Destiny Church, New Zealand

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This article is about a church denomination in New Zealand. For churches elsewhere, see Destiny Church.

Destiny Church is a Charismatic Christian church with headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. It was founded as City Church Auckland in 1998 by Pastor Brian Tamaki.

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[edit] Culture

Destiny claims to follow Biblical principles. It is multicultural, drawing members mainly from lower socio-economic sections of society, many Māori and Polynesian people, and also many others, including New Zealand Europeans. It encourages strict obedience to its teachings. It has alienated churches which are caricatured as practicing a secularised, diluted form of Christianity. Observers have been concerned by Tamaki's outspoken autocratic style, the church's frequent appeals for tithe contributions, and its insular culture. Some observers have also commented on Tamaki's visible wealth and personal luxury, questioning its consistency with the church's tithing system. In 2004, Tamaki, in what he described as a prophetic utterance, predicted that Destiny would be "ruling the nation" within 5 years [1].

On his website "New Zealand: A Nation Under Siege" Tamaki has declared the government of New Zealand to be "inherently evil" [2], pointing out that some members of Parliament chose not to swear on the Bible, and one (Ashraf Choudhary) swore on the Qur'an, when being sworn in to government. In a later interview [3], Tamaki said Destiny was ready to wage war on "secular humanism, liberalism, relativism, pluralism", on "a Government gone evil", on the "modern-day witchcraft" of the media, and on the "radical homosexual agenda".

[edit] Membership

Destiny started with a membership of 20 people which within two years had grown to 300 and had adopted the name "Destiny Church". Destiny now claims to have a network of 19 churches located throughout New Zealand, and in Brisbane, Australia, with a total membership in excess of 10,000 followers. Admission to membership is by believer's baptism. Destiny Training Institute trains potential church leaders. Members are taught to pay tithes in accordance with the church's interpretation of the Bible[citation needed]. The church provides not only religious guidance but also a range of social services including budget advice, support for drug addicts and provision of food and housing. The church also operates a school for children. [4]

[edit] Enough is Enough rally

Destiny Church has been active in campaigning for a return to what it considers to be "Christian moral values" in New Zealand society, particularly for the "sanctity of marriage between a husband and wife". In August 2004, Destiny members marched on Parliament under their "Enough is Enough" rally -- a 5000-strong (estimated) protest against civil unions legislation. Prior to the arrival of the Destiny march, another march of gay rights, civil union and anti-Destiny Church followers had arrived, whose numbers grew to about 1500. The two groups were separated by Police security fences but much mixing occurred with some violence[citation needed].

The rally attracted considerable criticism. The Destiny marchers' choice of clothing -- black t-shirts and track-pants, with red and white lettering -- prompted negative comparisons with storm-troopers by some. A second march occurred in Auckland along with the Christian Life Centre and the City Impact churches in March 2005. The march was once again met by a group of counter-demonstrators. Police removed two women of the counter-demonstration who removed their tops on the stage in front of the march leaders[citation needed].

[edit] Other Activities

Richard Lewis, a member of Destiny Church Auckland, formed the Destiny New Zealand political party in 2003, The party first ran candidates in 2005. Candidates from four different churches joined with candidates who came from Destiny Church. Despite Tamaki's prediction that the church would rule New Zealand by 2008, the party gained only 0.6 percent of the vote. This was well short of the five percent threshold required to enter Parliament without an electorate MP but was the best performance of any party that failed to enter Parliament. [5]

Destiny TV, a television ministry, was launched in 2001 and produced 30 minute programmes that ran every weekday morning on New Zealand's national television broadcaster. The programmes were funded by outreach donations from Destiny Church members. The program ceased in late 2004 when TVNZ pulled the plug just after the Destiny New Zealand political party was formed, but Destiny TV still currently broadcasts on Prime TV and also in the South Pacific and Australia. Programs and live services are also broadcast world-wide over the internet on www.streamingfaith.org.

Destiny Church has frequently been the subject of Jeremy Wells satirical news show Eating Media Lunch, which has especially focussed on Brian Tamaki.

Following a unanimous agreement by the 19 other pastors of Destiny Churches throughout New Zealand, Tamaki was ordained as a bishop during a ceremony performed by kaumatua Manuel Renata on June 18, 2005. [6]

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[edit] Articles

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