When it comes to the emerging church, Christian leaders seem to lack understanding and discernment. Some books and several articles have now been written about the emerging church, and interestingly, nearly all of them lack the most important element -the emerging church (which incorporates the teachings of the Emergent leaders: McLaren, Pagitt, Kimball, etc.) is a conduit for mysticism and is heading right into the arms of Catholicism and eventually a universal interfaith church.

Many feel that the real problems with the emerging church are centered around methodology (e.g., how much lighting to have, where to hold church services, and what to wear while attending them, etc.) Such distraction from the true concerns is like telling a neighbor that his dog is tearing up the garden when his house is burning down and his children are inside.

The emerging church is fundamentally mystical as can easily be seen by the leaders who feed the emerging movement a steady diet of contemplative spirituality. Leonard Sweet, one of the emerging church movement's most prolific leaders explains the role of mysticism in the emerging church:

Mysticism, once cast to the sidelines of the Christian tradition, is now situated in postmodernist culture near the center.... In the words of one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century, Jesuit philosopher of religion/dogmatist Karl Rahner, "The Christian of tomorrow will be a mystic, one who has experienced something, or he will be nothing." [Mysticism] is metaphysics arrived at through mindbody experiences. Mysticism begins in experience; it ends in theology. (p. 160, ATOD)

Another influential emerging church leader is Spencer Burke, director of The Ooze. He explains his views on mysticism as well:

I was struck by the incredible wisdom that could be found apart from the "approved" evangelical reading list. A Trappist monk, [Thomas] Merton gave me a new appreciation for the meaning of community. His New Man and New Seeds of Contemplation touched my heart in ways other religious books had not. Not long afterward my thinking was stretched again, this time by Thich Nhat Hanh--a Buddhist monk ... Hanh's Living Buddha, Living Christ gave me insight into Jesus from an Eastern perspective. (p. 157. ATOD)

While many try to minimize the seriousness of the emerging church movement, we hope you can see where this is all going. Some say that Emergent has some problems, but emerging church is ok for the most part. But here is how it works. Emerging spirituality (which ultimately proclaims the divinity of man) has been around since the Garden of Eden when the serpent said to Eve, ye shall be as gods, and later when Lucifer said, I will be like the most High God. Emergent came on the scene when some business men (i.e., Leadership Network) launched Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball, Mark Driscoll and some others and capsulated emerging spirituality within the confines of these young leaders. Leadership Network teamed up with business guru Peter Drucker and a successful publishing house, and wham, a formula for success - the Emergent movement was birthed. These new young leaders (then called the Young Leaders Network) in turn produced books, seminars, websites, blogs, and "conversations" that bore the fruit of the current emerging church movement. And because the true premise of this movement is grounded in mysticism and Ancient Wisdom, many are grasping hold of something that has been here all along. Emergent or emerging, whatever term you want to use ... it's heading in the same direction, and that is away from the Cross.

Some may say, "But there are positive attributes to the emerging church movement." Yet would you drink a glass of mountain spring water if it had only a drop or two of cyanide? Not if you didn't want to get very, very sick.

Jesus Christ made it clear in Scripture that we are to cling to truth. HE is truth, and He is the only way to salvation. Divination (doing a ritual or performing some method in order to gain some information or "hear God"), which is the same premise as contemplative mysticism, is forbidden by God in the Bible. Salvation, and a relationship with Jesus Christ, is free. He already paid the price for us with His blood. When we accept His gift, we will have eternal life. If we reject it, we will not. And that is something to think about.

Once again, the secular media has missed the mark in their reporting about Rick Warren. ABC News Nightline interviewed Warren on March 7 and kept only to the surface when addressing the reasons some Christians are concerned about Warren's teachings (Rick Warren and Purpose-Driven Strife).

While the report said that "Warren's 'outside in' approach to church growth is now causing rumblings," it only touched on some of the symptoms of Warren's theology, such as "Madison Avenue" marketing approaches and loud music that catered more to young people and disregarded older members.

The article did not mention things like Rick Warren's goal to bring about a new reformation that includes all religions, his continued promotion and embracing of contemplative spirituality and the emerging church, his dominionist views as well as his disregard for biblical prophecy, the cruel treatment by Purpose Driven pastors towards those who do not go along with the program, and his connections to and influence by New Age sympathizers like Ken Blanchard and Robert Schuller.

