LTRP Note: We are posting this letter to the editor not to single out this one particular Christian & Missionary Alliance church because the CMA denomination from top leadership down has embraced contemplative spirituality (see links below), and thus, it is no surprise that Yoga would enter in as well. This is happening in numerous other evangelical and Protestant denominations also.
As you can see from this letter to the editor and the ones listed below, these letters to Lighthouse Trails are written by CMA members who have witnessed first-hand what is happening in CMA.
We are compelled to also point out that every CMA college has now embraced contemplative spirituality (via Spiritual Formation programs) (as you can see on our Contemplative Colleges list).
Hello Lighthouse Trails:
I am just reaching out, and I hope I’m not alone in this. I read your article posted:
https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=14591,
and it seems I am not alone in my alarming observation.
I use to attend Beulah Alliance Church and had to leave after I was dismissed for raising concerns about Yoga being offered in the church. I came to find out the pastor who created this “Yoga-Pilates” is also one who practices Yoga as do many other leaders in their church. I am so heartbroken. My husband is heartbroken. I was then told that the warnings that apostle Paul gave to the Corinthians were not relevant to them. That was something I couldn’t ignore.
For such a huge church in the city of Edmonton (Alberta) and working on spreading their message throughout, I worry about the impact of these teachings.
https://beulahconnect.ccbchurch.com/w_group_list.php?show_navigation=1
We have been silenced by the pastoral staff in our concerns and no replies given to us.
Thank you for your time,
___________
Related Articles:
Letter to the Editor: Lighthouse Trails Has Exaggerated Condition of Christian Missionary Alliance
Is Pilates OK? by Caryl Matrisciana
Considering Yoga? Consider this! by Chris Lawson
(photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)
24 June 2019 / 21 Sivan 5779
To Those Who are Concerned:
I am absolutely appalled that any Christian pastor, teacher, or leader in the church could lead those in their congregation to be accepting of this pagan practice, or turn a blind eye to it!
Nonetheless, it is a “sign of the times,” and God said there would be a great “falling away” from the truth in the final days, right before the return of Christ.
May those of us who are truly “watching & praying” (Mark 13:33), be prepared for what is coming upon the earth; and may we encourage our unbelieving friends, family, and loved ones to call upon the LORD Jesus Christ, with a sincere and repentant heart, to save them, while there is still time!
You all at Lighthouse Trails are in my prayers!
With the love of Christ,
C. Read
Thank you so much everyone for sharing you insight, observations, experiences, and your knowledge. This is an answer to a prayer. This can wake a lot of people up. If the Lord is tugging at you, listen. Keep yourself calibrated on Jesus Christ. No college, seminary, institution will breath new truth that hasn’t been provided in the Gospel. Be still. He knows. He has the final say. He will not forsake us.
John 10:1-5 KJVS
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. [2] But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. [3] To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. [4] And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. [5] And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
I want nothing more than this church to repent, drop their pride & arrogance, and begin listening to the Lord again. Stop compromising. Goodness, take the messy pile of bibles from the top of the coat racks, clean and dust them off. Without those bibles you wouldn’t be where you are. Seeing those forgotten bibles was like a visual representation of where Jesus Christ was put in the church. It was very sad.
Remember where this church was 100 years ago and go back to the ingredients that nurtured us. Go back to the original recipes. Make it wholesome – like a home cooked meal. What is being fed to congregations these days is like fast food that may fill us up but it won’t sustain us like a good home cooked meal should.
Peace be with you all brothers and sisters.
AnonSister,
Start observing within your own church. Be as objective as you can; I bet you some pancakes and maple syrup that by the end of Easter, you’ll be gone. Free in Jesus Christ, as you’re meant to be.
The thing about a cult/sects (of which I have years of experience) is that while you’re in them, you are super ignorant until someone speaks up (see letter above and below).
The Holy Spirit points to Jesus Christ (for those new believers); for those who have been walking the road, the Holy Spirit is a teacher WHO reveals all truth. You don’t need any person to intervene for you, as there is one already, and only ONE mediator between man(kind) and God: Jesus Christ.
Trust in Him, dear AnonSister; you’ll be alright, believe me.
I too was once in a C&MA church in Southwestern Ontario. I attended from 1999 to 2001. I witnessed the whole shift that took place at that time when our Pastor attended a Willowcreek conference on church growth movement principles. Everything changed after that. Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven agenda was implemented. Other methods and means for growing the church were employed, like holding mid week evening teaching classes for the public. Everything from art classes to money management and cooking, it was all man’s effort to draw people into the church. We had to fill out questionnaires to help discover our giftings, and personality-type assessments were taken.
