Dear Lighthouse Trails:
This note is actually from two people—my friend Elizabeth and myself (Ann). Judy and I have known one another for 12 years—we met at a Bible study in my home. She still lives in ___________ and I’m now in ________, and we meet once a week for a Zoom prayer. Even though there is a large age disparity—Elizabeth is 44, and I am 81—we are like-minded sisters in Christ.
Our question is this: Over the last several years, we have contacted pastors whose churches we attended—or—pastors who came to our attention, who were involved in contemplative, New Age, spiritual Formation, etc. When we spoke to our own pastors and provided them with links from Lighthouse Trails in an honest attempt to warn them about a particular teaching they were promoting, we never received ANY response from them, not even a “thank you but get lost”! We are always dismissed out of hand and actually ignored. It just appears to be rude and not becoming to men who lead a church.
Specific examples: this is from Elizabeth:
My own search for a church has been fruitless. I have sought several in the area and they’re either compromised by affiliations or their Statement of Faith is promoting false doctrines, or the women teach Bible studies from untrustworthy books. I reached out to the pastors of these churches with my questions and concerns, but I never get a response. The church I was attending had solid teaching until a charismatic couple began attending and then taking the place as elders and influencing the pastor. He started teaching about “binding and loosing” and promoting shows like The Chosen, whereas he had always been discerning with solid teaching before. When I sent information from Lighthouse Trails with my concerns to him, I never received a response.
And this is my example (Ann):
I have been attending a church here in _________ for 2.5 years. The preaching is quite solid; however, much to my dismay, the church library which is in plain sight (it is situated off the large entrance, leading to the sanctuary) openly displays books by Francis Chan, Matt Chandler, Tim Keller, John Piper, etc. I sent the pastor a note and links from LT about these books/authors and my concerns. I believe it has the propensity to be confusing to young Christians or those with little or no discernment, since what those books teach are diametrically opposite to the messages from the pulpit. Therefore, I don’t understand the need to offer them. When, like Elizabeth, I explained my concern and included Lighthouse Trails links, I was totally ignored. I never heard from him, and I know he avoids me when I am at church and he sees me. And the books remain a year later.
And while visiting my son in another state recently, my son mentioned a new church had been started there. I was curious so I looked it up online. In the young pastor’s bio, he proudly mentions his involvement with Spiritual Formation, how he taught it in a seminary setting and now is using it in this new church. I really believe he is totally naive about what it is and has no clue how dangerous it is. Pastors are warned they will be held to a stricter account for what they teach others. So I sent him a short e-mail, explained I was just visiting, told him my age and when I had been saved and asked him if he would please read the link (from LT) on Spiritual Formation and explained my sincere concern for him. Again, no response.
In all these instances, we get the impression these men must look down their noses at discernment sites, no matter how accurate and truthful and even though videos, links, other sources, ibids, etc are provided showing the veracity and truth of the information.
So what are we doing wrong? Should we not say anything? Is it wrong to contact a pastor you do not know but who really appears to have a need to be warned? We don’t do this willy nilly; we do it reluctantly! We have learned from experience that discerning is a very difficult gift and frankly, the church doesn’t seem to like those who have it and (attempt) to apply it.
What counsel can you give us? It is very discouraging. I would be happy to send you the actual emails/letters so as you can see for yourself what was written had been presented in a kind and loving way. And it’s not even that we need an acknowledgement, but it seems so odd that NONE of these pastors got in touch with us, .and the above is only a few examples. There are other examples which we have not detailed.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth and Ann
LTRP Response to Elizabeth and Ann:
Hello,
We first want to say that we very much understand the discouragement that you both are going through because we have gone through it many times ourselves. For example, after 21 years of trying to warn the church, pastors, and leaders about the contemplative prayer movement (via Spiritual Formation), the issue still has not come to the table and is basically ignored by the majority of church leaders and pastors as if it isn’t even an issue. They just don’t talk about it.
For us, we had to come to the realization a long time ago that we could not look at the fruit of our labors but were supposed to do what we believe the Lord has called us to do and leave the results up to Him. We have been reminded often that we are not the Holy Spirit who is the One who convicts of sin. It is up to us to try to be faithful (by His grace and strength) in doing what He has called us to do. That doesn’t mean we don’t get disheartened because we do, but we pick ourselves up from those times of discouragement and keep going.
