By Mike Oppenheimer When Paul spoke the Gospel to these religious pagans in Athens on Mars Hill for the first time, he didn’t wait to become friends first to “share his beliefs.” This is an absurd method to abide by. He took the time to explain their idolatry and the truth. No one knows how many … [Read more…]
The Church’s fixation on the death of Jesus as the universal saving act must end, and the place of the cross must be reimagined in Christian faith. Why? Because of the cult of suffering and the vindictive God behind it.1—Alan Jones, Episcopal contemplative priest The New Age believes that the teachings of the East and … [Read more…]
(See Year in Review 2022, Part 1 – The Chosen; see Year in Review 2022, Part 2 – Letters and Comments) The Final part of the Lighthouse Trails 2022 Year in Review lists the top 10 articles we posted this past year from guest writers and Lighthouse Trails authors. Listed in order of when they were … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails: I thank you for the work you are doing for God’s kingdom. I enjoy your newsletters and have been taught many things to steer clear of because of your faithful and great teaching. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Our daughter, unfortunately, attended a Christian college in the mid 90s (Westmont College … [Read more…]
By Berit Kjos Today’s “progressive” emerging churches have little love for the old certainties that have grounded genuine Christians in God’s revealed truth for 2000 years. They say those precious guidelines don’t fit the new dialectic and collective ways of thinking. Today’s entertainment-driven Christians prefer “feel good” assurances stripped of unwanted references to sin, guilt, … [Read more…]
By Dr. Shelton SmithGuest Writer (Editor of Sword of the Lord) In recent months there has been a rash of well-known professing Christians who have announced that they were “deconstructing” their Christian faith.* The term was new, but what it described is not new at all. Several of these individuals have been entertainers. One was … [Read more…]
By David Dombrowski From the onset of Lighthouse Trails in 2002, we have always endeavored to be connected with the body of believers scattered throughout the world who are very concerned, as we are, with the state of the church today. Many of our readers have told us they feel very alone and even ostracized … [Read more…]
By Milton QuintanillaChristian Headlines Kevin Max, a member of the Grammy award-winning Christian band DC Talk, recently stirred up controversy after he identified himself as an “exvangelical”, leading many to think he has departed from the faith. In a tweet over the weekend, Max wrote the following, “Hello, my name is Kevin Max & I’m an #exvangelical.” … [Read more…]
By Mary Danielsen While many in the church seem to have fallen asleep at their post and have ceased to “watch therefore,” they seem to have plenty of time and attention to be distracted by “heaps of teachers” out there who are more than happy to tell them what they want to hear. The Bible … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: Because Wheaton College has been promoting and embracing both contemplative spirituality and emergent ideologies for many years (as Lighthouse Trails has documented), it makes perfect sense that they would now embrace the social justice, Marxist-influenced movement. They all go hand in hand (but most Christian leaders, colleges, and pastors have failed to recognize … [Read more…]
LTRJ Note: The following news story is posted for informational and research purposes. One year ago, on December 2, 2019, Lighthouse Trails released an article titled Southern Baptist Convention Adopts “Critical Race Theory”—A Dangerous Marxist ‘Solution’ That Will Not Work.” In the summer of 2020, we released a booklet of the same title. This is … [Read more…]
NEW BOOKLET: S is for Social Justice The Language of Today’s Cultural “Revolution” by Mary Danielsen is our newest Lighthouse Trails Booklet.* The Booklet is 18 pages long and sells for $1.95 for single copies. Quantity discounts are available. Our Booklets are designed to give away to others or for your own personal use. Below … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: The following news story is posted for informational and research purposes. By Michael FoustChristianheadlines.com The lead singer of the Christian contemporary group Hawk Nelson said in an Instagram post last week he doesn’t believe in God and “can no longer stand on stage” and sing the band’s songs because of his new stance. … [Read more…]
Lighthouse Trails Publishing now has 141 topical booklets, and all of them are currently on sale for 20% off. The booklets start at $1.95 each, with quantity discounts starting at 6 or more of the same title. Each booklet is 10-18 pages, 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ with full-color covers, high-quality gloss paper, and especially … [Read more…]
By Philip Gray According to a Christian Post article, “Southern Baptist Convention Cancels Annual Meeting Amid COVID-19 Outbreak,” emergent Calvinist SBC president, J.D. Greear, will remain as president one more year: Messengers at the SBC’s Annual Meeting this year were scheduled to vote for a new president to replace pastor J.D. Greear, who has served … [Read more…]
