2nd Edition Booklet: Epidemic of Apostasy – NEW UPDATED EDITION!

The following is the new 2022 2nd edition of our 2013 booklet: Epidemic of Apostasy—How Christian Colleges Must Incorporate “Spiritual Formation” to Become Accredited. There is some important information in this updated edition, and we want to encourage everyone on this site to read it.

Epidemic of Apostasy—
How Christian Colleges Must Incorporate “Spiritual Formation” to Become Accredited
2022 2nd Edition

A special report from the Editors at Lighthouse Trails

Lighthouse Trails originally wrote this booklet in 2013. While a number of the groups and schools discussed here changed the links on their websites and even changed the way they describe their programs since this booklet was released, our current research shows that the agendas critiqued in this booklet remain intact and the schools listed in this booklet still promote Spiritual Formation. (Note: In this updated edition in cases where links were changed or removed, we replaced missing links in our endnotes section with archived links of the same material.)

Definitions

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 and its “pioneers” such as Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, and Henri Nouwen. Spiritual Formation is based on “spiritual disciplines” that can be practiced by people of any faith to make them more “Christ-like.” Rebirth through Jesus Christ and regeneration through the Holy Spirit are not essential. Rather it is a works-based “theology” that has strong roots in Roman Catholicism and ancient paganism.1

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.2

Accreditation Requirement—Spiritual Formation

What do Abilene Christian University, Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Bethel Seminary, Talbot School of Theology of Biola University, Briercrest College and Seminary, Dallas Theological Seminary, Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary, Moody Theological Seminary & Graduate School, Multnomah Biblical Seminary, Regent College, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and around 300 other seminaries and colleges throughout North America all have in common?3 They are all accredited or in the process of being accredited through the Association of Theological Schools (ATS—founded in the 1930s).4

What do Columbia International University, Briercrest College & Seminary, Hope International University, Moody Bible Institute, Ozark Christian College, Prairie Bible College, and dozens of other colleges and seminaries throughout North America all have in common? They are all accredited through the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE).5

What do the two accreditation organizations—Association of Theological Schools and Association for Biblical Higher Education—have in common? Both associations require schools that wish to be accredited to include Spiritual Formation within the school’s infrastructure. Just what exactly does that mean for these 400 some seminaries and Bible colleges? Well, it means that if they want to receive and maintain their accreditation, they are going to have to incorporate Spiritual Formation (i.e., contemplative spirituality) into the lives of their students.

This would certainly answer, in large part, a question that Lighthouse Trails has had—how is it that contemplative spirituality has become so widespread so quickly within Christian colleges and seminaries over the past decade?

We were told, when we contacted ATS, that “Each school and tradition approaches this [Spiritual Formation] in a different way.” In other words, how one school defines “Spiritual Formation” may differ from how another school defines it, they say. Yet, both accreditation associations have made it very clear that they are speaking of contemplative spirituality when they are speaking of Spiritual Formation. That’s easy to prove. A look around their websites and in their handbooks shows clear signs of the contemplative emphasis.

Take the “Additional Resources for Seminary Presidents” 18-page handbook, for instance, from ATS. It recommends books by mysticism advocates Jim Collins (Good to Great), Daniel Goleman (author of The Meditative Mind), contemplative mystic Henri Nouwen, Buddhist sympathizer Peter Senge (recommending his book The Fifth Discipline (the 5th discipline meaning meditation), contemplative advocate Dorothy Bass, and Catholic nun and Buddhist Zen practitioner Rose Mary Dougherty (part of the panentheistic Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington, DC); and there are numerous other “Spiritual Formation/contemplative” advocates in the list of “Additional Resources for Seminary Presidents.”6*

In the ATS Handbook under “Assessing Outcomes in the Master of Divinity Program,” where it talks about assessing students’ progress, it states:

The Master of Divinity degree program standard requires that students be educated in four areas: (1) Religious Heritage, (2) Cultural Context, (3) Personal and Spiritual Formation, and (4) A Guide for Evaluating Theological Learning Capacity for Ministerial and Public Leadership . . . The MDiv standard requires each school to address the four areas.7

The ATS is determined that Spiritual Formation is integrated through all four of these areas:

However, the standard indicates that achievement and formation in these four areas should be integrated: “Instruction in these areas shall be conducted so as to indicate their interdependence with each other and with other areas of the curriculum, and their significance for the exercise of pastoral leadership.”

