VINEYARD LEADER DIES

John Wimber, purveyor of a self-styled brand of “power evangelism,” died last Nov. 17 from a brain hemorrhage caused by an accidental fall. He was 63.

The former jazz musician-turned-pastor became a Christian in 1962 and was affiliated with Chuck Smith and the Calvary Chapel fellowships. In 1983, he joined a group of independent congregations known as the “Vineyards.” Four years later, the Association of Vineyard Churches was officially formed. Under his leadership, he helped to build the affiliation into a 150,000-member international group. Wimber’s teachings emphasized the spiritual gifts of tongues and healing and cited such signs and wonders as God’s validation of his ministry.

Robert Schuller, pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, told the Los Angeles Times that he felt “power when Wimber visited him” after an accident in 1991 that left him in a coma. “I’m convinced that God’s healing power entered my body through the personal touch of John Wimber,” Schuller told the newspaper after learning of Wimber’s death.

Wimber’s critics had long criticized his “power evangelism” was devoid of the cross, which according to 1 Corinthians 1:18 is the “power” of God. The Los Angeles Times quoted Todd Hunter, National Coordinator of Vineyard Churches, as saying Wimber used to say, “Look at me, I’m just a fat man trying to get to heaven.”

Although Wimber believed that the perpetuation of the gifts of tongues and healing could eliminate “Satan, sin and sickness,” he suffered a number of ailments in his last years. Just a few weeks before his death, he underwent open heart surgery. Three years earlier, he suffered a mild stroke. In 1993, doctors discovered a malignant tumor in his nasal pharynx. The cancer and subsequent treatment reportedly caused Wimber to lose more than 100 pounds.

—MKG

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