On a practical level, we have come to believe that giving someone one of the booklets is usually more effective (particularly for a skeptic) than sending website links and e-mails. The booklets are short, concise, and have all the documentation; plus a pastor can take it home from the office, away from his computer and people and read it. No doubt, many of the booklets have been thrown away too, but the professional presentation of the booklet format does draw attention. Whereas one might forget about an e-mail with links, it will be harder to forget about an actual hard copy booklet. And we think you know us well enough that we don’t say that just to sell more booklets. We’ve given away countless numbers of them, and we have never done this for the money. That’s why we sell the booklets at such low prices. And that’s why we do the free pastors’ booklet mailings 3x a year. That list is up to over 1000 names now. We can’t tell you if they are making a difference or not. As we said, we decided a long time ago we could not worry about the results. If we had done that, very likely, we would have quit years ago from discouragement.
So please don’t give up. Maybe those who you have attempted to reach have ignored you (or maybe they just didn’t answer out of sheer busyness), but that part is up to the Lord. We’ve often thought about what Jesus said when one of the disciples asked, “what about John,” and He answered basically, you just do what you are supposed to do and never mind the rest. Remembering His response has helped us over the years.
Being a discerning Christian is a very lonely road, as you two have experienced. But if you think of the history of Christianity, that is generally how it is. Persecuted, rejected, misunderstood, and ignored.
In closing, we have to remember (as we know you do) that we are living in a time of great deception. The Bible tells us things are going to get worse, and there will be “seducing spirits” that will delude those who don’t have a love for the truth. What most Christians don’t realize is that as they play around with occultic practices (Yoga, contemplative, centering prayer, enneagram, labyrinth, lectio divina, etc), they are walking into a spiritual trap, for, as Ray Yungen often said, it is this occultism that is the vehicle which will deceive the multitudes. We are watching this take place around the world before our very eyes—both by Christians and non-believers.
We would like to say this thought too: if you two would like, let us put those pastors names on our list. They won’t know who added their names, and they will get booklets three times a year from us. If you would like us to add some names, just e-mail them to us at editors@lighthousetrails.com [and that goes for anyone reading this post too]. Our next pastors’ mailing will be in mid-to-late September. And then one more at the end of the year.
Blessings to you both, and keep up the good work! What you are doing is true devotion and love for others.
The Editors at Lighthouse Trails
(photo is a stock image from istockphoto.com; used with permission)
Thank you for including this letter and the replies of others. It helps to not feel so alone. This reply doesn’t have to do with outright false teaching….it has to do with no teaching…..on sin. Our family recently left the church we’ve attended for over 30 years with the same pastor. Currently there are a number of folks in the congregation who are living in sexual sin and are slaves to addictions but are apparently not aware of what the scriptures say about this. Eph. 5 and 1 Cor. 5 say that those who continue in these life-style sins won’t inherit the Kingdom of Christ and God. We have asked the pastor over the last two years to please teach on what the scriptures say out of love for these people….but he refuses by saying he is afraid they will leave. We are heartbroken. We live in a small community and currently know of no other church who faithfully teaches the Word.
Tutaj nie chodzi o ,,pastorów”, tych błądzących, pysznych, ale o tych biednych ludzi ,którzy słuchając ich , są na złej drodze do Boga. Nie 10 razy mówić i czekac aż zaakceptuje swoją pomyłkę. Odwolać ,,pastora”, ewentualnie opuścić zbór i założyc domowy kościół.
Sola Scriptura , nie wymysły ,,pastora”.
W Biblii nie ma tej funkcji.
Google translation: This is not about the “pastors”, the erring and proud ones, but about those poor people who, listening to them, are on the wrong path to God. Don’t tell him 10 times and wait for him to accept his mistake. Dismiss the “pastor”, or leave the church and start a home church.
Sola Scriptura, not the inventions of a “pastor”.
This function is not found in the Bible.
A really touching letter from the two saints.
There is a weapon that can be used when it comes to warning about spiritual formation, contemplative prayer etc.
