Agape International Spiritual Center

Last updated

The Agape International Spiritual Center is a transdenominational congregation currently holding Sunday services at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, California, founded in 1986 by Michael Bernard Beckwith. [1] Agape International Spiritual Center is the flagship location of the Agape Movement founded by Beckwith, an international New Thought belief community founded in the tradition of Religious Science, that has expanded into a trans-denominational international community, with members, spiritual practitioners, ministers and ministries across the globe, international live-streaming services, [2] [3] and its affiliate congregations, Agape East Spiritual Center, in Norfolk, Virginia; Agape Bay Area in Oakland, CA; and SoulCenterOC, in Irvine, CA.

Contents

Agape International Spiritual Center Agape Spiritual Center.JPG
Agape International Spiritual Center

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)</span> Mainline Protestant (religious) denomination

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th century as a loose association of churches working towards Christian unity, then slowly forming quasi-denominational structures through missionary societies, regional associations, and an international convention. In 1968, the Disciples of Christ officially adopted a denominational structure at which time a group of churches left to remain nondenominational.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unitarian Universalism</span> Non-creedal liberal religion

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious movement characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. Unitarian Universalists do not have an official, unified corpus of sacred texts but rather draw inspiration and guidance from the six sources: personal experience, prophetic utterances, world religions, Jewish and Christian teachings, humanist teachings, and spiritual teachings. Unitarian Universalist congregations include many atheists, agnostics, deists, and theists; there are churches, fellowships, congregations, and societies around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chabad</span> Hasidic Jewish movement

Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Renewal</span> Movement in Judaism

Jewish Renewal is a Jewish religious movement originating in the 20th century that endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, and musical practices. Specifically, it seeks to reintroduce the "ancient Judaic traditions of mysticism and meditation, gender equality and ecstatic prayer" to synagogue services. It is distinct from the baal teshuva movement of return to Orthodox Judaism.

Nondenominational Christianity consists of churches, and individual Christians, which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligning with a specific Christian denomination. According to Arizona Christian University's Cultural Research Center, nondenominational faith leaders typically maintain a biblical worldview at higher percentages than those of other Christian groups.

Christ Gospel Church ("CGC") is a fundamentalist, Pentecostal non-denominational church organization founded in the 1950s by Berniece Hicks in Louisville, Kentucky, after Hicks split from William Branham's congregation.

The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity, with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spiritual gifts (charismata). It has affected most denominations in the United States, and has spread widely across the world.

Transformational Christianity, or Transformationalism, represents a fusion of evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, and ecumenism that started becoming prominent in the early 21st century. Unlike previous movements, it is typically embodied in regional meta-church organizations—alliances of churches from different denominational backgrounds—rather than particular churches, denominations, or parachurch organizations. Critics of Transformationalism accuse it of overemphasizing eschatology, false dichotomies, unnecessary idealism and a tendency to be corrosive of individual church identities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious Science</span> Religious movement established in 1926

The Religious Science movement, or Science of Mind, was established in 1926 by Ernest Holmes and is a spiritual, philosophical and metaphysical religious movement within the New Thought movement. In general, the term "Science of Mind" applies to the teachings, while the term "Religious Science" applies to the organizations. However, adherents often use the terms interchangeably.

The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was formalized in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer. "In March 1888 Cramer and her husband Frank chartered the 'Home College of Spiritual Science'. Two months later Cramer changed the name of her school to the 'Home College of Divine Science'." during the dramatic growth of the New Thought Movement in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reconstructionist Rabbinical College</span> Jewish seminary in Wyncote, Pennsylvania

The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) is a Jewish seminary in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. It is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. RRC has an enrollment of approximately 80 students in rabbinic and other graduate programs.

Logos Foundation was an influential and controversial Christian ministry that flourished in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s under the leadership of Howard Carter, originally a Baptist pastor from Auckland, New Zealand. Logos Foundation was initially a trans-denominational charismatic teaching ministry, primarily Protestant but with some ties to Catholic lay groups and individuals.

The Apostolic-Prophetic movement is a US-based Christian movement founded in the early 2000s. It is a network of non-denominational alliances of independent churches and ministries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Christian Church in Canada</span>

The Evangelical Christian Church(Christian Disciples) as an evangelical Protestant Canadian church body. The Evangelical Christian Church's national office in Canada is in Waterloo, Ontario.

Michael Bernard Beckwith is a New Thought minister, author, and founder and spiritual director of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Beverly Hills, California.

Orthodox Jewish outreach, often referred to as Kiruv or Qiruv, is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-observant Jews to encourage belief in God and life according to Jewish law. The process of a Jew becoming more observant of Orthodox Judaism is called teshuva making the "returnee" a baal teshuva. Orthodox Jewish outreach has worked to enhance the rise of the baal teshuva movement.

The history of New Thought started in the 1830s, with roots in the United States and England. As a spiritual movement with roots in metaphysical beliefs, New Thought has helped guide a variety of social changes throughout the 19th, 20th, and into the 21st centuries. Psychologist and philosopher William James labelled New Thought "the religion of healthy-mindedness" in his study on religion and science, The Varieties of Religious Experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentecostalism in Australia</span>

Pentecostalism in Australia is a large and growing Christian movement. Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. It emerged from 19th century precursors between 1870 and 1910, taking denominational form from c. 1927. From the early 1930s, Pentecostal denominations multiplied, and there are now several dozen, the largest of which relate to one another through conferences and organisations such as the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship. The Australian Christian Churches, formerly known as the Australian Assemblies of God, is the oldest and longest lasting Pentecostal organisation in Australia. The AOG/ACC is also the largest Pentecostal organisation in Australia with over 300,000 members in 2018. Until 2018, Hillsong Church was one of 10 megachurches in Australia associated with the ACC that have at least 2,000 members weekly. According to the church, over 100,000 people attend services each week at the church or one of its 80 affiliated churches located worldwide.

Derek Grier is a nationally recognized clergyman and the founding pastor of Grace Church located in Dumfries, Virginia.

References

  1. Finley, S.C. and Alexander, T. (2009) African American religious Agape provides weekly services led by Beckwith, the Agape University of Transformational Studies and Leadership, and various ministries and outreach programs.
  2. Jackson-Fossett, Cora, LA Sentinel. (2016) "Focused, intentional, and dedicated to service exemplify the ministry of the Rev. Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith. Empowered by those traits, he founded Agape International Spiritual Center and three decades later, the fellowship reaches thousands of people around the world."
  3. Carter, Dr. Lawrence E., Dean of Morehouse College International Chapel (2019) "Since its doors opened in 1986, Agape’s active teaching and practice of the New Thought-Ancient Wisdom tradition of spirituality has expanded into a trans-denominational movement and community of 9,000 local members and 1,000,000 friends worldwide. Through Dr. Beckwith’s weekly services, Agape's University of Transformational Studies and Leadership classes, ministries and other outreach programs, the heart of Agape reaches deep into local and global communities teaching individuals about the transforming, healing power of prayer, meditation, and selfless service."