Holy Wars

By Don Wigton

Holy Wars “is the most memorable book on the subject of church music I've ever read. . . Your work is exquisite! ” Frank Pooler Professor/Director Cal State Long Beach University Choir.
Holy Wars is a comprehensive worship study written for every believer who seeks to live a life of true biblical worship within the cultural storm that we find ourselves today. It is an intimate book written for the benefit of promoting a personal relationship with Jesus Christ according to the guidance of God’s Word.
When we think of “Holy Wars” one might picture terrorism. But there is a Holy War raging within the church itself that is proving to be of far more consequence than Islamic dread. Because this war is engaged within the worship life of the people of God, the outcome could seriously undermine Christian orthodoxy and the Christian way of life for generations to come.
As the result of the efforts of Church Growth advocates, congregations throughout America are contending over different notions of worship. The decisions that Christians make in that regard will determine the shape and influence of the Church and the nature of our society over the next century.
We can find answers within this ongoing battle once we have come to a full understanding of the nature of biblical worship. Many times manipulative entertainment schemes, attempts to conform to the world, watered-down theology, church politics, mediocre music and unbiblical worship forms drag the people of God away from their true calling. Holy Wars delves into each of these areas of church life to discern what is going wrong while offering specific biblical remedies.
Indeed, the Word of God is the only suitable guide for God’s people as they advance into the 21st century with purpose, direction and victory.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Don Wigton
• Release date: Apr 16, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476026718

Don Wigton

Don is the leader of the popular Internet Christian Band Southern Cross. For decades now he and his wife Vanessa have dedicated their music talents for the body of Christ by publishing the website at www.praisesong.net while providing a vast amount of worship materials for the edification of all. Millions of song downloads have resulted. During the last two decades Don has authored a number of books depicting the state of Christianity in the world today. These dramatic pieces delve deep into the heart of the matter to uncover the truth of what has gone wrong and what we need to do about it.

Book preview

Holy Wars - Living Worship in the Cultural Storm

By Don Wigton

Copyright 2007 Don Wigton

Smashwords Edition

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1: Dumb to Dumber

A Church Near You

Rules of Engagement - Seeking the Truth

Growth at all Cost

New Wine

Survival of the Fittest - Marketing Religion

Alligator Shoes

The Big Tent

The Narrow Gate

Peace at All Cost

Music that Declares the Gospel

Beyond the Box

Sola Scriptura - What the Bible Says About Growth

Wagging the Institution

As the Romans Do

The Ministry of Music

The Heart of Music

I Must Decrease

Sincerity

Chapter 2: Out With the Old

Snake Oil

Secrets for a Price

The Soul of the Church

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs

The Brave New World

American Revolutionaries

The Noble Savage

A Surprising Liberal Source

Counterculture Faith

Tradition

Revolutionists in the Mainline

The Challenge We Face

The Slippery Slope

The Test of Time

Chapter 3: The Sophisticates

Everything Imaginable

Not by Might

Down to Basics

Dancing With the Big Dogs

Less is More

A Chord in Tune

Why or What?

Chapter 4: Hollywood or Holiness

For the Love of the Fans

American Idols

Idolatry's Seed

The Faithful Few

Take it to the Streets

That's Entertainment

Creation or Creator?

Who Gets the Glory?

When Meat is for Idols

Chapter 5: True Blue

The Quest for Success

Winning the War

Content to Relent

Always Wanting More

What Lasts for Eternity

Chapter 6: Guru Woo Woo

Actions Speak Louder

Their Own Point of View

The Mighty Warrior

To Become God

Gnostic Nonsense

Mantra Mania - What Good are Doctrines?

Church Babel

With My Mind

Yoga Aroma

Glorified in His Creation

A Better Covenant

Old New Worship

Babylon's Gate

Reaching to Heaven

During Times of Trouble

Kingdom Authority

Existential Dreaming

Pagan Havens

To Behold His Glory

Everywhere We Are

Mystery Babylon

Chapter 7: Babel Be Gone

Living Word

Living Spirit, Living Truth

Living Faith

Living the Pursuit

Living Worship

Living Temples

Living Power

Living God

Who Will You Worship?

Chapter 8: Too Much Monkey Business

Power Players

Two Ways to Go

Getting Down to Business

The Senior CEO

Flow or Go

Unity or Uniformity

For the Love of Money

A Sign of Decay

Sin Destroys All

Policies of Politics

Precious Pride

Watching the Backside

Beating the Sheep

Chapter 9: Serving Servants

But We Want a King!

