LTRJ Note: In 2012, Lighthouse Trails tried to warn the church about the contemplative-promoting band, Gungor, in our article titled Tens of Thousands Introduced to Contemplative Advocates Gungor and David Crowder at Greg Laurie’s Harvest Crusade. Our warning was ignored by Christian leaders such as Greg Laurie and certain other large Calvary Chapel churches. As for Michael Gungor, we do not find it surprising that after practicing contemplative prayer all these years, he moved into the interspiritual (i.e., all paths lead to God) camp. As Ray Yungen pointed out so succinctly, this is the “natural” course contemplative practitioners tragically take. And this is why, after nearly 20 years, Lighthouse Trails continues warning the church about occultic mystical practices such as centering prayer and contemplative spirituality.
The following news story is posted for informational and research purposes.
By Sarah Mae Saliong
Christianity Daily (not affiliated with Christianity Today)
Thousands of people responded to a tweet by Michael Gungor, the lead singer of the famous band Gungor, on Friday, July 23. The post drew widespread criticism because it asserted that, although Jesus is the Christ, so are Buddha, Muhammad, people, and the church.
Several readers interpreted Michael Gungor’s tweet as a universalist statement. The text of Gungor’s tweet stated: “Jesus was Christ. Buddha was Christ. Muhammad was Christ. Christ is a word for the Universe seeing itself. You are Christ. We are the body of Christ.” Click here to continue reading.
We cannot agree with you on this Wayne. We believe Calvinism is a dangerous and unbiblical belief system which mischaracterizes God in every way. If you would be willing to read a copy of Bob Kirkland’s book, Calvinism: None Dare Call It Heresy, we would be very glad to send you a complimentary copy. Just email us at editors@lighthousetrails.com with your mailing address. And that offer goes for anyone reading this who is struggling to understand Calvinism.
Calvinism is solely and entirely biblical referring to the sovereign Creator God and His omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. Knowing the end before He created the beginning God is NOT dependent on the opinions and actions of carnal and mortal man in any way.
The bizarre attacks on Calvinism are extremely offensive for Bible believing christians who have been lead by the Holy Spirit into faith in Christ alone by His Grace alone for His Glory alone. With apostasy rampant throughout the professing christian church we would ALL do well to respect the inspired Word of God as the sole authority on matters of faith, moral and ethical standards and personal values rather than the dysfunctional acceptance of the deception of Eve in the Garden by the use of the term “…..did God truly say…….?” We must always seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit to understand the Word of God and the implications for our lives and the ability to apply that Word and live accordingly in a manner that is pleasing to God.
It’s so sad how people don’t recognize the evil of contemplative spirituality.
I find the majority of CCM to be irreverent
in tone, content and performance.
It is more about spotlighting the so called worship team than glorifying God.
I dont believe that it is reverent to God for the congregation to applaud either. This is a church service not a concert. Typically the theology in the lyrics is razor thin devoid of any meat let alone any milk. Turning your so called music ministry into marketing business is nothing short of simony. The lame excuse of the elders is that they are reaching for the young people to join the church of what’s happening now. Really? Is Jesus and his gospel so repulsive that you need clowns juggling on unicycles to trick them into listening?
Why are congregations so incredibly ignorant of the essentials of the faith today? Service to a fellowship is not always service to the Kingdom of God.
Lynn,
Thanks for the input. I am well-acquainted with the term “contemporary.” I’ve been a singer/songwriter since 1984. CCM is a commercial scam. Born-again people will tell you the Psalms were divinely inspired, not hymns: hymns are filled with agendas and men’s theologies, including the spiritual cancer of Calvinism. When I say a song from the heart, I mean one where the writer expresses his/her gratitude, joy, whatever emotion (even anger) against things or even questioning God, which he/she is allowed to do (unless you’re a Calvinist puppet), and not following a cheap formula. CCM is suspect. CCM works on a formula, like hip-hop, trance, reggae, rock, whatever. CCM is a specific genre and has not much to do with being “new.” It uses certain chord progressions, hooks, repetitions, etc.
If you believe I’m not credible simply because I know CCM, so be it. CCM deserves the same general sweep as hip-hop. I will not waste a dollar on CCM. Songs from the heart do it; there are “secular” artists who do the real Christian thing 100 times better than anything CCM as a movement can offer or hope to offer.
I never said to cling to the Psalms and sing them only; you brought it up because you don’t understand that CCM is a movement that works on formulae, etc.
The song “Amazing Grace” is clearly Calvinist nonsense, and that’s my point. A new song does not equate CCM. CCM is best left alone.
Take care, and listen carefully to CCM’s lame lyrics; they betray…
In response to John J: Thanks for caring. But let’s take care not to use sweeping statements; those don’t help the speaker be seen as credible. “Contemporary song” simply indicates a new song as opposed to old. Just because a song is new doesn’t equal demonic, Calvinist, etc. After all, surely the psalms were sung when they were first written; that is, contemporary with that audience. Something doesn’t have to be old in order to be aligned with the Lord’s truth. And something “from the heart” can be untrue. Just saying.
Such comments are not making the term “Christ” larger by universalizing it. Rather, they make it a much smaller thing. Jesus is the Anointed One to whom all authority, both in the heavens and on the earth has been given. He is the High King before whom all knees will bow, human or spirit beings. You can’t get any greater than that.
I’ve contacted Will Graham (Billy’s grandson) about his partnership with Crowder, pointing to his promotion of lector’s divine prayer. No response…crickets.
It’s best to avoid CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) altogether, as it’s fraught with rotten theology. There is not one band or artist worth supporting. Everyone who thinks he/she has a theological point suddenly becomes a “songwriter” and infects as far as they go. Stick to those who are not on the CCM bandwagon; those who write songs from the heart. CCM is also, needless to say, a Calvinist method of spreading its demonic nonsense, and that should scare anyone into the sobriety of thought.
Lighthouse Trails features Trevor Baker; that’s what I’m talking about. His songs are from the heart; there’s no formula, and he tells the simple truth, and he is not on the CCM bandwagon.
More from the article:
“In response to the criticism that he was abusing the term “Christ,” Gungor stated that he is more interested in the “traditional use of the word Christ as a concept” rather than as “the last name of Jesus” or as a “political flag for our team.”
“”I think it ought to mean something bigger. I think it ought to mean something universal for the sake, not only of individual practice. I think it makes the concept of Christ and the practice of this unity incredibly more powerful,” he said.
“”I think it’s less violent to find the more broader universal understanding of the word Christ that doesn’t leave us in the seat of colonizers of culture, of ideas of religion, of spirituality, of metaphysical land like I was saying before,” he added.”
The word Christ — from the Greek word for anointed — pointed back to one specific use for one specific Anointed One. The apparent concept by this musician and others seems clearly in error by evincing a denial of true power reminiscent of 2 Timothy 3:5 — “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
It’s also sadly consistent for him and others to think they have new insight and “get it” as displayed above, when what they supposedly get is apparently not what they think but is well-chronicled here and some other places:
‘D is for Deception—The Language of the “New” Christianity‘
https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=18753