{"id":4228,"date":"2010-03-23T02:36:43","date_gmt":"2010-03-23T06:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=4228"},"modified":"2026-09-08T14:15:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T21:15:25","slug":"brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"

by John Lanagan
\nMy Word Like Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

In his book, A New Kind of Christianity, <\/em>Emergent leader Brian McLaren attacks Biblical understanding, and tries to revise both God and the Bible.\u00a0In his chapter on reinterpreting God\u2019s Word,\u00a0he\u00a0\u00a0notes, \u201cEven for those of us on this quest, breaking out of centuries-old habits won\u2019t be easy\u2026\u201d[1]<\/p>\n

In the same paragraph, McLaren makes an interesting statement. \u201cNo wonder those of us who want and need to change our approach may need to form twelve-step groups to deprogram our thinking.\u201d<\/strong>[2] (Bold Mine)<\/p>\n

Wait a minute.\u00a012 Steps groups to\u00a0help\u00a0people reject\u00a0the Bible as the literal Word of God?<\/p>\n

Is this shocking? Hardly.\u00a0McLaren knows this has already happened\u2013and is continuing to happen\u2013through both Christian and cultural\u00a0acceptance\u00a0of 12 Step spirituality. Unlike numerous Bible-believing pastors who allow\u00a012 Step groups to meet in their churches,\u00a0the Emergent\u00a0leaders are clearly\u00a0aware of what AA and other 12 Step groups have brought about.<\/p>\n

McLaren wrote the foreword to A Heretic\u2019s Guide To Eternity. <\/em>In this book, Emergent authors Spencer Burke\u00a0and\u00a0Barry Taylor write, \u201cAs Phyllis Tickle [another Emergent leader]\u00a0has noted, the development of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) probably did as much as other, more celebrated events to undermine our concept of religion. Emerging in the late 1930s, AA made it acceptable to talk about a generic God\u2013a \u2018higher power.\u2019\u201d<\/strong>[3] (Bold mine)<\/p>\n

Burke and Taylor further note what has resulted from this: \u201cConsequently, a generation of people began speaking about God in new ways not previously sanctioned by the consensual<\/strong> illusion<\/strong>\u2013and traditional religious perspectives began to change as a result.\u201d[4] (Bold mine)<\/p>\n

Due to\u00a0acceptance\u00a0of the chameleon nature of AA\u2019s \u201chigher power,\u201d our culture\u00a0has been put\u00a0at ease with custom-made gods and even with blended belief systems.\u00a0Undeniably, Biblical Christianity has been greatly weakened.<\/p>\n

This has always been the objective of the spiritual forces that created AA.[5] (Ephesians 6:12)<\/p>\n

Yes, but\u00a0what about the people helped by Alcoholics Anonymous?\u00a0We should be grateful for the estimated five<\/em> percent<\/em> of alcoholics who do gain sobriety through AA. Yet,\u00a0in terms of alcoholism,\u00a0this success\u00a0is in public relations and publicity rather than treatment effectiveness. Herein lies a real tragedy, because most believe only AA can help. Many who have quit drinking in another manner have been called \u201cdry drunks\u201d (not really\u00a0sober)\u00a0by AA members. This can be extremely hurtful.<\/p>\n

AA\u2019s teachings\u00a0can also be terrifying.\u00a0There are Christians in AA who fear to leave because they believe they will relapse unless AA and the 12 Steps are involved. And so, out of fear, they disobey Scripture, or rationalize reasons for remaining.\u00a0(2 Corinthians 6:14-17, Galatians 1: 6-9, Amos 3:3)\u00a0 For others, AA has become an idol.\u00a0For these people, it is more important to defend AA than to acknowledge what the Scriptures command.<\/p>\n

In his book, The Sober Alcoholic,\u00a0<\/em>Irving Peter Gellman observes, \u201cA member who suggests that AA is not as effective as maintained, and who implies that some improvement might be made, will be censured when broaching these ideas.\u00a0The AA program is deemed infallible, whereas other methods are deemed less than perfect.\u201d<\/strong>[6] (Bold mine.)<\/p>\n

Like many in the Emergent and Contemplative movements,\u00a0many\u2013perhaps most\u2013\u00a0in AA who call Christ their \u201chigher power\u201d do not worship the Biblical Christ at all. This is not intended to offend those in 12 Step spirituality who do<\/em> worship the God of the Bible, but\u00a0true Christians desperately need to understand this. The 12 Steps are not our friend.\u00a0Truly, Emergent, Contemplative and 12 Step spirituality are blending. Homospirituality grows daily as a religious force, and may ultimately merge with the other three systems.<\/p>\n

As others have pointed out, wherever one finds the\u00a0Emergent movement, there will also be found Contemplative Spirituality. Perhaps this will also be said of 12 Step spirituality in the near future. AA\u2019s eleventh step states: \u201cSought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him,<\/em> praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Considering that AA\u2019s Step Three allows the addict to make up,\u00a0customize, or borrow any \u201cgod\u201d that holds appeal, the act of opening oneself further through Step Eleven meditation can have very real spiritual consequences.<\/p>\n

The contemplative roots of AA can be traced back to Frank Buchman and the Oxford Group.[7] Today these roots are being watered by many meditative and contemplative advocates.[8]<\/p>\n

Brian McLaren calls himself a \u201ccontemplative\/reflexive.\u201d[9] While we must continue to\u00a0expose the apostasy of Emergents such as McLaren, Spencer Burke, and Phyllis Tickle, it is time we listen to their unintended warning about the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.<\/p>\n

Endnotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0Brian McLaren,\u00a0A New Kind of Christianity<\/em>, pg.85-86<\/p>\n