This weapon is a novel, Castles In The Sand, by Carolyn A. Greene. This was published by Lighthouse over a decade ago, and it is about a young girl who goes to a traditional Christian college–only the college has been taken over by contemplative spirituality adherents! It is a fast read and really valuable as a means to show people what is happening.
So in hindsight, walking out of my church last month, mid sermon, was probably not the way to go. But I had just had enough. When a building fund box appeared in the entry, and the sermon was once again on tithing, “Jesus said”, you have to give me 10%…and using old testament Mosaic Law scriptures to guilt everyone. Jesus did not say… I just left, and now I’m being shunned by a dear friend there who doesn’t know any better. Replacement Theology has been preached for so many generations, people don’t have a clue. There were other factors of me leaving, circle drawing, bringing in “Christian” magicians and ventriloquists to entertain the kids, handing out Briggs-Myers tests. The tithing thing just was the last straw! I did talk to the pastor about this, he says he’s just teaching the whole counsel of God….Maybe I am just too passionate? Me and a friend who is also not going back, are getting together once a week now for Bible study. It has been refreshing to say the least! Thanks LHT for all you do, I appreciate you so much!
Such a welcome and timely letter to peruse, despite discuragement experienced.
I had been thinking that it was just me being ignored. But I will press on, in prayer and in practice, by the power of the Spirit, leaving the results to God.
Thank you, LT, for the fellowship and fortitude you provide, until He comes >
We’re in the midst of the great falling away, I strongly believe. Any man serving in the office of pastor who won’t answer a question is no pastor.
I left Word of Faith because the ‘pastors’ COULDN’T give answers to question like the rules for speaking in tongues and why we had women pastors when the Bible said, ‘No’. They didn’t even know there seven clean animals on the Ark! It took 12 years to walk into another church and, Praise God, it’s a solid church with people who are hungry for Truth.
There are too many resources on heresy, like here and on YouTube (Justin Peters, The Messed Up Church, Fighting for the Faith, Long for Truth, etc.), to be ignorant of what’s going on.
I’ve seen so many people in YouTube live chats who can’t find a decent church anymore, so they ‘gather together’ online to find support and solid teaching. So many of these brothers and sisters are struggling because they can’t find Truth or their churches are falling to these heresies. Who knows what the answer is anymore? It’s heartbreaking.
It has been my experience in 30 years of warning christians and leaders of churches, that they don’t like people rocking the boat. Unity and peace seems paramount rather that accountability and correct teaching. I’m stunned to have met persons who profess to be believers and speak glowingly about the spiritual exercises of Ignatius of Loyola and their pastor allows them to share it from the pulpit on a Sunday!
Thank you so much for all you do to keep us abreast! We hope and keep praying for discernment and understanding. God bless you for being here!
In my efforts over the years , even with long time friends in ministry where the Bible is only ONE. Reference for their perspectives and not reguarded as the preserved , inspired , living Word of God their position has darkened their understanding .,and pride and job security has kept them from investigating anything that may offer a departure (correction) from their “party line” or cause any loss of congregants
In my heart I find this difficult to believe they love God, love his word or love a person they say they care to teach the word of God in truth
If they do love any one of these aspects of ministry and someone asks if they would check something out to see if it aligns with Gods word, they are being insincere or lying
Even if they discover they do not see it agreeing with scripture (if they know scripture as a leader ought to) by dismissing the opportunity to learn about the point being offered they miss the opportunity to be informed in the least about the topic in question and possibly corrected
Concern for souls should call for the meekness toward God’s word in order to avoid perpetrating error and thus destroying the walk, if not the souls,of those they profess to love and lead
Every believer is called upon to be an ambassador equipped with God’s word rightly divided which, in itself equips us to be determining right doctrine and the word of Reconcilation, without which the exercise of their ministry may prove vain and damaging to those who they draw by teaching error
1 Tim 6: 2O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.
Paul’s epistles exhort Timothy prior to Paul’s departure in death to guard the doctrine of the mystery Jesus revealed to him for this present dispensation
Many do not know those 13 epistles addressed to us
It’s a worthy examination. Paul wrote ….
