Classic Vineyard Recovery Church

Classic.....
Classic cars....
Classic Architecture...
Classic Coke....
Classic Vineyard Recovery Church?
What's up with this?
Seems as though we've been labeled by the up and coming generation, not that I mind such happening.
Because of our connection to John Wimber, and our view of the Kingdom, we are now known as "Classic Vineyard". 
I receive that moniker with great pride.

Looking up the word "Classic" in the Free Dictionary, I found the following definition.

a. Belonging to the highest rank or class.

b. Serving as the established model or standard.

c. Having lasting significance or worth; enduring.

If you look at the Vineyard Movement as a whole, you'll see the original group of pastors who were the initial church planters in the movement are now reaching retirement age. Some have died. Some, because of various reasons, shut down their church plants. But there is no denying that we've aged as a movement.

The beauty of the Vineyard is that there is an up and coming group of young men and women who are carrying on what John Wimber initially started. The words of John still echo through the movement. Shortly before his death, John said that his greatest wish for the Vineyard would be that we take the best of what we were taught and go out.

John was not foolish enough to believe that every Vineyard Church should look the same, sound the same, or even be the same. His desire was that our spiritual DNA, the core values, priorities, and our view of the Kingdom, would not be lost in the transition from one generation to the next. 

Marty Boller is one of those pastors who was influenced by the teaching of John Wimber. He, and his wife, Sandy, served thirty years in a church plant in Iowa. Marty has recently released a book he wrote entitled The Wisdom of Wimber As I See It.  The following description of the book is found on the back cover.

At a church leadership conference in July 1991, VIneyard Christian Fellowship founder John Wimber taught on ten concepts he called the "genetic code" for churches looking to become God-worshiping, Jesus-centered, and Spirit-directed communities set apart for kingdom purposes. In this book Marty Boller takes these ten concepts and discusses, in his own commentary, the implications of them for the twenty-first century.

Like Marty Boller, I too have been influenced by the teachings of John Wimber. Also, like Marty Boller, I have been warned by other well meaning people, to be careful and not to idolize a man. To always remember that Jesus is first, not John Wimber. I like how Marty responded when given such advice. "I followed John and his teachings for one reason. Because, as I see it, John Wimber was a man who had been around Jesus. And quite honestly, I can't say that about many pastors I've met over the years."

Marty goes on to say, "Oh sure, there are well meaning leaders who refer to Jesus in their teachings and point to Christ with their ministries, but in John's case, I always sensed that he was one who wasn't at all that interested in building himself a ministry, or gathering people into his crowd. In many ways, John always seemed to be kind of like those disciples in the New Testament who were never really interested in themselves, but primarily interested in Jesus."

So if you come to visit with us on Saturday nights at Vineyard ReCovery Church, a lot of who we are as a community of believers is a direct result of the foundation that was given to us by John Wimber. After all, he told us that "Everyone gets to play in the kingdom".  There aren't any spectators.

God on you....

mb