Are Christian leaders responsible for whom they quote, endorse and promote? We believe this is a valid question that deserves an answer to the body of Christ. With publishers like Zondervan, InterVarsity Press, Baker Books and Thomas Nelson releasing one book after the next on contemplative and emerging spiritualities, the church is being put in harm’s way with a tidal wave of dangerous and non-biblical teachings that ultimately leads to eastern mysticism and the New Age. Countless Christian authors and leaders have joined this wave, and when confronted or challenged, they expect there to be no criticism. This is wrong, and Lighthouse Trails joins many other believers in the body of Christ in saying so. We speak up, in spite of hate mail, hints of lawsuits, angry phone calls, because we see this onslaught as a direct attack against truth.
Here is just another example of what we are talking about. In Dr. Tim Clinton’s November release (foreword by Tim LaHaye), Turn Your Life Around, Clinton thanks John Ortberg for being an “inspiration” to him and quotes Ortberg more than a half a dozen times throughout the book. Ortberg’s strong promotion of contemplative spirituality is no secret – he co-authored a book with Ruth Haley Barton on the silence. So how could he be an “inspiration” to a book that is endorsed by leaders like Tim LaHaye (who wrote the foreword), Gary Smalley, Ruth Graham and Jerry Falwell? Incidentally, Falwell just recently endorsed Larry Crabb’s contemplative promoting book, The Papa Prayer.
In Clinton’s new book, he also favorably quotes Richard Foster (who teaches that God can be reached by anyone through contemplative prayer), Larry Crabb, Dan Allender, John Eldredge, Philip Yancey, Dallas Willard and Donald Miller. All of these mentioned promote contemplative. So why are trusted leaders like Graham, LaHaye, and Falwell doing this? Do they just not realize what contemplative is. We have sent most of these people copies of A Time of Departing, and it is not a topic that is under the rug anymore.
One of three things is taking place here. Either these supporting leaders do not know what contemplative is, or they know but do not think it is worth worrying about, or they know and they adhere to such beliefs. We know for a fact that many of them are well aware of contemplative spirituality, which means they are either indifferent to the controversy or actually see it as a valid spirituality. But isn’t it time they came out publicly and stated their views? Isn’t it time they either renounce contemplative and stop promoting it through their endorsements and quotes or admit that they have strong sympathies towards it. Isn’t it time? … Maybe they already have given their answer, and we just don’t want to believe it.
SPECIAL NOTE: If any of the above mentioned leaders read this article and would like to understand our concerns (and the concerns of many other believers), please contact us, and we will send you a complimentary copy of A Time of Departing. We believe you will find the documentation solid and biblical.