Gal 1: But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote further regarding his 13 epistles
1 Cor 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
Don’t be discouraged I know it’s disappointing but pray
1 Tim 2: 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
In my efforts over the years , even with long time friends in ministry where the Bible is only ONE. Reference for their perspectives and not reguarded as the preserved , inspired , living Word of God their position has darkened their understanding .,and pride and job security has kept them from investigating anything that may offer a divination from their “party line” or cause any loss of congregants
I my heart I find this difficult to believe they love God, love his word or love a person they say they care to teach the word of God in truth
If they do love any one of these aspects of ministry and someone asks if they would check it out to see if it aligns with Gods word they are being insincere or lying
Even if they discover they do not see it agreeing with scripture (if they know scripture as a leader ought to) by dismissing the opportunity to learn about the point being offered they miss the opportunity to be informed in the least and corrected in the utmost
Concern for souls should call for the meekness toward Gods word in order to avoid perpetrating error and thus destroying the walk if not the souls of those they profess to love and lead
Every believer is called upon to be an ambassador equipped with Gods word rightly divided which in itself equips us to be determining right doctrine and the word of Reconcilation without which the exercise of their ministry may prove vain and damaging to those who they draw by teaching error
1 Tim 6: O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.
Paul’s epistles exhort Timothy prior to Paul’s departure in death to guard the doctrine of the mystery Jesus revealed to him for this present dispensation
Many do not know those 13 epistles addressed to us
It’s a worthy examination. Paul wrote ….
Gal 1: But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
I, too, have been dismissed by high-minded people who had no idea of the spiritual value of the books and other extremely important information they were rejecting. I know how that feels, since i once waited in line to give one man a book i had paid for, and he said he wouldn’t read it since he had many books to read and had been given books by publishers. He had been teaching much of what LT warns against. He so misled his church that eventually he was dismissed, because some members with more sound doctrine than he had decided he was not good for that church. Pray for the discernment of those who are deceived to be open to the Lord’s leading; do that good thing. God answers prayer, whether we see it or not.
That’s a wonderful report RCOG! And anyone who cannot afford to buy a copy of the book for a pastor, we will gladly send a free copy that can be given to him.
Well said Sharon! Good analogy about a baby needing to try something several times before he’ll accepting it.
I was touched by Elizabeth and Ann’s letter. Unfortunately, if there is one thing that seems to be lacking in much of today’s church leadership, it is discernment.
However, I do have a positive feedback to share regarding the effective message of Ray Yungen’s book, A Time of Departing. The assistance pastor in my church announced he was going to periodically conduct spiritual formation workshops. I had read A Time Of Departing so I was curious to see what the first workshop would include. Lights turn down low, sitting quietly in silence, breathing exercises, listening for God’s voice. This, of course, disturbed me greatly. I purchased two additional copies of A Time of Departing and gave them to the the lead and assistant pastors. I personally met with the pastor who facilitated the spiritual formation workshop to discuss my concerns. I pointed out the dangers mentioned in Ray Yungen’s book. Happily, he discontinued any further workshops. On a personal note, I was prepared to leave that church if the deceptive contemplative/new age practices became part of the church practice. I think A Time of Departing is an excellent gift to give the pastor(s) of your church, as well as donate to the church lending library.
So refreshing and encouraging to read this letter today!! This is so comforting to hear, as I have had the same experience throughout the 19 years or so that I’ve been “walking the Lighthouse Trail”!! Many times I have composed a similar letter to the editor in my head, but not written it down or sent it to you. My mother and I are the ones who have tried to warn pastors where we live. Interestingly, she just recently shared the booklet on The Chosen (because he had commented favorably about The Chosen in a sermon) with our new pastor and….Hallelujah!…he returned them to my mother the following week and humbly thanked her. He also said that he had learned a lot. We were stunned because we had been ignored by other pastors throughout the years. Just to encourage people to keep at it, but as the editors said, many are deluded and deceived. We don’t know who the deceived are, and sharing the truth might just open their eyes. We have to keep praying for the hearts of our pastors.
I was thinking about something I remember hearing about when you are feeding a baby. Sometimes they need to be introduced to a new food ten times before they will try it. Maybe pastors need to hear something many times (maybe 10?) before they will accept it??
So, let us not grow weary of doing good.