Now
that emerging church leaders have aligned themselves with
the contemplative prayer movement, reading A
Time of Departing and Faith Undone is more crucial than ever.
The books that exposes the truth about the
contemplative prayer movement!
The
Emerging Church and Catholicism
"While
Rick Warren, Dan Kimball and Dr. Robert Webber and others
may be excited about the 'Emerging Church' and the direction
it is presently headed, I am concerned the 'Emerging Church'
may actually be a re-emergence of what has already occurred
in church history. If the pattern continues expect to
see evangelical Protestants become more and more Roman
Catholic."—Roger Oakland, Understand the
Times, Read Entire
Article
The
Practices of the emerging church movement
Missing
the Point About the Emerging Church
Scholars who are now
critiquing the emerging church may be missing the most important
element of all.
Many think that one of the
big problems with the Emerging Church is their view on relativism
(the belief that there are no absolutes). But they may be
wrong, very wrong. Brian McLaren rejected relativism in
a Powerpoint presentation we viewed last year. Relativism
does not describe the Emerging Church. As McLaren himself
said, it has to go beyond that ... and indeed it does. Where
do we go from relativism, according to McLaren ... what
else .... interspirituality. But remember interspirituality
is the outcome of contemplative prayer and is the uniting
of all religions and the denial that Jesus Christ as the
only way of salvation. So many of the scholars who are analyzing
the emerging church may be missing something that is right
under their noses. Want to find out where the emerging church
is really heading ... you are going to have to look beyond
the obvious. When you reach that destination, you may be
in for the shock of your life.
"Changes
in today's church are happening so frequently, so profoundly,
that we can't tell for certain where we're going. In fact,
if we finally get there, will we even call it 'church'?"—from
an emerging church leader at A
Prophetic Compass for the Emerging Church, the website
of Dr. Thomas Hohstadt and Damah Mediah (Endorsed
by Brian McLaren, Leonard
Sweet and Sally Morgenthaler)
Brian
McLaren and Interspirituality
Emerging
church leader Brian McLaren promotes an interspirituality that says, "Christianity
is too limiting." Read about Brian McLaren's new
kind of spirituality.
Emerging
Church and Contemplative Prayer
"'Emergent'
folks are Christians who are impatient with rigid megachurch
formulas and noisy doctrinal in-fighting.... They're hammering
out a theology that's friendly to ancient faith practices
(contemplative prayer, labyrinths, hospitality) in a postmodern
world of quantum physics, 24/7 media and coffee-house culture."—From
Ray Waddle -- 'Emergent' Christians Seek Spirituality
...labyrinths,
icons, incense, chanting, candles, centering and
contemplative prayer...
Without
contemplative spirituality, the emerging church
would be nothing more than couches and candles.
"Congregations
blend ancient worship practices, using meditation, candles
and incense, with rock music ..." —The
New York Times, 2004, Hip
New Churches Sway to a Different Drummer
According
to a February 11th article in Christian Today, "New Bible
Project for Young Generation Launched", Thomas Nelson's
2006 "Bible" project called The Voice is going full speed
ahead. The project, announced by TN last spring, is a
"re-telling of the Bible that consists of creative voices
from historians to poets, storytellers to songwriters,"
and is for young people who are "searching for new ways
to explore the Bible, or who are seeking to read it for
the first time." The project will be a combination of
books, music CDs, artwork and an interactive website.
With the largest Christian publisher backing the project,
there is little doubt that The Voice will reach countless
young people and have a significant impact in many lives. Read
on...
"This is the message which we have heard
from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness
at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as
He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." I John 1:5-7
Featured Resources
Contemplative Spirituality: A belief system that
uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness
(the silence) and is rooted in mysticism and the occult but often wrapped
in Christian terminology. The premise of contemplative spirituality
is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all). Common
terms used for this movement are "spiritual formation," "the
silence," "the stillness," "ancient-wisdom,"
"spiritual disciplines," and many others.
Spiritual Formation: A movement that has provided a platform and a channel through which contemplative prayer is entering the church. Find spiritual formation being used, and in nearly every case you will find contemplative spirituality. In fact, contemplative spirituality is the heartbeat of the spiritual formation movement.
