A strange silence fell over Rotorua's Energy Events Centre last weekend as Bishop Brian Tamaki opened the Destiny Church annual conference with his biblical vision for a ''City of God''.

Normally, his followers would be whooping and clapping and shouting hallelujahs. But there was only scattered applause when Tamaki began talking about ''The Shift'', and how people should give up loyalties to houses, jobs and home towns. They had to understand that Destiny was no longer several churches around the country - it was one church, with one vision, Tamaki said, and that vision was all about the ''city''.

Perhaps people were just taking it all in. Maybe they were wondering, ''will I have to move to South Auckland?''

PHIL REID/Fairfax NZ DESTINY LEADER: Brian Tamaki.

Either way, the predominantly Maori crowd was not exactly dancing in the aisles as Tamaki ridiculed people's ''funny wee strange loyalty'' to a house and told them to lose their ''parochialism'' towards their home areas. Parochialism was a ''destructive force'' he had battled for years, and it would ''sabotage city building''.

Mark Vrankovich of Cultwatch, who has been studying Tamaki for 10 years, says the project could split families.

''He must know that not many people are going to move,'' Vrankovich says. ''Maori people, their families are really important, I don't imagine everyone is just going to get up and go.''

The next day Tamaki unveiled a model of the new complex, a warehouse conversion to be built at a property at Wiri in South Auckland. It looked like a convention centre rather than a city, and there was no sign of any accommodation.

Three stories high, the building will feature an auditorium, recording studios, a performing arts and science centre, a boxing gym, a bookshop, a cafe, an early childhood centre, schools, a university and a library. Really it was just a flasher version of the church's current headquarters in Allright Pl, Mt Wellington.

''I want my own kids to grow up like this, and not to have an upbringing like what I did,'' one enthusiastic church member told One News.

Tamaki talked about buying more land to make the complex even bigger to attract more members. He was typically up-front about who would have to pay for all this: his flock. The project would ''need a lot of pennies'' he said.

The church moved this week to allay fears that members would be encouraged to sell their homes and give the proceeds to the church.

In a statement to Fairfax Media, the church said: ''The Bishop presented the scope of the vision and the opportunities to be involved to the nationwide membership. There is no accommodation planned on site, meaning any people who shift to Auckland would naturally find a home in the area. Members are not being asked to sell homes to fund this project.''

It was pointed out that the new facility took in the church's existing early childhood centre, middle school and college, with plans towards tertiary education. There would be increased capacity in the area of welfare, family support and health which ''should be particularly helpful in [South Auckland]''.

Vrankovich said he hoped the church was transparent around fundraising for the venture. There have been overseas examples of evangelical pastors presenting a ''magnificent vision'' that never eventuated, he said.

''The money comes in, but it never quite gets there, it's always this carrot that gets moved ... it's a great way to fundraise.''

Tamaki's opening night conference sermon also provided a glimpse into internal ructions within Destiny.

The Bishop said he had spent seven years fighting the ''parochial spirit'' of his regional pastors and had had to let some go because they did not share his vision of a single church.

He was probably referring to several senior church leaders who have left in recent years, disillusioned with Tamaki's Messiah complex and the direction he is taking.

One of these was former Tamaki lieutenant John Weatherby, who helped establish Destiny's Auckland branch in 2000 but quit when it felt like people were being asked to honour Tamaki rather than God. The final straw for Weatherby was a bizarre sermon in which Tamaki, fresh from a trip to Hitler's former HQ in Germany, drew parallels between himself and Hitler as a ''one man guy who led an army''.

Other pastors were upset at having to hand over money to Auckland headquarters. In 2010, the Brisbane pastor, Andrew Stock, walked out, followed by most of his congregation, over money concerns. It was later revealed that Church Alive in Thames, where Stock got his start, had been sucked into the Destiny empire and eventually sold off.

Another to go was Destiny's Wellington pastor, Campbell Bond, who was told to hand over $370,000 earmarked for a Wellington church to Auckland.

What this consolidation of funds in Auckland boils down to, Vrankovich believes, is prestige. Destiny church is in decline, he said, and Tamaki is desperate to out-do the other two major ''prosperity churches'' in Auckland, City Impact and Life, which have bigger headquarters and raise more money.

By moving away from the original model of multiple branches around New Zealand and Australia and focusing on one ''mega church'' in Auckland, Vrankovich said, Tamaki gains more control, more numbers, more money.

