The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his075/potter1.lzh/POTTER1.TXT

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CUL:THE POTTER'S HOUSE  by Dan R. Schlesinger

   History

   The Potter's House (known also as The Door, Victory Chapel,
Christian Center, Crossroads Chapel, De Puerta and Christian Fellowship
incorporated in Prescott) was begun in Prescott, Arizona, in the early
1970's by Wayman Mitchell. By 1985 over 250 churches were established
(all directly related to the Prescott church) around the globe.
Mitchell is a graduate of L.I.F.E. Bible College (affiliated with the
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel) who had a falling out
with the Foursquare Church concerning certain procedures in ordaining
men into the ministry. Consequently, Mitchell dropped his ordination
with them and became licensed through the church he established in
Prescott.

   The Potter's House grew out of Mitchell's determination to establish
what he perceived to be a New Testament church. Many of those attending
Potter's House churches are converts who came out of the counterculture
of the 60's and 70's and were influenced by the Jesus Movement which
reached its peak during that same time period. Mitchel seized the
opportunity to provide what many of these individuals were lacking:
direction in life, a personal dynamic experience with Jesus Christ, and
an opportunity to exercise real commitment to a local church body.

   Beliefs

   The Potter's House is a Pentecostal denomination which claims to
hold to the same doctrinal distinctives as the Assemblies of God (a
mainstream Pentecostal church). Although the Potter's House has not
published a public "statement of faith" or doctrinal statement
outlining their particular theological views, they do adhere to the
teachings espoused in Duffield and VanCleave's Foundations of
Pentecostal Theology (published through L.I.F.E. Bible College). The
Potter's House appears to hold to essential biblical doctrine (i.e. the
Trinity, the deity of Christ, salvation by grace alone, etc). In
non-essentials, they hold to a pretribulational rapture and a
premillenial return of Christ. Because the Potter's House is
Pentecostal, the exercise of "spiritual gifts" play a major role among
Potter's House fellowship. Speaking in tongues and gifts of healing are
common place in their worship services. (Tongues are exercised in
prayer and praise as well as prophecy in a Congregational setting.) The
emphasis on "gift" ministries stems from the fact that Mitchell was
influenced at an early age by such men as William Branham (who denied
the Trinity and was very influential in the early stages of the
"Latter-Rain" preacher who emphasized a five-fold ministry in the
church. Although Mitchell rejected the excesses of Branham and Allen,
he did, however, hold on to some of the concepts which arose out of
what became known as authentic "gift" ministries.

   Organization/Ministry

   The thrust of The Potter's House has been primarily to focus on
street evangelism. Consequently, many of those attending The Potter's
House are new converts between the ages of 18 and 35. Because there are
relatively few older "saints" in the body, there tends to be an
imbalance where spiritual leadership is concerned. (We are told,
though, that there seems to be a trend towards establishing an older,
mature congregation in the church which will help correct this
imbalance.)

   The Potter's House is "governed" by the Pastor along with an group
of elders (referred to as the Church council). As each church is
established, the pastor involved in setting up a new church is
responsible for the leadership in that church. (This responsibility
includes monitoring the financial, doctrinal, and moral accountability
of the church in question.) The Potter's House is governed overall by
the Bylaws established by Wayman Mitchell and others at the initial
incorporation of the church.

   The Potter's House is a very active church with programs throughout
the week. Some church activities include men's leadership classes,
street evangelism, outreach to the Spanish community, music ministries,
and other outreaches of the church. We have been told that church
involvement is a necessary deterrent designed to keep young converts
from their former "immoral and ungodly" activities before conversion.

   The Potter's House appears to be reaching out by and large to many
of the minority groups as well as to street people searching for
meaning in life and is extremely evangelistic which accounts for the
rapid growth of its churches.

   Concerns

   Though we feel that the Potter's House is doing an invaluable
service in reaching lost souls, we do have a few concerns which should
be recognized. They are as follows:

   1] its structural authority and accountability;

   2] its aberrant view of tongues and healing;

   3] its steady hyperactive atmosphere which could result in potential
"burnout for some members;

   4] its lack of a strong healthy doctrinal statement; and

   5] negative reports from ex-members and others alleging mind control
and conditioning over its members by the leadership of local churches.