By the Power of the Spirit

When God Guides

Beginning at the Top

The Sky's the Limit

Never Assume the Highest Place

An Opened Blossom

True Unity

Diffusing Controversy

To Rejoice

Chapter 10: Best of the Best

The Wrong Idea

Addicted to Mediocrity

The Path of Excellence

The Pursuit of Excellence

Discipline Matters

Giving it Back

A Disappearing Act

Best of the Best

Common Sense Yields Success

With Skill

Evident Decay

Restoring Leadership

Vocals, Vocals, Vocals

Putting it all Together

Quality Wins the Day

About the Author

References and Suggested Readings

Holy Wars

Dedicated to my wonderful wife Vanessa

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank:

Vanessa who has been my inspiration in life, who convinced me to learn to type, who put up with years of constant brainstorming as I spewed out every minute thing that I had learned in my studies, and who read everything I wrote with a critical eye and loving heart.

My kids, Brandon Jacqulene and Brett, who make me proud.

My mother who dedicated years of her life to making me into the fortunate person that I am.

Phil Dodson, Dr. John Lavender and Bill Taylor who drug me back to my traditional musical roots and taught me the value of shepherding people during the years that I led praise at First Baptist Church, Bakersfield.

Bob Balch who left me heavily laden with long, detailed books.

Reviewer 13 whose overreaction to the truths presented in Holy Wars was so defensive that I knew I was on the right track.

Mark Samuel, President of Impaqcorp (an influential organization that has transformed corporate operations throughout the world), who has actually written a successful book and offered his invaluable comments with regard to mine.

Frank Pooler, director of the Cal State Long Beach Choir and my music professor in college, who taught me about excellence in music and later sent me an email that generated a response from me that led to this book. Frank also reviewed the entire work before publication while submitting his invaluable comments and encouragement.

Preface

When we think of Holy Wars we generally are drawn to the medieval Crusades or contemplate terrorism as being forwarded by Osama Bin Laden in our own age. But there is a Holy War raging within the church itself that is proving to be of far more consequence than the Islamic dread that breathes its horror into the heart of every American today. This conflict is a spiritual battle of immense proportions that threatens the peace and security offered by the Christian way of life. And because this war is engaged within the worship life of the people of God, the outcome could seriously undermine Christian orthodoxy for generations to come. Hence, congregations throughout America are contending over ideas and philosophies that will determine the shape and influence of the church over the next century. This is not a trivial engagement. Even as a civilization invariably follows the dictates of its religion, the decisions that Christians make with regard to their worship life at this juncture will determine the future of our society.

This seemingly unending worship controversy began way back in the ‘60s when a band of ex-hippies assembled under a tent in Costa Mesa to lift their hands in praise to God in a sincere and emotional way. Ever since, worship has been one of the most discussed subjects in the church. Virtually every congregation in America has been impacted one way or another by the simple praise choruses that came out of this heart-rending movement. And no pastor today believes he can make it without the new contemporary music that this generation of believers advanced.

As a result of this interest in everything new, enough books have been written on the subject of worship to fill a library. Multitudes of production companies and churches have distributed recordings of worship songs throughout the world. Everywhere you look contemporary musicians are busily writing songs in the hopes of catching the attention of those who can make their music known. The buzz of worship can be heard everywhere you go these days.

The church is inundated with more information about worship than any one person could digest in a lifetime. The matter of worship should be settled by now. Yet why is there still so much controversy about the whole issue? What is it with all the upheaval?

The independents appear to be doing just fine. They exert all of their energy into New Worship repertoire while generally omitting the vast praise liturgy that has been passed unto us from the church’s two thousand year history. That works for them well enough. They minister to a specific group of people who only like the new stuff.

In contrast, those who have worshipped in more traditional church venues don’t seem to be faring well at all. Pastors in most of those churches have become completely convinced that their churches will not survive in the 21st century unless they adopt more contemporary styles. Though their discernment appears to be true in that regard, in the traditional church there also seems to be a concerted effort to relegate praise hymns to token appearances that fail to appease the older saints. For this reason, all throughout the country denominational churches have been torn in half by disputes as the Holy War between the old and the new rages on.

Most pastors have apparently resigned themselves to the notion that fighting is a necessary evil that must be endured in order for the church to survive. I disagree with this notion. In my ministry experience I have participated as a praise leader in everything from planting a successful storefront church to spiritual renewal in traditional churches. In those instances I have not witnessed the contentious results that appear to have become so acceptable these days.

