Recently we were contacted by a member of Overlake Church in Redmond, Washington who shared with us concerns about Overlake’s affinity with contemplative and emerging spiritualities. Overlake Church is a non-denominational church that states it “believes the Bible to be divinely inspired and inerrant.” However, this November they will be hosting the Revolution Conference, which … [Read more…]
Pretty soon, it is back to school, and thousands of teens and young adults will be flooding the doors of Christian colleges and seminaries. For nearly five years now, we have been researching Christian colleges and seminaries, have spoken to countless professors and several presidents and have found that most of these higher education … [Read more…]
On August 17th, acclaimed interviewer and broadcast journalist, Charlie Rose, interviewed Rick Warren. You may listen to this broadcast by clicking here. (You will have to let this file load.) In the interview, Rose and Warren discuss the Purpose Driven Life paradigm and its relation to Christianity in North America and around the world. Here … [Read more…]
by Ray Yungen [M]ystical silence is accomplished by the same methods used by New Agers to achieve their silence–the mantra and the breath! Contemplative prayer is the repetition of what is referred to as a prayer word or sacred word until one reaches a state where the soul, rather than the mind, contemplates God. Contemplative … [Read more…]
This month, Random House publishers purchased the Oregon-based Multnomah Publishers. See Multnomah press release. Multnomah isn’t the first Christian publisher that is owned by a secular corporation. Random House also owns Waterbrook Press while Zondervan has been owned by Harper Collins since the late 80s. While the purchase of Multnomah by a secular company will … [Read more…]
Every week I receive a copy of Rick Warren’s e-newsletter that goes out to pastors and other church and ministry leaders around the world. And every week, I watch as this newsletter endorses, promotes, and exalts the names of people, books and organizations whose spirituality opposes biblical Christianity. In essence, this newsletter is like a … [Read more…]
Every week I receive a copy of Rick Warren’s e-newsletter that goes out to pastors and other church and ministry leaders around the world. And every week, I watch as this newsletter endorses, promotes, and exalts the names of people, books and organizations whose spirituality opposes biblical Christianity. In essence, this newsletter is like a … [Read more…]
According to news reports about Rick Warren’s participation at the Ecumenical and Interfaith Pre-Conferences (for the International AIDS Conference), Warren stated: “We are here at these conferences to say to fellow Christians that we believe the Church needs to take the lead in the greatest health concern on the planet.” He said that Christians need … [Read more…]
The 2007 National Pastors Convention (presented by Zondervan publishers) carries a heavy-weight line up of speakers. From Ruth Haley Barton to Brian McLaren, next year’s convention will not be lacking in New Age sympathizing, meditation promoting speakers. John Burke, president of Emerging Leadership Initiative, was recently a speaker at the Ancient-Wisdom Conference, and says this … [Read more…]
By Paul Proctor Used with permission. He was born in an out-of-the-way place, the son of a poor mother and father whom the world would one day call blessed. He arrived challenging the establishment and literally shook the world with things that eyes and ears had never before witnessed. He offered a joy and freedom … [Read more…]
by Kjos Ministries Biblical Christianity means being joined to Jesus Christ through faith in what He did for us at the cross, then allowing Him to live His life through us, so that others might know Him and see His love. (That love may include sharing His warnings as well as His promises with those … [Read more…]
Yesterday we received the following question: “You make mention that LifeWay Christian Resources and/or stores (Southern Baptist) is also behind the emergent church movement. Where are you getting that from?” So we can set the record straight, we are providing the following documentation that shows Lifeway’s promotion of both contemplative and emerging: Perhaps the most … [Read more…]
The Walk to Emmaus, an adaptation of the Roman Catholic Cursillo Movement, which originated in Spain in 1949, is a program put on by Upper Room Ministries (an organization that promotes Spiritual Formation (i.e., contemplative spirituality)). If you want to understand the dynamics of Walk to Emmaus, then understanding the spirituality of Upper Room will … [Read more…]
Are Christian High Schools Promoting Contemplative Spirituality? In a few weeks, high schoolers will be returning to school, and many of them will be going to Christian high schools. Are Christian schools falling into the snare of contemplative/emerging spirituality as are Christian colleges and seminaries? And how many unknowing, devoted parents are placing their teens … [Read more…]