   STRUCTURAL AUTHORITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY -- Though The Potter's House
has made some effort in setting up a structure of authority, those
chosen to be on the "church council" with the pastor are relatively
young men who have little or no biblical training and who are very
young in the Lord. Church boards should consist of men who have walked
with God for some time having developed spiritual maturity and
discernment over the years. Without the governmental element of older
godly men and women, a church can suffer very weak spiritual counsel.
Biblical guidelines for eldership in the church can be found in 1
Timothy 3, and Titus 1 and 2.

   BALANCED VIEW OF TONGUES AND HEALING --The Potter's House churches
believe in and practice the "gifts of the Spirit" in a Congregational
setting. [1]

   However, their exercise of certain gifts do not follow the biblical
pattern as set forth in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. In a typical Potter's
House worship service, tongues are exercised in unison by the entire
congregation generally with no interpretation following. The Scriptures
teach, on the other hand, that biblical tongues in a Congregational
setting must be followed by two or three interpreting for the sake of
the edification of the body of Christ and as a sign for the unbeliever
(1 Cor. 14:22-23). As with the Assemblies of God, the Potter's House
teaches that tongues is the "initial evidence" of the "baptism of the
Holy Spirit."

   The Potter's House has an aberrant view of healing as well. A "come
get your miracle" mentality exists which creates an expectancy level
which, when not met, is devastating to the young Christian who expected
God to meet his needs and is let down hard. [2]

   CHURCH ATMOSPHERE -- Though members are not required to attend the
various activities of the church, there is an expectancy and general
urgency about participating. These kind of expectations can give a
person a mental burden of having to "be there" or one misses out on
what God is doing. It can also cause early "burn-out" for some who just
can not keep up with the ever-continuing activities of the church.

   LACK OF A STRONG DOCTRINAL STATEMENT -- Though we are told that
classes are taught on Sunday mornings pertaining to "sound doctrine,"
there is of yet no outline or positional paper of the Potter's House
particular theological beliefs. While it is true that a doctrinal
statement is not always as revealing as it looks, it does indicate that
the particular church in question adheres to a formal set of doctrines
and removes most doubt as to whether they are "orthodox" concerning
essential biblical teaching.

   NEGATIVE REPORTS BY EX-MEMBERS AND OTHERS -- Since our preliminary
report of March 3, 1988, new developments have occurred which should be
included in this report. In September of this year, the "Geraldo
Television Show" did a segment which included an expose' of the
Potter's House in which "exit- counselor" Rick Ross alleged that the
Potter's House was cultic and dangerous. Others, many ex-members,
allege that the leadership exercises strong control over its members (a
form of the shepherding doctrine; that leaving the church would result
in the judgment of God; that members are ostracized from their
families; that tithing is essential to be in proper or right
relationship with God and strongly enforced by the leadership; that
women attending the Potter's House are subjugated; and that ex-members
are shunned or hated and considered lost until they come back to the
Potter's House. While many of these allegations come from ex-members in
the Prescott area, some have come from other parts of the country which
indicates that there may be some truth to the allegations at least with
SOME Potter's Houses.

   This researcher has spoken with Rick Ross, ex-members, and a number
of Pastor's representing the Potter's House all of which gave
conflicting reports. Whether the allegations are true and can be
substantiated or not is something which we at CRI are not prepared to
comment on publicly at this time. However, because of the severity of
the reports and controversy involved with the Potter's House
denomination we CANNOT at this time recommend that Christians choose
the Potter's House as a viable place of fellowship. While the Potter's
House cannot rightly be called a non-Christian cult, IF the allegations
are true, one could properly say that the movement is at best aberrant,
and at worst a church containing cultic elements or practices.

   Revised from March 88 report Dan R. Schlesinger

   For an overview of the history and development of The Potter's
House, the reader is invited to read AN OPEN DOOR by Ron Simpkins
(Prescott, Arizona: Potter's Press, 1985).

   [1] CRI's position on the gifts of the Spirit are that the gifts and
calling of God are irrevocable -- spiritual gifts are here today and
should be exercised accordingly to the outlines given in Romans 12:4-8
and 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.

   [2] CRI's position of divine healing is that God can and will heal
if He so chooses and that the believer may seek God for healing (James
5:14,15; 1 John 5:14,15) but there is no guarantee that He will heal.