There is a way to avoid the dissention that seems to have become so tolerable in many church venues. There is a way to forge into the future without discarding the heritage of the past in a manner that will keep the church contemporary while keeping our flocks at peace and the church on target. This comes through a biblical understanding of the nature of worship and praise, the dynamics of music and how churches ought to run.

It is not beneficial for the church to unnecessarily continue on in the direction of strife. Most pastors acknowledge this, but are relinquished to the prospect of enduring the Holy Wars for the sake of success. While casting the blame on others they have become convinced that the disturbance permeating the body of Christ today emanates from poor congregational attitudes. With that in mind, pastors all over the nation have been attacking the praise song/hymn controversy from their pulpits. However, the source of most congregational warring comes from the attitudes and agendas held by these very shepherds who are busily accusing their flocks rather than feeding them.

Too few are willing to acknowledge that as the leader goes, so does the congregation. And many of our church leaders today have given up on common sense simply because they are listening to the wrong people. In this current age of Church Growth at all cost, consultants are roaming the country while drawing impulsive pastors into manipulative schemes that have left them confused and misdirected. Congregations that have historically been shepherded are now seen as a means to an end as the body life in many churches has degenerated into factions. Meanwhile the wheel of ambition continues to roll on the path laid out by the peddlers of false hopes who guarantee affluence and the fulfillment of personal desire. And true biblical worship has become the victim of this mad rush into success.

Because it is all about selling books, too much of what you see out there written for church body life has been designed to make pastors and congregational members feel good about themselves. In the name of profits, our current church leadership is largely being catered to with promises of greatness that sidestep the greater worship issues that the church faces today. In the mean time the pagan roots of the church’s worship controversy and even the controversy itself remains widely ignored. As a host of Christian writers feign from stepping up to the plate to reveal the truth of the situation, it is the truth that will set the church free. Therefore it is time to face the Holy War that resides within our church walls with honesty and integrity to arrive at a sure foundation upon which to build God’s Church of the 21st Century.

This book has been written primarily for the benefit of Christians who are seeking after truth. They are the ones who have finally conceded that there is more to church life than getting bigger and have concluded that unity within the context of historical Christianity is the only biblical course to go from here. Yet these principles of worship hold true for daily Christian living as well. Any Christian who desires a challenge will find this book a life-changing work.

If you are happy with where you are at in your personal and church worship life experience, then this book will be of little value to you. If you are interested in getting to the bottom of the problem, please read on.

However, I have to issue a word of caution. This book does not cut any slack. It is not a treatise on how to feel good about yourself and your worship life. It gets to the heart of the worship matter, which leaves all of us a bit exposed.

Yet if you want your worship to be truly alive, it is imperative to become a true worshipper. Everyone today has an opinion regarding what true worship is all about. But only the Scriptures describe it for what it really is. This is what we look into in this book in our quest to discover what living worship encompasses.

This is not a book about secrets. There aren’t any mysteries to uncover. There is nothing new under the sun. (Ecc 1:9) The answers that we seek are in the tried and true. Living worship is not about what we don’t know. It is about what we have been commanded to do.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God. (Rom 12:1-2 MKJV)

Chapter 1: Dumb to Dumber

Today the Body of Christ is inundated with marketers who insist that in order for the church to survive it must adapt to contemporary society. In so doing Christianity has been dumbed down as a brand of commercialized music is being introduced that is tearing traditional congregations in half. Because this New Worship music is being utilized in many venues primarily for marketing purposes, the true value of intimacy with God that can be found in modern praise songs is being diluted by the quest for success. As churches across the country are turned upside down by this dynamic, many wonder, Where is this new trend taking us?

A Church Near You

Coming to a church near you

A battle of immense proportions.

Coming to a church near you

Confusion, division and strife.

Coming to a church near you

A catastrophic struggle for its eternal soul.

Many warriors are already engaged in the horrific tragedy. Others are left in unawares only waiting for calamity’s arrival. Few have been able to resist the call, for there is trouble in our midst and judgement in our future. It is a Holy War and its conclusion will determine the very nature of Christendom for decades to come.

The conflict begins simply enough with a new pastor in town. He has been very busy filling his church with fresh visions and the latest ideas. Even as he stepped before the congregation for the first time he looked around at the century-old pews to see too many old faces. Where are the young folks? he wondered. Just down the street the enthusiastic leader saw another church bursting at the seams with youthful and exuberant families. In the electrified air he heard the sweet sounds of guitars and drums accentuating simple melodies carrying intimate lyrics upward to the heavens. He desperately wanted some of that in his church. So, while filled with high hopes and good intentions, the resolute pastor decided to leave the past and press on to the future.

