Richard Foster’s founding contemplative organization, Renovare, has announced their upcoming (June 2018) celebration of the 40th anniversary of Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline. Kevin Palau, son of the world-wide known evangelist Luis Palau and president of the Luis Palau Association, is listed on the Renovare website as one of the speakers for the June 2018 … [Read more…]
This past summer, a Lighthouse Trails reader sent us this e-mail letter she received from Renovare (Richard Foster’s contemplative outreach organization). Our reader is on the Renovare mailing list as she has grave concerns about friends who are involved with contemplative spirituality, and she monitors this group. The letter reveals the tight connection that YWAM … [Read more…]
To Lighthouse Trails: Just wondering if you all have any research on The (Emergent) Journey? It’s the name of a 3-phase course being taught in a number of churches by a group called Vantage Point3. Seems tied strongly with Emergent/Contemplative. My church is teaching this . . . right on the heels of introducing Renovare’s … [Read more…]
I’ve practiced centering prayer. I’ve contemplatively prayed. I’ve prayed liturgically . . . I’ve benefited from each, and I still do. In ways you’ll see, elements of each style are still with me.—Larry Crabb in The Papa Prayer, p.9 I’m glad that as a conservative evangelical who still believes in biblical inerrancy and penal substitution, … [Read more…]
To Lighthouse Trails: Recently my home church added a new pastor as the leader of Small Groups/Spiritual Formation. I am very concerned. Soon after taking this position he introduced a book by James Bryan Smith titled The Good and Beautiful God. This book is to be studied at each of our church’s small groups in … [Read more…]
This coming October contemplative pioneer, Richard Foster’s Renovare team will hold their Life With God Retreat at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. Those who are familiar with the infrastructure of Richard Foster’s spirituality will understand that the teachings that are represented at Renovare do not line up with traditional evangelical teachings. While … [Read more…]
Renovare, as many of you know, is Richard Foster’s organization and his mainstay platform for promoting contemplative spirituality. In a November 2011 letter to supporters, Renovare president Christopher Webb states the following: At this writing I am attending a gathering of national ministries that promote Bible reading and engagement; spiritual formation is at the very top … [Read more…]
This summer, the Southern Baptist Convention approved a resolution rejecting Zondervan’s new gender-neutral NIV Bible. A Christian Post article states: “Southern Baptists repeatedly have affirmed our commitment to the full inspiration and authority of Scripture,” the resolution states. “This translation alters the meaning of hundreds of verses, most significantly by erasing gender-specific details which appear … [Read more…]
On July 31, 2008, a Retirement Party was held for Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline. According to correspondence with a Renovare (Foster’s organization) Coordinator, Foster is “stepping back from active leadership at RENOVARE,” in order to “spend more time writing.” First published in 1978, Celebration of Discipline has had a massive influence on … [Read more…]
Nearly eight years ago researcher Ray Yungen passed away at the age of 64. As regular Lighthouse Trails readers know, it was through Ray’s work that Lighthouse Trails began 22 years ago. Since Ray’s passing, Richard Foster’s contemplative prayer has infiltrated countless numbers of churches throughout North America. It is the late Dallas Willard who was the man who … [Read more…]
Editor’s Note: Lighthouse Trails wrote this report in 2014. Since then, we have watched “Spiritual Formation” explode within the church. After over twenty years of warnings, to our dismay, the issue has not been challenged or even questioned by most of today’s Christian leaders and pastors. By Lighthouse Trails Editors Is your church involved in … [Read more…]
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 … [Read more…]
As many of our readers know, Lighthouse Trails has been publishing a printed research journal since 2013. We started out with 6 issues a year and currently have 4 issues a year. These journals are 36-40 pages long and are filled with important articles, letters to the editor, resources, and news items. Many times, readers … [Read more…]
Recently, we received an e-mail from a reader who is trying to explain to some people in a prominent Christian organization who are practicing contemplative prayer that contemplative prayer (i.e., Christian contemplation) is no different than Eastern meditation (i.e., mysticism). The following article by Ray Yungen explains what contemplative prayer is and how it is … [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…]
