As the Vineyard was faced by ecclesial and ethical issues in the post-Wimber era, the theological responses were developed out of the theology, values, and priorities established by Wimber and the early leadership of the Vineyard. However, it became evident that pre-existent tensions in the values created competing tensions that could not be ignored. For example, the solid evangelical background of the Vineyard led to a
110
Some of the guest speakers have included Dr. James K.A. Smith, Dr. Ronald Sider, Dr. Gregory Boyd, Dr. Richard Mouw, and the anthropologist Dr. Tanya Luhrmann.
111 A term coined by the Vineyard U.S.A. national board in 2013 as they began restructuring the
fidelity to the teachings of Scripture, and yet, the value of culturally relevant mission often surfaced pressures between hermeneutical and praxical concerns. What is more, the commitment to being a centered-set, rather than a bounded set movement, created a tension with defining ecclesial boundaries; that is to say, as the movement sought to define itself in the post-Toronto period,112 one of the difficulties was doing so from a bounded set perspective, and understanding exactly how Toronto had betrayed the Vineyard DNA.113
While numerous specific issues have come to the fore in recent years that were only marginally present in the Wimber years, the issue of women’s role in ministry was the first major test of the post-Wimber process of corporate leadership and discernment. No longer would one dominant voice rule the conversation (that of Wimber’s) but more remarkably, Wimber’s “voice” was only one voice among others: the question of “what was John’s view” was no longer the definitive answer to any particular question.114
In place of Wimber’s dynamic presence, arose a diverse, corporate and communal decision
112 The so-called “Toronto Blessing” began in winter of 1994 with a visitation of the Spirit at the Toronto
Airport Vineyard led by Pastor John Arnott. As the renewal spread throughout Vineyard churches worldwide, there were numerous conflicts and criticisms that arose. Eventually Wimber and the Vineyard National Board withdrew their official endorsement from the Toronto Vineyard. See Jackson’s balanced discussion in Quest. Helpful sources from an insider on the blessing include Guy Chevreau, Catch the Fire: The Toronto Blessing-An Experience of Renewal and Revival (Toronto: HarperCollins Canada, 1994), and idem, Share the Fire: The Toronto Blessing and Grace-Based Evangelism (Shippensburg, PA: Revival Press, 2007).
113 Jackson deconstructs this well in Quest. While Wimber’s voice was the only one heard in the earlier
controversies, as the National Board had invested significant time in dealing with Mike Bickle and the Kansas City prophets, and even more so with John Arnott and the Toronto Airport Vineyard, his perspective and persona was certainly dominant . See Jackson, Quest, 326ff . Todd Hunter, who was Wimber’s assistant at the time, wrote the document “Withdrawal of endorsement of the Toronto Airport Vineyard” in 1995.
114
As there was no longer one dominant voice that could control the decision making process, the decisions for the movement became more corporate and discussion oriented. This involved a corporate public comment period (open to scholars, pastors, and laypersons) where opinion papers were solicited, published publicly , and discussed at many levels of the organization. The national board made the final decision at the termination of this process. Influential position papers were submitted by historic leaders like Rich Nathan, Dr. Don Williams, and Dr. Peter Davids, but numerous papers from pastors were considered as well.
making processes based on dialogue, interaction, and mutual biblical and theological reflection.115
As the Vineyard began to plant churches in major urban centers, and primarily ethnic congregations grew as a result, it was inevitable that the issues of justice, diversity, racial reconciliation, and immigration reform would arise. All these issues were
addressed as practical ethical demands of kingdom eschatology, which held caring for the poor as an essential feature of the “works” of the kingdom of God. As previously noted, concern for the poor had been in the Vineyard DNA from its conception. The issues of justice and racial reconciliation were well noted at times in Vineyard history, and would become a growing concern in the twenty-first century, with the creation of numerous justice initiatives and conferences.116 The Vineyard U.S.A. developed a national
initiative, Mercy Response, which focused on sending supplies, volunteers, and practical assistance to areas which had seen significant natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornados, flooding, and the like. 2008 saw the creation of a national justice task force which focused on propagating the message of justice and assisting local Vineyard congregations in their work against contemporary issues of sex trafficking, slavery, caring for the environment, and immigration reform.117
A growing justice issue emanating from eschatology is the concern for the environment and global climate change. Beginning with the publishing of Saving God’s
115 The end result of this process in 2005 was a statement on women in ministry that essentially granted
every possible role to women, including that of National Director of Vineyard U.S. It is also notable that previously dominant perspectives like that of Dr. Wayne Grudem (who strongly opposed the move to allow women to serve at any level) were considered as viable options among many.