Integrated outcomes result from an integrated curriculum and instructional strategies.8

The Spiritual Formation/contemplative focus at the Association for Biblical Higher Education is as troubling as it is at ATS. In the ABHE Programmatic Standards handbook, it states under Curriculum—Essential Elements: “[A]n accredited graduate program is characterized by . . . A learning environment that cultivates critical thinking, theological reflection, spiritual formation, and effective leadership/ministry practice.”9

That might sound vague, but the 2011 ABHE Leadership Development Conference helps clarify ABHE’s view of Spiritual Formation.** Session 1 was titled: Student Spiritual Formation—Principles, Processes, Issues, Resources & Assessment.10 This session was presented by Todd Hall of Biola University, a school that has clearly come out on the side of contemplative spirituality. Hall co-authored a book with contemplative advocate Dr. John Coe, who is the director of Biola’s Institute of Spiritual Formation (aka: Talbot School of Theology); Hall also teaches Spiritual Formation at the Institute, which turns to the ancient mystics for spiritual understanding. (As of 10/2022 when this updated booklet was completed, Todd Hall was listed on the ABHE website as a member of their Senior Fellows who “actively partner with ABHE” (https://www.abhe.org/about-abhe/our-team-2/). Hall’s 2021 book, Relational Spirituality, strongly advocates for contemplative spirituality and its practices.)

It is interesting to note the following in the conference literature:

Todd also developed the Spiritual Transformation [a contemplative term] Inventory (STI), a measure of Christian spirituality that is being used in national assessment projects conducted by the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), and Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).11

Assessment of Students’ “Success”

In other words, when it says “a measure of Christian spirituality [a term equivalent to mystical spirituality] that is being used” to assess students at Christian schools, it means that assessment is made under the lens of contemplative spirituality. Students are assessed to see if they are properly absorbing their spiritual disciplines via Spiritual Formation.

ABHE’s Council of Reference members list (10 members) also indicates a contemplative agenda. Members include J.P. Moreland (whom Lighthouse Trails has critiqued for his contemplative advocacy) and contemplative musician Michael Card.12 (2022 update: ABHE’s “Council of Reference” members list was removed from their website sometime between 2014 and 2015). However, this should not suggest that ABHE has departed from its contemplative affinities. The Spring 2018 issue of ABHE’s Biblical Higher Education Journal favorably references numerous contemplatives such as Moreland and Richard Foster as well as giving a thumbs up for the “spiritual disciplines” of the contemplative prayer movement (https://www.abhe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/18.Journal.pdf).

Students who oppose or resist contemplative spirituality aren’t going to find success in these 400+ theological Spiritual Formation-driven schools. According to the ATS Handbook, “direct evidence of students reaching stated goals is needed.”13 In a section titled Quality Assurance Expectations, it explains again that students will be expected to “provide evidence” that they are being transformed into their view of spirituality:

[T]heological schools are required to provide evidence that students in general reach stated learning outcomes.14

In the summer of 2010, Moody Bible Institute, accredited through ABHE, took part in ABHE’s Assessment and Accountability Project. A report on this project explains in depth the criteria for assessing the outcomes of student success. The four areas are Biblical, Transformational, General/Experiential, and Missional (Transformational, Experiential, and Missional are terms used frequently by contemplative/emerging advocates). The “suggested assessments” include ABHE Spiritual Formation Assessment.15 The report explains that students will need to “demonstrate the knowledge of specific spiritual disciplines.”16