2. Ibid., pg. 86<\/p>\n

3. Spencer Burke and Barry Taylor, A Heretics Guide To Eternity, <\/em>pg. 34-35, foreword by Brian McClaren.<\/p>\n

4. Ibid.<\/p>\n

5. Seances, Spirits, and 12 Steps: http:\/\/mywordlikefire.wordpress.com\/2008\/09\/24\/seances-spirits-and-12-steps\/<\/p>\n

6. Irving Peter Gellman, The Sober Alcoholic<\/em><\/p>\n

7. <\/em>Alcoholics Anonymous and Contemplative Spirituality: http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=1196<\/a><\/p>\n

8. 12 Step Outreach: http:\/\/cp12stepoutreach.org\/<\/a>\u00a011th Step Meditation Newsletter http:\/\/www.11thstepmeditation.org\/11th_step_meetings\/overview.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

9. Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, <\/em>pg.226.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related Articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alcoholics Anonymous and Contemplative Spirituality<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by John Lanagan My Word…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":25821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[165,25],"tags":[126,284],"class_list":["post-4228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-deception-defending-the-faith","category-progressive-emerging-church","tag-brian-mclaren","tag-alcoholics-anonymous","wpcat-165-id","wpcat-25-id"],"yoast_head":"\nBrian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible - From the Lighthouse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by John Lanagan My Word...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"From the Lighthouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-03-23T06:36:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-08T21:15:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/brian-mclaren-2014-e1788902119318.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"548\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"343\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Lanagan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Lanagan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John Lanagan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d61c1dbf1a8fcbbb43b8b1925398e348\"},\"headline\":\"Brian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-03-23T06:36:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-08T21:15:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":881,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/brian-mclaren-2014-e1788902119318.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Brian McLaren\",\"Alcoholics Anonymous\"],\"articleSection\":[\"\u2014Spiritual Deception\",\"EMERGENT \\\"PROGRESSIVE\\\" CHURCH\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/\",\"name\":\"Brian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible - From the Lighthouse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/brian-mclaren-2014-e1788902119318.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-03-23T06:36:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-08T21:15:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d61c1dbf1a8fcbbb43b8b1925398e348\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/brian-mclaren-2014-e1788902119318.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/brian-mclaren-2014-e1788902119318.jpg\",\"width\":548,\"height\":343,\"caption\":\"Photo: a 2-second clip from a YouTube video of Brian McLaren (2014); used in accordance with the US Fair Use Act. (source: https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/watch?v=RfL76BnO3g0)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Brian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"From the Lighthouse\",\"description\":\""A Light Shining in the Darkness"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d61c1dbf1a8fcbbb43b8b1925398e348\",\"name\":\"John Lanagan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/192c4ffefa3c17afa0fb30b6bdd6887ddcc04ee1d8f2eb6574a929e4b63f3055?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/192c4ffefa3c17afa0fb30b6bdd6887ddcc04ee1d8f2eb6574a929e4b63f3055?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/192c4ffefa3c17afa0fb30b6bdd6887ddcc04ee1d8f2eb6574a929e4b63f3055?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Lanagan\"},\"description\":\"John Lanagan is a writer and researcher and has helped to equip the church in the area of discernment for many years. His website is: https:\\\/\\\/thewordlikefire.wordpress.com. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Kristin.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/john-lanagan\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Brian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible - From the Lighthouse","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Brian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible","og_description":"by John Lanagan My Word...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/","og_site_name":"From the Lighthouse","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch","article_published_time":"2010-03-23T06:36:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-08T21:15:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":548,"height":343,"url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/brian-mclaren-2014-e1788902119318.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"John Lanagan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@LTrails","twitter_site":"@LTrails","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Lanagan","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/"},"author":{"name":"John Lanagan","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d61c1dbf1a8fcbbb43b8b1925398e348"},"headline":"Brian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible","datePublished":"2010-03-23T06:36:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-08T21:15:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/"},"wordCount":881,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/brian-mclaren-2014-e1788902119318.jpg","keywords":["Brian McLaren","Alcoholics Anonymous"],"articleSection":["\u2014Spiritual Deception","EMERGENT \"PROGRESSIVE\" CHURCH"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/","name":"Brian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible - From the Lighthouse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/brian-mclaren-2014-e1788902119318.jpg","datePublished":"2010-03-23T06:36:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-08T21:15:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d61c1dbf1a8fcbbb43b8b1925398e348"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/brian-mclaren-2014-e1788902119318.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/brian-mclaren-2014-e1788902119318.jpg","width":548,"height":343,"caption":"Photo: a 2-second clip from a YouTube video of Brian McLaren (2014); used in accordance with the US Fair Use Act. (source: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RfL76BnO3g0)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/brian-mclaren12-step-groups-may-help-us-escape-bible\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Brian McLaren:12 Step groups may help us escape Bible"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/","name":"From the Lighthouse","description":""A Light Shining in the Darkness"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d61c1dbf1a8fcbbb43b8b1925398e348","name":"John Lanagan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/192c4ffefa3c17afa0fb30b6bdd6887ddcc04ee1d8f2eb6574a929e4b63f3055?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/192c4ffefa3c17afa0fb30b6bdd6887ddcc04ee1d8f2eb6574a929e4b63f3055?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/192c4ffefa3c17afa0fb30b6bdd6887ddcc04ee1d8f2eb6574a929e4b63f3055?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"John Lanagan"},"description":"John Lanagan is a writer and researcher and has helped to equip the church in the area of discernment for many years. His website is: https:\/\/thewordlikefire.wordpress.com. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Kristin.","url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/author\/john-lanagan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47637,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228\/revisions\/47637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}