See Part 1 of Year-in-Review: Top 5 Letters to the Editor.
1.From a Former Nazarene to the Church of the Nazarene: Why Now Do You Practice These Things? (Manny Silva): There are some Christians in the Concerned Nazarenes group who sincerely have asked questions about Lent and our objection to participating in it. Some believe there is no harm and it helps their spiritual growth. Perhaps that is the case with some people. They have legitimately asked the question: what is wrong with practicing Lent, putting ashes to the forehead, and giving something up for forty days?
2.Warning: Jennie Allen’s “Gather 25″—Another Effort for “UNITY” Outside the Confines of Truth (LT Editors): All one has to do is take even a brief look at the various organizations involved with Gather 25 to see this is not a biblically sound effort. From IF: Gathering to Right Now Media to 24/7 Prayer to Bible Project to Global 2033 to World Evangelical Alliance to the Alpha Course and to numerous others, it’s clear the objective of Gather 25 is UNITY under the broadest sense possible.
3.Christian Reconnaissance (Maria Kneas): Spiritual warfare is increasing. The spiritual atmosphere keeps getting darker. And in the world around us, we are seeing more and more evil—shameless, in-your-face evil that we never could have imagined a few years ago—rampant delusion and insanity—and widespread lawlessness that keeps increasing.
4.On The Chosen, “At Home in Rome: Do We All Love the Same Jesus?” (The Berean Call): Do we all “love the same Jesus”? Do we need the Catholic Church, the Abrahamic Family House, Rick Warren, the Finishing the Task Coalition, and The Chosen to fulfill the Great Commission?
5.Throwing Out the Ministry of the Apostle Paul? (LT Editors): In a time when the church is being overrun with unbiblical teachings and off-the-wall opinions and recommendations by so many of today’s pastors and leaders, we have been puzzled at Lighthouse Trails why even the “good” pastors and teachers rarely talk about what’s going on in the church with regard to these teachings; and it’s even more rare to hear a pastor actually identify those (naming the names) who are bringing in false teachings and opinions.
6.Book Review: Beware of John Mark Comer’s 2024 Book, Practicing the Way (Bruce C.) It is difficult to write a summary for this review because the book is so full of error, but since few people will be willing to
wade through the pages of details, here goes.
7.Necromancy in the Church—No Statute of Limitations on False Teaching (Jim Fletcher) The death of a child has rightly been called soul-crushing. Whether a miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of an adult child, the parents are never quite the same. The tragedy usually lingers; it can also negatively impact a marriage. As has been said many times, a parent should never outlive offspring. Our human pattern in this was set with the first death: Abel dead at the hands of his own brother.
8.Are Today’s Christians Duped by Fatalism? (David Dombrowski) Today, I would like us to ask ourselves, as the body of Christ, a question, “Are we being fooled by a fatalistic mentality?” I believe it’s an important question, and depending on the answer, it could affect our future in more ways than one.
9.Should I or Should I Not Prepare for the Great Tribulation? (Tony Pearce) When considering the question of the timing of the Rapture, some have brought forward objections including the accusation that the pre-Tribulation view is not preparing people for the time of trouble that is coming. It is said by some that those who believe in the pre-Tribulation Rapture will find themselves in time of trouble instead of being raptured away to paradise. . . . Is this the case?
10. Episcopal Church May Be Dying Out . . . But Evangelical Church Shares Same “Missing” Link (LT Editors) The Episcopal Church has had severe spiritual deficits for a long time (long before Covid), but perhaps members such as Joseph didn’t see this coming. Just the fact that the denomination welcomed ex-communicated Catholic priest Matthew Fox into its fold a few decades ago tells a lot. After being defrocked by the Roman Catholic Church, Fox became a priest in the Episcopal Church in 1993 and brought with him his New Age views and his book The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, which teaches that all humans have christ-consciousness and God within.
Image credits: #1 – Church of the Nazarene logo; #4 – from cover of The Berean Call’s DVD At Home in Rome; #6 – Cover of Practicing the Way; #7 – from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission. Remainder of images from istockphoto.com; used with permission.
