the there is a previous discussion thread concerning the Vineyard Churches, please point to it.
Thank you!
The Vineyard churches began as a group of Calvary Chapel churches but that was over thirty years ago.
The Vineyard churches began as a group of Calvary Chapel churches but that was over thirty years ago.
I spent many years in the Vineyard...beginning in the very early 80s. I also have somewhat studied their history. This wikipedia file is well done, but somewhat sanitized. If you have any further ?s, please PM me, and maybe I can help.
Overall...the Vineyard was a wonderful thing...but as New Wine must be poured into New wine-skins, so the Vineyard became to old to hold the New. They, as I see it, have had their moment in the Son...though He has marched on.
HISTORY & DOCTRINE OUTLINE....................
The first Vineyard Church started when Kenn Gulliksen brought together two Bible studies, both meeting at the houses of singer/songwriters: Larry Norman and Chuck Girard..[ Southern California. ]
In early 1975, thirteen groups met at the Beverley Hills Women's club. These Bible studies, and others like them, were attended by many popular actors/actresses and musicians including Bob Dylan. Gulliksen's Vineyard had spun off sister churches.
In 1977, John Wimber, an evangelical pastor and teacher on church growth, founded a Calvary Chapel in Yorba Linda, California. Wimber's teaching on healing and the ministry of the Holy Spirit led to conflict with Calvary Chapel.
In a meeting with Calvary Chapel leaders, it was suggested that Wimber's church stop using the Calvary name and affiliate with Gulliksen's Vineyard movement. In 1982, Wimber's church changed its name to the Anaheim Vineyard Christian Fellowship. Gulliksen turned over the churches in under his oversight to Wimber, beginning his leadership of the Vineyard movement.
Beginning in 1988, Wimber established relationships with prophetic figures such as Paul Cain, Bob Jones, and Mike Bickle who pastored Kansas City Fellowship, an independent church which would come under the Vineyard banner as Metro Vineyard (see Kansas City Prophets).
For a time, these men had considerable influence on Wimber and the Vineyard—according to Jackson, Wimber's son was delivered from drug addiction through a prophetic word from Jones.
However, there were those in the Vineyard who were skeptical, and Wimber himself became disillusioned over the restorationist teaching and failed prophecies of these men. Around 1991, Wimber began to distance himself from the prophetic movement, leading the Vineyard back to a church-planting direction, while Bickle's church withdrew and dropped the Vineyard label..[ after Toronto when Bickle adapted the "BLESSING" theology of Toronto.]
The Vineyard Movement suffered a visible leadership vacuum after Wimber's death on November 16, 1997. However, Todd Hunter, who served as National Coordinator since February 1994 and as acting Director of the Vineyard at the time of Wimber's death, became the National Director in January 1998 and served in that capacity until he resigned in May 2000.
After Hunter's resignation, the National Board of Directors named Bert Waggoner of Sugar Land, Texas, as the new National Director. As of 2007, the Association of Vineyard Churches includes over 1,500 churches around the world, and this number continues to grow due to a strong priority placed on church-planting within the Vineyard mission.
Beliefs and practices: Doctrinal statements:
For most of the early life of the Vineyard Movement, Vineyard churches had no official statement of faith. This is not to be interpreted as an absence of a common belief structure; rather, the primary reasons for the absence of such a declaration were:
1.] The demonstrative teaching of John Wimber, who effectively set the tone and doctrinal beliefs of the Movement.
2.] a desire to reflect the "low-key," "low-pressure" environment of the church that encouraged people to "come as you are"
3.]specifically, de-emphasizing any atmosphere or actions that could be considered patently dogmatic.
According to text in the official Vineyard Statement of Faith released in 1994, an effort to create a common Statement of Faith had been underway since 1983, but took 10+ years to complete because:
"On one hand, we felt obliged to set forth our biblical and historically orthodox beliefs, on the other hand, we wanted to describe the values and priorities that make the Vineyard unique within the context of Evangelicalism."
[ Wimber trusted strongly in Quaker doctrine, morphed with a "free" Pentecostal experience.] BT
The Vineyard Statement of Faith is generally considered to be a biblical-based Evangelical Christian profession of faith, with no mention of any issues that are considered to be controversial or divisive.
In addition to the Statement of Faith (released in 1994), the church released a statement of "Theological and Philosophical Statements" penned by Bert Waggoner in 2004 to clarify the church's position on some issues that had been unclear from the Statements of Faith, including the church's priorities as it relates to worship and Bible study.
The church also has published a 10-point "Vineyard Genetic Code," taught to a session of senior leadership by John Wimber in 1992, that outlines the 10 areas of ministry considered essential to any Vineyard church.
Rich Nathan has described the Vineyard movement as part of a "Third Wave of the Holy Spirit" in America.Vineyard philosophy has also played a key role in the development of the transformationalism school of Christian thought.
[ parentheses source mine, AND PREFACE.....BT] all other...wikipedia
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