By Ray Yungen From a theological viewpoint, there now exist two branches (so to speak) of the Catholic Church—the traditional (as defended by someone like Karl Keating in his book Catholicism and Fundamentalism) and the progressive or contemplative* element (as exemplified by Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen).1 And while these two branches (or movements) can … [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…]
The acceptance of contemplative prayer has hit an all-time high in the church. And is it any wonder? Christian media, Christian publishers, pastors, mission societies, Bible societies, authors, radio hosts, youth leaders, women’s group leaders, and Christian ministry leaders are all promoting it more than ever. The video below that was posted on Charisma Magazine’s … [Read more…]
In an August 13th Christian Post article titled “Serita Jakes’ Endorsement of Yoga at Potter’s House Sparks Debate,” popular pastor T.D. Jakes’ wife is reportedly promoting Yoga to congregants at Jake’s church. The CP article begins: Serita Jakes, wife of popular televangelist Bishop T.D. Jakes, has reignited debate over the practice of yoga among Christians … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: The following is a chapter from the Lighthouse Trails book Castles in the Sand, the only novel we know of that exposes the dangers of contemplative spirituality and spiritual formation. The story, based on true facts, is about a young Christian college girl who is introduced to mysticism through her spiritual formation professor. … [Read more…]
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…]
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…]
By Warren B. Smith Countless references to meditating, being quiet, being still, relaxing, resting, letting go, and reciting Psalm 46:10 are found throughout God Calling and Jesus Calling. They are all suggested ways of entering into “the silence” to experience God’s presence. The New Age/New Spirituality likewise places great emphasis on these same ways of … [Read more…]
A Lighthouse Trails reader recently asked our editors to take a look at a page on the Focus on the Family website defending the practice of contemplative prayer. Those of you who have been readers of Lighthouse Trails for a while will know that Lighthouse Trails has challenged Focus on the Family on more than … [Read more…]
Today, our office received a phone call from a woman who had signed up through her church (with her husband) to take a college course from a local Christian seminary. The course is being held at her church and is on Spiritual Formation. The woman said she was unfamiliar with what Spiritual Formation was when … [Read more…]
For many years, Lighthouse Trails has written about the slide that Biola University in Southern California has taken into contemplative spirituality. Our first indication that the school was heading that way was in February of 2006 when we learned that Biola was actively participating in a publication called Conversations Journal, a magazine whose primary purpose … [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…]
A Lighthouse Trails reader sent Lighthouse Trails a copy of a letter he recently received from Dallas Theological Seminary. DTS has consistently said the school does not promote the” bad” Spiritual Formation, but we have reported on a number of occasions that the Spiritual Formation taught and promoted at DTS IS contemplative spirituality (which is … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails, I want to thank you again and possibly alert you on another author you should watch. Recently, my husband went to a pastor’s conference and brought a book back home titled The Spiritual Formation of Leaders by Chuck Miller, Ed. D. Immediately I saw the title, the bells went of in my head, … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: Group Publishing has been listed as a contemplative publisher on the LT Research site for many years. Just take a look at this 1999 article in the Group Publishing archives written by contemplative pioneer Mark Yaconelli to see an example of their early efforts. This particular article is one that is discussed in … [Read more…]
NEW BOOKLET: Teresa of Avila – An Ancient Mystic Who Helped Shape Today’s Spiritual Formation Movement by Carolyn A. Greene is our newest Lighthouse Trails Booklet. The Booklet is 18 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 following is an excerpt from Carolyn A. Greene’s novel, Castles in the Sand, the first novel published that addresses the contemplative prayer (spiritual formation) movement. In this excerpt, the young Christian Teresa [Tessa], now attending a Christian college, is in her dorm room, thinking about her new spiritual director, Ms. Jasmine, who has … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: Today, the church is “reaping the fruit” of nearly 40 years of Spiritual Formation influence (since Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline was released in 1978). Lighthouse Trails has warned its readers on a number of occasions about the direction AWANA children’s club is going with regard to contemplative spirituality (i.e., Spiritual Formation) (see links … [Read more…]
It was ten years ago that Lighthouse Trails wrote its first article about Radio Bible Class ministries (now called Our Daily Bread Ministries). That article shocked many readers because Radio Bible Class is a ministry that has been around since 1938 when Dr. Martin DeHaan founded it in 1938. It has been considered a staple … [Read more…]
Over the past decade, while most evangelical colleges, seminaries, and universities have allowed the influence of the Spiritual Formation movement into their schools to one degree or another, not all of them had gone so far as to create a Master’s Degree program in Spiritual Formation. In fact, ten years ago, there weren’t that many … [Read more…]
To Lighthouse Trails: I have been going to a non-denominational church for years, and last year I noticed the term “Spiritual Formation” being used in the website of the Bible camp this church sponsors. I brought it to their attention, only to be met with indifference and the impression that I was somehow “over the … [Read more…]
“Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth is hailed by many as the best modern book on Christian spirituality with millions of copies sold since its original publication in 1978.”—Publisher description LTRP Note: Keep in mind three things as you read this article: 1) a strong link exists between Thomas Merton … [Read more…]
Lighthouse Trails has now mailed out the third letter along with two booklets to about 130 Christian leaders in the U.S. As we reported earlier this year in our article titled “Lighthouse Trails Publishing to Make Contact with Over 100 Christian Leaders to Warn About Jesus Calling,” we prayerfully made the decision to start sending … [Read more…]
For many years now, Lighthouse Trails has been trying to warn the body of Christ about the book that first introduced contemplative spirituality into the evangelical/Protestant church. That book, Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, was released in 1978, and in that first edition, Foster said, “we should all without shame enroll in the school … [Read more…]
Sometimes we think of spiritual formation as formation by the Holy Spirit. Once again. That’s essential. . . . But now I have to say something that may be challenging for you to think about: Spiritual formation is not all by the Holy Spirit. . . . We have to recognize that spiritual formation in … [Read more…]
After a request by a Lighthouse Trails reader to check into Southern Baptist Convention’s Gateway Seminary which has locations in five different US cities, Lighthouse Trails has added Gateway Seminary to the Lighthouse Trails Contemplative-Promoting College list. If you are not familiar with that list, it is a list of NOT recommended Christian colleges, universities, … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails: I was thinking about the cost of mail and how it affects your ministry. I wonder whether it would now require broader topics to keep it going. So many of your readers like me have read your warnings about the contemplatives for many years now and perhaps there could be other areas … [Read more…]
Castles in the Sand by Carolyn A. Greene is a story based on true facts and addresses the fast growing contemplative prayer movement within the evangelical/Protestant church. The story is about a 21st century Christian college girl who is introduced to the writings of a 15th century mystic girl, Teresa of Avila in her Spiritual Formation … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails: I work at my local pregnancy help center as Client Services Director. I have been following you for years and am thankful for your warnings. When I first started reading your material I would have never thought I would need the information to guard my own spiritual life. Sadly I had to … [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…]
