Revival Centres International
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Revival Centres International | |
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founder ), Simon Longfield, (Principal Pastor) Victor Samoilenko (Liaison Pastor) , Geoff Beggs(Liaison Pastor).
Church Homepage = [1] Church Slogans = "Contending for the faith", "The Truth with Proof" |
The Revival Centres International is a Pentecostal church with its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. It has approximately 300 centres in 22 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Fiji, Italy, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Malawi, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.[1][2]
The Revival Centres was formed as a separate identity from the Commonwealth Revival Crusade in 1958, and at a short time later became a registered denomination pursuant to the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth), as Revival Centres of Australia.
The Church has a strong emphasis on the need to show evidence of
Church genealogy
Early history
The predecessor of the Revival Centres was the
Carn Brae
One of the earliest Revival Centre purchases was in March 1966, when the Revival Centres paid almost $100,000 for a property in Harcourt Street, Auburn in
Forum Theatre
The Forum Theatre (formerly known as the "State Theatre") is a famous "Moorish Revival" style theatre located on the corner of Flinders Street and Russell Street in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. When the theatre was first built by Bohringer, Taylor & Johnson in 1929, the theatre had the largest seating capacity in Australia, holding 3371 people.[7] In 1985 it was purchased by the Revival Centres International and was used as its International headquarters. In 1995 it was sold to Staged Developments Australia, who redeveloped it for use as a film and concert venue.[citation needed]
General meeting format
The Revival Centres normally holds a midweek meeting (a small scale house meeting) and then at least one Sunday assembly meeting. Both meeting types are expected to contain most of the following aspects:[8]
- Community singing or "choruses" led by a song leader based on Christian themes.
- Welcome and opening prayer.
- Personal Testimonies, given by church members.
- Sermon or "talk" given by a pastor or a male leader using Bible references.
- Sharing of the Christ. Normally once a week at the Sunday meeting.
- Operation of the Spirituals Gifts or "Voice Gifts" of the Holy Spirit by church members. i.e. containing speaking in tongues, interpretation of that tongue and prophecy (i.e. meaning professing the word of God).
- Prayer line or "laying on of hands" for people with needs, by church leaders.
- Donations or "tithing".
- Church Activities Announcements.
- Closing prayer.
- Social time after meeting.
Spiritual gatherings and practices
A common optional practice for Revival Centres members is to gather together each year at various camp venues during
Missions
Revival Centres International emphasis has been on equipping local people to run their own assemblies. They have no standing
Statement of Beliefs
The core belief of Revival Centres International is the necessity of speaking in tongues as evidence of a person receiving the Holy Spirit.[14] They also maintain a strong belief that God could heal them from anything and that they have ongoing life changing transformations.[15]
The Revival Centres International's statement of beliefs are listed as follows;[16]
- The infallibility of the Word of God.
- Jesus is the Son of God.
- The Gospel of his death and resurrection and directive to repent, be baptised, receive the Holy Spirit.
- Baptism into the Body of Christ (the Church) through the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
- The miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Church.
- Prayer for the sick and faith healing by the power of God.
- The Bible identifies the Anglo-Saxon people with the Old Testament nation of Israel, describes modern nations and gives signs of the imminent return of Jesus.
British Israelism and statements on racism
Revival Centres International statement about
Revival Centres has stated that they believe that all human beings have been created in the image of God and have equal value in God's sight and that
Second Coming
The Revival Centres believes and adheres to an interpretation of Jesus'
In a Melbourne Revival Centre book, entitled The Throne of David and the Return of Christ, at the end of chapter nine, it says "the generation of people who were alive in 1917 would still be alive when all the prophecies concerning the return of Jesus Christ reach fulfillment." The chapter acknowledges that while "1917 Generation" is not a Bible term, it later speculates in the same chapter that a "generation" scripturally implies that it is forty years. This chapter explains that it lines up with the prophesied signs of the return of Christ examined in the chapter seven as being fulfilled by 1957.[23] Therefore, Revival Centres International teaches the imminent return of Jesus Christ based on the precept that the prophesied signs of his return have been fulfilled.[24][25]
The
Publications
Tribes of Israel |
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While Revival Centres International acknowledges certain books as being useful for bible study, they have published a number of books themselves such as "The
They regularly publish a magazine called "Voice of Revival" since 1959, that gave insight into their doctrine and their life, to which they made no claim that the magazine has infallibility, leaving such claim only to the Word of God i.e. the Bible.[35]
In the 1980s, they had previously publish their own foolscap report to deliver the various of activities in their assemblies around the world to all their pastors. Eventually in 1991, after encouragement from Lloyd Longfield, this became a magazine, containing updated church developments and news around the world assemblies, being issued four times a year. Later in 1994, this magazine developed into the "Newsletter" which includes colour
A monthly email newsletter can be freely subscribed to from their official website for the public
Doctrinal schisms and refining church identity
In 1991, a number of related assemblies in Europe broke their loose connection with the Revival Centres International and formed the
Revival Centres International, former owner of the Forum Theatre in the city, had bought the Campion Books premises in Middleborough Rd, Box Hill South and moved in at the end of April 1998.[42] In 1998, Lloyd Longfield handed leadership to his son, Simon Longfield, who continues to lead the group.