Incidentally, the ABHE Spiritual Formation Assessment is given every year whereas some other programs at ABHE are only assessed every three years. Clearly, ABHE intends to see Spiritual Formation thriving at these accredited member schools. One of the ways they will do this is through the influence of the late panentheistic mystic Henri Nouwen. In the Winter 2010 ABHE Journal is an article titled: “Hospitable Teaching, Redemptive Formation, and Learning Mobility: A Spirituality of Teaching Based upon the Writings of Henri J.M. Nouwen” by Neal Windham.17 Nouwen’s idea of hospitality and redemption incorporated mystical practices, universalism, and an interfaith reconciliation.

Falling in Line With the Agenda

Anyone who thinks that Moody Bible Institute has not succumbed to the pressure from ABHE to implement a full Spiritual Formation program at Moody is not looking at the obvious here. For a long time now, Moody has had a Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship. In the past, Moody has condemned Lighthouse Trails18 for our efforts to warn them because they were veering toward contemplative/emerging figures. What shall they say now? They have incorporated Spiritual Formation (that is, contemplative spirituality). In the spring of 2013, Lighthouse Trails issued a special report titled “Concerns Grow as Moody Presses Forward Down Contemplative Path.”19

One other case in point, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School has been accredited by ATS since the 1970s. It went through an assessment by ATS in 2010 and passed. That is partly because Trinity now has a Spiritual Formation emphasis.20 Some may argue that just because a school uses the term Spiritual Formation doesn’t mean they are going contemplative. But in virtually every case we have ever examined, if a school is using that term, they are using the writings of the contemplative mystics.

As for Trinity, so are they. In their 2012-2013 catalog, they list some recommended authors for incoming seminary students for “excellent background.”21 Among those authors is Henri Nouwen and the mystic monk Brother Lawrence. This means that incoming students are being introduced, before they even get started, to contemplative writers. Trinity also has on this recommended reading list Lesslie Newbigin, a Scottish writer and Bishop who is looked to for insights by emerging church figures because of his sympathetic and embracing views of postmodernism (i.e., emerging). Of Newbigin, emerging church leader Brian McLaren says: “I see my work very much in line with Newbigin’s.”22 Trinity has at least one course, DE 5740, that is called Spiritual Formation. And in a student chapel service in October 2010, the late Dallas Willard was the guest speaker.23 Willard is aligned with Richard Foster, and both men have had a major influence in bringing contemplative spirituality into the evangelical church. In fact, in Rick Warren’s 1995 book, The Purpose Driven Church, he identifies Willard and Foster as the two main figures who brought Spiritual Formation into the evangelical church and says that the Spiritual Formation movement is a “valid message” and a “wake up call” to the church.24 Ray Yungen documents Rick Warren’s contemplative proclivities in his book, A Time of Departing.

The future of Christian theological schools is bleak. In many cases, they are the most dangerous places for Christians to be, from a biblical point of view. Already scores of them are implementing contemplative spirituality, via Spiritual Formation programs, into the lives of their students. And remember, these students are the evangelical/Protestant church’s future pastors, youth pastors, Sunday school teachers, professors, missionaries, and leaders. Thanks to ATS and ABHE, there’s little doubt that a growing number of Christian seminaries and colleges will join the ranks of contemplative-promoting schools. Consider the following by some of the people who are recommended on the resource list at ATS. This will illustrate the severity of this epidemic of apostasy.

