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The author
Micael Grenholm, a Swedish charismactivist, apologist and author.
Christy Wimber: Taking the Vineyard back to its roots
When John Wimber died in 1997, he left behind a movement with hundreds of churches (in fact, they’re over 1500 now) that strived for the radical middle between evangelical faithfulness and charismatic power. The Vineyard movement was here to stay. Unfortunately, parts of the movement has walked away from the charismatic theology that John introduced. But Christy Wimber, John’s daughter in law, fight the good fight to keep the Holy Spirit in the centre of the Vineyard. This is an excerpt of an awesome text she has written.
Christy Wimber
I have been in service after service throughout the world these past few years where miracles are taking place and the response of the people is one of surprise, not expectation. In fact, I heard a Vineyard pastor say not that long ago that he didn’t really know John, and his model and influence comes from a different Movement. He in fact said he doesn’t particularly like the whole signs and wonders part. And I know this Movement that’s influencing him doesn’t move in the gifts.
That’s fine to me, except it left me wondering as to why he is a pastor and leader in the Vineyard Movement? What is happening now in the Vineyard that he signed up for and bought into?
Isn’t the defining reason as to why the Vineyard was asked to leave another church Movement [in fact a few] was due to the Holy Spirit moving? If we stayed ‘seeker sensitive’ there would have been no reason for the Vineyard to be birthed.
I’m not against seeker sensitive models; I just don’t get where it fits in the Vineyard. That model is so opposite of how we began. We’re pioneers doing Kingdom stuff. And Kingdom ministry is messy. And in the long run I wonder if we aren’t calling people to die to themselves, but rather to a convenient Christianity? Are we actually doing a disservice because we aren’t showing people the high cost of following Jesus? I’m afraid we may not be equipping people to learn what it means to sacrifice. Jesus wasn’t a car salesman; He told people upfront they would lose their family and friends and people will hate them. What’s comfortable about that?
Remember, were called to make disciples, not Christians. It’s a death sentence.
Amazing Testimonies from Kampala, Uganda
Two months ago I wrote about the great Christ for all Nations campaign in Gulu, Uganda. Here are some testimonies from the earlier Kampala campaign, written by evangelist Daniel Kolenda:
Day 1
Last night we were received by the president of Uganda, his wife and his whole family at the state house, where we had dinner and wonderful fellowship. Afterword evangelist Bonnke preached the Gospel and we prayed over the first family.
Formerly blind lady
Tonight evangelist Bonnke preached a powerful evangelistic message and thousands responded. Then we prayed for the sick and wonderful miracles of healing began to take place
An old lady who was totally blind in both eyes received her sight tonight.
A father carried his daughter from the hospital with the intravenous catheter (from an i.v. drip) still attached to her arm. She was inflicted with both typhoid fever and malaria.
Tonight she was totally healed and she walked, unaided, up onto the platform to testify.
Jumping healed man
A man who had a severe back injury in a motorcycle accident was confined to a back brace. Tonight, after the power of God came on him, he ripped that brace off and began to dance and jump!
Day 2
- A lady who had four lumps in her breasts said that, during the prayer, she felt heat cascade over her and she felt like things were leaving her body. Afterward, she checked her breasts and found that
all the lumps had completely disappeared along with all pain!
A woman who had fallen into a pit and broken her arm went to the doctors, who put it in a cast, but it did not heal properly – it was twisted and misshapen. But during the prayer she said she could hear popping and cracking coming from her arm. Before her very eyes that twisted arm snapped into place and is now perfectly normal! (more…)
John Wimber and the “No Hype” Value
John Wimber, whom I’ve written a lot about now, is perhaps mostly known for proving that it is possible to be charismatic without being fanatic. At the end of his life, he told his fellow Vineyard pastors: “Ruthlessly assert the Vineyard value of ‘no hype’ in all communications. Avoid pumping people up for the ‘new thing’ God is doing. Demystify new emphasis even as the Vineyard has attempted to demystify spiritual gifts. Understatement is a key Vineyard value that I pray will flourish for many years.”