After a combination of doctrinal schisms and the change of leadership, a number of revisions were made to refine Revival Centres International's spiritual direction and church identify.
Bible Numerics
In June 1999, Revival Centres International revised its position on
Current Revival Centre thought is that these supposed intricate numerical patterns are in fact a feature of any text, in any language.[45] Outlined in a Revival Centres paper, written by Geoff Beggs dated 9 February 1999, this position was formed following study and consideration of work done by a mathematician named Brendon MacKay.[46] The original work and associated computer program was developed by Brendon MacKay working at the Australian National University of Canberra and was used to analyze Bible Numerics.[47]
Revision of the Code of Conduct
Years ago, Lloyd Longfield developed the "Code of Conduct" of RCI after he had become concerned when, at a church meeting, he saw that a young man had attended the meeting with his new girlfriend while his girlfriend of the previous week sat at the back of the church, crying. He devised the code of conduct, which mentioned conduct which the church regarded as unacceptable.[48]
Primarily focused towards the youth of the church, the code of conduct dealt with a wide range of guidelines for "living a righteous life" covering areas of acceptable behavior and activities to relationships and appearances. For every topic, there was a biblical quotation and a number of propositions which follow from that text. Its introduction stated "...these requirements are mandatory for the safety of us all. As the worldly influences continue to grow we must become more direct in our campaign to keep unsavoury practices out of the Church – the body of Christ!"[48]
Members failing to comply with these guidelines would be dealt with by the local pastor resulting in the possibilities of counseling, education, restrictions/conditions in participation in church ran activities, temporary or permanent dismissal from the church, depending on the severity of the situation.
Lloyd stated the code did not assert the guidelines within were based on a specific command in the Bible. He said that the code contained suggestions, observations or regulations to help people apply the
After the 1995 schism and then change of leadership from Lloyd Longfield to Simon Longfield in 1998, Revival Centres International had a revision on the Code of Conduct. It was found that most of the rules and regulations that were written in the code were based on many moral dilemmas concerning fornication and other behavioral problems that the people of the church faced. It was concluded that many rules and regulations contained in the code of conduct had not stressed enough the importance of personal ownership for each members' actions and in practice had problems de-emphasizing many other individual/external influence on each set of circumstances that church members faced.
The intention of the code of conduct was to address broader areas of concerns that church members, especially young people, would find the most pressure, misleading information or harm to their spiritual walk. The onus is now focused on each church member to " . . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."[49] This means in practice that each church member is encouraged to accept the guidance of scripture in these matters.
The natural result of this revision means that there was more allowance for church members to take even more personal responsibility for their spiritual growth and less personal intervention by the church oversight unless it was absolutely necessary or there was an urgent concern raised. Therefore, the "Code of Conduct" was removed and combined with the church's simplified stand against fornication among members since 1995, had greatly clarified many decision making within the Church members in aspects of their own spiritual walk. This also means there was a moving away from the oversight being seen as a type of confessional outlet and being more of a "shepherd" or "guide".
