Vineyard Church Question

[Minnow Frenzy]

So I spoke with a relative of mine and she has informed me she has been attending a Vineyard church here in Ohio. From what little I have gathered it seems like an emergent church steeped in dominionism. She briefly spoke of the founder John Wimbler and said she was asked to lead worship and is excited. I feel the need to inform her to be careful of false teachings and doctorine, but I held my tongue to gather more info to present to her about the church. I wanted to ask some of the members here if they could help me in providing a good effective way to reach out to her and inform her. She seems to be more involved with church and aware of Christ and I don't want to dampen her spirit, but I don't want her to go down the wrong path. She even met a guy there that she is very fond of and may find engaged to in the near future. Please pray and help me find a good way to help her. Any info will help. Thank you and God bless!

[mattfivefour]

The Vineyard church is a hard one to get a handle on. There is a lot of misinformation on it in Christian Circles, in the same way there is misinformation on the various Pentecostal denominations in general. Overall, most vineyard churches are similar to most Pentecostal churches in their belief in the practice of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and in personal, experiential living and worship as outlined in the Word of God.

Certainly, based on Wimber's theology, there is a broad streak of Dominionism in the Vineyard movement. Dominionism, like Christian Reconstructionism (which is actually a form of Dominionism), teaches that it is the role of the Church to bring God's kingdom into being on this earth by taking back control of governments from non-Christians by political means supported by prayer and active involvement in politics. In doing this, the Church will usher in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Thus Dominionists are post-millennialists. They believe the Church must first win the Kingdom in order to usher in the return of Christ.

However the Vineyard, as an organization, is not strictly Dominionist. It believes that the return of Christ will usher in the Kingdom, not the Kingdom will usher in the return of Christ.

Here is an excerpt from their statement of beliefs:

The Kingdom of God and the Final Judgment

we believe that God’s kingdom has come in the ministry of our Lord Jesus

Christ,that it continues to come in the ministry of the Spirit through

the Church, and that it will be consummated in the glorious, visible and

triumphant appearing of Christ–His return to the earth as King. After

Christ returns to reign,He will bring about the final defeat of Satan and

all of his minions and works,the resurrection of the dead,the final judgment

and the eternal blessing of the righteous and eternal conscious punishment

of the wicked. Finally,God will be all in all and His kingdom,His rule and

reign, will be fulfilled in the new heavens and the new earth,recreated

by His mighty power, in which righteousness dwells and in which He

will forever be worshipped.

Clearly they are seeing Christ's return ushering in the Kingdom, not vice-versa. So on that basis the general accusation of Dominionism in the Vineyard movement fails. However, because of the wording of their doctrine, some Vineyard pastors and assemblies definitely ARE, in practical terms, Dominionist because they get all wrapped up in expanding the Kingdom on earth. How this happens can be seen from their statement of Core Values:

The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God

Vineyard is committed to the theology and practice of the kingdom of God,

rooted in the vision of the Hebrew prophets and fulfilled in the life and

ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. We have been commissioned to proclaim the

good news of the kingdom bearing witness to the already and not yet of

the kingdom in words and deeds.

Vineyard is a movement distinctively centered in a renewed understanding

of the centrality of the kingdom of God in biblical thought. We view the

kingdom of God as the overarching and integrating theme of the Bible.

From our beginnings Vineyard has been committed to the proclamation of

the kingdom of God and to bearing witness to the deeds of the kingdom

through healing (physical, emotional, and social), doing justice, and delivering

those held captive by evil. Since the kingdom of God is the future reign of

God breaking into the present through the life and ministry of Jesus, we are a

forward-leaning movement emphasizing the ever-reforming nature of the

church engaging the world in love.

Experiencing God

The kingdom of God is not a geo-political territory, nor is it the people of

God. Rather, the kingdom of God is a dynamic realm. When one enters the

kingdom she/he experiences the dynamic reality which exists within the

triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This means that the experience of the

kingdom of God (and thus, the experience of God’s presence) is central to

our faith and Christian life.

God is eager to be known and experienced by all. We believe that God is

searching for lost humanity in order to draw us into intimate relationship

with Himself. In response to God’s initiative, we value the life-changing

power of the experience of His presence.

The primary place where that relationship is nurtured and developed is in

the act of worship–both private and corporate. So, experience-based worship

is the central activity of all that we do in the Vineyard. It is worship that

causes all else that we do to become an act of worship. We experience

God’s presence as a palpable reality when we worship. As we worship we

become increasingly sensitive and responsive to the Spirit’s presence so

that we can do as Jesus did: “See what the Father is doing,” (john 5:19)

and support His work with our lives.

The experience of God flowing out of a life of worship affects all aspects

of our life so that all division between the secular and the sacred vanish.

We believe that the Spirit distributes His gifts to us resulting in prophecy,

prayer languages, healing, miracles and many other gifts as we joyfully

experience His presence.

We value an approach to God’s presence that is respectful both of God and

of those we are with. We eschew hype and other efforts to manipulate either

God’s presence or the response of others to His presence. We distinguish

between the Holy Spirit and the human response which shares in all the

beauty and brokenness of our humanity. We also believe that as we experience

His presence through Christ by the Spirit we will be made more fully human

and better reflections of the God-image that we were created to be.

You can see from this that, even though their use of the phrase "the kingdom of God" relates specifically to the fact that God is still in control, it can easily be taken out of that context and applied to attempts to bring about the Kingdom in human reality ... which is what Dominionism teaches. Thus the problem. Hence, some Vineyard churches are just like any other church with Pentecostal beliefs and practices. Others, however, are indeed Reconstructionist and teach their members that they must put their faith into action in all areas of life and that they must bring Christianity into the public and political sphere in order to advance the Kingdom of God until it fills the whole earth by converting everybody to the Christian faith and worldview. And all of them—Dominionist and non-Dominionist—can base their views on the core beliefs stated above.

Ultimately, then, it is hard to say whether any one Vineyard assembly is indeed caught up in Dominionist/Reconstructionist dogma and practice, or not. I suppose, if your friend is a Christian, the best thing to do is to share with her the error of Dominionist/Reconstructionist doctrine and suggest that if she finds that is what the pastor is teaching and preaching that she should cease to associate with that assembly.

I hope this helps.

(All doctrinal statements I used in this response are taken from the brochure "Core Values & Beliefs" published by Vineyard USA and available online at http://backstage.vineyardresources.c...AndBeliefs.pdf.)

[OnceWasLost]

Good stuff and well constructed Adrian!

There is indeed no one size fits all way to explain them.

[JIMMY]

I have family members at Vineyard,including my Sisters Son in Law who is the Pastor at a central Ohio Vineyard church. I enjoy his sermons that are posted every week on the Church website. I am no expert on Theology or the Bible. I have only been studying the Bible for a short time as I am still a babe in Christ. What I have heard from Him is very scriptural to me and I believe that Church is a good Church. I hope that helps. God Bless.

[mikhen7]

Independent Christian Churches teach Reconsructionism and are Dominionistic by nature. Their colleges are OCC in Joplin Mo and LCC in Lincoln IL. I know many of these people and do not hesitate to think they are not Christians. On the contrary Reconstructionism is very evangelistic since the Second coming hinges on their belief the world must be converted to Christ before Christ returns.

God Bless

[Minnow Frenzy]

Thank you ver much for the replies! I pray I present this info well to her.

[mattfivefour]

Thank you ver much for the replies! I pray I present this info well to her.

Praying in agreement. Manifest love and gentleness. Do not look for a reaction or a decision necessarily. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts. You just give the info. He will do the work.