THE POTTER'S HOUSE

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 "burn-

out 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.


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