• Henri Nouwen: “Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God’s house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God.”25
• Daniel Goleman: “The meditation practices and rules for living of these earliest Christian monks [the Desert Fathers] bear strong similarity to those of their Hindu and Buddhist renunciate brethren several kingdoms to the East . . . the meditative techniques they adopted for finding their God suggest either a borrowing from the East or a spontaneous rediscovery.”26 [Note: Goleman’s book advocates Tantric sex, Kundalini, T.M., and other deep occultic meditative practices.]
• Rose Mary Dougherty: A description of Dougherty from the Shalem Institute: A Zen student for a number of years, Rose Mary was called forth as a dharma holder in the lineage of the White Plum Asanga in 2004, becoming a dharma heir in 2006. As a sensei, she teaches Zen meditation in various settings and assists people in integrating contemplative presence and just action in their lives. 27

If you know someone who is attending a seminary or Christian college that is accredited by ATS or ABHE, the quotes above are a representation of what that person may be getting rather than the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A Missing Link Discovered

As we were working on the updated edition of this booklet, we discovered something that is absolutely essential to include. In our research, we came across an online document titled “Spiritual Formation in Theological Education” written in 1999 by Richard W. Stuebing, Ph.D. In the article, Stuebing (trained at Cornell University and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) was discussing the history of ATS and said:

Some of the most significant literature in the study of spiritual formation in theological education has been published in Theological Education, the journal of the Association of Theological Schools [ATS].28

Theological Education was the journal published by ATS from the 1960s through the 1990s. Stuebing stated that in 1972, ATS had completed a “foundational study” on the need for Spiritual Formation in theological schools. He then went on to say:

The next major study of spiritual formation emanating from ATS was done by Tilden Edwards in 1979/80 and published in Theological Education in 1980 as “Spiritual Formation in Theological Schools.”29

Knowing that ATS turned to Tilden Edwards for a study on Spiritual Formation for theological schools is monumental in understanding how today’s Christian seminaries and colleges have been enveloped in contemplative spirituality. We will let Ray Yungen (author of A Time of Departing) explain:

If the contemplative prayer movement has a major alma mater, it would be the Shalem Institute (for Spiritual Formation) located in Washington D.C. The Shalem Institute is one of the bastions of contemplative prayer in this country and has trained thousands of spiritual directors since its inception in 1972. To understand the interspiritual proclivities in the contemplative prayer movement, I invite you to take a good look at this organization. Founded by an Episcopal clergyman, the Reverend Tilden Edwards, Shalem’s mission is to spread the practice of mystical prayer to Christianity as a whole.

Dr. Edwards himself makes no effort to hide his interspiritual approach to Christianity. One example was a workshop he did titled Buddhist Contributions to Christian Living. He promises that if one wants to live in the divine Presence, then consider that: “Some Buddhist traditions have developed very practical ways of doing so that many Christians have found helpful . . . offering participants new perspectives and possibilities for living more fully in the radiant gracious Presence through the day.”30

Yungen explains that “Christian” contemplative teachings, such as those taught by Edwards, are the same as mystical teachings in Eastern religions. Yungen backs this up with a quote by Edwards from his book, Spiritual Friend (a primer on mystical spirituality):

This mystical stream [contemplative prayer] is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality.31

In case some reading this might think that Edwards wasn’t a contemplative mystic in 1980 when ATS incorporated his teachings into their organization, his book Spiritual Friend was published in 1980.

The fact that ATS embraced the work of Tilden Edwards and passed that work along to Christian schools that sought accreditation from ATS should send shivers up the spine of any Bible-believing Christian. Young evangelical-raised college students and men and women seeking to become leaders in the church are falling prey to a mystical spirituality that is truly leading to an epidemic of apostasy.

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*Since the original edition of our booklet was released, ATS has removed the link to their 18-page handbook. We updated the endnotes section of this Epic booklet with a working link accessing their handbook. One should not assume that ATS no longer believes in the work of the above-named mystics. To our knowledge, there has never been a public denial or rejection of these figures or of the teachings they represent.

**ABHE has remained committed to the Spiritual Formation agenda as is stated on their present website: “The concept of spiritual formation has received increasing interest since the turn of the century (Willard, 1998b, p.101), and has become an important component of theological education” (https://knowledge.abhe.org/knowledge-base/spiritual-formation-putting-the-pieces-together/).

This booklet may be freely printed from this site, or you may order printed copies in booklet format here.