In the blink of an eye this church renewal advocate relegated the organ along with the choir to the back of the bus. He then dug up the faithful but inexperienced guitarist who had been leading worship and praise in the youth group. As a result of his promotion to the front of the congregation, the novice musician put together a makeshift band that literally took over the Sunday morning music program.

Suddenly and without warning the congregation was exposed to music that was very foreign to their ears. These were not the old hymns that they were raised under. They were something else, more like simple camp songs. And to them they sounded awful. After the service they staggered out of church confused and enraged at the fact that the music they had known for decades had instantly been pushed aside. The established music minister, who emerged from a formal background, could not contend with this new stuff. He had no skills in contemporary music and, like his organ, began to slip into the background. The Holy War had found its way into another church body.

In the name of progress our congregations are now filled with bitterness as many have been led to wonder, What is happening in the music life of the church today? And the question looms, What is contemporary praise music all about? and What happened to the hymns? Some see the new simplistic worship form as an affront to traditional hymn singing and view it with contempt. Others embrace it as the only music worth doing while viewing hymn singing as too complex and old fashion to achieve their worship goals. Regardless of what their congregation thinks, most pastors see the development of this new contemporary worship style in their churches as the only possible manner in which to survive in our society today. And yet the resultant push towards the future is fueling war and tearing many traditional congregations in half.

Controversy regarding the introduction of new church music does not only reside within church walls. There are also critics on the outside who look at this style of music that can be found in many megachurches throughout the country with a scathing eye. They see what is going on in these congregations with contemporary music as nothing more than commercialization, producing overly simplistic music that appeals to the masses and thus renders church music middle of the road and never too daring. They suggest these mammoth churches are marketing music, and religion, like Taco Bell markets food that tastes good to everyone.

With this in mind Jeff Sharlet lambasted a successful megachurch in the May 2005 issue of the liberal Harper's Magazine article, Soldiers of Christ when he wrote: (The musicians) were all young and pretty, dressed in the kind of quality-cotton-punk clothing one buys at the Gap. Male singers. . . are almost always tenors, their voices clean and indistinguishable, R&B inflected one moment, New Country the next, with a little bit of early ‘90s grunge at the beginning and the end . . .The worship style is . . .designed for total accessibility, with the illusion of choice between strikingly similar brands . . .The drummers all stick to cymbals and beats anyone can handle; the guitarists deploy effects like artillery but condense them, so the highs and lows never stretch too wide. Lyrics tend to be rhythmic and pronunciation perfect, the better to sing along when the words are projected onto movie screens. Breathy or wailing vocalists drench their lines with emotion, but only within strict confines. There are no sad songs in the megachurch, and there are no angry songs. There are songs about desperation, but none about despair; songs convey longing only if it has already been fulfilled.

The point Sharlet sought to make in his critique is that the church of today is busily applying market economics to its growth scheme in order to become larger-and larger. And all of this is done at the expense of artistry, creativity and honesty. In the example of music, according to Sharlet, only marketable worship and praise styles suits the likes of the megachurch today. The inference was that the church has sold out in order to become popular and music has taken the biggest hit as it has been rendered middle of the road in order to appeal to all. A lot of pastors do see contemporary music as a marketing tool, and it seems to be a necessity to have it in churches these days. And many sincere pastors contend that it has to be presented a certain way to get the growth results they are seeking after . . . You have to have drums and guitars, etc. to be successful.

This growth philosophy leads many to wonder where this new marvel of religious marketing is headed. Thus the question arises, Could there be something important in Sharlet’s article that the church needs to hear? As we look into the background of the Church Growth religious marketing movement, its history, its philosophies and how it has expanded and has been implemented over the years, various answers to that question become apparent.

The Rules of Engagement - Seeking the Truth

In unmasking the phantoms that haunt us today, we will find that there are numerous players and errant philosophies that need to be considered. This will take us on a long and perhaps difficult journey at times. Many tend to embrace challenges while others shy away from them. Yet I would encourage everyone who seeks after truth to read on. For though the nature of the Holy Wars will take some time to unveil, an understanding of the causes of the turmoil that we witness in our churches today will ultimately produce healing.

The subject matter of this book is specifically about separating truth from error. This requires an honest look at all the facts. None of us enjoys it when our belief systems are challenged and this journey has not been an easy one for me to pursue as well. But after years of ministry I eventually came to a point in life where I had to take an honest look at where I was heading. This resulted in an arduous task that involved over 25 years of extensive research.