In 2007, Lighthouse Trails wrote a book review on a book titled Emergent Manifesto of Hope. Today, thirteen years later, we are seeing the “fruit” of the emergent church (that, incidentally, was spawned by leaders like Rick Warren, Bob Buford, and Bill Hybels as is documented in Faith Undone by Roger Oakland). The so-called fruit … [Read more…]
By Kevin Reevesand the Editors at Lighthouse TrailsA number of years ago, a book written by emerging-church leaders Brian McLaren and Leonard Sweet was released. The book was called A is for Abductive: the language of the emerging church. Going through the alphabet, the authors identified many terms they hoped would be picked up by … [Read more…]
On November 25th, Lighthouse Trails received a link to a YouTube documentary titled “The Stain of Albert Mohler”(1) that documents how the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) passed a resolution (Resolution 9) this past summer (2019) which adopts “Critical Race Theory” (a theory that claims to be a solution to ending racism but according to critics … [Read more…]
Today, church sermons, books, commentaries, and lectures are inundated with the call for unity, and are all pushing for the idea that we must have unity at all costs and do “whatever it takes” to accomplish that goal. Over the years, we’ve heard this “unity” cry from various Christian leaders, such as Rick Warren and … [Read more…]
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 8:8 LTRP Note: The following news story is posted for informational and research purposes and not as an endorsement of either content or the source. It is worth reading this article (written earlier this summer) because it is a glimpse of the face of today’s … [Read more…]
“I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is ‘deconstruction,’ the biblical phrase is ‘falling away.’ By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian. . . . to the LGBTQ+ community, I want to say that I … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails: We are writing this letter to encourage others in their journey to find a Bible-believing church that values sound biblical doctrine and the authority of Scripture. We became aware of a significant shift in our C&MA [Christian & Missionary Alliance] church after they picked-up a new hip pastor from a California mega … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: The following is a book review by Gary Gilley on A.J. Swoboda’s book Subversive Sabbath, the Surprising Power of Rest in a Nonstop World. BOOK REVIEW: Subversive Sabbath, the Surprising Power of Rest in a Nonstop World by A.J. Swoboda By Pastor Gary GilleyThink on These ThingsUsed with permission. Subversive Sabbath won Christianity … [Read more…]
Dear Lighthouse Trails: As a Southern Baptist, I am concerned that powerful leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention are taking the denomination far from its biblical moorings. Bureaucracy within the organization is to blame, as are a few mega-church pastors who take turns filling decision-making posts whether elected or appointed. What can Southern Baptists do … [Read more…]
In 1922, liberal pastor and theologian Harry Emerson Fosdick stated the following words in his sermon titled “Will the Fundamentalists Win?”: “It is interesting to note where the Fundamentalists are driving in their stakes to mark out the deadline of doctrine around the church, across which no one is to pass except on terms of … [Read more…]
Preparing for Perilous Times and Finding God’s Peace in the Midst of Them By David Dombrowski For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12) Over the … [Read more…]
It was six years ago in January 2013 that Lighthouse Trails began publishing topical booklets. In February of that year, we released one by Roger Oakland called How To Know When the Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging Into Your Church. This booklet has been invaluable to many because it lists several of the signs … [Read more…]
LTRP Note: The following letter to the editor is posted with permission. It is written by a graduate student of a Christian university. We find the professor’s remarks to this student provocative, especially considering what we discovered after reading the professor’s post. Please see our comments after the two posts below. Dear Lighthouse Trails: I … [Read more…]
By Gregory R Reid As a Christian researcher and minister, I approached the reading of Andy Stanley’s book Irresistible with an account of Andy Stanley’s message to the Southern Baptist Convention that helped me to understand Stanley’s core belief concerning the Scripture. He had told the gathering at the SBC, “I would ask preachers and … [Read more…]
By Ray Yungen From a theological viewpoint, there now exist two branches (so to speak) of the Catholic Church—the traditional (as defended by someone like Karl Keating in his book Catholicism and Fundamentalism) and the progressive or contemplative* element (as exemplified by Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen).1 And while these two branches (or movements) can … [Read more…]
