Every Nation

Every Nation Churches is an organization of Charismatic Christian churches. From its inception in 1994 until 2004, it was known as Morning Star International (MSI). The new name embodies its goal of reaching "every nation in our generation" with the gospel. Every Nation performs many of the same functions of a denomination. However, because of its emphasis on relational ministry ties it prefers terms like "family" or "movement" as way of emphasizing this distinction. This is common for many Charismatic organizations. It is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee; a suburb of Nashville, with international offices in Manila, The Philippines.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Church planting 1.2 Churches joining Every Nation 1.3 Churches leaving Every Nation 2 Structure 3 Doctrine 3.1 Freedom of conscience 4 Finances 5 Controversy 5.1 Links to Maranatha 5.2 Legal disputes 5.3 Links with New Apostolic Reformation 6 Affiliated businesses 6.1 Global Cafe 6.2 Inpop Records 7 Affiliated organizations 8 References 9 External links

History

In 1994 Rice Broocks, Steve Murrell, and Phil Bonasso formed Morning Star International as an umbrella organization for their ministries. The three men had previously been active in Maranatha Campus Ministries. They say they have rejected the excesses associated with that organization (see below). In 2001, Morning Star merged with the His People network of churches in Europe and Africa, under the leadership of Bill Bennot and Paul Daniel. The merger greatly increased Morning Star's footprint in those two continents, though accounts that the merger doubled its membership are disputed. At its July 2004 conference, Morning Star announced that it was changing its name to Every Nation. At this conference, the organization's chief "prophet," Jim Laffoon, said the new name had been revealed to him in a message from God.^[1][2][3]

What am I saying tonight? The nations, the earth, are up for grabs. Up for grabs. God has bestowed a new name on us. Every Nation Churches and Ministries.

– Jim Laffoon , “To Reach and To Rule” MSI/EN World Conference

An additional reason given for the name change was a desire to avoid confusion with other ministries named "Morning Star" or "Morningstar," most notably Rick Joyner's ministry.^[4] Broocks had been president of Every Nation since its founding in 1994 but in 2006 stepped down as president and was succeeded by Murrell.^[5] Broocks remains the second-ranking leader of the organization.

Church planting

The mission statement of Every Nation is "To honor God and advance His Kingdom through church planting, campus ministry and world missions."^[6] Every Nation emphasizes church planting, and actively recruits among existing churches. Every Nation's strategy for church planting is called the “2010 Initiative",^[7] The goal of the 2010 Initiative is for every local EN church to establish or “plant” at least one new church every three years. The ultimate outcome of this initiative would be that, by the year 2010, hundreds of new churches would have been established all over the world. The initiative also envisions that, eventually, all EN churches would be church-planting churches. Because Every Nation's ultimate vision is to eventually have a church in every nation of the world, a particular emphasis is placed on nations where it does not yet have any presence. Examples of church-planting churches include the following: the Every Nation church in Manila, Philippines has planted churches in Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The EN church in London has planted a church in Dublin, Ireland; a church in Nashville collaborated with a church in North Carolina to planted a church in New York and also planted a church in New Zealand; the EN churches in Sierra Leone have planted several churches in Liberia; and the church in Tarapoto, Peru has planted over a hundred churches in the Amazon Region of South America.

Churches joining Every Nation

The period 2004 - 2007 saw several churches and church networks join Every Nation. These include the Chapel of Glory churches in Nigeria; The Rock Church in Wellington, New Zealand; New Harvest Ministries in Sierra Leone; and Cornerstone Church in Jackson, Mississippi.

Churches leaving Every Nation

The 2005 - 2007 period also saw a number of churches leaving the EN group. January 2006 saw Every Nation's entire network of Indonesian churches leave the organization. Two Austrian churches also left, along with American churches in Phoenix, Kansas, San Jose, St Louis, Gulfport, and several in Texas.

Structure

Every Nation Churches states that it "provides spiritual leadership for approximately 400 member churches worldwide." According to their website, this includes the following main responsibilities:^[8]

1. maintaining doctrinal orthodoxy;
2. mediating leadership conflicts;
3. assisting in the event of moral failure of a local church pastor or elder;
4. helping with leadership transition in the event of the death or incapacity of the senior pastor; and
5. encouraging member churches to uphold the vision, values and standards of Every Nation.

Every Nation member churches are fully responsible for the governance and direction of their respective local churches. Member churches responsibilities include:

1. subscribing to the vision, values and standards of Every Nation;
2. supporting official Every Nation conferences and events;
3. contributing 10% of their general revenue to Every Nation which in turn provides for the global oversight function and for the development of resources to support the churches; and
4. recognizing the role of Every Nation's International Ministry Team in the spiritual leadership of their local churches.

