Vereinigung Christlicher Kampfsportler

Druckversion

The following list shows the particular tendencies emphasized by the partition of the two groups. Many elements of course, appear in both groups.

The strengths of the Evangelicals and Charismatics

Evangelicals

• focal point: Jesus, the Lord; – Faithfulness to the scriptures
• No compromise on the question of the authority of the scriptures
• Balanced view of the bible
• Emphasis on conversion– Watchdog against false teachings
• Corrective and opponent of liberal theology and churches
• Awareness of the international church of Jesus
• Mission throughout the world – Evangelism, all areas
• Centuries of faithful work, hymns, witness, often grow in times of immense suffering, persecution or 
• illness
• Application of knowledge gained from the scriptures even when there is no hope of immediate success.
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Charismatics

• love for God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit 
• Joyfulness in confessing Christ
• Practised, common priesthood
• Missionary zeal
• Focus on God's working in normal everyday life
• Courage to break with convention
• Praise and worship, songs 
• Generosity
• Intensive prayer life 
• Expression of emotions and the soul
• Service in small groups 
• Spiritual mobilisation of existing churches
• Service open to participation of everyone
• Services with human warmth, providing a sense of well-being
  

What the CFM does not accept
Love and truth go hand in hand. Once again, the following contains elements which appear in both groups. The list shows tendencies which are not in line with the New Testament, or elements which have been taken out of context, and are not biblical.

Evangelicals

• christians by name only, with perhaps not too much underneath
• worldly, ruled by the flesh
  
• lack of prayer, little time devoted to quiet times in it
  
• consumerist services, bible studies and prayer meetings
  
• Self-satisfaction
  
• Intellectualised faith without the fruit of the Spirit, therefore spiritually powerless
  
• Correct doctrine more important than sanctification, leading to an unhappy Christian life
  
• Guided by tradition (that's the way it’s always been)
  
• Thus quarrelsome, dogmatic, unloving
  
• Lack of bible knowledge
  
• Contentedness, lack of missionary activity
  
• Not very infectious atmosphere
  
  

Charismatics

• Experience transcends the scriptures
• Gift of tongues as proof of elite status
  
• Revelation more important than bible study
  
• Tendency to see spirits everywhere ("deliverance ministries")
  
• Non-transparent, direct revelations: "I, the Lord, say to you…"
  
• New "revelations" with normative (authoritative for all) character
  
• Emphasis on perpetual health and material prosperity
  
• Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a second experience necessary to be a real Christian
  
• Spiritual growth measured by the gifts instead of the fruits of the Spirit
  
• Over-emphasis on emotions; manipulation of the soul and emotions; resulting increased susceptibility to moral slip-ups
  
• falling down backwards ("slain in the spirit")
  
• sympathy for areas of sorcery (shamanism) of "visualisation" (e.g. ability to make Jesus visible, to see oneself in the past ("inner healing"), to see wishes as already fulfilled (Yongi Cho), pictures, actions, which continue "by themselves", (as taught by Agnes Sandford, Morton, Kelsey etc.).
  
• Teachings such as from Benny Hinn, Robert Schuller, Kenneth Copeland or Kenneth Hagin are not desired.
  
• one-sided interpretation of scripture
  
• unwilling to learn from other christians
  
• Continually looking for miracles
  
• Indirect group pressure resulting from uniform gestures, uniform behaviour, uniform culture of expressing faith
  
  

Speaking in tongues
According to 1st Corinthians 14, the gift of tongues is for private prayer, and is only to be used in the church if it is then interpreted.
Decisive for Christian Fight oriented Sports Ministry: We believe that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, we refrain from the use of tongues in all our meetings. A further reason for this is the tendency of tongues to bring division, something which we cannot afford if we are to be successful in our mission.

Cooperation and limits

1. An individual from a Charismatic or Pentecostal background could join forces with us if mission is the number one priority and if he or she is able to share the above view – which we believe to be biblical – from a standpoint of a good conscience.
2. It is not possible for us to work together with Charismatic or Pentecostal churches where baptism in the Spirit is taught as a second experience following conversion.
   
3. We feel unable to be involved if it is clear right from the beginning that in a cooperation between local churches, a Charismatic or Pentecostal church which bases its teaching on baptism in the Spirit as a second experience will determine the follow-up work. Almost all disputes can be traced back to this point of baptism in the Spirit as a separate experience. A "two-class Christianity" is inevitable in churches where such teaching prevails.
   
4. A church should be asked about its attitude towards baptism in the Spirit and/or get in contact with the laders of CFM if there is any doubt.
   
   

Back to Theological Orientation

(Taken from the work file "Der Sportler - Bibelkreis" with the kind permission of Helmfried Rieker, the founder and head of "Sportler ruft Sportler", Kölner Str. 23a, 57610 Altenkirchen, Germany).