User:Spinkava/GGWO
(tag removed) mergeto|Greater Grace World Outreach|Talk:Greater_Grace_World_Outreach#Merger proposal|date=May 2008}}
| Greater Grace World Outreach | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Evangelical |
| Polity | Congregational |
| Leader | Thomas Schaller |
| Region | Worldwide |
| Founder | Carl H. Stevens |
| Origin | 1987 Baltimore |
| Separations | International Association of Grace Ministries [1] |
| Congregations | 463 |
| Ministers | 850 |
| Statistics taken from http://www.ggwo.com/cms/ | |
Greater Grace World Outreach is a free will affiliation of evangelical churches that emphasize Grace, the Finished Work, and Missions. Greater Grace was envisioned by Carl H. Stevens while he was praying at Worthley Pond near Peru, Maine. The "homebase" of Greater Grace is currently located in Baltimore, Maryland and led by Thomas Schaller.
The beliefs of Greater Grace are outlined in its doctrinal statement and detailed in booklets written by Carl H. Stevens. Worship is non-liturgical but generally includes prayer, singing, offerings, and sermons. Songs are usually contemporary, but services may also include classical hymns. Evangelism and "raps", informal bible study, are also considered important acts of worship.
Greater Grace is comprised of almost 500 churches from around the world. Most of these churches are located in New England, Europe and Africa. Some of the larger churches are located in Maryland, Hungary, Azerbaijan, & Ghana. Most of the pastors are educated at Maryland Bible College & Seminary in Baltimore. However, there are many other affiliated Bible Colleges around the world. The ministries of Greater Grace also include Grace Hour, Greater Grace Christian Academy, Christian Sports Clubs & Verticalink.
History
Origins
In the early 1960s, Carl H. Stevens, a bakery truck driver, was praying at Wortheley Pond, near Peru, Maine, and developed a vision that would lead to a worldwide christian ministry. Soon, Stevens was ordained by a council of independent ministers at the Montsweag Baptist Church on March 7, 1963. [2] Stevens' ministry first operated from Woolwich-Wiscasset BaptistChurch [3], where Stevens established the Northeast School of the Bible in 1972. However, Stevens' Bible college soon grew to beyond capacity. In 1976, the Carl Stevens moved to Lenox, Massachusetts, where he established The Bible Speaks and Stevens School of the Bible.
Lenox, Massachussetts
In 1976, the Bible Speaks purchased a college-preparatory school for boys in Lenox, Massachussetts. The Church soon established Stevens School of the Bible and a Christian day school. At this time, several affiliate churches were established throughout New England. Eventually, they also began an international ministry, first in El Salvador and then in Europe and Africa.
The Bible Speaks also developed several new ministries. Before Carl Stevens even arrived in Lenox, he was the host of Telephone Time, one of the first Christian radio talk shows. The Church would bus in children from the surrounding neighborhoods. Finally, the Church purchased a Norwegian ferry boat that they renovated into an international missions boat called La Gracia. [4]
In 1986, The Bible Speaks convinced heiress Elizabeth Dovydenas that a donation of more than $6,000,000 would help free a church minister held in Romania - who had already been released. The Church was then sued for undue influence and ordered to repay most of the money. However, the church had already spent the money and so filed for bankruptcy. In 1987, Carl Stevens and the leadership of the Bible Speaks moved to Baltimore, MD, and established Greater Grace World Outreach and Maryland Bible College and Seminary.[5]
Baltimore, Maryland
In Baltimore, GGWO established many new ministries including the Grace Hour, Noah's Ark Bible Clubs, & the Christian Athletics Program.
In 2003, Carl Stevens became too ill to continue his leadership of GGWO. In 2005, the Elders elected Roger Stenger to become the new Chief Elder of the church. However, a large portion of the congregation expressed dissatisfaction with the choice and Roger Stenger resigned. Elders decided to hold a non-binding referendum amongst the congregation between Steve Stevens and Thomas Schaller. Thomas Schaller won will a vote of 800-289. The Elders therefore elected Thomas Schaller as Senior Pastor.[6]
Many of the Elders and Senior Pastors were dissatisfied with the choice, citing Thomas Schaller's views on the role of the Senior Pastor. Therefore, many Pastors disaffiliated and formed the International Association of Grace Ministries.
Beliefs
Doctrinal Statement
The beliefs of Greater Grace World Outreach are outlined in the following doctrinal statement:[7]
The Bible
"All Scripture contained in the Old and New Testaments is verbally, plenarily, and inerrantly inspired by God. It is the authoritative guide for all Christian understanding, life and ministry."
God
"There is but one God eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each is infinite, eternal, and almighty."
Jesus Christ
"We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son, is fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and He lived a sinless life. He died, shedding His blood in His substitutionary death for sinners, then was buried, arose from the grave, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father."
The Holy Spirit
"The Holy Spirit, Who is Lord and giver of life, convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, and unites man to Jesus Christ by faith. We believe the Holy Spirit seals and indwells all believers. The filling of the Holy Spirit is not an unconditional promise to all believers; the indwelling is."