At times this exhausting quest for truth became so disheartening that I wanted to give it up. Uncovering falsity is an arduous task for everyone as the truth of Scripture hits us all right between the eyes, as it did me. But we can be certain that God will reward those who have undertaken the goal of seeking after that truth.

I have undertaken this project in the hopes that others may share in the benefits of this research into biblical truths as they have played out in history and in the writings of the great leaders of the church over the last 2000 years. I am convinced that a candid look into our situation today as it relates to the church in history is imperative if the church is to rise out of the mire of falsehood to learn to worship in spirit and truth. So as you continue on, it is my prayer that you will ultimately arrive at conclusions that aim to build up rather than tear down. It is my hope that together we can uncover exactly what is at the bottom of our Holy Wars today in order to ascertain what can be done to arrive at a lasting peace.

Growth at all Cost

In our trek towards the truth of the matter we need to begin by investigating the marketing of religion phenomena that Jeff Scharlet described in his article. As we look into church history we find that this movement initially came out of the observations of Donald A McGavran while he served as a missionary in India. As a result of his studies McGavran started the Missiological Movement as a pragmatic approach to planting and nurturing the growth of churches while founding the Institute of Church Growth. His whole approach to growth was based around adapting the church to the surrounding culture. Later Fuller Theological Seminary through such personas as Peter Wagner and John Wimber did much to popularize McGavran’s Church Growth principles.

In his book Leading Your Church to Growth Peter Wagner wrote: The Church Growth Movement has boldly asserted that not only is church growth OK, but is the will of the Almighty God. Consequently we find that within the core of the modern Church Growth Movement lies the notion that growth is the greatest good and anything that leads to growth is therefore good. Growth first! is the call of Church Growth advocates today. And this is regularly interpreted to mean getting more people and more money into the Institutionalized Church.

When considering this growth first pronouncement one needs to take into account that there has been no time of greater church growth in history than the expansion of Christianity as witnessed in the Early Church primarily through the ministry of the Apostle Paul. When you look at what Paul did in the Book of Acts and what he said in his epistles, therefore, you should expect to find the most effective formula for growth and the model that the church should follow today. Yet when you read and observe these accounts in the Bible, you will not find the emphasis on growth first that we witness with modern Church Growth advocates. Rather the life and writings of Paul place a specific emphasis on ministry, evangelism and morality.

For that reason, the growth first philosophy of the Church Growth Movement today does not find its source in the Bible. Rather it is the humanistic philosophies of the world that lies behind the movement. And in the humanistic world, this growth first philosophical system was introduced by an evolutionist named John Dewey. While breaking away from his philosophical predecessors Dewey determined that there are no moral absolutes. He resolved that man is good no matter how bad he is as long as he is seeking to be better than before. In other words, good can be equated with growth.

Accordingly, the adherence to growth as the greatest good is a secular worldview that was first promoted by a philosopher who sought to find meaning to life outside the confines of the Christian worldview. And many in Christendom have adopted Dewey’s growth philosophy as their mantra.

Dewey was an educator and devoted a large portion of his life seeking to institute his philosophy in the educational system. In his highly influential book, The School and Society, he formulated an educational theory based upon his evolutionary-based growth philosophy. In this work, Dewey developed a method and curriculum in the schools in which the child's growth became the central concern.

The progressive schools that came out of Dewey’s efforts emphasized this concept of growth or progress above the assimilation of content. Therefore, as long as the student is moving forward in this educational scheme, it does not matter what has been actually learned. There are no educational goals other than growth, so no one has to get to any particular point within a specific time frame. In the educational community today this methodology is called Outcome-Based Education and it has dominated many of our public schools for decades now. As this growth philosophy has inundated America’s educational system we have seen learning dumbed down to such a point that kids cannot even pass the simplest of standardized tests.

In the same manner Dewey’s growth as the greatest good philosophy has taken over many churches. In their zeal to become like the world in order to expand we have witnessed church leaders dumb down everything from theology to music to the same deplorable level that our schools have descended to. The inclination today in many Christian circles is to put uneducated pastors in our pulpits and unlearned musicians at the forefront of our church services.