Inside the USA Every Nation is a convention of churches.^[9] According to Every Nation, spiritual oversight for the ministry is provided by the International Ministry Team (IMT),^[10] which is a broad-based grouping of leaders drawn from seven geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East and India, Latin America, North America, and the Pacific Islands. Members of the International Ministry Team also serve as regional directors for the geographic region of the world they represent. The primary responsibilities of the International Ministry Team are to provide a global perspective for the leadership and oversight of Every Nation; to train and develop new regional directors; and to fulfill their own roles as regional directors. Roles and responsibilities for regional directors for the seven geographic regions include: providing pastoral support and encouragement for the leaders of their region; communicating the vision, values and policies of Every Nation; facilitating conferences and other regional events; helping to train and appoint local church elders; mediating church conflicts when necessary; and helping to coordinate regional church planting and missions efforts. Murrell serves as president of the IMT. The International Policy Council (IPC)^[11] is a nine member subset of the International Ministry Team which is tasked with overseeing Every Nation. It is co-chaired by Murrell and Broocks.

Doctrine

Every Nation states it adheres to basic Evangelical Christian beliefs. It uses the same Statement of Faith^[12] as that agreed upon by the National Association of Evangelicals^[13] as well as the Nicean Creed of AD325 and the Chalcedon Creed of AD451. The organization is unmistakably charismatic/Pentecostal in orientation, despite no statements to this effect in Every Nation's doctrinal statement. Foundational core beliefs also include: salvation by grace – that is, that a person receives salvation by the grace of God alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide); the supremacy of Christ and Scripture (solus Christus^[14] and sola Scriptura); the belief in the Trinity – that is, that there is one God, existent in three persons: the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit; and that everything they do is for the glory of God (soli deo gloria).^[12][15][16] However, like many non-denominational organizations, when it comes to issues that Every Nation considers non-fundamental or non-essential such as positions on eschatology or Arminianism vs. Calvinism, the practice of its Bible school, ENLI, is to present the evidence and arguments for the differing theological positions but allow the individual to decide for himself or herself which position he or she will choose.^[16]

Freedom of conscience

For churches that engage in seemingly higher levels of "discipleship" the issue of level of authority given to the person doing the discipling varies. Maranatha Campus Ministries or other churches that were part of the Shepherding Movement used to demand almost total obedience. Every Nation says that it takes a moderate position of trying to capture the positive relationships without demanding actual obedience.^[17]

Finances

Every Nation receives large amounts of funding from the Texas-based Malachi Foundation. This has included awards and grants to individual EN churches, EN organizations including Force Ministries, along with individual pastors. The 2002 financial year saw financial assistance given to a number of Every Nation leaders, including Rice Broocks, Phil Bonasso, Jim Laffoon, Steve Murrell, Ron Lewis, Ray McCollum, Greg Ball, Greg Wark and Brett Fuller.^[18] The Malachi Foundation is managed by Texas financier Greg Feste. It receives funding through Feste personally, along with significant contributions from his companies. Former NFL player Tony Boselli is also a personal contributor. Both Feste and Boselli are linked to Champions for Christ; Feste first came into the spotlight as the agent for Curtis Enis, the Chicago Bears' top draft pick in 1998.[5] They are both also involved with Inpop Records, a major contemporary Christian music label (see below). The Malachi Foundation is not an EN organization, however Feste has also served as chairman of MSI's Founders Club^[19] and co-founded Executives for Christ, a subsidiary of Champions for Christ.^[20] Like all nonprofit foundations, the Malachi Foundation says on its Form 990s that it does not make any donations to "disqualified persons," or people who could "exercise substantial influence" over its affairs.^[21][22] However, Feste's donations to Every Nation pastors and ministries constitute a violation of this rule, as he previously served in high positions with two Every Nation organizations.

Controversy

Links to Maranatha

Broocks, Murrell, Bonasso and several other Every Nation pastors have significant past ties to Maranatha Campus Ministries, a controversial Charismatic organization from the 1980s.^[23] Several Every Nation churches and ministries also have roots in Maranatha. Every Nation incorporated the entire Victory Christian Fellowship network in the Philippines overseen by Murrell^[23], and at least six of Every Nation's American churches operate under corporate bylaws dating to the Maranatha era. In addition, His People has roots in a former Maranatha church in Johannesburg.[6] It can therefore be argued that Every Nation is a lineal descendant of Maranatha. There have also been allegations that Every Nation is a revived Maranatha, based on anecdotal reports of Maranatha-style practices and teachings from former Every Nation members. For its part, Every Nation has publicly renounced Maranatha's more controversial teachings and "unequivocally rejects" the "controlling discipleship, authoritarian leadership, and theological mysticism" prevalent in Maranatha. It also contends that Broocks, Bonasso and Murrell supported Maranatha's dissolution in 1990.^[24] In a 2006 "Leader Letter", Murrell stated that in accordance with its "Discipleship Policy", Every Nation does not allow any teachings or practices that are "controlling, coercive, or intrusive, or that violate biblical principles (or) the priesthood of the believer ..."^[25]

