"Kansas City Fellowship Revisited"
The Controversy Continues
by Stephen F. Cannon
© 1991 Personal Freedom Outreach
The controversy at Kansas City Fellowship (now
officially a Vineyard Fellowship) continues. [See PFO's The
Quarterly Journal, Vol. 10, No. 4, Oct.-Dec., 1990]
The chief participants are Mike Bickle, senior pastor of Kansas
City Fellowship; Paul Cain and Bob Jones, "prophets" associated
with KCF; John Wimber, overseer of Vineyard Ministries; and Ernest
Gruen, pastor of the Full Faith Church of Love in Kansas City.
In Ministries Today magazine (September-October 1990), Lee Grady
chronicled Gruen's concern over KCF's aberrant teachings, which go
back to 1984:
"After making several attempts to bring correction -- once
in private with Bickle and twice with a group of KCF leaders present
-- Gruen says he 'lost patience.'" (pg. 50)
This led Gruen to "tell it to the church" as instructed
in Matthew 18. He did this from the pulpit on Jan. 21, 1990, with
the sermon "Do We Keep Smiling and Say Nothing?"
In it Gruen pointed out false prophecies and aberrant teachings.
Gruen taped the sermon and distributed it nationally. The battle
was on.
Stung by Gruen's sermon, Bickle wrote an open letter on Jan. 22,
1990 responding to the charges. The response was: "...you don't
understand our church structure ... nor the nature of our prophetic
ministries." "...most of what you shared was not based
on factual information and the rest was colored in an untruthful
and negative way to seriously misrepresent the truth."
After making these comments Bickle said: "I open my heart
to any correction that you have to offer that relates to any of our
practices. I only first request that you take time to understand
them accurately, thus, enhancing a more meaningful correction to
us." <1>
So, while the letter had a veneer of loving submission -- "...we
do not in any way charge you with insincerity or purposeful malice.
I continue to receive you as a man of sincerity and integrity. ...Our
desire is full and immediate reconciliation." -- its underlying
mood was: "You don't understand, you are misinformed, and your
misinformation is used in a negative way that misrepresents the truth."
This attitude is consistent with the teaching of Mike Bickle on the
general low level of understanding of the church today.
In a cassette tape message called "Divine Appointment,"
Bickle says:
"At this point in time, because of the pride of the church
(just like the Scribes and the Pharisees) we have such a sense
that we understand ... when we are not even the beginning of novices."
We have ... "the church with absolutely no insight, judging
the works of God with no understanding and missing out on the works
of God." <2>
Evidently, Gruen interpreted the letter similarly. Correspondence
proliferated between Bickle, Gruen and others in the controversy.
The staff at Full Faith compiled 233 pages of tape transcripts, writings
of KCF leaders, letters of former members and area ministers that
documented Gruen's allegations. These teachings included "Charismatic
heresy" and "prophecy through familiar spirits." Again,
copies of this document were distributed nationally.
Bickle and Gruen finally agreed to a July meeting with other prominent
members of the Charismatic movement to be present to mediate, but
before the meeting, John Wimber intervened:
"In a surprise announcement, he [Wimber] said that Bickle
and his associates had agreed to submit themselves to his oversight
and become part of Wimber's Vineyard Ministries. The KCF network
of fellowships would become Vineyard churches." <3>
Because of his interest in supernatural signs and wonders, and
his acknowledgement of Paul Cain as a Prophet of God, Wimber already
had strong ties to KCF (see PFO Journal cited previously). It was
natural that Bickle would turn to someone with the national ministry
recognition of a John Wimber for help in this time of growing crisis.
Once Wimber acknowledged that there were excesses at KCF, Gruen was
more disposed to allow him to mediate the controversy. The meeting
was called off:
"In a letter to Gruen, Wimber promised to address some of
the errors and declared, 'I am satisfied that we will not see these
problems arising again in the future.' " <4>
Bickle, Wimber, Gruen, et al met June 28, 1990 to examine the charges
and documentation made by Gruen. Charisma and Christian Life reports:
"They had found only a couple of areas of agreement, according
to Wimber, but he said, 'I am glad to announce that there is a
truce.'
