May
21, 2006
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This weekend, a position
paper addressed to pastors was posted
on the Calvary Chapel website. The paper
indicates that Calvary Chapel is taking
a stand against contemplative spirituality
and the emerging church and decrees
that the title Calvary Chapel not be
attached to such movements. The statement
comes on the heels of a recent discovery
by Pastor Chuck Smith, the movement's
founder, that his book, When Storms
Come, had been tampered with unbeknownst
to him. The book was published by Thomas
Nelson and included contemplative and
Eastern meditation language, which apparently
had been added by someone doing the
final editing of the book.
Lighthouse
Trails issued two press releases regarding
the book tampering, and on May 18th,
Pastor Smith wrote an email to the editors
at Lighthouse Trails Publishing, addressing
the tampering and stating that he "prepared
a position paper to be distributed to
the Calvary Chapel pastors on the subject
of the Emergent Church and its many
divergent and unscriptural theological
positions that trouble me greatly."
Pastor Smith also thanked Lighthouse
Trails for sending him a copy of A
Time of Departing, which he said
he "read with interest," then added
"[A Time of Departing] resonates
with the concerns that I personally
have concerning the direction that many
ministries seem to be taking in their
endeavor to unify all faiths. I do believe
that straight is the gate and narrow
the way that leads to life, and as Jesus
said, He was that way, He is the truth,
and the life, and no man can come to
the Father but by Him."
There
has been a growing concern by many Calvary
Chapel pastors that some pastors and
teachers in the Calvary Chapel movement
have been promoting practices that are
related to contemplative spirituality
and Eastern religions. Regarding this,
the Calvary Chapel position paper states:
Should
we look to Eastern religions with
their practices of meditation through
Yoga and special breathing techniques
or repeating a mantra to hear God
speak to us? If this is needed to
enhance our communication with God,
why do you suppose that God did not
give us implicit instructions in the
Scriptures to give us methods to hear
His voice? Is it the position of my
body or my heart that helps me to
communicate with Him?
While
the Calvary Chapel position paper to
pastors does not specifically use the
term contemplative spirituality
when addressing the emerging church,
the philosophy and practices are
described, and we hope that pastors
will understand that contemplative prayer
is the glue that holds the emerging
church movement together and is the
main reason it should be avoided. Furthermore,
contemplative spirituality is the common
denominator in not just the emerging
church movement but other current trends
as well including the spiritual formation
movement and the Purpose Driven Life
movement. It is vital that pastors and
believers of churches in all evangelical
denominations understand that those
who regularly practice contemplative
prayer have consistently ended up with
a panentheistic view of God, which in
turn negates the message of the Cross.
The notion that we should enter into
the "silence" or an altered state of
consciousness to "hear" God is unscriptural
and downright dangerous.
Roger
Oakland, director of Understand the
Times and a frequent speaker to Calvary
Chapel churches throughout the world,
spoke to Lighthouse Trails about the
new position paper:
