Worshiping with the Anaheim Vineyard: The Emergence of Contemporary Worship

by Andy Park, Lester Ruth, Cindy Rethmeier

Overview

THE CHURCH AT WORSHIP is a series of documentary case studies of specific worshiping communities from around the world and throughout Christian history--case studies that can inform and enrich worship practices today.

This Church at Worship volume tells about the Anaheim Vineyard Christian Fellowship and its remarkable influence on the entire Vineyard movement, which contributed to the renewal of worship in thousands of evangelical churches during the 1970s and 1980s.

In presenting an in-depth look at founding leader John Wimber and the Anaheim Vineyard's early years, Andy Park, Lester Ruth, and Cindy Rethmeier tell an inspiring story of revival and renewal among people desperately hungering for a deeper knowledge of God. Enhanced with interviews, sermon excerpts, sidebars, timelines, and photos, Worshiping with the Anaheim Vineyard addresses core issues for all Christians desiring to know and worship God more intimately.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802873972
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	12/21/2016
Series:	The Church at Worship: Case Studies from Christian History (CAW)
Pages:	162
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Andy Park is a songwriter, worship leader, and the author of To Know You More: Cultivating the Heart of the Worship Leader.

Lester Ruth is Research Professor of Christian Worship at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina. A series editor of The Church at Worship, he is also the author of Longing for Jesus: Worship at a Black Holiness Church in Mississippi, 1895-1913 and a coauthor of Worshiping with the Anaheim Vineyard: The Emergence of Contemporary Worship.

Cindy Rethmeier is music worship leader at Holy Trinity Church, Costa Mesa, California.

Table of Contents

Series Introduction viii

Suggestions for Complementary Reading xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Part 1 Locating the Worshiping Community

The Context of the Worshiping Community: Anaheim Vineyard Fellowship, 1977-1983 3

Timeline 12

Liturgical Landscape 16

Geographical Landscape 19

Cautions for Studying Anaheim Vineyard's Worship History 20

Significant Themes and Practices to Observe 22

Part 2 Exploring the Worshiping Community

Describing the Community's Worship: Questions and Answers with Andy Park 29

Documenting the Community's Worship 47

People and Artifacts 47

The Anaheim Vineyard Congregation in the Early 1980s 47

The Anaheim Vineyard Congregation Worshiping 48

The Worship Team 49

John Wimber Addresses the Congregation 50

Prayer Ministry among Vineyard Worshipers 51

The Worship Team Leading Worship 52

Weekly Schedule for Worship and Church Life 53

Songs of the Vineyard Cover and Advertisement 54

Schedule for the 1981 Trip to South Africa 55

1982 Trip to England 56

Notice for 1984 Worship Conference 57

Worship Setting and Space 58

Freedom of Expression 58

A Sea of Worshipers 59

The Musicians' Platform from the Side 60

Later Arrangement of Space 61

Descriptions of Worship 62

Worship in a Home: Origins of the Anaheim Vineyard Congregation 62

Testimonies from Early Participants 67

Early Participants' Recollections about the Music 70

Worshipers Describe the Dramatic Ministry of the Holy Spirit during Worship 75

Reports on Worship from Early Church Planters 80

Order of Service and Texts 82

A Representative Song 82

Some Songs Written by John Wimber 83

Anaheim Vineyard's Song Repertoire 85

Songs from the 1982 Album 86

Sermons 87

John Wimber's Sermon on "Loving God" 87

Excerpts from "Why Do We Worship?" 102

Excerpts from "Don't Lose Your First Love" 104

Excerpts from "Essence of Worship" 106

Theology of Worship Documents 109

Outline of Vineyard Teaching 109

Wimber's Understanding of Worship as God-Given Destiny 113

Wimber Teaches Worship as Abandonment to God 113

Teaching on the Corporate Nature of Worship 115

The Church's Pragmatism Shapes Planning 115

The Phases of Worship 117

Reflections on Musicians and the Difficulty of Their Role 120

Outsider Concerns about the Miraculous 121

Part 3 Assisting the Investigation

Why Study Anaheim Vineyard's Worship? Suggestions for Devotional Use 125

Why Study Anaheim Vineyard's Worship? Discussion Questions for Small Groups 128

Why Study Anaheim Vineyard's Worship? A Guide for Different Disciplines and Areas of Interest 132

Glossary 138

Suggestions for Further Study 141

Works Cited 144

Index 148

Editorial Reviews

Caleb J. D. Maskell
-- Society of Vineyard Scholars
"Combining astute historical analysis with a treasure trove of primary sources--interviews, images, sermons, songs, and more--this long-awaited volume is exemplary in its portrait of the embodied realities of worship at the Anaheim Vineyard in its formative years. It is also a very pastoral book. Throughout its margins, the authors raise questions explicitly addressed to today's worship leaders to help them think better about their present work in light of the perspective of the past. Anyone interested in the future of 'contemporary worship' should give this book serious attention."

Larry Eskridge
-- author of God's Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement in America
"Boosters and critics alike know that the Vineyard churches somehow played a crucial role in the rise of contemporary praise music and worship styles, but this remarkable book--with its groundbreaking historical research and thoughtful insider accounts--brings deep insights into the 'hows, ' 'whys, ' and 'whats' behind that development. Worshiping with the Anaheim Vineyard is essential background for anyone wanting to understand how worship has changed in North American churches during the last half century."

From the Publisher