"Gruen, who had distributed a cassette tape and a printed
book of accusations, acknowledged that he had no authority to question
or examine the validity of KCF's teachings and practices. He said
he had full confidence that Wimber and the Vineyard team will properly
correct any problems. However, both to Wimber in person and in
a letter released a week later, Gruen held fast to his conviction
that KCF had made serious errors." <5>
At a KCF-sponsored conference that evening Bickle confessed to
15 mistakes KCF leaders had made. Most of these points addressed
the leaders' elitist spirit and lack of accountability. While some
of the admissions are significant, they do not deal with most of
Gruen's accusations. Most telling was that there was no repudiation
of any of the movement's prophets.
While Bob Jones has been asked to limit his public ministry and
prophetic teacher John Paul Jackson has been asked by Bickle to undergo
some training from Wimber, none of their prior aberrant teachings
has been renounced.
Wimber is on record as saying that while he disagrees with the
City Church concept of KCF, he finds nothing else "reprehensible."
Wimber describes Bickle's confessions as the type a gardener ought
to make when he lets a shrub get misshapen, but not a questioning
of what God is doing at and through KCF."
"'We are not about to lay an axe to anything,' Wimber said.
'long live a prophetic voice. We need to hear from God.'"
<6>
After the June 28 meeting, Gruen summarized where Full Faith stood
on the controversy. Although he defended the overall accuracy of
his documentation on the aberrant teachings of KCF, Gruen conceded
that it may have been faulty on three counts where complaints from
former disgruntled KCF members were specified. He also withdrew all
charges against Cain, saying he found him to be godly and a man of
integrity.
Gruen then essentially took himself out of the fray by stating:
"Finally, we release the entire situation of Kansas City
Fellowship into your hands. We recognize that it is not now our
responsibility to provide either correction or approval of Kansas
City Fellowship. We believe that you are sincerely trying to bring
the balance and correction that is needed. We also understand that
this will involve a process that will take some amount of time.
We again wish to express our confidence in you, John, and state
publicly that we completely and fully trust in your integrity."
<7>
John Wimber now believes that "... with the public 'rebuke'
of Bickle on the 15 points and the willingness of Gruen to discontinue
public pressing of additional charges as of July 30, 'the process
has been completed,' and Bickle and KCF have 'joyfully' been welcomed
into the Vineyard coalition of Churches." <8>
Do We Return to Smiling and Saying Nothing?
In this writer's opinion, the process is far from complete. Nothing
more than a bandage has been applied to a wound in the Body of Christ.
If left untreated, the wound will fester and erupt with greater virulence
later.
At issue is crucial doctrine. The outcome of this controversy will
determine source of doctrinal and practical principles for many Christians.
The struggle is not new. It has been raging since the Canon of Scripture
was closed. It is not an internal battle between a "jealous
old guard against a new move of God." The issue is not even
a question of whether there are prophets in today's church.
Reduced to its lowest unit, the controversy centers around a primal
question, "Yea, hath God said?"
Is the bottom line rule for the faith and practice of Chris- tians
the written objective Word of God or is it the subjective personal
prophecies of a group of elite Apostles and Prophets? Are all personal
spiritual revelations to be judged by the Word of God or is the Word
of God to be "interpreted" through personal spiritual revelations?
It is on this level that KCF and if necessary all of the Vineyard
Ministries must be called to task.
Teachers who make erroneous statements in a national forum to the
effect that their fellowship will disciple the nations, that out
of their leadership will come the new breed of Manifest Sons who
will conquer death, that through their prophets will come a new definition
of what Christianity is and say these statements have the Divine
Imprimatur of "Thus Saith The Lord" cannot gloss over these
statements with an "Oops, sorry, these were just the statements
of a young and immature ministry."
When one prophesies with a "Thus Saith The Lord" to a
committed Christian, something important has occurred. The person
that has spoken has in effect said "That was not me talking,
that was God talking through me." The first question that should
be asked at that point is not "Is this man a prophet?"
But, does he speak according to the Word of God? If he does not,
then Isaiah 8:20 tells us that there is no light in him.
The men who wish to be known as apostles and prophets must realize
that once those titles have been acquired, many people take their
words seriously. Lives and families have been devastated by a few
ill-chosen words. The weight of this responsibility precludes any
casual apologies. In spite of the fact that Gruen apparently has
thrown in the towel and Wimber has declared the correction to be
complete, the controversy has not been settled. Hard, detailed questions
should still be asked of both KCF and Vineyard.
