Also
called Contemplative Gathering Stations or Journey to the Cross, "Stations
of the Cross" is a Catholic ritual with 14 stations, each one
with pictures or sculptures that depict the various "stages"
of Jesus Christ's final days. This is a practice that began centuries
ago and was sanctioned by the Pope Clement XII in 1731. In more recent
days the practice has spilled over from the Catholic church into the
evangelical church. Another example of the interspirituality taking place around the world and a further
walk into apostasy.
Stations
of the Cross, Prayer Stations and the Emerging Church
Twist
of Faith:
Emergent churches attract worshippers
with alternative religious experiences
What
Are Prayer Stations?
"A place
set aside for prayer ... It can be set up with a combination of
candles, crosses, icons, Scripture passages, devotional questions,
a prayer notebook ..., and a soft place to kneel or sit." Prayer Places
Rick
Warren and Purpose Driven Life
for Kids Grades 1-4 "Kids can also go to prayer stations
set up for specific types of prayer." —From the Purpose Driven resources for kids (This link has been removed from the Purpose Driven
Web site but the stations
did take place thus we are leaving this information on our site for
now.)
And
For Adults "We
prayed around five artfully-constructed prayer stations, representing
each of the themes of the Campaign."—From a 40 Days Prayer
Manual
"At the National Pastors Conference in San Diego,
however, we found the labyrinth was back and given an update. The
path was formed by black lines on a 35-foot square piece of canvas
laid on the floor. We each were given a CD player with headphones
to guide our journey through the 11 stations on the path. As we
began the inward journey—toward the center of the canvas—a
gentle female voice with a British accent read a portion of John
1. She told us not to rush through the labyrinth, but to slow down,
breathe deeply, and fully focus on God."—Dan Kimball, A-Maze-ing Prayer
"We made shifts in how we approached leadership, preaching, worship gatherings, spiritual formation, and evangelism. We changed our worship gatherings into multi-sensory experiences that changed the way we set up the room, used art, and used prayer stations." Dan Kimball
A Disciple
of Dallas Willard and Richard Foster "I worked as a church planter the following year
and began using contemplative elements in worship from the outset.
We held "thin place" services in reference to a belief that in prayer,
the veil between us and God becomes thinner. Entire nights were devoted
to guided meditations, drum circles, and "soul labs." At soul labs
we used the rave culture's approach of multiple rooms for different
music to create a number of prayer stations, where people could try
various approaches to contemplative prayer."—Mike Perschon,
Youth Specialties writer, Desert
Youth Worker Disciplines, Mystics, and the Contemplative Life
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.
"Nor
is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name [Jesus
Christ] under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4: 12
Dan
Kimball 