According to a June 23rdChristianity Today article titled, "Less Edgy Conferences," the Zondervan-owned organization Youth Specialties is going to make "dramatic shifts" this fall at their National Youth Workers Conventions. The CT article, which is based on a pod-cast by Youth Specialties president, Mark Oestreicher, suggests that these changes being brought about could be because of financial difficulties within and criticism against this emerging church organization. The article says that the biggest change is that the expected 3000+ attendees at the tri-city event can "expect keynote speakers to address fewer hot-button issues from the main stage than in years past."

Organizers hope to build a "more unifying" gathering, the CT article states, that will draw a broader scope of attendees, from "Catholic" to mainline Protestant to "conservative evangelicals" with the hope of focusing more on what these groups have in "common," which the article says is "the gospel of Jesus Christ." Youth Specialties president (who took over after founder Mike Yaconelli was killed in a car accident a few years ago) says: "Whether you're a liberal [Methodist] or Presbyterian or some other denomination like that, or whether you come from a Southern Baptist church or an independent Bible church, those are things we can stack hands on." In Oestreicher's podcast announcement (which prompted the CT article), he says that "the shift that we are trying to bring this year is rather than to say instead of focusing on acknowledging that we all have differences ... let's kind of go toward a kingdom of God theological perspective."

This "kingdom of God theological perspective" is the same "perspective" that Lighthouse Trails discussed in our article on Mike Erre's book, Death by Church. Erre, who recently spoke at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa to thousands of youth, lays out a manifesto of the "kingdom of God" perspective in his book with elements such as panentheism (God in all things), universalism (all of creation being saved), kingdom-now theology, etc. This IS the very perspective that Youth Specialties has been promoting for many years.

The article admits that past conferences have focused on "challeng[ing] audiences and offer[ing] fresh, even controversial, theological perspectives," but "in recent years, Youth Specialties has faced a backlash from certain segments of its constituency, Oestreicher acknowledged."

Last year, for example, one featured speaker was Andrew Marin, president and founder of the Marin Foundation, a nonprofit that builds bridges between the religious and gay communities. Marin's appearance hit a nerve with some, but not all, conservatives, and probably prompted Youth Specialties' decision to "play it safe" at the upcoming conventions.

What the article does not mention is that Marin Foundation is an advocacy group for the homosexual lifestyle and integrating this lifestyle into "the body of Christ."2The article states that Marin Foundation will be participating at this year's event as well in workshops.

The CT article emphasizes that Oestreicher "remains committed to 'pushing the envelope'":

"There's definitely an opportunity to engage in discussions around topics," he said. "It's not like we're trying to make this a vanilla event that is lowering the bar to the least common denominator so that we can all agree on everything and create some kind of false utopia."

Basically, what we have described is the essence of the CT article. And now for the rest of the story:

The Christianity Today article has left much to be desired in understanding what is taking place here. The first thing that comes to our minds when reading this article are the words of the esotericist Alice Bailey (who coined the term New Age) when she said that the day would come when it would be vital for those who are seeking to bring about the new spirituality (the Age of Aquarius) would have to infiltrate the Christian church, leaving the outer layers intact (so as not to cause alarm), while working vigorously to change the structure from the inside. Then later these outer wrappings could be eliminated as well. Those who are familiar with the history and the mission of Youth Specialties and the emerging church, as a whole, will understand that these "dramatic shifts" being presented by Youth Specialties are put in place because criticism and challenge (by Bible-believing ministries) have revealed to many the anti-biblical approach of this and other similar groups. While appealing to Christian youth and youth workers, such groups have, whether wittingly or unwittingly, deceived many and led countless young people toward an emerging, mystical spirituality. They have inadvertently put the faith of exposed young people at risk.

So while this effort to draw the more conservative circles of Christianity in is taking place, the theological underpinnings will remain the same. The CT article admits, "I don't see a big ideological shift here. I see a business plan in action."

What are those ideologies that aren't changing? First let's take a look at the history of Youth Specialties. In Faith Undone, in a section titled "Shaping the Minds of Our Youth," Oakland talks about the beginning days of Youth Specialties in the late 1960s and how within a few years the organization had won the attention of Christian publishing house, Zondervan. Mike Yaconelli and Wayne Rice (the founders of Youth Specialties) "wanted to change the way youth ministry was viewed and approached." Over the next thirty years, the two companies published over 500 resources for youth workers. In 1984, Zondervan signed a co-publishing deal with Youth Specialties, and worth noting, in 1988, Rupert Murdoch's multi-billion dollar corporation purchased Zondervan (which of course later became Rick Warren's publisher).

