Potter's House Christian Fellowship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Potter's house church pastored by T.D. Jakes, see T.D. Jakes.
Potter's House Christian Fellowship


Formation 1970
Type Fundamentalist Christian
Location Prescott, Arizona
Official languages English
Founder Wayman O Mitchell

The Potter's House Christian Fellowship (aka, the Potter's House Christian Church or simply The Potter's House as well as The Door and Victory Chapel) is a fundamentalist Pentecostal church organization founded by Pastor Wayman Mitchell in Prescott, Arizona in 1970.[1][2]

It is claimed that The Potter's House has more than 1400 churches in over 100 nations although independent verification of that number is unavailable. [3] The first Potter's House church in Australia was established in Perth, Western Australia in 1978 and since that time have sent dozens of ministry couples to plant 130 churches in 18 countries around the world.[4]

Contents

[edit] Church activity

The Potters House Christian Fellowship consists of members who identify themselves as being born again Christians. The church has an evangelistic program involving open air preaching, personal 'witnessing', door to door promotion, rock/rap concerts, Christian movies, skits and dramas. These events are used to evangelize to non-Christians. While the Potter's House welcomes those from other churches, it does not actively participate in proselytizing Christians from other evangelical groups (sometimes called transfer growth), but rather focuses on the conversion of "unbelievers" (those who have not repented of their "sins" and trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior or are not "born again").[citation needed]

[edit] Church history

The Potter's House has its roots in the Jesus People Movement, a Christian revival (historically referred to as a spiritual "awakening") that swept through America in the early 70's. Wayman Mitchell originally began his churches under the affiliation of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and continued this affiliation until a disagreement with church leaders on ordination requirements for new ministers. Mitchell believed that a new pastor should be trained through 'discipleship' (mentoring) rather than by higher education, such as Bible colleges. By the mid-1980s Mitchell had a following of well over a hundred newly established churches, pastored by men who had been trained under him and sent out to minister without further formal education. In 1985, Mitchell gave up his official affiliation with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and took up a practice under Christian Fellowship Ministries (C.F.M.), the church he had established in Prescott.[5]

[edit] Church doctrine and practice

Potter's House Christian Fellowship is a fundamentalist Pentecostal church. Followers believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, with a particular focus on training and discipleship (mentoring), along with an emphasis on building relationships in the church. There are specific standards of personal conduct for those serving in ministry and the fellowship believes in teaching by discipleship. Much of the official Potters House doctrine adheres to the book "The Foundations of Pentecostal Theology" written by two Foursquare ministers, and published by L. I. F. E. Bible College. As a whole, the fellowship uses the New King James Version of the Bible in its public readings.[citation needed]

The church claims to hold to the following doctrines: a belief in the historicity of the Gospel narratives and an orthodox Christian understanding of Jesus and The Trinity, creation over evolution, that biblical standards of morality and holiness apply to all members regardless of stature or position they have in the church. The church supports the doctrines of Original sin, tithing, speaking in tongues as the evidence of Baptism in the Holy Spirit, a pro-life stance to abortion, and an Evangelical belief in the Great Commission. The fellowship supports an authority structure where it is necessary and enforced upon the members to have loyalty and obedience to those who have been given the authority eg - Pastor or leader. [6] The authority structure seems to be the governing body that extends throughout the fellowship and is hierarchical in nature, this authority originates with Wayman Mitchell (Senior Pastor of the fellowship) as a safe guard to ensure like practice and doctrine to all his churches. However some fellowship churches state the belief in "The Sovereign Autonomous Government Of The Local Church" [7], which both fit together as part of the overall authority structure.[8] The church also teaches that salvation can be lost because of sin. [9] Doctrinally evangelical, pretribulationist, and sola scriptura. They also believe in Premillennial eschatology. Drinking and tobacco are prohibited amongst its ministers and members.[citation needed] The church also believes in divine healing and some of the lead Pastors have frequently done a healing crusade, as well as praying for the sick in their services.[10][11]

