Gospel Prism

When I was in seminary, the rage of the day was John Wimber and the Vineyard movement. In fact, I did a long research paper on the subject. It was very personal to me because at the time, I was trying to understand where the gifts of the Spirit fit in with my overall theology. John Wimber was significant to me in this process. I visited a few Vineyard churches and enjoyed much of their ministry, however, I always left the church wanting because of its continual de-emphasis on teaching and the Word of God.

I remember I went to one Vineyard church in Massachusetts when I was at GCTS. The pastor was a Gordon grad and the son of a very famous biblical scholar. I figured if there was one Vineyard that would preach the Word, this must be it. So I went and was blessed by the worship through song. When it was the pastor’s turn to preach, he said, “I feel as though the Lord is leading me to forgo my sermon and share.” So what followed was a 40 minute extemporaneous testimony that made little sense to me. I left again very sorely disappointed.

The Vineyard definitely had its flaws. But I do think John Wimber, despite his fallacies, was a Godly man who genuinely loved the Lord. Sam Storms on the Desiring God blog, on the 10-year of his death, gives a great tribute to John Wimber. SS recounts:

John will be remembered for many things, one of which was his unrelenting commitment to “doin’ the stuff,” as he often put it. As John told the story, he and Carol visited a church early in his spiritual journey, immediately after he had spent considerable time reading the gospel accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus. Following the service, John approached the pastor and asked him:

“So, when do we do the stuff?”

“The ‘stuff’,” said the pastor. “What’s the ‘stuff’?”

“You know,” John replied, “the stuff in the Bible, like healing the sick and casting out demons. The stuff!”

“Oh,” replied the pastor. “We don’t do the stuff. We believe they did it back in biblical days, but we don’t do it today.”

With a rather confused look on his face, John could only say: “And I gave up drugs for this?”

But don’t be misled by John’s humor. One should never mistake his simplicity for simple-mindedness. He often referred to himself as “just a fat man trying to get to heaven,” but he was extremely well-read and theologically discerning. I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone as streetwise as John or as perceptive of the dynamics of human nature. He was a remarkably gifted leader and tens of thousands (if not considerably more) will credit him with their awakening to a more robust view of the ministry of the Spirit in today’s church.

Well, John Wimber is home now with the Lord. I think even his most vocal critics wouldn’t suggest that he is anywhere but heaven. And I for one am another person who has been blessed by John Wimber, even though I didn’t agree with all he did or said.