Vineyard

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The Vineyard Movement is a charismatic renewal and church planting movement with over 300,000 members worldwide (2019) and thus belongs to the area of ​​Protestant Christianity . She describes herself as a movement of evangelical Christians who practice gifts of the Holy Spirit such as healing , speaking in tongues, and prophecy .

history

The Vineyard Movement was founded in the United States in 1978 by, among others, John Wimber , who was its first pastor and long-time leader. The first Vineyard community was the Anaheim Vineyard Christian Fellowship.

The first Vineyard emerged from a Bible study group of the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa ( CA ) in a district of Los Angeles. In 1974 five people met under the direction of Kenn Gulliksen in the apartment of the singer Chuck Girard (from the band Love Song). The Jesus Movement ( Jesus People ) in California was then in full swing. The first Vineyard emerged from the circle in Anaheim in 1975 . On Mother's Day 1980 evening , Lonnie Frisbee gave a speech in Anaheim. He announced that the Holy Spirit would come to the church members under 25. It was spoken in tongues and many were slain in the spirit. By 1982 there were already five loosely connected Vineyard churches. Because of different doctrinal views, the Vineyard Movement did not remain part of the Calvary Association. In May 1983 the VMI (Vineyard Ministries International) was founded. In 1985 there were 129 Vineyard churches, in July 1986 233. In the same year the AVC (Association of Vineyard Churches) was founded. John Wimber headed both organizations.

With the help of the first Vineyard, Bob Dylan found faith in Jesus Christ.

After John Wimber's death in 1997, the movement went through some tough times. But it is now growing steadily, especially since Bert Wagoner was appointed head of the movement in 2000. The Vineyard movement includes over 2,500 congregations and communities around the world, including around 600 in the United States, 45 in Germany, 21 in Switzerland and five in Austria. She runs a publishing house and the Vineyard Music label .

The so-called Toronto blessing originated in a congregation of the Vineyard, the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TACF) . However, that church was banned from Vineyard in 1995.

The first vineyard in the German-speaking area was created in 1994 in Bern, Switzerland, when the Basileia community joined the global Vineyard movement. The local director Martin Bühlmann became the coordinator of the Vineyard movement for Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Vineyard DA-CH). Since then, several Vineyard communities throughout Switzerland have been founded from Bern. The first Swiss vineyard communities go back to the Basileia movement founded in 1983. The Vineyard in Vienna was founded in 1994 by David and Lisa Boyd.

theology

The theology of the Vineyard Movement is based on a classic evangelical belief. This is supplemented by certain themes characteristic of the Vineyard:

  • Worship: Worship of God, especially through song, is one of the primary concerns of the Vineyard Movement. The songs produced in the Vineyard churches have greatly shaped modern Christian worship music . Theologically the importance of worship in the Vineyard Movement is justified with the thought that the worship of God is the real purpose of human existence.
  • Filled with the Holy Spirit: Although the Vineyard initially adopted Pentecostal ideas, it soon rejected the thesis of a baptism of the Spirit , which should be a mandatory second step sometime after conversion . Instead, it assumes that every Christian is baptized with the Holy Spirit and that the manifestations of the Spirit show themselves as a breakthrough in his work.
  • Gifts of the Holy Spirit: According to the belief of many Christians, the Holy Spirit equips every Christian with one or more spiritual gifts .
  • Healing: John Wimber's preoccupation with healing by the power of the Holy Spirit has made this a central theme for the Vineyard Movement. Through Jesus' work in the healing ministry , every disease can be healed, be it physical, psychological or spiritual. Whether such a healing occurs is nevertheless always reserved for the sovereignty of God.
  • Evangelism: Evangelism is also a central element of the movement. Planting new churches is an important strategy for Vineyard churches to reach people who were previously unfamiliar with these beliefs.

