Chapter Three: Identity of the Durban Christian Centre
3.4 DCC theology
3.4.8 Healing/miracles
The catch phrase of the subject group is "a place where miracles happen", since the church strongly emphasises healing and miracles. The belief in healing is enshrined in the constitution of the DCC, which includes the following statements concerning the issue of healing: "We believe in the divine healing of the body as part of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. This healing can be received and also ministered to others by various gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:8-10;
Matthew 8:16, 17; 1 Peter 2:24)" (DCC Constitution: 6). The weekly news and information brief of the DCC, The Bulletin (October 2002 Vol.1 No.4) states,
"The redemption work of Christ on the cross provides healing of the human body in answer to believing prayer".
The inclination towards the healing ministry has come from the Pentecostal roots of Fred Roberts who mentions several accounts of healing in his own family. His father was healed after a severe fall from a horse, his mother was healed of malaria, his brother was healed of asthma and he was healed from a life threatening attack of amoebic dysentery (Roberts 2004:2-13). Roberts remarks that his parents "believed implicitly in divine healing" (2004:5). Fred
and Nellie Roberts record having a "deeply moving experience" (2004:12) during a visit to South Africa by William Branham78 in 1951. Branham was a renowned spiritual healer at the time but later fell from grace through the development of questionable doctrines and "wildly fanciful interpretations".
The DCC often partners with healing evangelists such as Benny Hinn and provided specially packaged bus trips to Johannesburg in order for members to attend the Benny Hinn "Miracle crusades" which were held on the 9-10 of December 2005. The DCC also hosted Benny Hinn for a Sunday morning service in December 2005.
The church has occupied a Sunday morning slot on the satellite television channel Trinity Broadcasting Network, and broadcasted a segment on Sunday evening on Spirit Word T.V and a Radio Lotus show called Healing Word.
Viewers can write in and request for a free copy of a booklet written by Fred Roberts, which is titled "God will heal you79".
This booklet outlines the steps necessary for healing to take place; these include:
Make sure all sin in your life is confessed;
Have the right attitude of heart;
It is the will of God for you to be healed;
God is your healer now;
Have a strong desire to be healed; and Healing may come gradually.
Anderson (2000:2) believes that many cultures in Africa are attracted to Pentecostalism because of its emphasis on healing. The "signs and wonders"
advertised by independent Pentecostal churches create controversy, yet also rouse the attention of urban Africans, who unashamedly attend these churches for the reason that signs and wonders are being witnessed and advertised.
Former DCC Berea pastor, Vusi Dube, said, "African people are practical, they will go where the signs and wonders are. They respond to testimonies that are
78 For more on Branham see Kydd in Burgess & Van de Maas (2002: 708-709).
79 See appendix H p.299
widely advertised that these 'miracles' are taking place". According to Anderson (2000:2), the promotion of "signs and wonders" by independent Pentecostal evangelists has led to the rapid growth of Pentecostal churches in many parts of the world. The growth of the DCC can also be attributed to its claim to be "the place where miracles happen".
A popular song at the DCC, "This house is filled with healing, this house is filled with love, this house is filled with Jesus Christ", captures the feeling many DCC members experience about the role of healing in their church. Eva Percy, a member of the congregation for ten years, unquestionably endorsed this song after a series of events, which led to the "healing" of her husband from renal failure. She stated "you know when you have renal failure you're finished! God gave my Trevor back to me, he was brought back from the dead", she enthusiastically exclaimed.
Percy herself experienced a miracle, which she describes:
I went to the doctor with my husband and had my sugar tested, the reading came to 20.8. Trevor [her husband] prayed and the reading came down to half that amount. I believe the DCC has a healing anointing, 'this house is filled with healing', I will never want to be anywhere else. My daughter is in Johannesburg, my son may follow, but I would like to remain here because of my church.
Morran and Schlemmer80 (1984:127) try to compare mainline and "new charismatic church" attitudes to miracles and healing. According to their study, the new churches, which include DCC members, were more likely to embrace the notion of personal healing since they "saw God as performing very definite and dramatic miracles in their lives". They go on to argue that a "significantly greater percentage" of new Charismatics claimed that they have healed someone. Morran and Schlemmer imply that the power felt by a person who heals another is part of the attraction to the "new churches", and offer the hypothesis that this "feeling of power is an important element in the appeal of the new churches".
80 See appendix L p.319 for personal correspondence from Schlemmer concerning a retrospective view of Faith for the Fearful.
The issue of healing, signs and wonders has been receiving much attention from the secular media who scrutinise several local and international "spirit healers" such as Benny Hinn, Reinhard Bonnke, and local Kobus van Rensburg. There are also many undercover Charismatics, even in the mainline churches, who secretly attend these healing meetings or churches when they are plagued with life threatening illness. Some do receive healing and abandon the mainline churches, while others do not and return with a sense that they knew that "it was not going to work".
The issue of healing is highly contested since Pentecostals and Charismatics have built empires on healing ministries. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has begun a journey of discovery with Pentecostals who were not formally part of this "ecumenical" body81. The points of debate amongst the two parties have been predominantly, the issue of healing and the issue of the Holy Spirit. The WCC has led this dialogue and shown signs of a willingness to learn more about Pentecostal theology and practise in this regard.