John Wimber
Jake Kail writes on his blog:
Recently I watched some old videos of the late John Wimber preaching and ministering. One of the things that was so refreshing to me was his authenticity. Rather than pushing people so that they would fall to the floor, he would encourage people to stay standing as much as possible. He would tell people that if they did not feel any positive change after prayer for healing, to simply be honest about it instead of trying to make the one praying feel good by claiming to be healed. He gave words of knowledge in a very simple and natural way. The overall feel he gave was “you can do this stuff too” not “I am a great man of God.”
I believe that there is a great need to recover authenticity in ministry today. If we are going to walk in the true power of God, we need to get real. The Bible indicates very clearly that a “love of the truth” is a safeguard against deception (see 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11). Part of loving the truth is being authentic. (more…)
John Wimber’s Amazing Prophetic Gift
In the clip above, John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard movement, shares how he led a couple to Christ on an airplane thanks to the gift of prophecy. God told John that the man was cheating on his wife, John said to the man that he has to repent because of this, the man realized that John only could know this if God had spoken to him, and thus he got saved and led his wife to the Lord as well – after telling her the painful truth about his sinful behaviour.
Jack Deere
These sorts of events happened from time to time in John’s life. Jack Deere shares in his book Surprised by the Power of the Spirit another event when John’s prophetic gift manifested quite dramatically (at a time when Jack himself was very sceptical towards the Charismatic movement):
[Wimber asked] the Holy Spirit to come, and then he was silent. So was the audience.
About a full minute later, he looked up and said, “O.K. I think I know what the Lord wants to do tonight. He has given me some words of knowledge for healing.”
Presumably that meant that God was communicating to Wimber that he would heal certain people in the audience that night. I had never been in a service like that, and I didn’t know what to make of it.
Wimber said that God wanted to heal people with back pain. Quite a few people came down to the front of the church to be prayed for by teams of church members rather than by Wimber himself. After a few minutes he said, “There is a woman here who has severe back pain, but you haven’t come forward yet. Come forward; I think the Lord will heal you right now.”
God Bless John Wimber!
John Wimber, 1934-1997
John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard movement who went home to the Lord in 1997, is one of my heroes in faith. As a man dedicated to combine signs and wonders with evangelism and social justice, he is of great inspiration to me. The text below is taken from an article by Jon Panner which can be found here.
“Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:7-8).
A president of an evangelical seminary once introduced John Wimber with these words: “John Wimber is the greatest theologian of the 20th century.” I nearly burst with laughter. John looked at me, winked, stood up, shuffled slowly to the microphone and opened with, “Really, I’m just a fat saxophone player trying to get to heaven.”
[…]
At moments like these, he seemed like our collective grampa. His Santa Claus demeanor reassured us, “Kids, I’ve read the end of the book. Guess what? We win!” (more…)
Crippled by Rebels, Healed by Jesus
This missions report from Christ for all Nations just dropped down in my mail box. Praise the Lord!
Greetings from Gulu, Northern Uganda. Right now, we are in the middle of the territory where the infamous Joseph Kony inflicted his long and bloody reign of terror. The people of Gulu endured 20 years of war and experienced some of the worst atrocities known to man. Mass graves, child soldiers, mutilations, rape, murder and genocide are words that come to mind when one thinks of this place. But Gulu has just entered into a new season – one of salvation, blessing and miracles. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us because he has anointed us to preach the Gospel to the poor, He has sent us to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18) It is a new day for Gulu!
Menacing clouds darkened the sky for most of the day threatening to wash out our open-air meeting with an East African monsoon, but we went forward to the campaign ground in faith. When we arrived many thousands had already gathered. As I preached a crystal clear Gospel message, the rain began to drizzle, but nobody budged. The message landed in the hearts of the people and was received with great joy. Thousands received Jesus Christ as Savior and then I began to pray for the sick… (more…)
A Totally Miraculous Conversion
A few days ago I wrote about preaching the Gospel in the power of signs and wonders. The fantastic movie Father of Lights contains one of the most beautiful examples of this that I’ve ever seen.
Ravi is an Indian Christian with an amazing prophetic gift. Every morning, he says, he hears the audible voice of God that gives him direction for the day. One day his mission is to find “a man with white beard, orange roab and a turban” at a specific temple. He does find a maharishi – a guru of gurus – that perfectly fits that description.