Three years ago today author and researcher Ray Yungen passed away at the age of 64. As regular Lighthouse Trails readers know, it was through Ray’s work that Lighthouse Trails began nearly 18 years ago. Interestingly, on the eve of this 3rd anniversary of Ray’s departure, we read an e-mail notice we received this week … [Read more…]
NEW BOOKLET: Heard From God Lately? by T.A. is our newest Lighthouse Trails Booklet. The Booklet is 10 pages long and sells for $1.95 for single copies. Quantity discounts are available. Our Booklets are designed to give away to others or for your own personal use. Below is the content of the booklet. To order … [Read more…]
In 1922, liberal pastor and theologian Harry Emerson Fosdick stated the following words in his sermon titled “Will the Fundamentalists Win?”: “It is interesting to note where the Fundamentalists are driving in their stakes to mark out the deadline of doctrine around the church, across which no one is to pass except on terms of … [Read more…]
To Lighthouse Trails: Please make it very clear that Youth With A Mission (YWAM) was helping to head up The Send. In fact, YWAMers went to Lou Engle, and together they formed the idea for The Send. As a very recent former YWAM staff who was naive to all things NAR and contemplative, I am … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: For sixteen years, Lighthouse Trails has been warning about the contemplative prayer movement. In the following article, Ray Yungen has provided information that makes the contemplative argument (against it) irrefutable. We have sent a copy of this booklet to all of the major Christian leaders whom we have challenged including Beth Moore, Rick … [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 … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: Last week, a Lighthouse Trails reader called our office, wondering about Marcus Borg because one of her grown sons was reading Borg. This tells us that the younger generation of Christians is gleaning from the earlier writers of the emerging church. Certain leaders tried to convince the church that the emerging church had … [Read more…]
Just as Lighthouse Trails was about to issue a post this week about Celebration of Discipline’s (by Richard Foster) 40-year anniversary announcement (that we received by e-mail this month), we received the following e-mail from a Christian university graduate: Three years ago this past September, I began my studies at Tyndale University in Toronto, Ontario. … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: The following news story from Religion News Service is posted for informational and research purposes and not as an endorsement of the source or the content. The Message “Bible” has had a huge impact on Christianity. Famous pastors, like Rick Warren, have quoted from it extensively, which has played a huge role in … [Read more…]
NEW BOOKLET: ATONEMENT REJECTED! How the Emerging Church Views Christ’s Death on the Cross by Roger Oakland is our newest Lighthouse Trails Booklet. The Booklet is 10 pages long and sells for $1.95 for single copies. Quantity discounts are as much as 50% off retail. Our Booklets are designed to give away to others or … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: The Shack movie is about to be released. Millions of Americans will go to theaters to watch the movie. Most likely, the majority of them will be church goers and proclaiming Christians since The Shack book is vetted as a Christian story. Recently, a church contacted Lighthouse Trails and ordered 300 copies of … [Read more…]
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has come under public heat because it recently announced they were giving an ultimatum to employees who saw nothing wrong with same-sex (homosexual) marriage. In a Charisma magazine article (we are not endorsing Charisma), the author states: InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is one of the leading campus ministries, and its publishing arm, InterVarsity … [Read more…]
Last week, a colleague sent a note to Lighthouse Trails asking us to review a sermon that Erwin Lutzer recently gave at Skip Heitzig’s Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque (New Mexico) Church. Lighthouse Trails has issued challenges and appeals to Erwin Lutzer on a number of occasions over the past ten years because of our concerns … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: Posted for information and research purposes. Incidentally, Ronnie Floyd, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, is one of the scheduled speakers for the ecumenical (Protestant/Evangelical/Catholic) upcoming event, Together 2016 (see our recent article “Dress Rehearsal for a False Revival?”). “Southern Baptists Go Beyond Conservative Politics at Meeting” By Travis Loller Associated Press NASHVILLE, … [Read more…]
On the week of May 16, 2016, Lighthouse Trails began a second booklet-mailing project. Whereas our first booklet-mailing project is sending out booklets and short letters to over 130 Christian leaders every 2-3 months, this new project is reaching out to 235 Christian college and seminary presidents (and some deans). After 14 years of research, … [Read more…]