If there is one thing we don’t hear much about from today’s Christian leaders and pastors, it is the importance of testing the spirits. The idea comes from the Bible in 1 John 4:1, which states: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try [test] the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets … [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…]
LTRP Note: Since 2011, Lighthouse Trails has partnered with Understand the Times, International (the ministry of Roger Oakland) in UTT’s Bryce Homes for Widows and Children in Kenya. Lighthouse Trails readers have played an integral role in making this missions program an ongoing reality. The following is a report written by the board in Kenya. … [Read more…]
Since January 2016, Lighthouse Trails has been mailing out small booklet packs to Christian leaders and pastors three times a year. This week, we will be sending our 10th mailing. Since we began the mailings, we have added the names of numerous pastors and ministry leaders, many of whom were sent to us from our readers. Our current list is at 205 names. If you would like your pastor to begin receiving these mailings, please send his name and church mailing address to us at editors@lighthousetrails.com.
By Roger OaklandUnderstand the Times, International The Bible provides a vast list of characters God has used to fulfill His plan on planet Earth. Few are more dynamic in the way they fulfilled their calling than Jeremiah, one of the prophets we read about in the Old Testament. Jeremiah’s ministry covered approximately forty years until … [Read more…]
It was six years ago in January 2013 that Lighthouse Trails began publishing topical booklets. In February of that year, we released one by Roger Oakland called How To Know When the Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging Into Your Church. This booklet has been invaluable to many because it lists several of the signs … [Read more…]
Navigators is a Christian organization, founded in 1933 by a young man named Dawson Trotman, that eventually became a household name in the evangelical church.* The Navigators motto is, “To Know Christ and to Make Him Known.” However, Navigators and its publishing arm NavPress have been on a contemplative trend for over 15 years, and … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: The following letter to the editor is posted with permission. It is written by a graduate student of a Christian university. We find the professor’s remarks to this student provocative, especially considering what we discovered after reading the professor’s post. Please see our comments after the two posts below. Dear Lighthouse Trails: I … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails Reader: We are so thankful for the report we just received from my Dr. I want to thank all those who have been faithfully praying for me. We believe prayers are being answered. I have been diagnosed with a blood disorder that involves a high platelet count that is not life threatening. … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: We have received the following note from Roger Oakland and are passing it along to our readers. January 5, 2019 Dear Friends, My family is aware of the many concerns expressed regarding my health by concerned supporters of Understand The Times. We are very appreciative of this prayer support that comes from sincere … [Read more…]
A recent photo of some of the Bryce Home children in Kenya during a visit by Understand the Times co-administrator Kevin Fox of Saskatchewan, Canada. The Kenya Bryce Home program began seven years ago under the leadership of Roger Oakland and has continued to be successful in helping Christian widows and their children with food, … [Read more…]
See also Part 1, and Part 2 of our 2018 Year in Review. The following are the Top 10 stories written in 2018 by like-minded ministries (most of whom are also authors Lighthouse Trails represents). In order of date posted (oldest to newest): 1. Biometrics and Big Brother by Roger Oakland – A trend is … [Read more…]
by Roger Oakland Evolution, according to its biological definition, is a mechanism that changes life through time. Although for years, many have used the idea of evolution to explain away God, there are many today who are saying, because of evolution, everything is God. This trend is obvious in Great Britain, the very country where … [Read more…]
Two weeks ago, a 26-year-old Christian man named John Allen Chau was killed when he attempted to make contact with a remote tribe on North Sentinel Island, one of the Andaman Islands of India According to reports, Chau had spent several years preparing for the trip, saying that he wanted to tell these isolated … [Read more…]
While NRB has removed Roma Downey’s picture and name from the speaker lineup for Proclaim 19, during the same week, she is listed (front and center) at the International Culture Shapers Summit. Hmm. Interesting. (picture below blurry in original) Please see related articles below for important information on the 7 Mountains Mandate. We believe this will … [Read more…]