Twelve years after the 1988 purchase, Youth Specialties partnered with the liberal/mystical-promoting San Francisco Theological Seminary. The two organizations resonated with each other: YS had already begun hooking up with Emergent (from Leadership Network at the time). Oakland states: "Sharing many of the same spiritual affinities as Emergent, Youth Specialties hoped to help take the movement to the next level with more books, more conferences, and more growth" (Faith Undone, pp. 35-36).

Youth Specialties has sought after that "next level" with the help of some of the most contemplative and emerging type figures and mystical practices and exercises. The books published through the YS/Zondervan partnership have equally advocated such a spirituality time and time again.

We would like to issue this alert, especially to those conservative Christians that YS will be hoping to connect with. While the outer layers may be changed to look more "Christian," there is no indication that YS is changing its ideologies or spiritual approaches. But there is every reason for us to believe that the faith of the youth workers attending the YS National Youth Workers event will be at as much risk as ever. Remember, spiritual deception looks very much like the right thing. But it is anything but that.

Lighthouse Trails first reported on Youth Specialties over four years ago. We hope our reports have had some kind of impact in helping believers become more informed of the new spirituality. This new mystical spirituality, which of course really isn't new, will ultimately lead adherents away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and toward "another gospel" and "another Jesus" (II Corinthians 11:14).

This year's National Youth Worker's Convention is going to bring the same genre of spiritual figures and opportunities as in the past. The line-up includes the following emerging/contemplative speakers: Dan Kimball, Mark Oestreicher, Duffy Robbins, Jim Burns, Scot McKnight, Don Miller, and Tony Campolo (all of which you can read about on the research site), as well as Anthony Marin of the Marin Foundation. So while YS organizers are stating that there is going to more focus on the gospel and less on controversial issues, they are including speakers (like Tony Campolo), who advocate mystical practices and emerging spirituality (see link below). Duffy Robbins and his wife Maggie are the authors of Enjoy the Silence, a book sold by YS and one that promotes contemplative prayer practices (e.g. lectio divina). Incidentally, Maggie Robbins, who was trained at the Kairos School of Spiritual Formation, will be teaching a workshop based on that book. Another workshop to be held is called "Creating Sacred Spaces" taught by contemplative advocate Lilly Lewin (please check out her website). In addition to the event's speakers and their mystical propensities, on the current Youth Specialties website store, they are still selling an array of highly contemplative/emerging books, such as Tony Jones' book, The Sacred Way, where he devotes entire chapters to subjects such as centering prayer, the "prayer of the heart" (contemplative), and The Cloud of Unknowing (pp. 71-72). With all of this, and even more, coming out of Youth Specialties, this hardly seems like "dramatic shifts." For those who are skeptical, spend some time on the conference website and research some of the other speakers. We believe you will find that the majority are those in the contemplative and/or emerging camp. So while Youth Specialties has made the announcement that they are going to be more "gospel" focused, the reality of what is going to take place is entirely different. And yet most people who read the Christianity Today article will think things are changing for the good at Youth Specialties, and they will never know the truth.

In Oestreicher's podcast, he mentions the Independent fundamentalist denomination as one he is hoping will be part of the new shift at Youth Specialties. This is one denomination that has not had much infiltration by the emerging movement as of yet. But by the looks of it, they are going to be wooed by the movement as have other evangelical organizations such as Calvary Chapel, Southern Baptist, Church of the Nazarene, Christian Missionary Alliance, Foursquare, Assemblies of God etc. The adversary of our Lord (and the Bride of Christ) means business--he is out to get our youth. May the Lord give believers wisdom and understanding regarding this deception. While his tactics will become more obscure as his plans are exposed, as believers, let us not be ignorant of his devices.

Related:

Youth Specialties Shifts Convention Approach to Avoid Controversy

More from YS on the changes

 

Tim Keller, senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, in New York City, is a popular Christian pastor and speaker. The June 2009 Christianity Today cover story is about Tim Keller. The cover article, "How Tim Keller Found Manhattan," talks about Keller's 5000+, 3-location church and their vision to help Manhattan. Since Keller began his ministry in Manhattan, police records show that certain aggravated crimes have dropped substantially. Of Keller and his wife, the CT article states:

Tim always preaches with a non-Christian audience in mind, not merely avoiding offense, but exploring the text to find its good news for unbelievers as well as believers. The church emphasizes excellence in music and art, to the point of paying their musicians well. And it calls people to love and bless the city.