Criticism
The Church's beliefs and practices have given rise to some criticism over its treatment of members and former members.[50] In mid-April 1998, weeks prior to the church moving in the Campion Books premises in Middleborough Rd, Box Hill South from the Forum Theatre, some former members of Revival Centres International spoke out, via the Whitehorse Gazette, in a bid to warn Whitehorse residents of the organisation's impending move to the area so as to raise community awareness about the Church. The Whitehorse Gazette also covered the group founder, Lloyd Longfield's response in dismissing such concerns.[42]
Concerns raised by some former members includes the use of guilt, fear, shame and mind control as well as church activities occupying members time spent away from other non-membered family. Other concerns raised by former members were that group members are unable to criticise or question the leaders in any way or associate with any other churches.[42] These concerns were also raised by the Australian journalist Tom Tilley who wrote about his upbringing in the Revival Centres in the 2022 memoir “Speaking in Tongues”[51] Lloyd Longfield says that the Revival Centres International did not believe it was the only true Church but did believe its teachings were the only true way. He dismissed suggestions the group was a cult or controlled and dominated its members. "You come along and have a wonderful experience in the Lord", he said. "You are born again and from that time on you walk, carefully and more reasonably." "Every religious group is a cult. I suppose they say these things because they think we're out of line."
Longfield said those who left the group did so because they could not follow the Bible. He denied members were told to ignore them. "Some people leave because the group doesn't suit them. They cut themselves off 90 per cent of the time", he said. "It's not that no one can speak to them, they're just not in fellowship any more. They have different interests and we don't see them any more." Longfield said Church members were welcome to discuss concerns with the leaders but those who left the Church chose not to.
Longfield defended the Church's actions of "
See also
References
- ^ Revival Centres International - About Us Archived 15 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Australasian Pentecostal Studies journal, http://aps.webjournals.org/default.asp?id={D78783D5-CCB1-46C0-A7EE-628757FBF743} [dead link]
- ^ "Revival Centres International - FAQ". Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
- ^ The Herald newspaper, 3/3/66
- ^ The Sun newspaper, 5/3/66
- ^ Truth article 'Sect that makes a Fortune', 5/9/70
- ^ Thorne, Ross, Picture Palace Architecture in Australia, Sun Books Pty. Ltd., South Melbourne, Victoria, 1976.
- ^ Revival Centres International - About Us Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - About Us Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - About Us Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - About Us Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - About Us Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - Missions Archived 11 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - Beliefs Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - Personal Stories Archived 11 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - Beliefs Archived 30 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Barker, Brain, The Symbols of Sovereignty, The Alden Press, Oxford, 1979
- ^ Ransome, Cyril, A Short History of England, Longmans Green & Co., 1897
- ^ A.J. Ferris, Britain and America Revealed as Israel
- ^ Murray, C.M., Tracing Our Celto-Saxon Roots
- ^ Revival Centres International - FAQ Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - Beliefs Archived 24 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Throne of David and the Return of Christ Archived 2 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - Beliefs Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - FAQ Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Westminster Abbey Guide Book
- ^ Ferris, A.J., The Throne of David found in Britain
- ^ Fox, John S., The World's Greatest Throne
- ^ Durrant, Colonel J.H., The Throne of David and the Return of Christ
- ^ Milner, W.M.H., M.A., The Royal house of Britain an Enduring Dynasty.
- ^ Nankivell, J.F., Jacob versus Esau
- ^ Durrant, Colonel J.H., The Commonwealth of Israel.
- ^ Durrant, Colonel J.H. The Throne of David and the Return of Christ
- ^ Revival Centres International - Bible Studies & Articles Archived 30 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - Publications[permanent dead link]
- ^ Revival Centres International - Publications Archived 6 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International Archived 30 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Revival Centres International - Bible Studies & Articles[permanent dead link]
- ^ Revival Centres International - Music Archived 29 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Niall, Jake, 'Church Loses Flock over Fornication Fight', 9 July 1995, Sunday Age
- ^ Marx, Anthony. 'Unforgiving' Church Hit By Exodus Over Hardline Sex Policy The Brisbane Courier Australia, 1995.
- ^ a b c d Doyle, Julie. Church Moves in Amid Concerns, Whitehorse Gazette, 15 April 1998.
- ^ Panin, Ivan, The Shorter Works of Ivan Panin, 1934:
- ^ Panin, Ivan, The Inspiration of the Scriptures Scientifically Demonstrated, 1899.
- ^ Revival Centres International - FAQ Archived 15 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ http://www.rci.org.au/faq/biblenumerics.pdf[permanent dead link]
- ^ Mackay, Brendon, 1997, Panin's Panic
- ^ a b c Jubber v Revival Centres International, Victorian Anti-Discrimination Tribunal 62 (7 April 1998)
- ^ Bible, Philippians 2:12
- ^ See, e.g., ABC Radio, 'New Life – Sue Durrant, Life Matters, 27 April 1998.
- ^ "Tom Tilley: losing my religion". ABC listen. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2023.