The laity are begging for substance, wrote Michael Horton in The Agony of Deceit. They are often more anxious to deepen their faith than their pastors are to help them deepen it. So today few of our young Christians really know their Bibles and few can appreciate the profound lyrical statements that are found in hymn liturgy. Few understand the attributes of God, so hymnology that speaks at this level escapes them. Many don’t even understand the nature of salvation nor do they hear about it in many modern worship and praise song texts. Indeed, Dewey’s growth dynamic has demonstrated itself to be the instigator of ignorance in every corner.

In creating a communist society in Russia, Stalin was primarily after the minds of the kids and he got to them by putting together a compulsory educational system that rendered children ignorant of the truth. 1 Likewise Dewey has dumbed down our mandatory schools to such an extent that our Constitutional freedoms are being slowly eroded by liberalism as we slowly but surely put on the cloak of Stalin’s socialism simply because the current uneducated populace of America does not understand the Constitution. In the same way, because of Dewey’s ever so popular growth at all cost theories that have mesmerized ambitious pastors, much of the church has been dumbed down while inhaling every bit of bologna that blows through the door. Consider the vulnerability that the Charismatic Church has to every wind and doctrine such as the Shepherding, Word of Faith and Inner Healing heresies and you’ll have adequate evidence of that fact 2.

Cult Expert Ron Enrod declared, People today are spiritually starving. Western society is now almost totally secularized – little satisfaction for spiritual hunger can be found in its institutions. Even the Christian church, in many cases, has lost sight of the meat and drink of God’s Word. The result is that many who ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’ remain unfilled, craving food but not knowing where to find it.

. . . How urgently we need a return to biblical literacy in the church! wrote Ron Rhodes in The Culting of America.

The biblical illiteracy of this nation is truly abysmal, Rhodes concluded, And worse, the religious profile that emerges of the typical American Christian – at least in terms of Bible knowledge – is nothing less than frightening.

Even the expectations for people’s lives have become watered-down with cop-out catch phrases such as God is not through with me yet being fostered to explain the fact that Christians continue to live in sin. Peter admonished: But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’ (I Pet 1:15-16 MKJV) Yet when many pastors speak of holiness these days it is in terms of the unattainable rather than the way we should live. In the same manner sin has become far more tolerable in the church because it is not expected that parishioners attain a certain level of saintliness. As long as they are at least progressing, no matter what sort of lifestyle they lead, everything is viewed as being OK. At least the person is on the right track.

C.K. Chesterson declared, We do not want a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world. However, it has played out just the opposite in much of the Contemporary Church. In a real way Christianity has been dumbed down through Church Growth strategies in order for the church to relate to the people who have been left intellectually bankrupt by Dewey’s educational system. The church has lowered the bar to become dumb for the sake of ministering to ignorance. It’s a self-perpetuating full circle of mediocrity that rolls down the path leading to even more ignorance and endorsed sin as time passes. And John Dewey is at its head.

1. When the communist party first came into power, they proceeded to create a nation-wide system of education. After the revolution in 1917, primary and secondary education were made compulsory. In October of 1918, the Soviet government instituted the Unified Labor Schools, designed to lay down the principles of military atheistic and political education, strong polytechnical alignment, coeducation, instruction in the native tongue, and the training of teachers in a manner that would insure that the ideologies of the Communist Party were carefully conformed to. Likewise the Russian schools began to see themselves as the place where morality ought to be taught. They wanted to create moral individuals who could be productive in the society the Communists envisioned. BACK

2. By using eisogesis (superimposing a meaning onto the text) instead of exegesis (drawing the meaning out of the text) wrote Ron Rhodes in The Culting of America, a Marxist interpreter could, for example, so skew the meaning of the U. S. Constitution that it would come out reading like a socialist document. Cultists and Word-Faith teachers have done the same type of thing with the Holy Scriptures. They have so skewed the meaning of the biblical text that it comes out saying something entirely different than what was intended by the author. BACK

New Wine

John Wimber, who gained worldwide attention as the leader of the Vineyard Movement, began his musical career as the piano player for The Righteous Brothers. Following that, he attended a Quaker church in Yorba Linda where he led hundreds to the Lord. Eventually, in 1974, Wimber became the Founding Director of the Department of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary. Even as that was occurring, he started up a House Church that began to embrace some of the beliefs of the Charismatic movement. This resulted in a split with the Quaker church that his home group belonged to.