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Colleges and Seminaries That Have Incorporated Spiritual Formation Into Their Schools

Note: Lighthouse Trails has done research on every one of the schools below.*
Abilene Christian University—Abilene, TX
Acadia Divinity College—Nova Scotia, CA
ACTS Seminaries of Trinity Western University—British Columbia, CA
Alberta Bible College–Calgary, Alberta, CA
Alliance University—Nyack, NY
Ambrose University—Calgary, Alberta, CA
Anderson University—Anderson, IN
Anderson University—Anderson, SC
Asbury Theological Seminary—Wilmore, KY
Ashland Theological Seminary—Ashland, OH
Assemblies of God Theological Seminary—Springfield, MO
Azusa Pacific University, Haggard School of Theology—Azusa, CA
Baptist Theological Seminary of Southern Africa—Johannesburg, ZA
Barclay College—Haviland, KS
Baylor University—Waco, TX
Beeson Divinity School—Birmingham, AL
Belmont University—Nashville, TN
Bethany College—Bethany, WV
Bethel Seminary—San Diego, CA St. Paul, MN, East Coast campus
Bethel University—St. Paul, MN
Biblical Theological Seminary—Hatfield, PA
Biblical Training—Lebanon, OR (online)
Biola University—La Mirada, CA
Bluffton University—Bluffton, OH
Briercrest Bible College— Caronport, Saskatchewan, CA
Bryan College—Dayton, TN
California Baptist University—Riverside, CA
Calvin College—Grand Rapids, MI
Campbell University—Buies Creek, NC
Campbellsville University—Campbellsville, KY
Canadian Mennonite University—Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA
Carey Institute—Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
Carson-Newman University—Jefferson City, TN
Cedarville University—Cedarville, OH
Central Christian College—McPherson, KS
Chicago Theological Seminary—Chicago, IL
Christian Theological Seminary—Indianapolis, IN
Christian University (GlobalNet); ministry of RBC Ministries (online)
Cincinnati Bible Seminary—Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati Christian University—Cincinnati, OH
College of Biblical Studies—Houston, TX
Colorado Christian University—Lakewood, CO
Columbia International University—Columbia, SC
Columbia Theological Seminary (Presbyterian)—Decatur, GA
Corban University—Salem, OR
Cornerstone University—Grand Rapids, MI
Crown College— Saint Bonifacius, MN
Dallas Theological Seminary—Dallas, TX
Drew University—Madison, NJ
Duke Divinity School (Duke University)—Durham, NC
East Asia School of Theology—Singapore
Eastern Mennonite Seminary—Harrisonburg, VA
Eastern Nazarene College—Quincy, MA
Eastern University—St. Davids, PA
Emmanuel Bible College—Kitchener, Ontario, CA
Emmanuel School of Religion—Johnson City, TN
Fresno Pacific University—Fresno, CA
Friends University—Wichita, KS
Fuller Theological Seminary—Pasadena, CA
Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL
Gateway Seminary (SBC, multiple campuses)
George Fox University Seminary—Newberg, OR
Gordon College—Wenham, MA
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary—South Hamilton, MA
Goshen College—Goshen, IN
Grace Theological Seminary—Winona Lake, IN
Grand Canyon College—Phoenix, AZ
Greenville College—Greenville, IL
Grove City College, Grove City, PA
Harding School of Theology—Nashville, TN
Harding University—Searcy, AR
Hesston College—Hesston, KS
Hope College—Holland, MI
Hope International University—Fullerton, CA
Houghton College—Houghton, NY
Indiana Wesleyan University—Marion, IN
InterVarsity NW—Portland, OR
John Brown University—Siloam Springs, AR
Lancaster Bible College—Lancaster, PA
LeTourneau University—Longview, TX
Liberty University—Lynchburg, VA
