A Tribute to Carol Wimber...

With the recent passing of Carol Wimber Wong, here's a tribute that includes five of the things that I valued most about her. What a gift to the Church she was!

In the early 1960’s, a young married woman was having marriage problems with her husband and they were on the path toward divorce. Though she was raised Roman Catholic, the young woman didn’t have a relationship with God, was at her last straw, drinking alcohol too much, and, in her own words, a black cloak of despair dropped over her and she believed that no one loved her. In other words, she was full of grief and despair. Yet in her desperation, she had an idea pop into her head. She thought, “I’ve completely ruined our lives and have hurt the very people that I claimed to love. I must be in the hands of the devil, if there is a devil. And if there is a devil (and my actions certainly support that possibility), then there is probably a God too, and if he is really God, he can help me and I need help!” That young woman then sincerely prayed, “Jesus, help me!!”

And help her, Jesus did! Welcome to another episode of Wednesday’s with Wimber. The story you just heard is the story of Carol Wimber’s conversion and one could argue is one of the major events that led to John Wimber’s conversion which led to not only thousands of people coming to faith in Jesus, thousands upon thousands of people discovering the power and presence of God, and to birthing not only the Vineyard Movement but also influencing Christians all over the world. The global impact of the Wimber’s is, as I’ve argued many times, understated and often unappreciated in today’s modern church. Yet often times, the focus is upon John Wimber and less on the supporting characters that surrounded him. I’ve been guilty of this and many others unintentionally do the same.

So why am I mentioning this today? Well a couple of weeks ago, Carol Wimber Wong passed away after decades of faithful service to Jesus. I had the honor of spending some time with Carol over the past few years and even had a chance to sit down with her for an interview for this YouTube channel. She was an amazing person and as I’ve spent the past couple of weeks reflecting on Carol’s life, legacy and influence over me, I thought it would be appropriate to share a few of the things that inspired me.

So on this episode of Wednesday’s w/ Wimber, here are the top five things that I personally loved and valued about Carol Wimber.

First, every time that I heard Carol Wimber speak or talked with Carol or read something she wrote, it was obvious that she was madly in love with Jesus. She had a strong grasp on the depth of God’s love and a contagious level of affection for the things of the Kingdom. Over the past thirty years of being a distant admirer of Carol, I’ve often thought to myself, “I really hope that my love for Jesus can reach the level of love that Carol has.”

The second thing that I personally appreciate about Carol Wimber is her love for the Church. Everyone knows that as a spiritual mother of the Vineyard, she had a deep love for the movement that she was foundational in developing… but her love for the Church was MUCH BIGGER than just the Vineyard. In addition to her own words of value for the wider Body of Christ, Carol valued how much John Wimber loved the whole church. In her tribute to John Wimber at his funeral, she wrote

“John loved the whole church! What was it he used to say? ‘From the bare feet and guitars, to the bells and the smells.’ From the low church, the casual church, to the high church, the liturgical church. He loved the whole church. He loved it!… But no matter how weird or strange, if there was an expression of the body of Christ there – he loved it!” — Carol Wimber, The Way It Was

I think behind John Wimber’s trans-denominational ministry to the global church, from his work as a church consultant amongst dozens of denominations and hundreds of churches to his long-standing relationship with the Anglican world, I think behind that was probably the influence of Carol Wimber. As she grew up Roman Catholic and never abandoned her love for Catholics, she seems to have influenced John early on with an understanding that the Church was much larger than one subset of Jesus followers. This seems to have inspired John Wimber’s famous statement that the Vineyard was just one vegetable in God’s stew.

Third, Carol was unapologetic and unafraid to say what was on her mind. And guess what? As a woman who had seen and done so much in her life, more power to her! I’ll never forget the first time I met her and how after we had spent a few hours together, I thought to myself, “Yo… she just tells it how it is!” I imagine this probably got John Wimber in trouble at times, but John Wimber didn’t seem like he was afraid to speak his mind and she probably got in trouble for what he said over the years… so I guess that’s a wash.

But seriously… I appreciate how Carol wasn’t afraid to tip tow around things that she had strong convictions about. Even if one disagreed with her on an issue, you have to respect her unwavering convictions and strong sense of purpose and identity. I believe that part of her strength and boldness came from spending years and years in God’s presence and having seen God do sooooo many amazing things in people’s lives. She had a keen awareness that she was a child of the King and she had gifts to offer the Church and wisdom to pass on from both experience and study.

Fourth, Carol Wimber had one of the best senses of humor that you could have. Some would argue that maybe that is a trait that comes with the Wimber name, but from my many conversations with Wimber family members, Carol had her own unique sense of humor and her own unique observations about God and the Church and ministry and people. Over the years, I’ve had a chance to sit down with many of the people that came to faith around the same time as her as well as sit down with some of her children and grandchildren and there hasn’t been a single conversation about Carol that didn’t include an absolutely hilarious story of something that she said. We’ve got a number of books on John Wimber but somebody needs to write a book on Carol!

Lastly, Carol Wimber was a model of a woman in leadership when it was still pretty controversial and less biblical theology had been done affirming the empowerment and encouragement of women in leadership. While it’s not the purpose of this video to make a biblical case for the full inclusion and encouragement of gifted woman in all church leadership roles, I do think it’s important to note that Carol was doing ministry alongside John for much of his ministry. As I’ve worked with Anglicans in England and Vineyard leaders in New Zealand, almost all of the John Wimber stories I’ve heard had Carol Wimber alongside him “doing the stuff,” as they say. Carol’s willingness to step out in faith and take risks for the kingdom harkens back to her unapologetic and unafraid nature. This is why she would share prophetic words and encouragements and exhortations when she had opportunities.

There’s so much more that could be said about Carol. As a spiritual mother to the Vineyard movement that I love and as an ambassador of the sacred trust that was given to us, Carol had much to offer us, much to encourage us with, and likely much to learn from. As John Wimber was much more than just a fat man trying to get to heaven, Carol was much more than a tiny frail woman in her later years. Carol Wimber had fire in her bones until the very day she passed into the loving arms of Jesus.

If you haven’t had a chance to read Carol Wimber’s biography on her husband and a history of the early Vineyard, I’d highly recommend that you read “John Wimber: The Way it Was.” Within it’s pages you’ll get both a sense of the tremendous move of God that happened over the course of her life and find inspiration toward the hope of a future move of God. You’ll find keen insights on the Bible, the work of the Spirit, and the nature of the Kingdom of God. And you might just learn something about people too… I now that I have.

Carol will be missed… but the legacy she left behind continues and I pray that there are thousands of other Carols that get raised up in her place… while also knowing that no one could ever replace Carol.

About the Author

Luke Geraty is a pastor-theologian in northern California. With a few theology degrees and nearly twenty years of pastoral leadership, Luke loves the Bible, theology, fly fishing, coffee, and books. All opinions are his own and not the views of any other organizations he’s affiliated with. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe to his YouTube.