By David Dombrowski The expression “Where are we going?” is not an uncommon one, but whether it be a child asking a parent or a fellow traveler posing the question, it usually denotes a sense of being lost and one of concern. Then, of course, posing the question to a stranger could be one of … [Read more…]
LTRJ Note: For 18 years, Lighthouse Trails has been warning about the contemplative prayer movement and its role in creating an “emergent” “progressive” church. Part of our investigative research scope has included Christian universities and seminaries, a majority of which now promote contemplative spirituality. Liberty University, one of the largest Christian universities in the U.S., … [Read more…]
By Lighthouse Trails Editors Is your church involved in a Spiritual Formation program? If so, you might want to ask the question, what exactly is Spiritual Formation? It’s a fair question, and one that, if not asked, could end up surprising you when your church changes in ways you never imagined. A Christianity Today article states: “Spiritual … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails: I bought and gave the Be Still DVD to my last pastor prior to moving out of state. My husband and I had become horrified at the Beth Moore’s women’s gatherings that were being promoted at our church. I was already very familiar with Beth Moore’s stance on contemplative prayer. This gentleman, … [Read more…]
LTRJ Note: The following is posted for informational and research purposes and is a follow up of an article we posted on July 7th. Lighthouse Trails has been concerned about John Ortberg’s contemplative/emergent propensities for many years. In this case, our concerns extend to the protection of children in the church. Lighthouse Trails has been … [Read more…]
Since 2016, Lighthouse Trails has been sending out topical booklets three times a year to a growing list of pastors and Christian leaders. If you would like your pastor or a church leader to begin receiving these mailings, please send the name and a valid mailing address to us at editors@lighthousetrails.com. The names and addresses … [Read more…]
By Ray Yungen God’s DesireJust what exactly is God’s desire for mankind? Does He want to send people to Hell? Does He want anyone to live eternally without Him? Scripture is very clear about this when it says: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to … [Read more…]
[I]f you were to jump off a cliff with the intent to fly saying the word “fly, fly, fly” as you jump off and someone else jumped off the same cliff with the intent to hit the bottom saying “fall, fall, fall” as he jumps off, in either case both will hit the bottom. – Ray … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: The following is a chapter from Castles in the Sand, a Lighthouse Trails novel based on true facts, exposing the dangers of contemplative spirituality. The story is about a young Christian college girl who is introduced to mysticism through her spiritual formation professor. In the following chapter, Tessa, troubled by some of the strange symptoms … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: The news release below regarding the Christian publisher, Zondervan, is posted for informational and research purposes. Lighthouse Trails warned about the Enneagram in our booklet, The Enneagram—An Enlightening Tool or an Enticing Deception? (written by Lois Putnam), which we released last Fall. Obviously, when one of the largest evangelical publishers releases a film … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: The following news story is posted for informational and research purposes. At various times over the years, Lighthouse Trails challenged the ministry of Ravi Zacharias regarding its promotion of contemplative spirituality and contemplative figures such as Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen. At one point, a LT reader was able to personally hand Ravi … [Read more…]
By Ray Yungen Contemplative advocates propose that something vital and important is missing from the church for centuries. The insinuation is that Christians have been lacking something necessary for their spiritual vitality; but that would mean the Holy Spirit has not been fully effective for hundreds of years and only now the secret key has … [Read more…]
Louie Giglio is an extremely popular megachurch pastor and author as well as the founder and leader of the Passion conferences, which have drawn in hundreds of thousands of mostly young people since 1997.(1) On the week of March 16th, Giglio (a Calvinist) was a guest on emergent social-justice “Gospel” advocate Ian Morgan Cron’s Enneagram … [Read more…]
By Chris LawsonSpiritual Research Network Christian sounding devotional books with striking similarities to psychic-medium channeled material? New Age/New Spirituality/occult concepts and buzzwords? Blasphemous names, titles, and self-descriptions from a counterfeit “Christ”—in relation to himself? Messages from Sarah Young’s “Jesus” that wants his readers to experience his “Presence” and go through lengthy and intensive “training” so … [Read more…]
By Ray Yungen Two authors from Great Britain portrayed a stunningly clear picture of New Age spirituality. They explained: [T]he keynote of it appears to be a movement for synthesis derived from an understanding of the underlying unity behind all things and the sense of oneness that this brings. This oneness of all life is … [Read more…]