The article stated: "When asked if he [Warren] thinks that some of these [church]splits are actually because Christians themselves are indulgent and refusing to change, Warren said, "Oh, without a doubt." And when asked if he blames them, he replied, "I do blame them. Every church has to make the decision. ... Is it going to live for itself, or is it going to live for the world that Jesus died for?" (Watch this video where Rick Warren says this.)

Once again, Rick Warren has publicly denounced those who resist him. So that the rest of the story can be told, we post below some of the stories we have covered regarding Rick Warren and the Purpose Driven program:

Wall Street Journal on Purpose Driven Resisters Tells Just Part of the Story

Is Rick Warren Promoting Contemplative Prayer?

Why Has Fox News Interviewed Rick Warren So Much Lately?

Rick Warren Distorts the Instructions of Jesus to Fit His Global Peace Plan

Purpose Driven Resisters - Must Leave or Die

This June, emerging church leader Erwin McManus will be one of the featured speakers at the Saddleback Church Worship Conference and Festival. As we have reported in the past, McManus' spirituality is rooted in mysticism and New thought spirituality. McManus, who says it is his goal to destroy Christianity 1, shares much of the same spiritual proclivities as Dan Kimball and other emerging church leaders who says they like Jesus but not the church or Christianity. Based on the beliefs that are being promoted by McManus and Kimball, this "Jesus" is another Jesus whom the apostle Paul warns will be preached by false teachers in the last days.

It is no surprise that McManus would team up with Rick Warren, for Warren has been promoting contemplative spirituality for many years. In his book Purpose Driven Church, he says that the spiritual formation movement is a needed wake up call to the body of Christ. He references Richard Foster and Dallas Willard as being key players in the movement. (For more information on Rick Warren's promotion of contemplative, read A Time of Departing, 2nd edition.)

Last week, we reported McManus' affinity to New Age proponent Jon Gordon. In this article, we explained McManus' discussion of the film The Secret, which is being heavily pushed by Oprah Winfrey and has a foundation in the occult. McManus explained to Gordon in a conversation (see link to report below) that the secret behind The Secret is not getting a lot of material goods but rather realizing we are all one with humanity and with God!

With recent events such as David Jeremiah's promotion of Erwin McManus 2, Beth Moore's acceptance of contemplative spirituality (and involvement with the Be Still DVD)3, and now Rick Warren's including of McManus, coupled with McManus' comments about The Secret to Jon Gordon, and the countless other detrimental compromises by Christian leaders, we may be witnessing a convergence of mainstream Christianity with a New Age spirituality that will leave what we know as Christianity unrecognizable. While emerging church and contemplative leaders (like Warren) would applaud such a union, saying that Christianity needs to be re-invented, the end results will be a religion that leaves out the Cross and the gospel message of Jesus Christ and will rather cling to a sensual, carnal and dark religion. We beseech Christian pastors and leaders to quickly repent and turn back to the faith before it is too late.

For more information:

They Like Jesus, But Not the Church by Dan Kimball (A Book Review)

A SPECIAL REPORT: The Secret Behind the Secret

by Roger Oakland

Promoters of the emergent conversation say we are on the verge of an era that promises renewed spiritual awareness. "Spiritual disciplines" are being touted as the avenue to a "spiritual reformation" that will take Christianity to a new and higher level of spirituality drawing all participants closer to God.

Books published by major Christian publishers written by well known authors are plentiful on this topic. For example, J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler are both professors at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in southern California. Moreland is professor of philosophy. Issler is professor of Christian education and theology. In 2006, Navpress published a book they co-authored titled The Lost Virtue of Happiness: Discovering the Disciplines of the Good Life. On the back cover, the following statement is made:

Authors J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler illustrate how we are happy only when we pursue a transcendent purpose -- something larger than ourselves. This involves a deeply meaningful relationship with God through a selfless preoccupation with the spiritual disciplines. The Lost Virtue of Happiness takes a fresh look at the spiritual disciplines, offering concrete examples of ways you can make them practical and life transforming.

The title gives a good overview of what the book is about. Moreland and Issler believe they have rediscovered important spiritual principles that have been lost. If you follow these principles and they become part of your everyday Christian life, you can be transformed.