Too often in the past when unscriptural doctrines are challenged
in a particular group, a superficial apology has been offered by
the offender to take the focus off the controversy. Then the group
repackages the doctrines and returns to disseminating them. This
has been the tactic of Latter Rain proponents and others for the
last 50 years.
Hard Questions
Because many erroneous KCF teachings were proclaimed publicly and
people all over the world were affected by them, why doesn't KCF
repudiate them publicly?
One of the 15 errors acknowledged by Bickle was: "Calling
John Wimber, or others, apostles and prophets versus using the terms
"apostolic leadership" and "prophetic ministry."
Does this mean that Paul Cain and Bob Jones will no longer be called
prophets? If they are not now prophets, were they ever? Is saying
that someone operates in prophetic ministry the same as saying that
he is a prophet? How do they differ? If Bob Jones is a true prophet,
then why was he asked by Bickle to limit his public ministry? If
Jones is not a true prophet, then why haven't his bizarre prophecies
been publicly repudiated?
In light of the many unscriptural doctrines legitimized by Jones'
prophecies -- Manifest Sons of God, the power to forgive sins, etc.
-- how could Wimber say that he could find nothing reprehensible
in the teachings of KCF? Does that statement signify that Wimber
believes in these doctrines?
In his open letter to Wimber, Gruen said : "He (Paul Cain)
does not hold to the doctrine of Manifested Sons, but totally denies
ever having believed in that teaching." How can Gruen make that
statement when in his own document exposing the aberrant teachings
of KCF, he includes unmistakable proof that Cain does teach that
very doctrine:
"... This army is also in the New Testament. It's referred
to as the man child. I know some of you's gonna disagree with this;
don't you even stop to disagree. Revelation 12:25, if you disagree,
just file it in "miscellaneous" and don't bother with
it. When you get to heaven we'll check it out, and you'll find
out I'm right. Here it is -- this great army in the New Testament
is a man child, Revelation 12:5; the overcomers, Revelation 2 and
3; the 144,000 servants, Revelation 7:3; the bride of the Lamb's
wife -- see why they call me in on the carpet?...the revelation
of the Lamb's wife, Revelation 19:7 and 21:9; and the white horse,
Revelation 6:2; the first fruit, Revelation 14:4; the precious
fruit, James 5:7; the wise virgins, Matthew 21:1-13; the manifested
sons of God, Romans 8:19-23, and it's certainly a remarkable fact
that none of these names are expressions applied to the saints
of God at any other time in history, but all of them are in their
context and promises showing undeniably that they belong to the
end time. The end time, let's say the end time. They belong to
the end time to this present generation, Matthew 24:34 ... this
is the end time and God wants us to realize once and again, in
closing, that there's gonna be a great company of overcomers prepared
for this mighty ministry which I call the prize of all ages ..."
<9>
If Paul Cain is a prophet of God, how can he call William Branham
"the greatest prophet that ever lived," when Branham taught
that the doctrine of the Trinity was "of the Devil?"
According to the September Charisma and Christian Life news article,
Gruen "acknowledged that he had no authority to question or
examine the validity of KCF's teaching or practices." If the
pastor of a church whose members are being hurt by aberrant doctrines
of a neighboring church doesn't have the authority to examine or
question, then who does? Should Gruen have just smiled and said nothing?
These and many, many other questions should be asked of all the
participants of this controversy. If we have misunderstood what these
men are saying, they should take the time to clear up our confusion
in public forums such as Christianity Today, Charisma and Christian
Life, or Ministries Today magazine.
Is Vineyard Ministries the Proper Mediator?
Gruen has the confidence that Wimber and Vineyard Ministries will
be able to correct the doctrines of KCF. However, one doesn't have
to delve very deeply into Vineyard study materials to see that Wimber
may be the wrong man for the job.
The first problem area is that of the close association between
Wimber and Cain. The two men have become almost inseparable:
"In addition to his fathering relationship to KCF, Paul has
come into a deep friendship and working relationship with John
Wimber ... Paul has made a special commitment to traveling with
John and to support the vision that God is currently unfolding
to him." <10>
The question of who wields the most influence over whom is valid.
Already Wimber is showing signs of accepting Cain's doctrine of The
Manifest Sons:
"I think that what God is doing is raising up a new breed
of leaders. And I believe that He's inviting us in this room to
participate in that new breed."
"Now that's a term you've become familiar with this week. It's
been prophesied by Paul Cain and I think it's a very important concept."