116 As early as 1995 the Vineyard held an international conference focused on justice in Winnipeg,
Canada. The issue of justice and caring for the poor has been addressed in frequent articles in Vineyard publications.
117 This initiative was first developed as the Vineyard Anti-Slavery Task force (VAST), and in 2013 was re-
Green Earth Rediscovering the Church’s Responsibility to Environmental Stewardship in
2006, the issue of environmental stewardship and climate change was included in the justice rubric.118 Noted Christian environmentalists like Dr. Calvin DeWitt have been engaged by Vineyard leaders and invited to speak at conferences and churches.119 Environmental stewardship was included on the agenda of the first national conference focused on justice issues in November, 2013, and will likely be a continuing concern as the movement continues to engage culture from its inaugurated eschatological
framework.
Conclusion: A Unique Founder, a Unique Movement
The particular experience and personality of John Wimber undoubtedly
greatly influenced a significant degree of the identity of the Vineyard movement itself. However, it is equally clear that an essential element of Wimber’s genius was precisely his willingness to investigate and absorb sources and influences
dramatically different than his own and incorporate these influences into his thinking as he saw fit. These abilities to recognize, clarify, and evaluate theological concepts served Wimber not only in his quest to form a sustainable, healthy church organization, but he continued to rely on these gifts as he sought theological and philosophical grounding for his ecclesial praxis. Wimber’s brilliance and ability to amalgamate diverse sources is especially displayed in his ménage of eschatological and pneumatological concepts to form a new theological synthesis that would become the bedrock of Vineyard praxis. In order to understand Wimber’s experiment, it is first necessary to have an understanding of the fundamental elements he chose to work with, primarily the “inaugurated eschatology” of George Eldon Ladd. Ladd’s work in turn, stands as the culmination of a century of modern investigation into the meaning of the kingdom of God in the preaching of Jesus. It is to this subject that I shall now turn.
118
Tri Robinson, Saving God’s Green Earth: Rediscovering the Church’s Responsibility to Environmental Stewardship (Norcross, GA: Ampelon, 2006).
119 Dr. DeWitt is a past executive Director of the Ausable Institute in Mancelona, Michigan which is a non-
CHAPTER TWO: Eschatology in the Vineyard
Introduction
This chapter introduces one of the main themes of the dissertation, which is the conception of the kingdom of God in the Vineyard. As the central argument revolves around the relationship between the work of the Spirit and the establishment of the
kingdom of God in the Vineyard movement, this chapter plays an essential role. Before a coherent examination of the Vineyard’s theology of the kingdom of God may be
undertaken, it must first be placed within its biblical, historical, and cultural horizon. It is no exaggeration to state that the theme of the kingdom of God has been one of the dominant themes of late modern Protestant theology. Since Albrecht Ritschl published his Justification and Reconciliation, which placed the kingdom of God as a central theme, scholars have recognized that no understanding of the message of Jesus can be complete unless one engages with the idea of the kingdom of God. In turn, numerous Protestant church traditions have engaged the concept of the kingdom from their perspectives. The objective of the chapter is to place Vineyard eschatology within the matrix of two major late modern protestant options, Anglo-Saxon Pentecostalism and American Evangelicalism.
This chapter shall proceed as follows. First, I shall present a brief overview of the historical trajectory of kingdom of God studies of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In connection to this study, the quest culminated in an evangelical consensus epitomized by the work of George Eldon Ladd, who had a primary influence on John Wimber. Thus it is necessary to review Ladd’s work in greater detail. I will then place
two contemporary Protestant traditions, Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism, in dialogue with this consensus to surface key elements of their eschatology, and to understand how these faith traditions have interacted with the theological developments in eschatology that have occurred outside of their respective traditions.
Finally, I will attempt the same process with the Vineyard by placing it in dialogue with the broader theological conversation on eschatology. Included in this section will be more engagement with pertinent concepts within the Old and New Testament Protestant canon that are salient in Vineyard eschatology. Since this material has been exhaustively reviewed elsewhere, my task will focus more on summary of key passages and concepts and less on detailed exegesis of those passages. At the end of this chapter, it will become evident that not only has the Vineyard significantly engaged the broader theological tradition on this topic, but more significantly, has challenged various elements of the consensus from not only theological, but praxis concerns.