The church is classified as Pentecostal however the church does not participate in what they call "counterfeit themes", such as the Toronto Blessing or the Pensacola Outpouring. It also doesn't participate in "interdenominational services" (this is where several different denominations periodically have a joint church service together), though individual members are free to do so. The fellowship also is opposed to certain aspects of the Ecumenical Movement such as the attempts to reconcile Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, as it believes that the teachings of the latter are contrary to the Bible.[citation needed]

[edit] Bible schools

The Potters House Fellowship rejects Bible schools as a vehicle for church planting, and gives several reasons for this in its publication, We Can Take the Land (A Study in Church Planting).[12] Reasons include a belief that Bible schools are not Biblical, a belief that Bible schools are unable to complete the job of world evangelism, that Bible schools isolates students from practical experience, that the requirements of attendance at Bible schools are too strict and that Bible schools violate the indigenous principle.

[edit] Origins of the church name

The name comes from an Old Testament verse of the Bible:

Jeremiah 18:2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. (King James Version)[13]

Because of its biblical origin, the name "The Potter's House" is often used by other independent church groups besides those affiliated with Christian Fellowship Ministries. Particularly well known is The Potter's House, Dallas, Texas, a largely African-American megachurch founded and led by T. D. Jakes.[citation needed]

Some churches affiliated with the Potter's House have different names such as:

The Door, Victory Chapel, Christian Fellowship Ministries, The Potter's House Christian Centre, The Potter's House Christian Fellowship.

[edit] Criticism and controversy

Potter's House has been criticized in newspapers, books, television reports, and by researchers.[14][15][16][17][18][19]

Dan R. Schlesinger of the Christian Research Institute investigated the criticism of the group, and in March 1988 issued a report concluding that while the CRI couldn't comment publicly or substantiate the accusations investigated, they could not recommend the Potter's House as a "viable place of fellowship."[20]

On September 7, 1988, cult researcher Rick Ross appeared on the "Geraldo Television Show" and alleged that Potter's House was cultic and dangerous.[1] In March 1989, Rick Ross labelled the Potter's House a "destructive Bible group", a charge Wayman Mitchell disputed in the article, referring to Ross as "a highly paid religious mercenary." Mr. Mitchell also asserted that members of the Potter's House were "free to come and go as they please."[16][21] On May 18, the CBS News program 48 Hours featured Rick Ross in a news story about a deprogramming of a member of a Potter's House church.[22]

On March 23, 1989, an Anchorage woman accused a Potter's House church of "brainwashing" her son and convincing him she was an unfit mother. In a legal agreement between Pastor Robert Overson and the mother, Pastor Overson agreed to end contact with the boy and his mother, a decision the boy disagreed with. According to researcher Rick Ross, other churches in the Potter's House have had a history of turning children against their "backslider" parents, a charge also disputed by the son and Potter's House leaders.[21]

In 1989, a father who accused the group of being a "mind-controlling cult", convinced social workers to prevent his 16-year-old daughter (who was in the custody of the state) from attending a Potter's House church. After several months, however, a Juvenile Court commissioner ruled that she could go unless her father or the county could show she was being harmed by the church. The girl's mother, Renee Collin, disagreed with the father, saying she had no objection to her daughter going to the church.[23]

Ronald Enroth's book Churches That Abuse containing an account of abuse within a Potter's House church[17]. His follow-up book, Recovering From Churches That Abuse, also contained an account of abuse.[18]

In January 2002, Charisma News, a Christian news magazine dealing mainly with Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity, reported a major exodus of some 160 churches from the Potter's House Movement in the United States.[24] The reason for the split, according to Charisma News, was "because of unhealthy control, and after (members) leave they are afraid to talk about their experiences." A former pastor interviewed in the Charisma News article, when asked about allegations of abuse, said "There are families who have not spoken for years, brothers who are pastors all the way to the Philippines who were separated by this group and had years of not even speaking, churches that have been deliberately split, children who don't talk to their parents."