<11> He also speaks favorably of the Latter Rain movement:
"And I believe the Church of Jesus Christ that we are a part
of (the larger body of Christ the world over) has been weighed and
judged in this generation. That instead of learning from our predecessors
from the Latter Day Rain movement, from any number of movements of
God that have occurred in this century, we have allowed the enemy
to come in and distract and take away the passion of God, and rob
it out of our lives." <12> Another disturbing factor in
looking to Wimber to bring balance to KCF is his weak view of the
authority of The Bible. He has trumpeted the fact that his theology
goes beyond scripture and is based more on experience.
"Now I don't want to, in any way, erode your confidence in
the Word of God, but listen very carefully to what I am about to
say. It (the Bible) is not God; it is the word from God. Don't
worship the book. Evangelicals all over the country are worshiping
the book. They have God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Book. They took the very workings of the Holy Spirit and placed
it in the Book." <13>
This statement seems to be saying that the Holy Spirit works outside
the Word of God and would be consistent with the "God is greater
than His Word" attitude.
Wimber even disparages those who hold to a high view of the authority
of scripture. Speaking of those from Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel
(of which Wimber was once a part) he says "Calvaryites are sometimes
a little too heavily orientated to the written Word. I know that
sounds a little dangerous, but frankly they're very pharisaical in
their allegiance to the Bible. They have very little life and growth
and spontaneity in their innards. Sometimes they're very rigid and
can't receive much of the things of the Lord." <14> This
attitude led one researcher to observe, "Aside from these questions
about Wimber's grasp of intellectual questions, there are some serious
difficulties in his theology for a thinking evangelical. In the first
place, his use of scripture is highly problematic. His starting place
seems to be his own experience and scripture is drawn in to proof-text
his own position." <15>
Christian Research Institute published a fact sheet on Vineyard
that includes these comments: "There appears to be little emphasis
on teaching the Bible per se ... While Bible teaching is not emphasized
enough, the role of experience in the Christian life appears to be
overemphasized. People in the Vineyard seem to be willing to allow
their spiritual experiences to be self- authenticating." <16>
The above attitudes force us to ask: is Vineyard Ministries the
proper mediator in this controversy, or, have Gruen and others placed
their confidence in someone who believes essentially the same things
as those to whom he is supposed to bring correction? Accusers of
the Brethren?
Since the correction process for KCF is, in the opinion of many,
completed, the fellowship is striking back at its critics.
Instead of dealing openly with the documented issues, KCF -- at
least for now through Grace Ministries Associates -- is trying to
cast doubt on the process of questioning and exposing aberrant doctrine.
They are also seeking to vilify those engaged in that process as
"accusers of the brethren, self-appointed heresy hunters, and
those possessed by fault-finding demons."
The two most blatant examples of this is in an article by Grace
Ministries associate Francis Frangipane and a portion of an article
by Rick Joyner. <17>
Frangipane writes:
"Satan has sent forth against the Church an army of fault-finding
demons... How is the fault-finding demon manifested? It incites
people to spend weeks unearthing old faults or sins in their minister
of church... Beguiled by this demon, we circulate its accusations
through a congregation or city, stimulating suspi- cion and fear
among the people... But this enemy is not limited to attacks on
local churches. Its attacks are also citywide and nationwide...
To mask the diabolical nature of its activity, this fault-finding
demon usually garbs its criticisms in religious clothing. Under
pretense of protecting the sheep from a gnat-sized error in doctrine,
it forces the flock to swallow a camel-sized error of loveless
correction... In the final stage of this process we become crusaders
against the other person. No defense he or she offers will satisfy.
We are convinced the person is deceived and dangerous; it is up
to us to warn others. Yet the truth is we who have succumbed to
the fault-finder spirit are the ones who are deceived and dangerous...
When the accuser comes, he brings distorted facts and condemnation.
Satan never offers hope nor extends grace for repentance. Those
who are trapped by this spirit never research the virtues in the
organization or person they are attacking. Their goal is not to
heal but to harm. <18>
Joyner writes:
"It seems inevitable that the self-appointed 'heresy hunters'
will always do more damage to the church than the actual heresies...
The free associations and wild overgeneralizations of those whom
Jude called 'fault-finders' are a destructive force that has ensnared
and destroyed the effective spiritual life and witness of larger
portions of the church than possibly any false teachings... We
consider the callousness with which we have been prone to falsely
accuse one another and over generalize in our references to one
another's teaching or ministry a far more serious and destructive
matter in the church than these particu- lar doctrines... There
are presently two ministries going on before the throne of God:
one is intercession and the other is accusation. These are primary
distinguishing characteristics of those who are walking by the
spirit of Christ and those who are of the spirit of the evil one...
