Ac 17:11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica;
they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to
see if these things were so.
Recently several people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have asked about the teachings and
practices of the Gateway
Church. Such questions
are important, and they deserve accurate answers. As Christians we must examine
current religious teachings in the light of Scripture. By doing so we reaffirm
God’s authority, learn and correct our own beliefs where needed, and speak the
truth in love regarding error. We are accountable to God to stay in the Word
and to challenge the church, our youth, and the religious community to do the
same. 2 Tim 4:1-5
The best way to know for sure what other people think,
believe, and teach is to have them speak for themselves. Without judging or
questioning anyone’s heart or sincerity, we must look objectively at specific teachings
and compare them to those of the Bible.
Thanks to the Internet these materials are often publicly accessible.
Churches of various types publish doctrinal statements for the express purpose
of making others aware of them. It is important that we reference these sources,
as we have done below, for the sake of accuracy.
Remember: not every person who attends services at a
particular church necessarily agrees with that group’s published beliefs. Many
who attend may not even be aware of all the group’s beliefs. Be careful not to
assume. Let each person speak for himself or herself.
According to Wikipedia, “Gateway
Church is a non-denominational charismatic*
Christian church located in Southlake,
Texas. In 2013, Outreach magazine named Gateway as the 8th
largest church in the US.
In 2013, the church averaged 23,831 in weekly attendance, with 39,513 attending
over Easter weekend, saw 4,775 salvations, and 1,428 baptisms**. The church currently
conducts 22 weekend services at 5 locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
An affiliated church plant called Gateway Scottsdale opened in Scottsdale, AZ, in
August, 2012 … The church is home to the Christian recording artist and Dove
Award winner Kari Jobe, who works as a worship
pastor.”
*Charismatic -
supporting modern-day tongues-speaking, faith healing, and other miracles.
**See below for an
explanation as to why there are more “salvations” than baptisms.
Salvation
According to Gateway, “Because salvation is afforded
through Christ’s work on the cross, water baptism isn’t necessary for a person
to be saved*. However, water baptism is an association with Christ’s death, burial
and resurrection. It symbolizes the death of the old man and the resurrection
of the new man in Christ. Baptism is a command for believers modeled by Jesus
through His own baptism and is a necessary step of obedience for continued
growth in Christ. It is not necessary for church membership, but we encourage
all believers to be water baptized after salvation.”
*Gateway does teach
that faith, repentance, and confession via the “Sinner’s Prayer” are necessary
for salvation, but not baptism. See below.
According to Gateway, “You receive Jesus Christ by
believing in your heart that He is the Son of God and the Redeemer of mankind
and by confessing with your mouth your love and commitment to Him. These two
responses constitute the act of receiving faith (Romans 10:10).”
“By responding to God from their heart with
words similar to those below, one can be
saved. “Oh, God, I
acknowledge that I am a sinner and I have fallen short of what You expect. I
ask You to forgive me of my sins. I receive Jesus Christ, Your Son, as my Savior and Lord.
Thank You, God for saving me from eternity without You. Amen.”
“Romans 10:10 tells us that by believing
in our heart and confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, we are saved. We
encourage every believer to give open testimony
of their love for God and their faith in Jesus Christ, His Son.”
The Bible says,
Mk 16:16 Whoever
believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be
condemned.
Ac 2:38 And Peter
said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.”
Ac 22:16 And now why
do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.
1 Pe 3:21 Baptism,
which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the
body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ,
Can I Lose My
Salvation?
According to Gateway, “No believer can presume on God’s
grace or His goodness by choosing to live after himself or his own desires.
After all Christ did for us, we are encouraged and admonished to passionately
pursue Him and to bear much fruit (John 15:8). For those who have received
Christ and who evidence the Holy Spirit’s fruit in their life, we affirm that
their salvation is eternally secure.”
The Bible says,
1 Co 10:12 Therefore
let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
Heb 3:12 Take care,
brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you
to fall away from the living God.
Worship
Gateway streams its weekend worship services live. Instrumental
musical performances are common, and it is not unusual for women to lead in
various aspects of the assembly. To see Gateway’s services online, follow this
link to watch.
According to Gateway, “To get involved [in worship], you
must go through a video evaluation if you’re interested in ministering by
singing in the choir (GWC), singing as a background vocalist (BGV) or being an
instrumentalist for one of our platform ministry teams.”