In 2007, Lighthouse Trails wrote a book review on a book titled Emergent Manifesto of Hope. Today, thirteen years later, we are seeing the “fruit” of the emergent church (that, incidentally, was spawned by leaders like Rick Warren, Bob Buford, and Bill Hybels as is documented in Faith Undone by Roger Oakland). The so-called fruit … [Read more…]
According to Wikipedia, Lent is: . . . a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks (40 days) later on Holy Thursday, the memorial of the Lord’s supper the Thursday of Holy Week before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of … [Read more…]
There’s a lot of talk about it today; umpteen books are published and more are on the way about lectio divina; and an increasing number of evangelical/Protestant figures are writing about it, endorsing it, and teaching it. Some people think lectio divina simply means to read a passage of Scripture slowly (or “praying the Scriptures”) … [Read more…]
In 2013, we posted an article titled “What’s Up with Lilly Endowment – Funding Pastoral Sabbaticals with a Contemplative Agenda.” Below is a copy of that article (with excerpts from a related 2007 article). In it, it provides a link to the list of churches whose pastors were “winners” of the 2012 Lilly Endowment grants. … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails: I know you have posted some things regarding the EFCA back in 2013-2014 and contemplative spirituality, but I haven’t seen anything more current so I thought I would share some things with you that I see. As a member (Technically) of an EFCA church, I accidentally stumbled across some things that, if correct, … [Read more…]
For nearly 18 years, Lighthouse Trails has been reporting on the slide that evangelical colleges, universities, and seminaries have been taking into the contemplative/emergent/ecumenical river. It would be great if we could say there’s been a real turn around and things at these colleges are getting better. It would be great if we could say … [Read more…]
By the Editors at Lighthouse Trails In the year 2000, we learned that a mantra-style meditation coupled with a mystical spirituality had been introduced to the evangelical Christian church and was infiltrating youth groups, churches, seminaries, and Bible studies at an alarming rate. In the spring of 2002, we began Lighthouse Trails Publishing with the … [Read more…]
It is important to understand that Satan is not simply trying to draw people to the dark side of a good versus evil conflict. Actually, he is trying to eradicate the gap between himself and God, between good and evil, altogether. By Ray Yungen The current popularity with meditative contemplative mysticism presents a very perplexing challenge for … [Read more…]
On December 19th, 2019, Christianity Today, the magazine that considers itself the “flagship” magazine for Christianity released an article written by the just-retired editor-in-chief, Mark Galli, titled, “Trump Should Be Removed from Office.” According to CT, the article set off a firestorm. And by our estimates, millions have now seen the article as scores of … [Read more…]
On December 12, 2019, Christianity Today posted an article by “new” Christianity pastor Ed Stetzer, giving a recap of the GC2 Summit that took place on December 6th. The article, titled “Lies Pastors Believe, Part One,” states: Two months of planning for our GC2 Summit on Facing Hard Truths & Challenges in Pastoral Ministry couldn’t … [Read more…]
According to a November 2019 posting on the Salvation Army website titled, “World Leader of The Salvation Army General Brian Peddle meets His Holiness Pope Francis,” it appears that the Salvation Army is part of the growing ranks of evangelical organizations in the race toward unity at all costs. The post from the Salvation Army … [Read more…]
By Ray Yungen Knowing Jesus Christ is not merely religion or spirituality but is rather a personal relationship with Him. Romans 10:2 speaks of those who have a “zeal for God but not according to knowledge.” Many contemplative writers describe a spiritual despondency they suffer before turning to mystical prayer as a remedy, and consequently … [Read more…]
Readers of A. J. Russell’s God Calling books and Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling series may reject the idea of becoming a medium, channel, or psychic if it is put plainly before them. However, if it is introduced indirectly through Christian-sounding devotions, and if the spirit being channeled is called “Jesus,” they might be more receptive.—BNES … [Read more…]
To Lighthouse Trails: The relationship Dallas Theological Seminary has with contemplative spirituality has been debated on Lighthouse Trails, and defended by DTS. As a current student, I can confirm some departments and professors do advocate explicitly for the contemplative brand of spirituality. The school requires four semesters of spiritual formation. Students must engage with the … [Read more…]
By Ray Yungen Before writing my book, A Time of Departing, I made sure I could prove, beyond a doubt, that contemplative prayer had not only slipped into the Christian faith, but also prove it is an integral part of the New Age movement. In fact, New Agers see contemplative prayer as one of their … [Read more…]
