Shepherding Movement

The Shepherding Movement (sometimes called the "Discipleship Movement") was an influential and controversial movement within some British and American charismatic churches. It emerged in the 1970s and early 1980s. The doctrine of the movement emphasized the "one another" passages of the New Testament, and the mentoring relationship described in the Second Epistle to Timothy.

History

It began when four well-known Charismatic teachers, Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Charles Simpson, and Don Basham, along with Ern Baxter and John Poole, formed the organization that would be 'the center of one of the most violent controversies (i.e., the Discipleship/Shepherding controversy) in Protestant charismatic history,' Christian Growth Ministries (CGM), headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida."

Their doctrine of a vertical, descending, "chain-of-command" established:

"a pyramid-shaped, multi-tiered organizational structure, which had at the top echelon of the pyramid (it just so happened) none other than the Fab Five themselves, who claimed (conveniently) to be in "submission" to each other, which arrangement, they purported, acted as a fail-safe "checks and balance" system to totally preclude them from falling prey to the corruptive properties of absolute power to which, historically, so many others (albeit, less spiritual than they, of course) succumbed."

At the zenith of the pseudo-movement, "They had a national network of followers who formed pyramids of sheep and shepherds. Down through the pyramid went the orders, it was alleged, while up the same pyramid went the tithes." The relationships that were formed became known theologically as "covenant relationships." A network of cell groups were formed. Members had to be submitted to a "shepherd", who in turn was submitted to the Five or their subordinates. "...large numbers of charismatic pastors began to be shepherded by the CGM leaders, a development that went uncharted but not unnoticed. It was uncharted because these relationships were personal and not institutional, so there were never any published lists of pastors and congregations being shepherded by CGM leaders...."

Other movements influenced by the Shepherding doctrine were the Shiloh houses scattered across the USA (some of them transitioned into Calvary Chapels when they abandoned the shepherding movement ideas), International Churches of Christ, Maranatha Campus Ministries, the Jesus People USA (in or around '91 were adopted by the Evangelical Covenant Church), and Great Commission International (today known as Great Commission Ministries/Great Commission Association of Churches).

Criticism and controversy

The Shepherding Movement became controversial:

"The heat of the controversy can be captured by reading an open letter, dated June 27, 1975, from Pat Robertson to Bob Mumford. Robertson said that in a recent visit to Louisville, Kentucky, he found cultish language like "submission" rather than churches, "shepherds" not pastors, and "relationships" but not Jesus. Robertson traveled to ORU and found a twenty-year-old "shepherd" who drew tithes from fellow students as part of their submission. Robertson, drawing from Juan Carlos Ortiz's Call to Discipleship, charged the leaders with placing personal revelations (rhema) on par with Scripture. He quoted a devotee as saying, "If God Almighty spoke to me, and I knew for a certainty that it was God speaking, and if my shepherd told me to do the opposite, I would obey my shepherd."

Figures within the charismatic movement (such as Pat Robertson) denounced the Shepherding Movement:

"Pat Robertson banned the CGM leaders and erased all tapes that included them. Robertson used CBN to pronounce the shepherding teaching 'witchcraft' and said the only difference between the discipleship group and Jonestown was 'Kool-Aid.' Kathryn Kuhlman refused to appear together with Bob Mumford at the 1975 Conference on the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. Demos Shakarian the founder and director of FGBMFI declared the CGM leaders persona non grata. The number of voices swelled as criticism came from Dennis Bennett, Ken Sumrall, Thomas F. Zimmerman (General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God), and David duPlessis."

The Fort Lauderdale Five eventually parted company. Derek Prince and Bob Mumford both publicly distanced themselves from the teachings. Derek Prince withdrew in 1983, stating his belief that "we were guilty of the Galatian error: having begun in the Spirit, we quickly degenerated into the flesh." Bob Mumford issued a "Formal Repentance Statement to the Body of Christ" in November 1989 and was quoted as saying, "I repent. I ask forgiveness." In the same article, Mumford also acknowledged abuses that had occurred because of his teaching on submission:

"Mumford decided that he needed to publicly 'repent' of his responsibility in setting up a system where so many people were hurt by misuses of authority. 'Some families were split up and lives turned upside down,' says Mumford. 'Some of these families are still not back together.'"

This emphasis resulted in "perverse and unbiblical obedience" to leaders, Mumford said.

"In his statement, Mumford admitted that he had not heeded earlier warnings about doctrinal error from Hayford and two others. "While it was not my intent to be willful," he said, "I ignored their input to my own hurt and the injury of others." ...He admitted that there had been an "unhealthy submission resulting in perverse and unbiblical obedience to human leaders." He took personal responsibility for these abuses, saying that many of them happened under his sphere of leadership."

Today

The degree to which the Shepherding Movement still exists today is unclear. While both Charles Simpson and Bob Mumford have made public statements disavowing the movement, or at least distancing themselves from it, Simpson's biography on the website of Charles Simpson Ministries highlights his co-founding of New Wine Magazine and specifically mentions Baxter, Mumford, and Prince as "notable Bible teachers" associated with the magazine. The website also lists Derek Prince Ministries and Lifechangers by Bob Mumford as "ministry allies."

David Moore's 2004 book on the Shepherding Movement takes an impartial, scholarly look at the movement, which includes interviews with all living primary and many secondary individuals.

The Shepherding Movement ideologies live on today in some groups, most notably the Korean group called University Bible Fellowship, who is currently active on over 70 US college campuses. John Bevere's Under Cover and Watchman Nee's Spiritual Authority teach unquestioning submission to pastors as a "covering," and are responsible for spiritual abuse in non-denominational charismatic churches.

Additional sources

• Moore, S.D.: "Shepherding Movement" in Stanley M. Burgess & Edouard van der Maas (eds), The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, revised edition, (Zondervan, 2003)
• Lambert, ThD, Steven: "Charismatic Captivation: Authoritarian Abuse & Psychological Enslavement In Neo-Pentecostal Churches", Second Edition, (Real Truth Publications, 2003); Chapter Two, pp. 21–41; "The Discipleship/Shepherding Movement" available online
• Burks, Ron and Vicki: Damaged Disciples: Casualties of Authoritarian Churches and the Shepherding Movement, Grand Rapids, MI 1992.

External links

• Roots of the Modern Discipling Movement
• The Other Side of Discipleship by Larry Pile
• "The Discipleship/Shepherding Movement" by Steven Lambert
• What is Biblical Discipleship? by B.P. Harris