The Eighth Annual First Lady Conference will take place on June 7-9 in Dallas, Texas, and attendees should be on the look out for contemplative themes. Two of the speakers, Kay Warren (wife of Rick Warren) and Priscilla Shirer, have contemplative affinities. Lois Evans, wife of Pastor Tony Evans, will be hosting the conference. 1

A news article on the event explains that this year’s theme for the conference is “Devotion Not Commotion.” Priscilla Shirer talks about getting rid of this “commotion” (or distractions, in other words) in last year’s Be Still DVD, which is an infomercial for contemplative prayer. The DVD that Shirer participated in also features contemplative advocates Richard Foster (Celebration of Discipline), Katherine Brown-Saltzman(a UCLA professional who uses guided imagery and meditation with her patients), Buddhist sympathizer Peter Kreeft, and Beth Moore (who later admitted she was in favor of contemplative spirituality2).

In the Be Still DVD, Priscilla Shirer explains how she now views prayer:

Most of my prayer time is filled up with what I’m saying to Him, as opposed to just being quiet and actually giving him an opportunity to speak to me. And of course I’ve thought about hearing the voice of God all my life, and I’ve thought about wanting to hear Him, but it never occurred to me that I needed to consciously go into His presence with my mouth closed, giving Him an opportunity to get a word in edgewise. And so I’ve just begun in my prayer life over the past year of my life to make a conscious effort to be in a time of prayer, and yes, to speak to Him, but to consciously say, okay, I’m done talking now, because I’m just gonna sit here in the stillness and wait to see what it is that you want to say to me.

To understand what Shirer means by “stillness” and “go into His presence,” a look at contemplative teachers she resonates with is vital. On her website (now in an archived file), Shirer recommends several contemplative mystics such as Calvin Miller (Into the Depths of God), Madame Guyon, Brother Lawrence (who danced violently like a madman when he went into contemplative states), Richard Foster, and Jan Johnson (When the Heart Waits). These authors have all played significant roles in the advancement of contemplative spirituality within Christianity. While Shirer gives a disclaimer that she may not agree with everything these authors write, she does not warn her readers about the main thesis of these author’s books – contemplative mysticism – but says they will encourage and challenge you. That’s like giving a child a handful of jelly beans, with 80% being poisonous red ones and 20% other colors, and saying, “They might not all be good for you, but I’m not going to tell you which ones are harmful so enjoy.” This kind of disclaimer means nothing except to say, “Hey don’t blame me if you get hurt.” In March of 2006, Shirer participated in the CCN Be Still project with contemplatives Dallas Willard and Richard Foster.

Kay Warren, another speaker for the upcoming women’s conference, also resonates with contemplative prayer. Listen as Ray Yungen explains:

The pastors.com website [Rick Warren's site] is saturated with favorable comments, endorsements, and promotions of many contemplatives. On two separate occasions on the website, Warren makes reference to a book his wife, Kay, recommends:

My wife, Kay, recommends this book: “It’s a short book, but it hits at the heart of the minister. It mentions the struggles common to those of us in ministry: the temptation to be relevant, spectacular and powerful. I highlighted almost every word!”

The book Kay Warren recommends is In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen. Nouwen devotes an entire chapter of that book to contemplative prayer saying:

Through the discipline of contemplative prayer, Christian leaders have to learn to listen to the voice of love … For Christian leadership to be truly fruitful in the future, a movement from the moral to the mystical is required.

Anyone who knows something about the Warrens’ background should not be surprised by their promotion of Nouwen. Rick Warren is a graduate of the Robert H. Schuller Institute for Successful Church Leadership. Schuller himself emphasized the impact that Nouwen had on his school:

All of our students have to watch and listen to Henri Nouwen. I keep interrupting and stopping the video machine, telling them to notice how he uses his hands, to look at the twinkle in his eye, to see how he connects his eye with the eye of the listener, to be aware of the words he uses–all positives, no negatives.

The Warrens took Schuller’s word for it with regard to Henri Nouwen. It’s no wonder: the Warren’s were greatly impacted by Schuller, according to a Christianity Today article, which quotes Kay Warren as saying, “He [Schuller] had a profound influence on Rick.” (from A Time of Departing, 2nd ed., pp.154-155)

Toward the end of Henri Nouwen’s life, after many years of adhering to the contemplative way, Nouwen said the following:

“Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God’s house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God.” —From Sabbatical Journey, page 51, 1998 Hardcover Edition

And it is for this very reason that we continue to warn about contemplative spirituality. Those who practice this mantric-style prayer and embrace the belief system behind it often end up with panentheistic viewpoints — going into the “stillness” changes the way one looks at God and the Gospel. Just this week, a man called us who had this exact thing happen to him. He said he was a Christian, but over time, through meditation, he began to change his views on truth and become “enlightened” (much like Sue Monk Kidd when she started reading Thomas Merton). Now, this man believes that all things are one, that God is in all things, and that while Jesus Christ has a christ-consciousness, he is not the only one who does; Gandhi, Buddha, etc. also share this virtue. This man who called us said that the world is coming into a place where all will be enlightened through a critical mass, and when I asked him about the role meditation will play in this, he acknowledged it’s significance. He also said something that is noteworthy: “Most Christians have no idea what the New Age movement is all about.” Unfortunately, he himself has become a victim to it and is immersed in its deception.

If women attending the Eighth Annual First Lady Conference are introduced to Henri Nouwen, Richard Foster, Brother Lawrence and other mystics, these women could potentially be put in harms way, and their spiritual lives may be at risk. We pray and hope that Kay Warren and Priscilla Shirer will not recommend or make favorable references to contemplative teachers. On the contrary, we hope they will issue a solid warning against contemplative spirituality.

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