Those who are of the nature of the evil one are the 'fault-finders'
Jude warned about. 'Free association' and 'overgeneralization'
are two of Satan's most effective tools in promoting innuendo and
slander in his role as 'the accuser of the brethren.' These are
the ones who 'cause divisions.'... One who has right doctrines
and a spirit of pride or the accuser will devour far more sheep
than those who just have some wrong doctrine." <19>
To accept the above arguments as true would put the Apostle Paul
in jeopardy of being accused of having a fault-finding demon. In
Galatians 2:11-20, Peter (a Christian brother and Apostle, not a
heretic) was teaching false doctrine. Paul knew Peter was incorrect
and challenged him publicly on the subject. Until that controversy
was resolved, the Judaizers no doubt wondered who that upstart Paul
was that was causing division in the church. In II Timothy 2:15-18
Paul again mentions false teachers by name so that believers would
not fall prey to their teachings and again in Acts 20:29. Paul kept
on warning the church to beware of false doctrine for "three
years."
The simple truth is that the New Testament is full of examples
of public correction of false teachings both inside and outside the
church. The key word in the process set forth in I Thessalonians
5:21 is "test" (from the Greek dokimazo -- to test, examine,
prove, scrutinize). This test applies to men, messages, and ministries.
The basis of the test is the sure objective Word of God, not the
unreliable word of today's prophets.
It is true that there are minor points of doctrine (whether the
Rapture is Pre, Mid or Post; whether you do or don't have instrumental
music in the church; or even how many angels can dance on the head
of a pin) that we will never agree on. With these we should agree
to disagree agreeably.
However, when it comes to such watershed doctrines as the person
and work of Jesus Christ, and the accuracy and absolute authority
of the Bible, we can and must challenge each other when our teachings
denigrate either. This should be done with a spirit of grace and
love. The motive of such a challenge should be to seek restoration
and repentance -- for both sides if necessary).
The time has come for Christians to stop being browbeaten into
silence by those who have set themselves up as modern day apostles
and prophets.
ENDNOTES:
- Letter on file.
- Divine Appointment (Introduction), Mike Bickle, 3/29/89, cassette
tape.
- "Resolving the Kansas City Prophecy Controversy," Lee
Grady, Ministries Today, Sept.-Oct., 1990, pg. 51.
- ibid.
- News Section, Charisma and Christian Life magazine, Sept. 1990,
pg. 42.
- ibid.
- Letter from Ernie Gruen to John Wimber, dated July 1, 1990.
Letter on file.
- Charisma magazine, op. cit.
- Documentation of the Aberrant Practices and Teachings of Kansas
City Fellowship (Grace Ministries), Pastor Ernie Gruen, n.d., published
by author, pp. 220-221.
- "Paul Cain: A Personal Profile," Terri Sullivant, Grace
City Report, Fall 1989, pg. 2.
- John Wimber, Unpacking Your Bags, n.d. cassette tape.
- ibid.
- John Wimber, Healing: An Introduction, n.d., cassette tape no.
5, emphasis added.
- John Wimber, "Church Planting Seminar," cited in Testing
the Fruit of the Vineyard, by John Godwin.
- Dr. Donald Lewis, Assessing the Wimber Phenomenon, Reagent College,
June 1985, pg.3.
- Elliot Miller & Robert Bowman Jr., "The Vineyard,"
Christian Research Institute, San Juan Capistrano, February 1985.
- Francis Frangipane, "Exposing the Accuser of the Brethren,"
Charisma and Christian Life magazine, October 1990, pg. 89-94 and
Rick Joyner, "Our Resolution for the '90s," The Morning
Star Prophetic Newsletter, September-October 1990 pp. 10-13.
- Charisma, op. cit., pp. 89-90, 92.
- Morning Star, op. cit., pp. 12-13.
(c) 1991 - PFO. All rights reserved by Personal Freedom Outreach.
Reproduction is prohibited, including BBS, except for portions intended
for personal use and non-commercial purposes. For reproduction permission
contact: Personal Freedom Outreach, P.O. Box 26062, Saint Louis,
Missouri 63136.
|
