John Wimber > Quotes

“Everybody gets to play.”
― John Wimber, Power Evangelism

“Instead of a call to the King and His kingdom, people are hearing a gospel that emphasizes self: come to Jesus and get this or that need met, be personally fulfilled, reach your potential.”
― John Wimber, Power Evangelism

“Christian signs and wonders are beyond rationality, but they serve a rational purpose: to authenticate the gospel. The gospel is opposed to the pluralistic lie that says all religious experience is equally valid. Signs and wonders validate Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and His lordship over every area of our lives.”
― John Wimber, Power Evangelism

“I also visited several healing meetings... and became angry with what appeared to be the manipulation of people for the material gains of the faith healer... Dressing like sideshow barkers. Pushing people over and calling it the power of God. And money - they were always asking for more, leading people to believe that if they gave they would be healed..." - John Wimber”
― John Wimber

“When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with the wrong motives” (James 4:3).”
― John Wimber, Everyone Gets to Play

“The end of biblical study consists rather in enhanced faith, hope and love both for the individual and the community. The historical-critical method is inadequate, in other words, because it does not address piety.”
― John Wimber, Power Evangelism

“Lamentations 2:19 states, “Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.”
― John Wimber, Everyone Gets to Play

“Today, I no longer try to be good; instead, I am only concerned with doing God’s bidding. What He commands, I do. Now my personal life is more conformed to His righteousness and character than it used to be. Following His commands does not leave much time for sin.”
― John Wimber, Power Evangelism

“Proclamation of a faulty gospel will produce faulty or, at best, weak Christians.”
― John Wimber, Power Evangelism

“The gifts of the Spirit are adornments to our Christian life, adornments of a loving God to His bride. They are important and precious, but peripheral. That is, they are not the main means of Christian living. Too many Christians today focus on a cosmetic view of Christianity in which they see themselves in self-improvement programs. Come to Jesus and get your marriage fixed. Come to Jesus and become prosperous. Come to Jesus and get this or that blessing or whatever thing they are looking for. We emphasize strongly to come to Jesus because He is worthy to be worshipped, whether or not He fixes our marriages or heals our bodies or gives us new cars. We may go through life with a marriage partner who for one reason or another is never going to come to Christ or relate in a proper way, but Jesus is still worthy of our loyalty. The commitment call to Christ is also to the community of Christ, the Church. This means we must learn to love the people we wouldn’t necessary even like.”
― John Wimber, Everyone Gets to Play

“unbelief is the evil that is conquered in a power encounter.”
― John Wimber, Power Evangelism

“The gifts of the Spirit are adornments to our Christian life, adornments of a loving God to His bride. They are important and precious, but peripheral. That is, they are not the main means of Christian living. Too many Christians today focus on a cosmetic view of Christianity in which they see themselves in self-improvement programs. Come to Jesus and get your marriage fixed. Come to Jesus and become prosperous. Come to Jesus and get this or that blessing or whatever thing they are looking for. We emphasize strongly to come to Jesus because He is worthy to be worshipped, whether or not He fixes our marriages or heals our bodies or gives us new cars. We may go through life with a marriage partner who for one reason or another is never going to come to Christ or relate in a proper way, but Jesus is still worthy of our loyalty. The commitment call to Christ is also to the community of Christ, the Church. This means we must learn to love the people we wouldn’t necessary even like. This means learning to relate in community with people in a variety of settings: everything from living together in small groups to living independent of one another but interacting as community once, twice or three times a week in meetings and personal relationships. Acts 2:42 reads, “They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the Apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and giving to anyone as he had need.”
― John Wimber, Everyone Gets to Play