Man
"Man was created in the image and likeness of God. It was by man's free volition that he disobeyed God, incurring physical and spiritual death (separation from God). Each human being is born with a sin nature. Because of this each human is a sinner by nature and is in need of a divine salvation."
Salvation
"Salvation is a gift from God. This was accomplished by Christ's substitutionary death; all who believe in Him are justified by the shedding of His blood. Because salvation is given by grace, the believer's salvation is eternally secure."
The Baptism
"The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is sent upon all who believe in Jesus Christ. This takes place in each believer at the moment of salvation. Continual infilling may follow. Each gift given by the Holy Spirit is for the edification of the Body of Christ, and is still present today."
The Great Commission
"We believe that the fulfillment of the Great Commission is the responsibility of all believers."
The Church
"The church is the body and the bride of Christ. It is dedicated to the worship and service of God and the observance of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. The primary task of the church in all ages is to teach all nations and to make disciples through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God."
Eternity
"Christ will return to rapture His church. Immediately following this event will be the seven-year tribulation period. Concluding this, Christ will come again to the earth and establish His rule for a 1,000 year period. The Great White Throne judgment of the unsaved, coupled with Satan being cast into the lake of fire, will then allow Christ to establish a New Heaven and a New Earth. This is the consummation of all things."
The Finished Work
One of the central doctrines of Greater Grace World Outreach is the Finished Work. This is the belief that God's work of Salvation is absolutely finished.[8]
According to the doctrine, "Adam is alive, and he is in us." Adam represents our "Old Sin Nature" or original sin. Therefore, it is our very nature to sin and according to God's Law, we are condemned. .
However, when Jesus was crucified and said "It is Finished," we became dead to the law and live in no condemnation. Jesus has also imparted to us a spirit of righteousness. Therefore, we do not have to do anything to recieve Salvation, except believe.
Many fear that this doctrine will lead people to lasciviousness, a life without restraint. However, Greater Grace believes that the Finished Work still teaches people to follow God's law because it draws people to love God and their neighbor, which is one of the Greatest Commandments.
Organisations & Relations
Missions
The current goal of GGWO is to established over 500 churches worldwide and train 1000 missionaries. There are curently affiliated churches in every continent except Oceania. The current Director of Missions is Steven Scibelli.
Theological Seminaries
There many Theological Seminaries that are affiliated with GGWO. However, the largest seminaries are Maryland Bible College & Seminary in Baltimore, MD, and the Central European Theological Academy in Budapest, Hungary.
Schools
There are also several K-12 schools that are affiliated with GGWO, including Greater Grace Christian Academy in Baltimore & the Greater Grace International School in Budapest.
Cult Allegations
On several occasions, Greater Grace World Outreach has been accused of cult-like behavior. A letter was written by the Christian Research Institute, which offers a list of suggestions for the church, attempting to correct any of the false teachings that might exist. The main teaching which was considered a concern was that of delegated authority. [9] However, in this document, Miller concedes that "TBS has, up to the time of this writing, also maintained an orthodox, biblical position on those doctrines most essential to the Christian faith. Thus, we do not consider TBS a non-Christian cult, but rather a Christian ministry."
Steven Hassan, a licensed mental health practitioner, and founder of Freedom of Mind centre, claims that the organization operates as a personality cult. [10] He alleges that Pastor Stevens twists passages from the Bible to further his own ends, that of controlling the lives of the members of his congregation.
More recently, in the time of the transition of the leadership from Pastor Carl Stevens to Pastor Thomas Schaller, a blog spot named F.A.C.T.net, appeared. This organization claims, "We are to destructive cults, fundamentalism, mind control, and mental coercion/torture what Amnesty International is to physical torture" has a message board on which, as of September of 2007, over 84,000 separate messages have been posted concerning Greater Grace World Outreach, mostly by members and ex-members of the churches which Pastor Stevens has pastored.
Terminology & Acronyms
GGWO - Greater Grace World Outreach
MBC&S - Maryland Bible College & Seminary
GGCA - Greater Grace Christian Academy
Rap - Informal Bible Study
See also
References
- ^ http://www.iagm.org/index.php
- ^ http://www.carlstevens.org/subpage1.html
- ^ http://www.wwbcchurch.com/contact.html
- ^ http://www.warsailors.com/homefleet/shipst2.html
- ^ https://www.fastcase.com/Google/Start.aspx?C=b85b54ebd302a48d10093300eca3b44733a8caf77dc38116&D=eae6efe69549aaf5a5af77909d0c3ef8eacf2121eafaf6e2
- ^ http://www.carlstevens.org/subpage30.html
- ^ http://www.ggwo.org/index.php?module=main&action=docstatement
- ^ Stevens, C. H. (1998) The Finished Work of Jesus Christ. Baltimore: Grace Publications
- ^ http://www.carlstevens.org/subpage.html
- ^ http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/g/greater/