Amazingly, the maharishi says that he has seen a god he didn’t recognize in a dream that told him to go to this temple at this day to find Ravi! Ravi then easily leads this guru of gurus to the Lord, and he becomes a passionate Christian.
The film also documents how Ravi easily leads a headmaster of a big Hindu feast to Christ, and how a witchdoctor gets terrified as Ravi and the film team approaches him as he suddenly feels totally powerless.
I highly recommend you to see Father of Lights when it comes in october 2012!
For more information on Ravi’s ministry, go to kingdomfoundations.org. It turns out that not only is he experiencing truly Biblical miracles, he also has a passionate heart for the poor and oppressed:
Ravi Kandal was born in Southern India and at the age of 17 gave his life to Jesus. From that time his heart has been stirred with the message that Jesus spoke to the disciples, to seek and save the lost. He is challanged with God’s heart for the poor and the untouchables of India, widows, orphans, lepers, and any who are forgotten.
No wonder that the Lord blesses him with such fantastic miracles. Signs and wonders are to be combined with poverty reduction. That’s how the Kingdom of God works.
Preaching the Gospel in the Power of Signs and Wonders
Iris Ministries in Mozambique has a lot of experience in combining the preaching of the Word with the confirmation of miracles.
We are to preach the Gospel not just with words, but also with power. Paul wrote: “our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.” (1 Th 1:5). God’s message is not dependent on the rhetoric skills of men, He empowers it with His Spirit.
And what does that power mean? It means signs and wonders:
“I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So fromJerusalemall the way around toIllyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” (Rom 15:18-19)
The evangelistic strategy of Paul thus is to lead people to Christ through 1) what he says; 2) what he does; 3) the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit.
All three aspects of evangelism are needed. We need to preach the Gospel clearly with our tongues, we need to express the love of God in good deeds, and we need to let God confirm His Word through signs and wonders. (more…)
“The most hardened sceptic is learning to say, ‘Lord, I believe'”
These stunning testimonies of prophetic miracles are taken from The Voice of Healing Magazine, October 1951.
(more…)
Acts of God
Once we start praying and working for a better world, there is a risk of struggling in our own strength and power. And since everyone are sinners (Romans 3:10-18), the human way lined with failures, accidents, discouragement and fatigue. The Bible says that through the power of God, we are able to more than in our own force (Philippians 4:13). And that can sometimes be a little bit more dramatic than getting some extra energy as by an invisible vitamin kick. Sometimes, it means walking on water or raising the dead.
Our biggest problem when we work for peace and justice is that we aren’t able to do the impossible. It is this which forms the border of our activism for a better world. But Jesus said: “With God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27). In what context did He said that? Well, concerning that the rich are going to sell everything and give the money to the poor. (more…)
Medically Unexplained Healing from Rare Neurological Disorder
There are many well documented reports of unexplained healings. This is one of them.
For nearly 20 years Ema Mckinley suffered with a condition known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, a rare neurological disorder that left her disfigured and wheelchair bound. Through all the pain and near death experiences, her faith never wavered.
Ema says, “God was my partner in all of this and the strength and help He would give me, I could get through one more day!”
It was in the very early morning hours on Christmas Eve 2011, Ema’s life would forever change. A miracle as she tells it, was about to take place. (more…)
A Pacifist Miracle Worker
One of my best friends, who is called Michael (just like me) is an inspiring example of the combination of signs and wonders with peace and justice. He is a peacemaker, active in the Swedish Christian Peace Movement and a prophetic voice for nonviolence and pacifism. We have made som films advocating for an international, strong, binding trade agreement on arms, since arms are lessed regulated than for example bananas in the international trade. An example of such a film is viewed below.
While Michael thus is a passionate activist, he is also a passionate Charismatic. He prophecies, lays his hands on the sick, speak in tongues and pray for revival. He has realised that Christians should follow Jesus so that the signs that characterised Jesus’ life: miracles and care for the poor, will characterise their life. Jesus said:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. (Mt 11:5)
Charismactivism 