Legal disputes

2005 saw complaints regarding a chapter of Victory Club, Every Nation's outreach to high school students, at Hillsboro High School in Nashville. This chapter is linked to Every Nation's flagship church, Bethel World Outreach Center in Brentwood. Parents of two students there charged that Victory Club had hidden its true nature and that their daughters had been psychologically damaged by it. One is said to have suffered a nervous breakdown with the other attempting suicide. The student had been taking anti-depressant medication for a previous suicide attempt but discontinued the medication when a church staff member allegedly told her that her relationship with God was strong enough that she no longer needed to take anti-depressive medication. As a result, the parents sued Victory Clubs (which has since been folded into Every Nation Campus Ministries), Bethel and the Metro Nashville government in the spring of 2005.^[26][27] The suit was dropped with prejudice in the summer of 2006 after both parties agreed to a settlement,[7] and all documents related to the case have been sealed.

Links with New Apostolic Reformation

Missiologist C. Peter Wagner identifies Every Nation as part of the New Apostolic Reformation, an offshoot of the charismatic movement that actively seeks to restore the offices of apostle and prophet to the Church and its leadership. Rice Broocks authored a chapter about Every Nation in Wagner's The New Apostolic Churches,^[28] a key book about the movement. Rice Brooks and Paul Daniel were members of Wagners "New Apostolic Roundtable" and Jim Laffoon was part of the "Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders" until aprox. 2003. C.Peter Wagner has also taught on several occasions at MSI/EN's own ministry school and at MSI/EN conferences. In spite of the strong unofficial ties and similarity in approach, Every Nation does not consider itself part of the New Apostolic Reformation and claims no official ties with Wagner. However, as of 2007, three leading members of Every Nation--Leo Lawson, Paul Barker and David Houston--served on the Apostolic Council for Educational Accountability, an organization that certifies training programs affiliated with the New Apostolic Reformation. Lawson, Barker and Houston are among the leaders of Every Nation Leadership Institute, EN's ministry training arm. Wagner serves as the council's "apostolic covering."^[29]

Affiliated businesses

Global Cafe

In January 2005, Bethel World Outreach Center opened the Global Cafe in Nashville, a restaurant used for youth ministries and other church-related gatherings.

Inpop Records

Inpop Records, a major contemporary Christian music recording label, has strong ties to Every Nation, even though the two are separate entities. The label's president, Wes Campbell, is a member of Bethel World Outreach Center. Broocks is a major stockholder and board member, as is Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell. Tony Boselli, a former teammate of Brunell's on the Jacksonville Jaguars, is also on the board. Brunell and Boselli are members of Champions for Christ, and helped start an Every Nation church in Jacksonville.^[30] The Newsboys are one of Inpop's best-known artists. The group's lead singer, Peter Furler, is a member of Bethel, and Campbell doubles as the group's manager. At one point, the Newsboys Web site included a link where visitors could purchase Biblical Foundations, a Bible study workbook published by Broocks and Murrell. It is popularly known as "The Purple Book". The link asks the question, "Have you done The Purple Book?" The site also included a letter from Furler describing how "doing The Purple Book" has changed him. The Newsboys have also co-authored a book with the chief prophet of Every Nation, Jim Laffoon.^[31] At one point, a daily teaching by Laffoon was given prominent space on the Newsboys' webpage.^[32] The Newsboys have since downplayed their Every Nation ties Web site.

Affiliated organizations

• Morning Star International (MSI; now Every Nation Churches)
• Campus Harvest Ministries
• Champions For Christ (CFC)
• Force Ministries
• Victory Campus Ministries (now Every Nation Campus Ministries)
• Every Nation Leadership Institute (previously Victory Leadership Institute) - A two-year, local church based Bible school. Courses include those such as New Testament, Old Testament, Discipleship, and Leadership.
• Every Nation Churches/Ministries (ENC)
• His People Churches (based mainly in South Africa)

References

External links

• Every Nation Churches and Ministries
• Every Nation Leadership Institute
• Victory Christian Fellowship in the Philippines
• Greg Feste's telling trail of fumbles