According to Mark Driscoll’s church calendar and other reports as well, Mark Driscoll will be speaking at Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral on June 14th. 1
While many evangelical leaders have promoted Driscoll, he has been the topic of a number of Lighthouse Trails articles. Driscoll was one of the early “emergent” leaders mentored by Leadership Network (Bob Buford) to form the first emergent team (McLaren, Pagitt, Seay, etc.) Since then, Driscoll has publicly denounced some of the teachings and “theology” of that group. However, he has promoted contemplative spirituality and the new sexual spirituality, both of which are part of the emerging philosophy.
Robert Schuller holds to interspiritual views and is a proponent of contemplative meditation and some of its most influential teachers, such as mystic Henri Nouwen. Last year, Schuller held the first Rethink Conference in which many Christian figures were featured: Dan Kimball, John Ortberg, Kay Warren, George Bush, Sr., Lee Strobel, Gary Smalley, Erwin McManus, Jay Sekulow, etc. This caused concern for many believers who saw this coming together as an endorsement for Schuller and what he stands for. In the Reformed/Calvinist camp, Driscoll is someone whom many (especially young people) look up to. For him to speak at Schuller’s Cathedral will send the wrong signal to these young followers.
Our concerns about Schuller’s views are not unwarranted. In his 2002 autobiography, My Journey, Schuller states the following:
I met once more with the Grand Mufti (a Muslim), truly one of the great Christ-honoring leaders of faith. … I’m dreaming a bold impossible dream: that positive–thinking believers in God will rise above the illusions that our sectarian religions have imposed on the world, and that leaders of the major faiths will rise above doctrinal idiosyncrasies, choosing not to focus on disagreements, but rather to transcend divisive dogmas to work together to bring peace and prosperity and hope to the world….(p. 502)
Standing before a crowd of devout Muslims with the Grand Mufti, I know that we’re all doing God’s work together. Standing on the edge of a new millennium, we’re laboring hand in hand to repair the breach. (p. 501)
An excellent and compelling expose of Schuller’s beliefs is in Warren Smith’s book, Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose Driven Church, where Smith not only shows the serious problems with Schuller’s teachings and affinities but also the influence they have had on Rick Warren.
Related:
Erwin McManus Teams Up with Robert Schuller – Could Have Far-Reaching Effects
Rethinking Robert Schuller by Warren Smith
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