Former New Age follower and Lighthouse Trails author Warren B. Smith has a new YouTube channel created by Chris Lawson of Spiritual Research Network. Lawson will be adding numerous talks over the next several weeks that Smith has given over the past twenty-five years. Two particular videos on the channel took place in 2008 … [Read more…]
By Roger Oakland Just as there are good and bad shepherds, there are also good and bad sheep. Sheep that stray away from the flock do so because they make their own choices. Unfortunately, some sheep place their total trust in their shepherds and don’t have the ability or take the time to reason for … [Read more…]
Lighthouse Trails Publishing is pleased to announce the release of Witness to This Generation—Creation Evangelism for the Last Days written by Roger Oakland. Description: There has never been a more critical time to sow the truth of the Gospel into our world. Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to our present generation is becoming increasingly … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails: Yesterday, I was reading 1 Corinthians 1 and 2, where Paul is writing about the wisdom of God versus the wisdom of the world. I was reminded of our former Baptist pastor in the early ’80s who was highly intellectual, which attracted a lot of people from academia in our college town. … [Read more…]
By Roger Oakland You may not have heard the term before, but contextual theology is a prominent message from the emerging church. In his book, Models of Contextual Theology(1992), Stephen B. Bevans defines contextual theology as: . . . a way of doing theology in which one takes into account: the spirit and message of … [Read more…]
As many of you know, Lighthouse Trails readers have been an integral part of the Bryce Homes Program (particularly in Kenya) for several years. Bryce Homes was founded by Roger Oakland after the death of his son Bryce at the age of 27 and is run by Roger’s non-profit ministry Understand the Times. In 2011, … [Read more…]
The following is an update from the Bryce Homes in India overseer, Pastor Wilson. Bryce Homes is an international missions program founded by Understand the Times (Roger Oakland’s ministry). There are currently Bryce Homes in several different countries. In each Bryce Home country, local pastors oversee the Bryce Homes (which are comprised of Christian widows … [Read more…]
By Roger Oakland Understand the Times, International Recently, I read a Facebook post by a southern California pastor that the “emerging church” was no longer a problem for him or his church. He stated that the emerging church was just another passing fad that had come and then disappeared never to be heard of again. … [Read more…]
By Roger Oakland A belief in Creation is based on God’s revelation to man; evolutionary theory is based on man’s speculation which attempts to explain away God. Just as they believe the universe came into existence with a “Big Bang,” most evolutionists believe that life emerged from non-life hundreds of millions of years ago by … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails: By the grace of God, I have led women’s Bible studies since 1982. In the past ten years, I have noticed a departing from the fundamentals of the faith in the materials I used by Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, and others. New thought, strange language, omission of teaching the repentance of sin, … [Read more…]
News Stories from Understand the Times, International with Roger Oakland: Broken world needs Christian unity, pope tells Christian leaders at WCC Hostility to Religion Rising Globally, Christians Targeted in 144 Nations: Pew Study African Churches: Pope Urges Fostering of Coexistence Holy Father: Interreligious Dialogue Built on Openness
By Kevin Reeves and the Editors at Lighthouse Trails A number of years ago, a book written by emerging-church leaders Brian McLaren and Leonard Sweet was released. The book was called A is for Abductive: the language of the emerging church. Going through the alphabet, the authors identified many terms they hoped would be picked … [Read more…]
Note: This report has been written by the Board members at Bryce Homes in Kenya, Africa. The Bryce Home program is an Understand the Times ministry under the leadership of Roger Oakland. UTT has established dozens of Bryce Homes for needy Christian families in seven different countries. Lighthouse Trails readers have been helping to support … [Read more…]
YWAM (Youth With a Mission), an evangelical missions organization (founded in 1960 by Loren Cunningham) that trains about 25,000 people every year for world-wide mission trips, has issued an announcement regarding its commitment to teaching contemplative prayer. On Saturday, a reader alerted Lighthouse Trails to a June 2018 YWAM promotional audio piece on the … [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…]