The Pastor began quoting Eugene Peterson’s The Message in his sermons. The organ was removed from the sanctuary and the platform was switched to a rock band style, drum set front and center. Plans were proposed for massive building expansions. This switch actually took place around this time in all of the main line churches in our city. I also noticed in a denominational publication called “Table Talk”, the District President included an article wherein he supported the Roman Catholic dogma of transubstantiation, and sounded like he was in agreement with the teaching that the bread and wine actually are/become the flesh and blood Christ. There was an evening service in 2001 that is memorable in that the focus in the message was all about “dreaming” and “vision casting”. Astoundingly, John Lennon’s song, “Imagine” was played, an anti-Christ message if ever there was one, and which pictures the one-world religion and false peace of the new world order that is coming.
One evening in June of 2001, our C&MA church was set to host the District Conference. My sister and I decided to go. When we arrived in the foyer of the church, there were many of our missionaries there, and the “lingo” they were using left us bewildered and thinking we had landed on another planet. It was strange, terms such as we were not familiar with at all. The speaker for the evening was Dr. Kevin Mannoia, former head of the NAE and Professor Emeritus of a Christian college in California. The moment he began talking both my sister and I were immediately stunned by the prolific use of new age terminology and we immediately sensed the presence of demonic power flooding the sanctuary. My sister left and went outside as she couldn’t stand it, but I stayed and took verbatim notes. I quoted some of these terms in another area of this blog. There was a strong emphasis on “connecting” and “connectedness”, and outright blasphemous notions were suggested like, “wondering if a person can smoke marijuana and worship God at the same time”. At the end of the talk I rushed for the exit, and I spent hours at home praying and asking God to deliver me from the effects of that session as I was shaking physically from it. At that point my husband and I, and my sister stopped attending the church. We knew this had been a cataclysmic event that would alter things for good, unless the church would recognize what was happening and repent of it. Our beloved Pastor who had so much discernment before all this happened, was taken in by the deception. We wrote letters and pled with him about the new age infiltration into the church but to no avail. We were told we “had a critical spirit”.
In summary, what is happening in the majority of large organized churches is the same, something that began almost twenty years ago has only worsened and now it is a wholesale acceptance of mysticism, false teachings and new age/occult/new spirituality. I am not surprised at all that yoga is now being embraced in the C&MA and that attempts to bring correction or warning is refused. This is truly the time that the we are warned about in the Epistles. And yes, we can join with a few (or even just one) other like minded believers to worship and pray together. My Scoffield Bible commentary states that this is a “church” in its most primitive/simple form. And God’s Word assures us that “where two or three are gathered”, the Lord is in the midst. Others may think it is wrong to leave an organized church setting and they often refer to it as “forsaking the assembling”, but this is not true, as real fellowship is based on truth and occurs, as I said, even in a very small setting where believers are gathered and in agreement.
Hey, did you see on the link that if you’re not interested in the yoga class, you could always attend the “Pub Alpha” class that meets at the Beer Factory? How special! 🙄🤦🏼♀️
Dear brother in Christ,
This means a lot to both of us. Thank you for sharing with us too because we do not know anyone else who left their church CMA church for same observations. This is a big city! It means a lot you took your time to reach out and share your experiences too.
God Bless,
Sister in Christ
Dear brother or sister who wrote the letter to the editor:
No, you are not alone. My wife and I attended Beulah Alliance Church for 20 years; but have become very concerned by the direction that the CMA in Canada, and Beulah in particular, has taken during the past five years. As a result, about one year ago we felt it necessary to leave the CMA.
Thank you for your courage in speaking up for convictions that are based on God’s Word. The path may forward may seem steep, narrow, difficult and lonely. Jesus said it would be that way; but as long as our eyes are fastened on Him and our hearts and minds are focused on His Word, we are never truly alone. Heb. 12: 1-2.
The great news I have for our sisters and brothers in Christ is to leave your false churches and start a home fellowship (not a church; not a “Bible study”; not a “cell group”). The nearer the end comes, the bigger the nonsense that will spill into the church. Remember, you don’t need a church to “remain saved.” That’s a demonic heresy out of the top drawer. You were saved at a specific time and date. And by forming a home fellowship, you’d be all of the same Holy Spirit and in agreement. and serving one another in love and showing true care. Once there, you’ll experience the freedom Jesus spoke about. You’d be free from all shackles, those Protestant ones especially.