[edit] Response to criticism

In his biography, founder Wayman Mitchell responded to criticism of the group by the journalists, and by researcher Ronald Enroth:

They (the media) are not interested in giving honest accounts. By and large they are pea-brained, illiterate and lazy. They come with pre-conceived ideas and a pre-arranged agenda and look only for a sound bite that will help nail down what they want to say. This is not honest, investigative journalism; it is interpretive reporting, where they interpret everything you say to support their own wicked bias. I have no time for them. They are deceptive as well. They do not identify themselves when they arrive. They come into the Church, as one lady did from the Boston TV station, with hidden cameras and microphones. They hope to pick up one sentence or phrase, and use it entirely out of context to cast you in the worst possible light. If we know who they are, we stop them at the doors. ... It's the same with the book writers. William Enroth, who featured me in 'Churches That Abuse' never even spoke to me. He interviewed somebody out in the Mid-west and put an uncorroborated testimony in his book.[25]

Mitchell also responded to the criticism Potter's House received from Charisma News and the Christian Research Institute:

Even the Christian press is riddled with bias. We've had people contact us from Charisma Magazine and Christian Research Institute but neither outfit would come and sit in our services and talk with our people. We invited them to. I gave Lee Grady from the Charisma Magazine the names and numbers of five of our leaders and said if you don't believe me, talk with any of them ..... but he didn't. He phoned Pastor Warner, but was only interested in a sound bite. That's the sort of dishonesty we have lived with for years.[25]

[edit] References

  1. ^ J. Lee Grady. "Potter's House Leader Defends Group", CHARISMA, December 1993. 
  2. ^ A brief bio on the Potter's House including history
  3. ^ The Potter's House Church has over 1400 churches worldwide The Potter's House headquarters in the USA
  4. ^ Introduction to The Potter's House, Australia, W.A. website
  5. ^ The Door Netherlands. Retrieved on August, 2006.
  6. ^ World CFM creedal statements
  7. ^ Perth CFM statement of faith
  8. ^ A brief bio on the Potter's House - See "Organization/Ministry" section
  9. ^ CFM official statement of faith
  10. ^ Small newspaper article on Potter's House healing crusade
  11. ^ Yale newspaper story Potter's House healing crusade.
  12. ^ Simpkins, Ron (1984). We Can Take the Land (A Study in Church Planting). Prescott: Potters Press, pp. 275-276. ISBN 0-918389-00-3. 
  13. ^ King James Version: Jeremiah 18:2.. Godrules.net. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
  14. ^ Christian Fellowship Ministries (CFM) (aka: Potter's House, The Door, Victory Chapel). Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
  15. ^ Putter House (aka Victory Chapel, leader Paul Campo). Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
  16. ^ a b Ryan Crehan. "A CULT IN PRESCOTT?", The Word, 1998-12-8. 
  17. ^ a b Enroth, Ronald (1992). Churches That Abuse. Zondervan Publishing House. ISBN 0-310-53290-6. 
  18. ^ a b Enroth, Ronald (1994). Recovering From Churches That Abuse. Zondervan Publishing House. ISBN 0-310-39870-3. 
  19. ^ Ted Bartimus and Karen M. Bullock. "Potter's House: Pearly gates or prison walls?", Arizona Daily Sun, 1988-10-2. ""They say, 'Where's the fruit?' The answer is we're the fruit. We're wasted, we're brainwashed. I've yet to meet anyone that has come out of this who has anything positive to say about it." -Mark Workman, former Potters House member." 
  20. ^ THE POTTER'S HOUSE (CRI's report on The Potter's House). Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  21. ^ a b Marilee Enge. "Mother fights church group for her son", Anchorage Daily News, 1989-3-23. 
  22. ^ CBS News' 48 Hours Takes Viewers Inside the Deprogramming of a 14-year Old Boy May 18 on CBS. New York: CBS News.
  23. ^ Carol Lachnit. "Religious belief, court divide father, daughter: Ruling allows teen-ager under county custody to go to Orange church", The Orange County Register, 1989-12-18. 
  24. ^ Charisma News, January 2002
  25. ^ a b Ian Wilson (1996). In Pursuit of Destiny Biography of Wayman Mitchell, 53. ISBN 0-9699777-1-9. 

[edit] External links

Critics