Click here to read this entire article.

From Understand the Times

This article is a must read if you want to understand where the Emerging Church is headed. New Age mysticism based on pagan religious practices is now being introduced in churches that are called "Christian." While the practices that are described in this article are not yet mainstream in the emergent movement, it will only be a matter of time. The delusion described by Paul in 2 Thessalonians chapter two is underway.

Feeling the beat: The spiritual side of drum circles

When drummers gather at an Episcopal church, experience is optional

BY ZACHARY REID
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Offer an odd assortment of drums to 21 enthusiastic novices, and meditative tranquillity would seem an unlikely possibility.

The quiet path to inner peace looks more like a parade route.

With the skill of a seasoned grand marshal, Cory Blake takes the discordant pieces and leads the group into an amazingly alluring beat.

Listen for a few minutes and you understand why shamans use drums to lure themselves into trances.

"It's a contemplative tradition," Blake says of the drum circle he's leading. "It speaks directly to the intelligence of the body." Click here to read this entire article.

For more information on drumming (in relation to New Age practices), click here.

by Steve Muse of Eastern Regional Watch

As I read Dan Kimball's book, The Emerging Church, I realized the book opened up a Pandora's Box of concerns for what Kimball was communicating to this new generation of churches about vintage Christianity. Reading the book, I became impressed with a very disturbing sense that Kimball is attempting to take today's youth back into an experience-based relationship with God much like the Catholic mystics have revealed to us through their writings. And now through contemplative prayer and contemplative spirituality we are to come into a deeper relationship with God. On the Internet, countless sites promote the Emerging Church experience with its myriad forms of worship and prayer-and on most of these sites Kimball's book is heartily promoted.

When I discovered Kimball's article on labyrinth prayer on his website (now on Christianity Today site), I was almost sickened. As a former occultist, I learned such practices many years ago and even now, I have talked with former occultists who are shocked to see a demonic practice revived within the churches in the body of Christ.

More than thirty years ago, as an occultist, I was deeply involved in mysticism and the practice of contemplative prayer. I learned this meditation technique from studying Catholic mystics who said then, and even teach now, that one does not have to believe in Jesus Christ to enter into the contemplative experience but that all roads would take us to the same destination. I went even further by becoming a disciple of Transcendental Meditation, which was identical to the Catholic contemplative prayer techniques I had already learned. Those I walked with into this journey of mysticism experienced a much deeper spiritual realm leading many into relationships with seducing spirits rather than with God. These same techniques are encouraged by today's new mystics and especially New Age advocates-such advocates feel encouraged to see Christians moving into this type of prayer experience. Read more....

For more information on the teachings of Dan Kimball, click here.

by Paul Proctor (News with Views)

COMMENTARY BY PAUL PROCTOR
News With Views

"I guess it helps to have powerful friends at The Council on Foreign Relations, because the Purpose Driven Pastor, Rick Warren, has once again been puff pieced by the mainstream media - this time at ABC News - with an article subtitled: "Pastor's Unconventional Approach Inspires Some, Alienates Others."

"Unfortunately, that title is about as hard-hitting as ABC News gets in this little dialectic exercise - just enough to make you to want read the piece - and lame enough to make you wish you hadn't. This is controlled opposition at it finest, friends - guaranteed to neutralize naysayers by boring the as-yet- uninformed with all the trivial and underwhelming aspects of the Purpose Driven movement till everyone's sick of the subject and thoroughly convinced it is all much ado about nothing." Click here to read this entire commentary.

Recently, with the explosion of the film The Secret, we posted an article about Secret teacher Jack Canfield (the creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series). In the article, "Understanding the Spirituality of Jack Canfield," Canfield is quoted as saying:

Every religion I've looked at has some technology ... I've studied all of them and found what works for me and I've tried to make it available to others. What works for me is a combination of disciplines: I do yoga, tai chi which is a Chinese martial art and three kinds of meditation- vipasana, transcendental and mantra (sound) meditation. If you have to pick a yoga for me, I lean towards bhakii in the sense of devotion, adoration, singing, feeling love and joy exist in my heart."-Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, from "Choosing to Be Happy

While it is clear that Chicken Soup for the Soul has targeted the Christian market (with several Chicken Soup for the Christian books), it is unsettling to see a major Christian publisher (NavPress) take it a step further and publish Chicken Soup for the Soul Bible (2004). The "Bible" is published through Pinion Press, an imprint of NavPress. In a phone call to NavPress, we were told that the book is currently out of stock and is being considered for possibly non-reprint as sales of the book have dropped. Incidentally, Pinion Press has also published Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen.