He said there is no biblical basis for what Tamaki is doing.

But Paul Morris, a professor of religious studies at Victoria University, said ''there is a long biblical tradition that he's drawing on''. The Old Testament speaks of the rebuilding of God's home, a ''new Jerusalem'' where God will live among the people.

''That's the kind of very powerful imagery here, that this is part of the end times, although you have to be careful about the biblical language. The Hebrew word 'Ir', which means city, just means any place that's enclosed or has got a wall, so we shouldn't necessarily have a modern vision of a city.''

Morris says evangelical pastors have a long tradition of creating new projects. ''Part of this is the need to maintain the energy and commitment, the support level on the part of their followers. Tamaki fits that bill perfectly, he's never been short on vision.''

Destiny needs to re-energise its core membership after the failure of its political campaign a few years back, Morris said.

He said the idea is to create a community that doesn't just pray together but lives, studies and eats together.

This fulfills people's need for a more ''intense'' religious experience, but also has negative outcomes ''because they create a community that potentially is isolated''.

''My other anxiety is that teachings like his are most often supported by those who can least afford it. The burden of such support, and [the new project] will be trying to raise millions of dollars, is very high.''

So if Tamaki builds it, will they come? Not Matt Warren. The Rotorua businessman has known Brian and Hannah Tamaki for 20 years and has been with them since they started out in Rotorua. His son is married to their daughter.

Warren said he supports the new complex in Auckland, but is not in a position to move north.

''He [Tamaki] talked about 'The Shift', but he wasn't telling people 'hey, sell up and move up there now and be part of this'. He would love to encourage that, but at the end of the day he understands that people have got families, commitments, they've got permanent jobs.''

Warren said he noticed that people were unusually quiet as Tamaki outlined parts of his vision.

''There was contemplation. It's like 'gee, take my family up there, find a job, what sort of job am I going to end up with?' You've got to be stupid if you say you're selling tomorrow, 'I don't care about my mortgage, I'm out of here'.''

Warren said he believes in what Tamaki is doing, and had no problem with most of Destiny's money going to Auckland.

''I've got grandchildren up there that are in the church. I definitely would financially support it, rather than throw my money at Lion Breweries ... I'd rather invest in my grandchildren and the generation to come.''

Janet Wepa, a Rotorua District Councillor who has been a Destiny Church member for 17 years, said she won't be moving to Auckland either, ''but I would feel welcome at the complex, and look forward to visiting''.

She believed Tamaki was realistic about whether his followers from around the country can join him.

''Bishop Brian made it clear he would love everyone to move to Auckland to be a part of this new development. However, he has been a church leader for a long time and would know from experience that some will move because it suits them, and for others it doesn't.

''Bishop Brian likes to challenge mindsets like parochialism. This is also in line with central Government thinking wanting councils to work together more.'' Matt Warren said Tamaki's vision has always been for a single, united church together in one place.

''That's what his passion is. There are a lot of knockers out there, but they don't say anything about the Buddha church that's there [in Auckland]. It's because they've called it a 'city'. You get bagged for doing something that's positive, but at least we are building something that we believe is going to help people.''

DESTINY CHURCH - THE STORY SO FAR



1998: Born-again Christian Brian Tamaki and wife Hannah form Destiny Church.

2000: TVNZ pulls Tamaki's early-morning slot after his comments about women in power being part of the ''Devil's strategy''. The broadcaster says language and phrases in Tamaki's sermons do not meet industry standards of accuracy, fairness and balance. The show is allowed back on air after changes are made.

2003: The church's social services director, former policeman Richard Lewis, forms a political party called Destiny New Zealand.

2004: Details are revealed of Tamaki's lavish lifestyle, including gifts of Harley-Davidsons and luxury cruises. A Destiny ''contract'' tells new members that holding back tithes is ''robbing God, actually stealing''.

2004-05: Destiny Church organises a series of Enough is Enough rallies. Thousands march.

2005: Tamaki is ordained by his followers as a Bishop.

2005: Destiny New Zealand gets 0.62 per cent of the vote at general election. Two years later it is deregistered as a political party.

2008: Destiny talks of plans for a major complex in South Auckland, which critics say would be a walled city.

2009: Around 700 male members of the church swear an oath of loyalty and obedience to Tamaki, and are given ''covenant rings''.

2012: Destiny today has 11 branches, down from a high of more than 20 in the early 2000s.

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