According to the article, Redeemer has helped to plant 65 churches. But with all these seemingly high recognitions and while Keller has become a sought after speaker at Christian conferences, (such as Willow Creek's Leadership Summit 2009 and the Gospel Coalition (with D.A. Carson, John Piper and Erwin Lutzer), Keller's church, Redeemer Presbyterian, is bringing contemplative spirituality to their congregants.

This past Spring, under the church's School of Gospel Foundations program, one of Redeemer's staff, Susan Castillo, introduced centering prayer and a number of other contemplative practices and beliefs through "The Way of the Monk" day-long workshop. The description for one of the three classes reads:

In this session, we will focus on Centering Prayer, an age-old practice of authentic Christian meditation. We will cover history, technique, obstacles, and how to overcome them. We will also devote ample time to actual practice and Q &A. We will learn how to properly prepare by grounding ourselves in God's Word. As a prelude, we will consider the purpose, power, and biblical precedent for silence, solitude, and contemplative practice.

The other two classes that day were "Prayer Rope" and "The Divine Office/ Liturgy of the Hours," both of which have the contemplative essence. According to Keller's church website:

[Castillo] "wholly espouses Reformed Presbyterian theology while continuing to embrace her 'inner monk.' Sometimes referred to as 'The Retreat Lady,' she has been fleeing to monasteries to 'honeymoon with Jesus' for over ten years.

The "inner monk" is another term for "inner self." On the Way of the Monk website, it describes the inner self as such:

The awakened inner Self now goes in search of the Supreme Self. This is the purpose of monastic life. It is a search, a diligent search for higher consciousness, which culminates in discovering the 'eternal relation' that exists between the reality in you and the reality behind all creation [classic Hinduism]. (You have emptied yourself of yourself so that yourself settles totally into the self.)

Redeemer Presbyterian's Way of the Monk workshop is not an isolated incident at their church. On the website, there are several other indications: an article on meditation written by contemplative advocate and spiritual director Jan Johnson who talks in the article about lectio divina and Ignatius exercises.1 Ray Yungen discusses Johnson's contemplative viewpoint in A Time of Departing:

Jan Johnson in her book, When the Soul Listens: Finding Rest and Direction in Contemplative Prayer, is a perfect example of an evangelical Christian who endorses and promotes this practice. She leaves no doubt about what this type of prayer entails:

Contemplative prayer, in its simplest form, is a prayer in which you still your thoughts and emotions and focus on God Himself. This puts you in a better state to be aware of God's presence, and it makes you better able to hear God's voice, correcting, guiding, and directing you.

Johnson's explanation of the initial stages of contemplative prayer leaves no doubt that "stilling" your thoughts means only one thing; she explains:

In the beginning, it is usual to feel nothing but a cloud of unknowing.... If you're a person who has relied on yourself a great deal to know what's going on, this unknowing will be unnerving.

(ATOD, 2nd ed., p. 82)

This cloud of unknowing is from a book written by an anonymous monk centuries ago called The Cloud of Unknowing, a primer on mantra-type meditation.

Another instructive article on the Redeemer site called "Lectio Divina - "Divine Reading" is written by staunch contemplative proponent David Benner, author of Sacred Companions.2 And under leadership on their church website, Redeemer recommends Henri Nouwen's book, In the Name of Jesus, where Nouwen says that Christian leaders must move from the "moral to the mystical."3

In The Cloud of Unknowing, it states: "Take just a little word, of one syllable rather than of two ... With this word you are to strike down every kind of thought under the cloud of forgetting." In The Cloud of Unknowing, as with other contemplative authors, it says that this form of prayer will unite the soul with God. That is said because it is believed by mystics that God and man are one and that God dwells in all humanity and all creation--and through meditation, man comes to this realization that he cannot see without meditation. Thus, the fruit, if you will, of contemplative prayer is interspirituality and panentheism.

And herein lies the problem. As an increasing number of proclaiming Christian leaders and pastors move their followers toward this mystical spirituality wherein a word or phrase is repeated until a state of silence is reached (or that place of unknowing) or the breath is focused upon to gain the same results as the repeated word or phrase, the question must be asked and answered, is this a legitimate form of biblical meditation, or is it no different than transcendental meditation and Hinduism (with Christian spray paint) where the soul is said to be brought into unity with the Divine? We hope and pray that discerning Christians will study this matter and come to realize contemplative spirituality is a doctrine of demons (I Timothy 4:1), leading practitioners away from the true Gospel and toward an earthly deceptive gospel that says man is God.

If Tim Keller's church continues to incorporate the way of the mystic, they will, in time, absorb the essence of mysticism if that hasn't already even happened.