The Bible says,
Eph 5:18 And do not
get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for
everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21
submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Organization
Gateway has eleven “Senior Pastors,” including “Founding Senior
Pastor” Robert Morris*. Another key leader is the “Lead Executive Senior Pastor.”
All “Pastors” are men; this group is different from the church’s “Elders.” Gateway Church believes “the Senior Pastor should
be the leader of the Eldership and should set the agenda for each meeting. In the
event that the Elders of Gateway Church reach an impasse with a decision, the Elders
will appeal to the full Eldership of Trinity Fellowship Church in Amarillo, Texas.”
*Robert Morris is
also an Overseer of New Life Church in Colorado Springs and an Apostolic Elder
of Trinity Fellowship Church in Amarillo, Texas.
There was no
reference in the online documents to any deacons, ministers per se, preachers,
or evangelists at Gateway.
The Bible says,
Ac 14:23 And when
they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting
they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Php 1:1 Paul and
Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at
Philippi, with the overseers and deacons …
Role of Women
According to Gateway, “We believe in the value of women in
all aspects of ministry with the exception of those areas that exercise
governmental authority within the church … We believe a woman can teach and
lead within any of the vast array of ministry roles and positions as long as
she demonstrates a biblically-qualifying lifestyle. She must also submit
herself, along with other servant-leaders, to those leaders God has placed in
positions of governing authority, specifically, the Senior Pastor or the Elders
of the church. We believe that the positions of Senior Pastor and Elder are
(because of their governmental responsibility) reserved only for men. With the
exception of these two positions, we consider all ministry positions and
opportunities to be open to women.”
The Bible says,
1 Ti 2:11 Let a woman
learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or
to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam
was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was
deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through
childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with
self-control.
Tongues, Miraculous
Healings, and Other Miraculous Gifts
According to Gateway, “The gifts of the Holy Spirit are
divided into three categories (1 Corinthians 12:7–11): Vocal Gifts—tongues, prophecy and the interpretation of tongues; Knowledge Gifts—word of knowledge, word
of wisdom and the discerning of spirits; Power
Gifts—healing, faith and miracles.”
“The Apostle Paul encouraged us to earnestly desire
spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 14:1. Although the gifts of the Holy Spirit
are available to every person who receives the Holy Spirit, they are only
activated by faith. If you do not want to demonstrate a gift, God will not make
you. If you desire His gifts but don’t understand them completely, He may
bypass your mind and give you a gift, but it will always be based on your
desire.”
“We believe the gift of tongues has a dual purpose as
outlined in the Scriptures. When coupled with the gift of interpretation, it
provides encouragement, comfort and exhortation to the congregation of
believers. When used in prayer, it also provides personal edification for the
believer and heavenly unction for prayer concerns that we lack words to
adequately express (1 Corinthians 14). As a prayer force, it adds a new
dimension to our partnership with God.”
“God’s purpose is for every one of His children to be
filled with the same Holy Spirit that empowered Jesus’ own life. We cannot
reduce this experience to a simple formula. In fact, we are talking about the
same power that raised Jesus from the dead. To receive, we simply go to our
heavenly Father in an attitude of faith and ask.”
“Jesus is the
Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, and He wants to fill His children. Through
experiencing the nine gifts and the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit, we can effectively share
the love and power of Jesus Christ to many people. We can also find the power to
overcome many temptations, trials and tests in this
life.”
The Bible says,
1 Co 13:8 Love never
ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease;
as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in
part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was
a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror
dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know clearly,
even as I have been clearly known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these
three; but the greatest of these is love.
Eschatology (the Last
Things)
According to
Gateway, “We believe Jesus Christ will return to earth personally and visibly
according to the promises in Scripture. His return will be for the purpose of
establishing His absolute governmental rule and authority on the earth.
Christians are exhorted to be watchful and obedient until His return. While
there are many viewpoints concerning His second coming, we believe Christians
should look for His return with great anticipation while obediently pursuing
the mandate of the Great Commission. At His second coming, the righteous who
have died and are now with Him will be resurrected and rule with Him.”
The Bible says,
1 Th 4:13 But we do
not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you
may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him
those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the
Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will
not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend
from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we
who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Additional Sources:
Cory
Collins