Wimber’s House Church, now known as the Anaheim Vineyard Christian Fellowship, became so large that he joined up with the Calvary Chapel denomination. Calvary rose up in part because Chuck Smith turned away from the manipulative growth and money raising techniques pursued by his former denomination. Because he saw God’s true church as the sum total all believers rather than the Institutionalized Church itself, Smith focused on the spiritual needs of people rather than the success of the organization. As a result, the Calvary Chapel denomination took strong stands against man induced growth strategies. Instead there was an emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s work through traditional evangelism as the manner in which to witness true growth. In spite of this deep denominational conviction, Wimber was caught up in the church growth theories that he and Peter Wagner had propagated at Fuller Theological Seminary. Eventually he broke away from Calvary Chapel over a dispute involving the authority of Scripture as it related to the display of signs and wonders in the church. After that incident Wimber ultimately rose up to become a leading proponent of Church Growth in the late 20th century.

Wimber promoted the doctrine of Kingdom Theology, which concludes that it is the church’s responsibility to set up a Millenium here on earth. Kingdom Theology sees church growth occurring as a result of the church literally taking over society in a manner similar to the era when the Popes ruled kings during the Dark Ages. In addition, while proclaiming that experience takes precedence over the Bible, Wimber promoted a brand of ecumenicalism that de-emphasized doctrine for the sake of bringing all Christian denominations together under one tent. This predisposition has become a common theme among many Charismatics today.

Wimber promoted evangelism through the display of miracles. He labeled his growth strategy Signs and Wonders and Church Growth, while traveling throughout America and in various parts of the world holding seminars to instruct parishioners and pastors how to take hold of the supernatural world. As it turned out Wimber’s evangelistic growth proposal had little to do with saving souls and a lot to do with the church assuming authority over culture.

The Vineyard Movement emphasized church planting, which is a concept that has swept through the Evangelical Church as well. Wimber contended that church planting is the best form of evangelism as thousands of Vineyards were established across the USA and internationally. Partially as a result of Wimber’s teaching in that regard, church planting has become one of the most popular buzz words in the Church Growth Movement today.

Much to Wimber’s credit, the Vineyard movement has produced some of the most profound, inspiring and beautiful praise music to come out of the contemporary music scene. Wimber himself was an excellent songwriter and composed several songs that played an integral role in the rise of praise and worship music in the church. In addition Wimber took strong stands against the Word of Faith movement and the classic Pentecostal and Charismatic teachings that contend that the gift of tongues is the only evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Instead he emphasized that the gift of tongues was only one of the many spiritual gifts taught in the Bible. This new outlook, that Wagner coined The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit, tore down a major theological stumbling block that had previously inhibited some mainstream Evangelicals from becoming involved in signs and wonders. Likewise because they saw themselves as the Third Wave, Wimber along with the leaders of the Vineyard Movement have repeatedly rejected the Charismatic label.

No doubt Wimber’s greatest gift to the body of Christ was the home church or cell group. This concept of small groups meeting in homes represented a welcome return to the practices of the Early Church and has done a lot to keep many congregations personal. It has also allowed large churches to remain small so that the megachurch actually can work.

A key tenant in Wimber’s teachings was that our relationship with God should be founded on intimacy rather than religious habit and discipline. He also emphasized authenticity and doing nothing for religious effect. Hence his teaching focused on personal experiences within the context of a church service that was casual, informal and led by the Holy Sprit. And the song lineup always needed to be flexible to allow the Holy Spirit to move. Therefore, according to Wimber, worship does not include scripted prayers or liturgy.

This theology led to the manifestation of many signs and wonders during Vineyard church services. As these supernatural events began to materialize in his church, Wimber took some theological turns that led his followers into uncharted land. As a result of this, according to some Cessationalist Christians, the early Vineyard movement began to take on a makeup that more closely resembled the New Age movement than orthodox Christianity.

Since Wimber failed to subjugate his interpretation of the signs and wonders that he witnessed to the test of Scripture, many of the spiritual events that occurred in his churches were more cultic than Christian in nature. In particular, the group involved itself in pagan worship practices including the use of musical mantras to enter into the supernatural world, quests after hidden knowledge, visualizations, New Age healing practices centered around seeking out auras or hot spots and the like, a preoccupation with the occult including the belief in the demonization of Christians and on and on. Hence, though the emphasis of the early Vineyard movement was to subjugate society to the authority of the church, the techniques utilized by Wimber were generally the same demonstration of pagan New Age ‘60s mysticism that the world had already submerged itself in. Wimber’s efforts, therefore, simply represented an attempt by the church to grow by assimilating the religion of the surrounding culture rather than influencing it.

