On April 20th 2005, Lighthouse Trails Publishing issued a press release showing the connection between Rick Warren and New Age/Buddhist sympathizer Ken Blanchard. One month after the press release went out we received an email from Rick Warren. Within hours of sending us the email, Rick Warren made the email public. Needless to say, it traveled wide and far. Two weeks later we made a public response and explained that while Rick Warren's email to us was full of erroneous and misleading statements there was virtually no explanation as to why his connection with Ken Blanchard was taking place and how such actions might affect the church.

Since then, we have received two phone calls and one email from men at Saddleback. We have also been sent numerous emails and statements that Saddleback Church and National Director of 40 Days of Purpose, Marty Cutrone, have issued to many people regarding our April 20th press release on Ken Blanchard. In no uncertain terms, the message to us from Rick Warren and Saddleback is clear--they want us to stop. In an email and a follow up phone call we received from Frank Cate, a Saddleback layman, we were told we were "damaging the kingdom." Mr. Cate said, "[A]s I read some of the crude statements you make regarding Saddleback, Rick Warren, PDL, etc., one is moved to ask to what end you are sitting up in beautiful Oregon lobbing grenades southward. Certainly the God you claim to believe in, cannot be pleased." Cate continued, "Let me say clearly to you-no one proclaims the Gospel more clearly than does Rick Warren and Saddleback. I feel sincerely that if you stopped lobbing dead cats over the wall from Oregon, and came down to see firsthand, you might well agree with that statement."

The reason we tell you these things is not to linger in the situation of these emails and phone calls but to let you know that since the day we released the information about Ken Blanchard there has been no public acknowledgment by Rick Warren or Saddleback that a New Age promoter should not be helping to train believers or those looking for truth. And to make matters worse, the evidence that Rick Warren is promoting and endorsing contemplative spirituality grows everyday.

As we have watched in wonder the assault on a small Christian publisher who has minimum impact compared to Rick Warren who continues to spread his views to literally millions of people around the world, we cannot help but wonder why such a reaction is taking place. With so much attention now placed on us many others have also become curious.

And yet, Ken Blanchard continues speaking to and training Christians at events around the world.


With the recent endorsement by Ken Blanchard for a book called In the Sphere of Silence by Vijay Eswaran and with the continued working relationship between Rick Warren and Ken Blanchard, we believe these recent emails, phone calls and other Internet postings are a mere diversion to get the attention off the real matter.

While we realize that any continued efforts we put forth to expose the New Age infiltration into the church puts us at risk of many different scenarios, we are compelled by the Lord to press on. The gospel is worth defending because of I John 5:12, which says, "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." That Son John speaks of is Jesus Christ, and as believers, we have been commissioned to spread the Good News and to maintain its purity. But it is exclusive Good News. Life is only offered to those who have Jesus Christ. Buddha and the New Age cannot give that life. They can only give death. That is why, as we hear daily reports of apostasy entering the church, we have no choice, like you, our brothers and sisters, but to speak up and defend the words of our Lord, who so beautifully said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me" (John 14:9).

While we are sorry to see such discord among those who claim the name of Jesus, we also believe Scripture when it tells us that in latter times some will fall away from the faith and in fact, there will be great delusion coming upon the face of the Earth. As we watch in shock and dismay the falling of many Christian leaders to false teachings, we realize we too, because of our sinful nature like all of mankind, could fall and thus, by faith, we cling to the old rugged Cross and the Word that was given to us.

The apostle Paul made it very clear that even if he himself stopped preaching the gospel, he should be condemned. We too have that same responsibility and are compelled: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ" (Galatians 1: 9, 10).

Paul was eventually martyred for his faith. How can we, who have never lost blood for our faith, look at ourselves in the mirror if we are not willing to "count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus," and count them as rubbish in order that we might gain Christ and share this Good News with the world.