Lincoln Christian University—Lincoln, IL
Lindsey Wilson College—Columbia, KY
Lipscomb University—Nashville, TN
Luther Rice Seminary/University—Lithonia, GA
Malone College—Canton, OH
Mars Hill Graduate School—Bothell, WA
Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary—Fresno, CA
Messiah College (Brethren in Christ Church)—Mechanicsburg, PA
MidAmerica Nazarene University—Olathe, KS
Milligan College—Milligan College, TN
Montreat College—Montreat, NC
Moody Bible Institute—Chicago, IL
Mount Vernon Nazarene—Mt. Vernon, OH
Multnomah University—Portland, OR
Nebraska Christian College—Papillion, NE
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary—New Orleans, LA
North Park University & North Park Theological Seminary—Chicago, IL
Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lombard, Chicago, Rockford, IL
Northern Seminary—Lisle, IL
Northeastern Seminary—Rochester, NY
Northwest Nazarene University—Nampa, ID
Northwestern College—Orange City, IA
Northwestern College (University of Northwestern)—St. Paul, MN
Northwind Seminary—Winter Garden, FL
Nyack College—Nyack, NY
Oklahoma Baptist University (SBC)—Shawnee, OK
Oklahoma Christian University—Oklahoma City, OK
Oklahoma Wesleyan University—Bartlesville, OK
Olivet Nazarene University—Bourbonnais, IL
Oral Roberts University—Tulsa, OK
Our Daily Bread Christian University—Grand Rapids, MI
Ozark Christian College—Joplin, MO
Pacific Rim Christian College—Honolulu, HI
Palm Beach Atlantic University—Palm Beach, FL
Peace River Bible Institute—Sexsmith, Alberta, CA
Pepperdine University—Malibu, CA
Phoenix Seminary—Phoenix, AZ
Point Loma Nazarene University—San Diego, CA
Point University—West Point, GA
Prairie College of the Bible—Three Hills, Alberta, CA
Providence College and Seminary—Otterburne, Manitoba, CA
Renovare Institute—Denver, CO
Reformed Theological Seminary—Several locations in U.S.
Regent College—Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
Roberts Wesleyan University—Rochester, NY
Rockbridge Seminary—Springfield, MO
Rocky Mountain College—Calgary, Alberta, CA
Rolling Hills Bible Institute—Rolling Hills Estates, CA
Samford University—Birmingham, AL
Seattle Pacific University—Seattle, WA
Seattle School of Theology & Psychology—Seattle, WA
Shorter College—Rome, GA
Simpson University—Redding, CA
Sioux Falls University (Renamed Kairos University)—Sioux Falls, SD
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary—Wake Forest, NC
Southeastern University—Lakeland, Fl
Southern Nazarene University—Bethany, OK
Southern Wesleyan University—Central, SC
Southwest Baptist University—Bolivar, MO
Spring Arbor University—Spring Arbor Township, MI
Summit Ministries—Manitou Springs, CO
Talbot Seminary (Biola)—La Mirada, CA
Taylor Seminary/Taylor College—Edmonton, Alberta, CA
Taylor University—Upland, IN
Tennessee Wesleyan College—Athens, TN
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
Toccoa Falls College—Toccoa Falls, GA
Trevecca Nazarene University—Nashville, TN
Trinity International University—Deerfield, IL
Trinity Western University—Langley, British Columbia, CA
Tyndale University College & Seminary—Toronto, Ontario, CA
University of Northwestern—St. Paul, MN
Vanguard University—Costa Mesa, CA
Vanderbilt Divinity School—Nashville, TN
Western Seminary—Portland, OR; Sacramento, San Jose, CA
Western Theological Seminary—Holland, MI
Westmont College—Santa Barbara, CA
Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, IL
Whitworth University—Spokane, WA
William Carey Institute —Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
William Jessup University—Rocklin, CA

