The Living Word Fellowship
Encyclopedia
The Living Word Fellowship is a group of nondenominational
Christian
churches located in the United States, Canada
, Brazil
, and Mexico
, often described as a new religious movement
or cult
. The group was founded in South Gate, California
, by John Robert Stevens
in 1951. It has been known in the past informally as "The Walk" or "This Walk", reflecting the view that every Christian should have a personal walk with Jesus Christ.
At its peak in the 1970s, the fellowship had about 100 member congregations. It was based at Shiloh, a farm and retreat site near Washington, Iowa
. Membership declined after founder Stevens' death in 1983.
Anthony Cox's 1985 documentary film
Vain Glory deals with his experiences as a member of "The Walk." Cox, who was involved in the group from 1971 to 1977, described the Church of the Living Word as "a pseudo-Christian cult" and said that John Robert Stevens prayed
for the deaths of several U.S. political leader
s and practiced a form of mind control
and hypnotism with the church's followers.
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
churches located in the United States, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, often described as a new religious movement
New religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
or cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
. The group was founded in South Gate, California
South Gate, California
South Gate is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The sixteenth largest city in Los Angeles County, it encompasses . South Gate is located just southeast of downtown Los Angeles It is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County...
, by John Robert Stevens
John Robert Stevens
John Robert Stevens founded The Living Word Fellowship in the 1950s and was the movement's leader until his death....
in 1951. It has been known in the past informally as "The Walk" or "This Walk", reflecting the view that every Christian should have a personal walk with Jesus Christ.
At its peak in the 1970s, the fellowship had about 100 member congregations. It was based at Shiloh, a farm and retreat site near Washington, Iowa
Washington, Iowa
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,047 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. Membership declined after founder Stevens' death in 1983.
Anthony Cox's 1985 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Vain Glory deals with his experiences as a member of "The Walk." Cox, who was involved in the group from 1971 to 1977, described the Church of the Living Word as "a pseudo-Christian cult" and said that John Robert Stevens prayed
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
for the deaths of several U.S. political leader
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s and practiced a form of mind control
Mind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
and hypnotism with the church's followers.