By Roger Beach
Guest Writer
Mike Bickle (IHOP), a major player in the Apostles/Prophet movement and a proponent of Contemplative Prayer will be sharing a platform with Mike Huckabee and others at an upcoming event presented by TheCall, an organization that states on its website it is “divinely initiated.”
Mike Huckabee will join Lou Engle, Bill McCartney, Ron Luce (also a proponent of contemplative), Harry Jackson, Larry Stockstill, and Tony Perkins for a PASTORS AND LEADERS GATHERING on August 14-15, preceding TheCall DC to be held August 16 in Washington D.C.
In addition, there will be a FORERUNNER GATHERING August 14-15 and the speakers include Lou Engle, Mike Bickle, Ron Luce, Misty Edwards, and Eddie James. Bickle is one of TheCall’s National Board members, as is James Goll, another proponent of contemplative spirituality. In an article in Charisma magazine titled “Be Still and Know,” Goll states:
I have found that the most direct road to greater intimacy with God has come through the practice or discipline of an almost lost art in the fast-paced church of today–something called contemplative prayer.
In the article, Goll references Richard Foster’s book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home. This is the book where Foster encourages the use of breath prayers saying: “You must bind the mind with one thought” (meaning repeating a word or phrase over and over again to still the mind – as Rick Warren also recommends in The Purpose Driven Life (pp. 88-89).
TheCall DC is to be a massive day of fasting and prayer for revival in the U.S. It will be preceded by Blow the Trumpet Sunday June 29 where churches will be asked to play a video promoting the TheCall.
Following this is the National Pre-Call Rally on July 18 featuring live streaming video on DirecTV and at www.God.TV.
There will also be a series of PreCall rallies in Winterville NC, Myrtle Beach SC, Miami FL, and Orlando FL during July.
On their website, TheCall has listed their values. First is “THE CALL WILL BE NAMELESS AND FACELESS” with the following statement:
God clearly directed TheCall Board not to advertise the names and faces of those speaking, praying, or leading worship at TheCall gatherings. Although national leaders and musicians will be involved, the focus is not on personalities but on Jesus and His purposes.
The Board was clearly directed not to advertise the name and faces of those speaking? That is difficult to believe. Why does the flyer that came in the mail list all the speakers? Why does TheCall website list the names of the 80 men and women on the Advisory Board? Why does the website have videos of proponents endorsing TheCall?
THE CALL IS A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT The Call does not oppose godly advertising and marketing (we do have state and city coordinators for national gatherings); however, the primary vehicle for mobilizing people to gather for TheCall gatherings is word of mouth.
The Call gathering is word of mouth? This is also hard to believe. With regional PreCall rallies, live streaming video on DirecTV and www.God.TV, and flyers in the mail this is more than a word of mouth movement.
The list of values on the website seem to contradict much of the other information provided. TheCall makes another interesting statement about values:
The Call supports and endorses all Christian organizations that espouse its values: These values include Unity, Transformation, and Impartation. [1]
We have all seen the new functional definition of Unity. It is a man-made unity where even doctrine must be sacrificed for relationship.
Transformation has become a code word for Contemplative Prayer, in which one comes into the immediate (unmediated) presence of God and is thereby silently transformed by the power of God with no cognitive effort by the person “praying.”
Impartation as defined by Mike Bickle is the transferring of “the anointing” of God from one person to another by the laying on of hands which imparts spiritual gifts. On his website, Bickle shows more of what he means when he states: “Everybody is called to live in the contemplative lifestyle. Everyone! Everyone! Everyone! That’s one of the great strongholds we have to overcome.” 1 And just so there is no mistake about what Bickle means by “the contemplative lifestyle,” also on his website is an article titled “Contemplative Prayer,” where instructions on meditative practices are given.
Now the question must be asked, with Mike Huckabee joining up with so many who are in the contemplative camp at TheCall, does he adhere to their mystical propensities?
Endnote
[1]THE CALL HAS DEFINITIVE VALUES The Call supports and endorses all Christian organizations that espouse its values:
* Worship
* Unity
* Prayer
* Fasting
* Follow Up
* Transformation
* Repentance
* Reconciliation
* Impartation
* Equipping
* Revival
* Revolution
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