*This is not a complete list. Lighthouse Trails is adding new schools to this list as we learn of their contemplative propensities. To see updates to this list, visit: www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/Colleges.htm.

Worth noting, a 2021 article in Christian Acadamia Magazine shows that ABHE and ATS accredited schools can receive Federal Student Financial Aid (FAFSA). While this may seem a good thing that Christian schools can offer their students federal financial aid, what requirements will the federal government expect in return? Something to think about. (https://christianacademiamagazine.com/abhe-ats-tracs-federal-student-aid-fafsa-qualifications/)

This booklet may be freely printed from this site, or you may order printed copies in booklet format here.

Endnotes:

1. From the https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com website.
2. Ibid.
3. https://www.ats.edu/Member-School-List.
4. https://www.ats.edu.
5. https://abhe-dir.weaveeducation.com.
6. https://web.archive.org/web/20130513171021/http://www.ats.edu/LeadershipEducation/documents/presidents/PresHndbkWebResources.pdf (This webpage was removed from ATS’ website within a year of our report—this booklet—being released. There was no explanation given. We know it had been on their site since at least 2010.)
7. https://web.archive.org/web/20131024192037/http://docs.ats.edu/uploads/accrediting/documents/handbook-section-8.pdf.
8. Ibid, (A.3.1.1.3), p. 8.
9. https://web.archive.org/web/20120417114212/http://www.abhe-sln.org/opac/programmatic_standards.pdf, p. 9.
10. https://web.archive.org/web/20111013073743/http://www.abhe.org/images/11.CSDO_Program.pdf.
11. Ibid., p. 3.
12. https://web.archive.org/web/20130508113307/http://www.abhe.org/pages/NAV-Council.html.
13. ATS Handbook (https://web.archive.org/web/20130513124327/http://www.ats.edu/Accrediting/Documents/Handbook/HandbookSection8.pdf), p. 9, Section 8.
14. Ibid., p. 46.
15. http://www.academia.edu/609666/Association_for_Biblical_Higher_Educations_Assessment_and_Accountability_Project_for_Summer_2010, p. 7. (2022 note: this link has been removed from the Internet: see https://www.abhe.org/education-that-transforms, https://www.airweb.org/docs/default-source/documents-for-pages/forum/program-books/air-forum-2011-program-guide.pdf?sfvrsn=7435d80f_4 (page 56) and https://ia803100.us.archive.org/12/items/6537466-GA-Senate-Appointment-Applications-Batch-33/6537466-GA-Senate-Appointment-Applications-Batch-33.pdf for related information.)
16. Ibid., p. 17.
17. https://web.archive.org/web/20120220032221/http://www.abhe-books.com:80/ABHEJournal/2010ABHEBibleicalHigherEducationJournal.htm. This article by Nouwen is still on the ABHE website at: https://knowledge.abhe.org/knowledge-base/hospitable-teaching/.
18. https://web.archive.org/web/20120224013045/http://www.moodyministries.net/crp_NewsDetail.aspx?id=7080.
19. http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=11846.
20. https://web.archive.org/web/20130609132339/http://divinity.tiu.edu/student-life/spiritual-formation/.
21. https://web.archive.org/web/20130611085042/http://divinity.tiu.edu:80/academic-catalog, p. 188.
22. https://web.archive.org/web/20140703115255/http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/q-r-newbigin.html.
23. http://web.archive.org/web/20120119110125/http://blogs.tiu.edu/sojourn/2010/10/29/dr-dallas-willard.
24. Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995), p. 126.
25. Henri Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey (New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing, 1998), p. 51.
26. Daniel Goleman, The Meditative Mind (Los Angeles, CA: Tarcher/Putnam Inc., 1988), p.53.
27. https://web.archive.org/web/20150227082213/http://www.shalem.org/index.php/about-us/people/senior-fellows/rose-mary-dougherty-ssnd.
28. Richard W. Steubing, “Spiritual Formation in Theological Education” (Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology, Volume 18.1.1999, https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ajet/18-1_047.pdf), pp. 47-68.
29. Ibid.
30. Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing (Roseburg, OR: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2nd edition, 2006), pp. 65-66.
31. Tilden Edwards, Spiritual Friend (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1980), p. 18, as cited in A Time of Departing, p. 87.