{"id":5426,"date":"2010-12-18T20:48:14","date_gmt":"2010-12-19T00:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=5426"},"modified":"2026-07-12T18:42:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T01:42:51","slug":"letter-to-the-editor-contemplative-prayer-alive-and-well-in-american-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/letter-to-the-editor-contemplative-prayer-alive-and-well-in-american-churches\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter to the Editor: Contemplative Prayer Alive and “Well” in American Churches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Lighthouse Trails:<\/strong><\/p>\n

This fall I ordered Ray Yungen’s book, A Time of Departing<\/span>, and was also sent Roger Oakland’s book, Faith Undone<\/span>. \u00a0Thank you! \u00a0I first devoured Ray’s book and finished Roger’s this morning.<\/p>\n

“Speechless” is how I feel! \u00a0I hardly know what to say, except that I am very<\/span>\u00a0grateful for their research and writing. \u00a0Ten years ago I may have wondered what it was they were upset about; however, in recent years I can attest personally to some of these atrocities within the church. \u00a0A few years ago, we were members of a PCUSA church in which the associate pastor and his wife (dear friends) delved full-speed into studies, sessions, and retreats on Prayer (contemplative, meditative, breath, Taize, etc.). \u00a0I participated but all the while sensed there was something not right about all of it. \u00a0All of what Ray and Roger mention regarding contemplative prayer and related mysticism is definitely alive and well. \u00a0 And, we are in a mid-size midwest town.<\/p>\n

In other venues, I’ve heard pastors and lay people talk about breath prayers (and all sorts of contemplative prayer), Nooma programs, churches wanting to ‘return’ to high liturgy and a more Roman Catholic mysticism, although I’ve not (yet) heard anyone use the word ‘mysticism’ — that may raise red flags with the more rural Midwesterners! \u00a0As they state, these things have infiltrated churches of all stripes. \u00a0Our experience has been PCUSA and United Methodist. \u00a0(Fortunately, due in part to these authors’ books and my participation in Bible Study Fellowship with their stand on the Word of God, I was adamant that we find a confessing church, and were able to locate a confessing Methodist church not too far away. \u00a0We are so grateful\u00a0[our church stands]\u00a0firm in the Christ of the Bible.) \u00a0It’s downright difficult to find any church these days which doesn’t have some<\/em>\u00a0form of contemplative prayer, a bent toward ecumenicism, global inclusiveness, and the like. \u00a0This is what scares me.<\/p>\n

Last year I had a casual conversation with the wife of a former missionary who chided me for being so “literal” about Scripture and for not understanding how others live in other parts of the world … and that there are definitely other ways of “getting to God,” although she personally believes Jesus is the way for her!<\/p>\n

\u00a0I could go on … and on. \u00a0I don’t know when I’ve read two books which have disturbed me so greatly, and that is because I’ve seen some of it first-hand, and Scripture confirms the truth of it. \u00a0Truly, I believe many are deceived, the lies are so clever. \u00a0Isn’t that what Satan does? \u00a0My prayers are for those who are blindly involved in these things, and those who are drawn to the false Gospel.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Please … relay my thanks and words to these authors. \u00a0It was so important in their books to have so many direct quotes from those who follow and promote these ways, and from Scripture which warns of us the deceit. \u00a0I have been praying for Ray and Roger and those like them who unashamedly stand for the Gospel of the true Jesus.<\/p>\n

Thank you so much for publishing these books. \u00a0My copies are all marked up, so plan to order fresh copies to loan to friends.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Sincerely, M.L. (U.S.A.)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Lighthouse Trails: This fall…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[214,167,4252],"tags":[6,50,62,115,478,3280],"class_list":["post-5426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-contemplative-churches","category-contemplative-denominations","category-methodists","tag-roger-oakland","tag-deception","tag-ray-yungen","tag-contemplative","tag-psusa","tag-methodists","wpcat-214-id","wpcat-167-id","wpcat-4252-id"],"yoast_head":"\nLetter to the Editor: Contemplative Prayer Alive and "Well" in American Churches - 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\/letter-to-the-editor-contemplative-prayer-alive-and-well-in-american-churches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Letter to the Editor: Contemplative Prayer Alive and "Well" in American Churches\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear Lighthouse Trails: This fall...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/letter-to-the-editor-contemplative-prayer-alive-and-well-in-american-churches\/\" \/>\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=\"2010-12-19T00:48:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-13T01:42:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Letters to the Editor\" \/>\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=\"Letters to the Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/letter-to-the-editor-contemplative-prayer-alive-and-well-in-american-churches\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/letter-to-the-editor-contemplative-prayer-alive-and-well-in-american-churches\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Letters to the Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/760be19b05d2a8ad1e98d328cc2bf3b0\"},\"headline\":\"Letter to the Editor: Contemplative Prayer Alive and “Well” in American Churches\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-19T00:48:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-13T01:42:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/letter-to-the-editor-contemplative-prayer-alive-and-well-in-american-churches\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":562,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"Roger Oakland\",\"deception\",\"Ray Yungen\",\"contemplative\",\"PSUSA\",\"methodists\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Contemplative Churches\",\"Contemplative Denominations\",\"Methodists\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/letter-to-the-editor-contemplative-prayer-alive-and-well-in-american-churches\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/letter-to-the-editor-contemplative-prayer-alive-and-well-in-american-churches\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/letter-to-the-editor-contemplative-prayer-alive-and-well-in-american-churches\\\/\",\"name\":\"Letter to the Editor: Contemplative Prayer Alive and \\\"Well\\\" in American Churches - 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