"… if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20

Articles about John Wimber and the Vineyard. 


General Vineyard Articles

(1) My Visit To The Anaheim Vineyard by Philipp R. Johnson, 1995
Eyewitness account of the Anaheim Vineyard/Toronto "Blessing".

(2) Testing The Fruit Of The Vineyard by John Goodwin, Pastor, Solid Rock Christian Fellowship, 1999
"The church is asleep during a time it needs to be the most alert; the following pages will begin by tracing how the church has been lulled into this stupor. Although Satan's poison has devastatingly seeped into most of our churches today, this article will focus on how it has permeated the Vineyard Fellowships due to my personal involvement with this movement."  A Fundamentalist Baptist perspective.

(3) Healing And The Kingdom by Paul G. Hiebert, 1989
This chapter is taken from an out of print book called "Wonders And The Word - An Examination Of Issues Raised By John Wimber And The Vineyard Movement" by James R. Coggins and Paul G. Hiebert. As of the publishing of this book in 1989, Paul G. Hiebert was professor of mission anthropology in South Asian Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA.  He is currently Associate Dean of Academic Doctoral Programs, Chairman of the Department of Mission and Evangelism, and Professor of Mission and Anthropology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  Dr. Hiebert was at Fuller when John Wimber was there and the Vineyard movement was well underway.  This book was an apologetic against what Wimber and others were experimenting around with at Fuller and what had taken shape in the Vineyard, later to blossom into a full blown case of Toronto "Blessing".  The issues they were dealing with at the time laid the groundwork for what we see now in the "New Apostolic Reformation" or "third wave", as C. Peter Wagner has coined it.  The problems are the same. What were then the birth pangs of renewed gnosticm and eastern mysticism in the Vineyard and other Penetecostal churches are now the key issues facing the entire church and the few true believers who are left with discernment.  Dr. Hiebert articulates the issues so very well in this chapter of the book.

(4) False Prophets...Pseudo Apostles, & A New Gospel by Marion H. Reynolds, Jr.
"What individual has exercised the greatest degree of influence in persuading non-charismatic evangelicals to accept the false teachings and practices of the Charismatic movement? John Wimber, founder of Vineyard Christian Fellowship and head of Vineyard Ministries International."

(5) The Vineyard, the Charismatic Church, and the Cults by Anonymous, 10/05
Long before becoming a born-again Christian in the fall of 2000, I spent 7 years in a cult calling itself the Church of the Living Word, also known as ‘the Walk’, lead by John Robert Stevens. After the Walk, I went to the Vineyard and spent 9 years there from 1989 up until 1998. When I became a Christian in 2000 I was attending a local Charismatic church.  Soon after becoming a Christian I began to notice many similarities between what we had been taught in the Walk – an outright cult - and what was being taught in the Vineyard and Charismatic movements. As a result I started taking a closer look into the teachings of charismatic leadership. I also noticed that there was prevalent within Charismatic/Vineyard churches a ‘mindset’ which was very similar to the type of mindset I found within the cult. I will discuss this ‘cultic mindset’ in more detail later , but for now suffice it to say that I am not referring to specific doctrines, but in the way rank-and-file members relate to the leadership and accept their teachings with little, if any, serious critical evaluation. This cultic-mindset is rampant in the charismatic church today and has resulted in an appalling lack of discernment in that movement.

(6) Looking At Lonnie Frisbee: A Real Jesus Freak? by Steve Mitchell, Power To Stand Ministries, 1/07 
Jesus Movement historian, David DiSabatino has just released a new documentary film entitled: Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippy Preacher and its caused quite a stir in film festivals and churches. It documents the life and times of a hippy, Lonnie Frisbee, who many believed was gifted with great power from God after being extraordinarily commissioned and sent. He became influential in the histories of two large church movements – Calvary Chapels and Vineyards, and it is alleged in the film that because he practiced homosexuality and died of AIDS, his part in the formation and growth in these churches has been marginalized and all but written out of history books.



John Wimber

(1) The Roots: John Wimber And The Vineyard by Bill Randles, 1997
Examine the roots of the current "counterfeit" revivals by going back to one of the major roots -- John Wimber and The Vineyard. "I believe that the only accurate evaluation of any movement begins by looking at the roots. As it is written, "A good tree cannot produce evil fruit, nor can an evil tree produce good fruit." Origin determines everything when it comes to spiritual evaluation."

(2) Wimber Plays Down Toronto Rift by John Martin, 1996 John Wimber is now saying that his relationship with John Arnott of the Toronto Airport Fellowship Church is "better than ever".

(3) The Kingdom Of God According To John Wimber by Carl Widrig Jr., 1995
"To anyone familiar with the theology of George Eldon Ladd the above should sound strikingly familiar, and the false teaching above should be easily discernible. I leave the reader with the following things to consider regarding the theology of John Wimber as indicated above, and the effect his theology may have had on those who follow him."  Also included is this chart of Definitions & Comparison Of Kingdom Now Theology And Dispensationalism from his book The Doctrine Of The Kingdom Of God.

(4) John Wimber - Deceased Nov. 17, 1997
E-mail, official and non-official, regarding the death of John Wimber, Nov. 17, 1997.

 




 
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