Destiny Church, New Zealand

This article is about a church denomination in New Zealand. For churches elsewhere, see Destiny Church.Destiny Church is a Christian church with headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. It was founded as City Church Auckland in 1998 by Pastor Brian Tamaki.

Culture

Destiny claims to follow biblical principles. It is multicultural, drawing members mainly from lower socio-economic sections of society, including many Maori and Polynesian people but also many others including Europeans. It encourages conformity and strict obedience to God. It has alienated churches which are caricatured as a secularised, diluted form of Christianity. Observers are concerned by Tamaki's outspoken autocratic style, the church's frequent appeals for tithe contributions, and its insular culture. In 2004, Tamaki prophetically predicted that Destiny would be "ruling the nation" within 5 years [1].

On his website "New Zealand: A Nation Under Siege" Tamaki has declared the government of New Zealand to be "inherently evil" [2], pointing out that some members of parliament chose not to swear on the Bible, and one (Ashraf Choudhary) swore on the Qur'an, when being sworn in to government. In a later interview [3], Tamaki said Destiny was ready to wage war on "secular humanism, liberalism, relativism, pluralism", on "a Government gone evil", on the "modern-day witchcraft" of the media, and on the "radical homosexual agenda".

Membership

Destiny started with a membership of 20 people that within two years had grown to 300 and had adopted the name "Destiny Church". Destiny now claims 20 churches, located throughout New Zealand and in Brisbane, Australia. The church is characterised by its large and diverse multi-cultural congregations which, by the beginning of 2005, had increased in size to more than 10,000 followers. New members decide to become so by following certain criteria based on biblical principle which is very similar to Baptist membership rules. Destiny Training Institute allows those committed to serve in leadership roles. Members are encouraged to give the tithe of 10 percent of their income as most strong churches do. Even some non members tithe. All receive not only religious guidance but other social services such as budget advice, but the committed are favoured over the non committed following the biblical principle.

Enough is Enough rally

Destiny Church has been active in campaigning for a return to what it considers to be "Christian moral values" in New Zealand society, particularly for the "sanctity of marriage between a husband and wife". In August 2004, Destiny members marched on Parliament under their "Enough is Enough" rally -- a 5000-strong (estimated) protest against civil unions legislation. Prior to the arrival of the Destiny march, another march of gay rights, civil union and anti-Destiny Church followers had arrived, whose numbers grew to about 1500. The two groups were separated by Police security fences but much mixing occurred with some violence.

The rally attracted considerable criticism from human rights activists. The Destiny marchers' choice of clothing prompted negative comparisons with storm-troopers by some. A second march occurred in Auckland along with the Christian Life Centre and the City Impact churches in March 2005. The march was once again met by a group of counter-demonstrators. Police removed two women of the counter-demonstration who removed their tops on the stage in front of the march leaders.

Other Activities

Richard Lewis, a member of Destiny Church Auckland, formed the Destiny New Zealand political party in 2003, The party first ran candidates in 2005. Candidates from four different churches joined with candidates who came from Destiny Church. Despite Tamaki's prediction that the church would rule New Zealand by 2008, the party gained only 0.6 percent of the vote--well short of the five percent threshold required to enter Parliament without an electorate MP. This was still the best performance of any party that didn't enter Parliament.

Destiny TV, a television ministry, was launched in 2001 and produced 30 minute programmes that ran every weekday morning on New Zealand's national television broadcaster. The programmes were funded by outreach donations from Destiny Church members. The program ceased in late 2004 when TVNZ pulled the plug, but Destiny TV currently broadcasts in the South Pacific and Australia. Programs and live services are also broadcast world-wide over the internet.

Tamaki began referring to himself as a bishop following a ceremony performed by kaumatua Manuel Renata on June 18, 2005. A Bishop is a leader of leaders according to the biblical principle. [4]

References

External links

* Official website
* Destiny New Zealand Political Party official website
* Destiny Church - Brisbane, Qld, Australia

Articles

* Professor Peter Lineham contextualises Destiny as a part of a broader cultural phenomenon in the Listener and MasseyNews
* NZ Cult List: treat Destiny with "caution", also see entry for Brian Tamaki
* Parody Site (original is offline)