“I attended a meditation-intensive day at an ashram [Hindu spiritual center]to support a friend. As I sat in meditation in what was for me an unfamiliar environment, I suddenly felt and saw a bolt of lightning shoot up from the base of my spine out the top of my head. It forced me to recognize … [Read more…]
“I attended a meditation-intensive day at an ashram [Hindu spiritual center]to support a friend. As I sat in meditation in what was for me an unfamiliar environment, I suddenly felt and saw a bolt of lightning shoot up from the base of my spine out the top of my head. It forced me to … [Read more…]
This year’s Leadership Summit, hosted by Willow Creek, will be attended by more than 70,000 men and women, in over 130 locations. One of the featured speakers this year is Jim Collins. In 1982, Collins took Michael Ray’s course, Creativity in Business. The course (and the book named after the course) “takes much of its … [Read more…]
If you are someone who, on a regular basis, reads books written by Christian leaders, then you are probably well aware that many of those leaders quote contemplative authors. And many of those leaders defend their quoting of contemplatives, insisting that even if they may not agree with all that is said, it is worth … [Read more…]
In February, we contacted Awana Club with concerns about their affiliation with and promotion of contemplative organizations such as Willow Creek, Youth Specialties, and Group Publishing. We later learned that there would be no changes made by Awana regarding these organizations. (You may read about this situation in our February news release.) Today, we have … [Read more…]
In the last couple years there has been an unusually high number of movies that have an obvious and clear New Age message. Indigo Children and Bee Season are two of those along with more recent releases such as The Shaggy Dog and Peaceful Warrior. Now, soon to be released (October), is Conversations With God, … [Read more…]
by Larry DeBruyn Music engenders mystical experiences. This can be discerned from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera and lyrics from The Music of the Night: “Night time sharpens heightens each sensation / Darkness wakes and stirs imagination / Silently the senses abandon their defenses / Helpless to resist the notes I write … [Read more…]
This year’s Youth Specialties-hosted National Youth Workers Convention will include a labyrinth(Meditative words and music guide you on a one-hour reflective journey), and a huge speakers list that includes several contemplative/emerging promoting authors including Dan Kimball (The Emerging Church), Fil Anderson (Running on Empty: Contemplative Spirituality for Overachievers), Lauren Winner (Girl Meets God),and Mark Oestreicher … [Read more…]
Ancient Wisdom The supposed laws of the Universe that, when mastered, enable one to see one’s own divinity-another word for metaphysics or occultism. A Thin Place Where the space or distance (spiritually speaking) between heaven and earth, God and man is very small. This thin place is supposed to be achieved through meditative prayer by … [Read more…]
News Story from Christian Post: “Last summer, evangelical megachurch pastor Rick Warren he fell in love with Rwanda – one of the top countries at the highest risk – as he was testing his P.E.A.C.E. Plan model. This summer, Warren announced a major commitment to care for the sick in Rwanda as he launched “The … [Read more…]
In March of 2002, Lighthouse Trails Publishing began. Our first book was A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen. After that we published Laughter Calls Me and then Tapestry: The Journey of Laurel Lee. In 2005, we released Running Against the Wind and Trapped in Hitler’s Hell. Today, we carry eleven books and three DVDs, … [Read more…]
“Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope … [Read more…]
According to the Articles of Faith at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, the university believes the Bible is the “inspired, the only infallible, authoritative word of God” and that Jesus Christ is God. But their Bachelor of Science Degree with Major in Youth Ministries may send out a conflicting message. According to the … [Read more…]
by Kjos Ministries Mocked and humiliated by the neighborhood bully, ten-year-old Lucas stomps on the first ants he spots in his yard. Then he squirts their anthill with water. The falling drops — as seen from an ant’s perspective — look like a sky-full of huge shimmering canon balls. Inside the anthill, revenge is brewing. … [Read more…]
First published in 1978, Celebration of Discipline has had a massive influence on Christendom. Unfortunately, the influence has helped to saturate the church with mystical contemplative prayer and the New Age. Most likely, your pastor has a copy of this book sitting on his library shelves. He may even have it sitting on his desk … [Read more…]
As many of you may know, we received a letter in May from Focus on the Family after asking them why they were promoting and endorsing author Gary Thomas, who is a promoter of contemplative prayer. Thomas, in his book Sacred Pathways, lists different ways people can draw near to God incorporating contemplative prayer. In … [Read more…]