“Unfortunately, many church planters begin to develop an attractive program. But churches are not programs, they are families. It's about people, not entertainment or engaging, well-packaged ideas. Programs should always be an expression of the vocations, talents and interests of the people who are involved in the work. To do this, they have to align themselves with people who do not yet have a relationship with Jesus Christ. We must be free in a church to introduce programs, but also to bury them again. "

- Martin Bühlmann, Head of Vineyard Bern : Live the community, love the community

criticism

Conservative theologian Alexander Seibel criticizes some practices of the Vineyard Church, for example praying over damaged objects such as refrigerators, cars, washing machines, etc. in the hope that these will be repaired by the power of God. Seibel is just as harsh with the unfulfilled prophecies of John Wimber and failed spiritual healings :

“When one of England's most famous evangelicals, David Watson, fell ill with cancer, Wimber flew over and announced, as God had shown him, that Watson was going to get well. When Watson did die, "damage control" was tried as best they could. The gullibility of the followers (...) enabled him to go on pretty much unscathed. "

literature

  • Marlin Watling: Supernatural, of course. The History of the Vineyard Movement. From the beginnings of the hippie movement to new communities in postmodern Europe. R. Brockhaus at SCM-Verlag, Witten 2008, ISBN 978-3-417-26247-6 .
  • Bill Jackson: The quest for the radical middle . A history of the Vineyard. Vineyard International Publishing, Cape Town 1999, ISBN 978-0-620-24319-3 .
  • Bill Jackson: A short history of the Association of Vineyard churches . In: David A. Roozen, James R. Nieman (Eds.): Church, Identity and Change: Theology and Denoniminational Structures in Unsettled Times . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. , 2005, ISBN 0-8028-2819-1 , pp. 132-140 .
  • TM Luhrmann : When God talks back . Understanding the American Evangelical relationship with God. Alfred A. Knopf, New York 2012, ISBN 978-0-307-26479-4 (Open participatory observation of two Vineyard communities by a Stanford ethnologist).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://vineyardusa.org/
  2. ↑ Marlin Watling: Of course, supernatural. The History of the Vineyard Movement. From the beginnings of the hippie movement to new communities in postmodern Europe. R. Brockhaus in SCM-Verlag, Witten 2008, ISBN 978-3-417-26247-6 , pp. 34 and 39
  3. ^ Bill Jackson: A Short History of the Association of Vineyard Churches . In: David A. Roozen, James R. Nieman (Eds.): Church, Identity, and Change: Theology and Denominational Structures in Unsettled Times . William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids 2005, ISBN 0-8028-2819-1 , pp. 132–140 , here p. 134 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed April 6, 2018]).
  4. ↑ http://www.vineyardusa.org/site/about/vineyard-history (accessed on: February 4, 2012).
  5. ↑ Marlin Watling: Of course, supernatural. The History of the Vineyard Movement. From the beginnings of the hippie movement to new communities in postmodern Europe. R. Brockhaus at SCM-Verlag, Witten 2008, ISBN 978-3-417-26247-6 , p. 80.
  6. ↑ Marlin Watling: Of course, supernatural. The History of the Vineyard Movement. From the beginnings of the hippie movement to new communities in postmodern Europe. R. Brockhaus in SCM-Verlag, Witten 2008, ISBN 978-3-417-26247-6 , p. 81.
  7. ↑ Marlin Watling: Of course, supernatural. The History of the Vineyard Movement. From the beginnings of the hippie movement to new communities in postmodern Europe. R. Brockhaus in SCM-Verlag, Witten 2008, ISBN 978-3-417-26247-6 , p. 44.
  8. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on: May 8, 2012). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vineyard.ch
  9. ↑ http://www.vineyard-bern.ch/ueber-uns/geschichte.html (accessed on: December 18, 2012).
  10. ↑ Martin Bühlmann: Live the community, love the community. How God's family becomes a home. (Vineyard Edition) Projektion J (Gerth Medien), Asslar 2002, ISBN 3-89490-424-0 , p. 212.
  11. ↑ Alexander Seibel - On the way with Jesus Christ