The Chicken Soup for the Soul Bible is not the first time NavPress has shown affinity with contemplative spirituality or eastern mysticism. They are also the producers of PrayKids, a magazine that encourages kids to practice contemplative prayer.1 In addition, NavPress is the publisher for several contemplative and/or emerging church authors, including Brennan Manning, Dan Allender, Larry Crabb, Bruce Demarest , Tony Jones, Eugene Peterson, Dallas Willard, and Gary Thomas. NavPress is the publisher for the popular The Message Bible by Eugene Peterson.

It doesn't look like NavPress is going to halt their promotion of contemplative spirituality any time soon. New Releases include Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice by Dallas Willard, The Complete Book of Discipleship by Bill Hull, Inside Out (updated edition) by Larry Crabb,The Great Pursuit by Eugene Peterson, Divine Intervention: Encountering God Through the Ancient Practice of Lectio Divina by Tony Jones, and another version of The Message.

For more information on NavPress, click here.

As contemplative spirituality and emerging church mentality is racing into most Christian colleges and seminaries, perhaps we should take a glimpse at what a truly contemplative/emerging college looks like. Andover Newton Theological School may be just such an example. Started in 1807, it is the oldest graduate school of theology in the United States. It's mission statement says the "graduate theological school [is]in the Reformed tradition, in faithfulness to Jesus Christ."

Unfortunately, Andover Newton is an example of what Christian colleges are going to look like in the future. During this present week, student activities include the following:

Mandala Meditation Group
Abrahamic Interfaith Forum
Yoga Wednesday Mornings
Labyrinth Walk
The Spirit Among Us: Group Spiritual Direction
A service of Holy Eucharist

Other activities at the school range from gay and lesbian meetings, classes using Brian McLaren's books for study, and lots of opportunities to practice mantra meditation. But before the evangelical Christian is too quick to show shock and dismay at Andover Newton, he or she needs to understand that this is what evangelical colleges are going to look like in the near future, and many of them already do. And even some of the most conservative Christian leaders are standing by while it is happening.

A partial list of such colleges reveals that such colleges number more than just a few. In fact, it is becoming more the exception than the rule for a Christian college NOT to be promoting contemplative/emerging spirituality. If you have a young college-age child, please prayerfully and carefully consider which college you are going to send them to.

If you know of other Bible believing colleges or seminaries that do not promote cp or have a spiritual formation program, let us know.

Disclaimer: These colleges are listed, not necessarily as an endorsement or recommendation, but rather to show schools that do not have Spiritual Formation programs, nor do we know of any promotion of contemplative prayer or the emerging church within each of these schools. They also do not promote Purpose Driven materials which are a catalyst for contemplative spirituality. Before sending your student to any of the schools listed below, please check out other criteria at the school that will influence your student.

Ambassador Baptist College (North Carolina)

Baptist Bible College & Graduate School (Missouri)

Berean Bible Institute (Wisconsin)

Bob Jones University (South Carolina)

Boston Baptist College (Massachusetts)

Calvary Chapel Bible College (California)

Corban College (formerly Western Baptist College - Oregon)

The Masters College (California)

Pensacola Christian College (Florida)

Pillsbury Baptist Bible College (Minnesota)

If you know of a Bible-believing Christian college or seminary that does not promote contemplative or emerging and does not have a Spiritual Formation program, please drop us an email and tell us the name of the institution. We would like to post some of these on our research site.

This month marks the end of the 5th year for Lighthouse Trails Publishing. As many of you already know, we began this ministry/company after reading a manuscript by Ray Yungen, which later became our first release, A Time of Departing.

We want to take this opportunity to thank those who have emailed, written or called over the past five years to encourage and uplift us. We hope we have been able to do the same to many of you. God bless you and keep you in the shadow of His wings.

For more information about how we began, click here.