Albert Dager’s Vengeance is Ours is a well-documented book on the rise of the occult in the church. With regard to the Church Growth Movement among Charismatics such as Wimber he penned: "At leadership conferences pastors and teachers are instructed in the latest methods on church growth though the utilizing of proven methodologies: 1) spiritual warfare against evil territorial spirits; 2) psychological testing for gifts among young congregants; 3) covenants requiring congregants to follow their pastor’s vision; 5) formula prayer (Larry and Lea and Dick Eastman are the leaders in this area); and other approaches related to church ministry and administration.

Armed with that knowledge, the pastors take what they’ve learned and implement it in their congregations in order to teach the people how to take dominion over their cities, how to institute proper worship and praise in order to move God and to receive power, how to work miracles, signs and wonders, how to bind the spirits allegedly controlling the four directions – North, South, East and West – and other dominion-oriented exercises.

Eventually the Vineyard leadership noticed that very few were getting saved as a result of their signs and wonders approach to Church Growth. In addition, the Vineyard elders became concerned about various supernatural events that arose among their congregations. They came to realize the fact that Vineyard parishioners had become enamoured with the self-gratifying experience of the extraordinary rather than the desire to see signs and wonders emerge as an evangelistic tool. Therefore, the denomination ultimately directed their attention to a more conservative approach regarding the manifestation of signs and wonders while contending that such demonstrations must have some meaningful biblical significance attached to them.

Likewise, Vineyard pastors all over the country turned back to emphasizing instruction in God’s Word and the traditional altar call as a methodology of evangelism. One example was Rick Olmstead, pastor of the Vineyard in Fort Collins, Co. After shepherding his flock for many years, Olmstead discovered that many of his parishioners did not even know the Gospel. Therefore, he began to preach the Gospel from the pulpit. Many were saved in church service after service as a result, and Olmstead’s church grew to over 3,000 as it witnessed hundreds of baptisms a year. This manifestation of God’s power through the proclamation of His Word influenced other Vineyards as well as a more traditional approach regarding church growth fought its way to the forefront.

In spite of this dramatic shift back towards the center, Wimber’s influence in the Church Growth Movement has remained profound. Indeed, many in the church have come under the influence of the brand of charismatic Church Growth that he propagated for so many years. And as his students have followed the course of taking on the ways of society in order to dominate it, they have followed the same route that lead the church of the Middle Ages to adopt paganism even as it related to the society that it sought to control.

Survival of the Fittest - Marketing Religion

The idea of marketing was added to the church growth pot as a result of the work of sociologists Rodney Stark, Roger Finke, Laurence Lannaccone, R. Stephen Warner, and others. It was during the ‘80s that Stark and his collaborators began interpreting religious-affiliation data through the lens of neoliberal market theory. Neoliberal market theory contends that market forces alone will result in the just distribution resources or goods. Therefore, if the government, for example, would leave the economy alone, everything would go as it should and everyone would get what he or she should get. This theory is all about letting the national economy follow its course without government intervention. It is all about allowing market forces in an open economy to naturally take care of everything with regards to the distribution of wealth.

Neoliberalism proposes a Darwinian survival of the fittest view of the national economy where the weak are eliminated and only the strong survive. Supply and demand alone will determine the appropriate price of consumable products and services without the help of government regulation. Consumers choose which products or services they want to consume. Those business that do the best job of producing and marketing their products will be the ones who come out on top. The companies that win in the end will be the ones who were supposed to win. Because of the resultant competitive atmosphere between companies, there will be more choices to choose from as consumers have greater access to the products and services that they want at an affordable price.

Stark attempted to apply this theory to religion by viewing the church as a religious economy in which potential churchgoers or seekers, as they are called, roam around their communities as consumers looking for a religious product or service that best suits them. Thus, in the development of the religious economies, Stark determined that it makes sense to model religion as the behavior of rational, well-informed actors who choose to ‘consume’ secular commodities. He concluded that the choice of religious affiliation is made as the potential church member weighs the costs and benefits of each possible choice. While surrounded by an environment where churches compete with each other to see who can come up the most attractive products or services, the seeker chooses the church that maximizes the rewards. And because of the competitive atmosphere between churches within the context of the law of supply and demand, the seeker will have a whole lot of choices to choose from.

The religious economies viewpoint contends that to the degree that a religious economy is competitive and pluralistic, overall levels of religious participation will tend to be high. Using data from the U.S. Census on religious bodies collected in 1906, Finke and Stark concluded that religious adherence is higher in urban environments than in rural areas. This, they concluded, is due in large part to the greater availability of religious options in the city. Thus, it was argued, "a natural consequence of an open religious economy