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One
year ago, Lighthouse Trails released an article titled "Nazarene Superintendent Praises 'A Time of
Departing" But Denomination's Schools Sinking into
Contemplative." It had been just a few years earlier that Dr. Jim
Diehl, one of six General Superintendents of the Nazarene denomination
contacted Lighthouse Trails after receiving and reading a copy of A Time
of Departing. He said he agreed with Yungen's warning, and his comments
of the book and the message in it were most favorable. The report stated:
We told [Dr. Diehl] at that time that
some of the Nazarene colleges were inviting contemplative speakers to
address the student bodies. Today, the Nazarene colleges and universities
are sinking deeper than ever into contemplative. We are saddened that
professors and college presidents within the Nazarene church do not share
Dr. Diehl's appreciation for our warning against contemplative spirituality
(i.e., spiritual formation).
The picture being painted at Nazarene
colleges and seminaries is no better than it was a year ago. In fact, it
may be getting worse. On February 7th-9th in Nampa, Idaho at Northwest
Nazarene University, emerging church leader Brian McLaren will be the featured speaker. On March 28th-29th, he will be
speaking at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.
McLaren left his pastorate to focus more on speaking to students at
universities and colleges. His present Everything Must Change tour is based largely on his new
book with the same title.
Over the past several years, many college personnel we have spoken with
said the reason they have a variety of speakers address students is so they
can be exposed to different views. This is what occurred this week at
Cedarville when a professor explained why they had invited an emerging
activist to campus. However, this reasoning really must be challenged, and
here is why. First of all, at most of the Christian colleges we have seen
who invited emerging leaders, the speakers were billed in a favorable
light, often called "conversations." Thus, the speakers aren't
brought in to be challenged or debated but are allowed to freely share
their philosophies to the students unhindered and without reservation or
stern warning.
Today, Lighthouse Trails received a very interesting phone call. It was
from a student at a Christian college in New England. He told us that for
four years he had been continually introduced to the writings of
contemplatives and emerging church authors. Professors required he and his
fellow students to read the books, then lectured them on how they
themselves viewed the books (almost always positively) and rarely allowed
the students in class interaction to question or challenge the ideas being
presented. We are pretty much left to ourselves to figure it all out,
he said. He also said that students who questioned the
contemplative/emerging authors (or the contemplative promoting professors)
were often scrutinized and belittled publicly in class.
Regarding Brian McLaren, legitimate questions must be asked. When McLaren
comes to Northwest Nazarene University and Point Loma University in the
next couple months, are students going to be warned beforehand that McLaren
rejects the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, and calls the
doctrine of hell "false advertising for God"? 2 Are they going to be forewarned that McLaren
resonates with Episcopalian priest Alan Jones, who in his book Reimagining
Christianity calls the doctrine of the Cross a vile doctrine and of
interspirituality says:
But another ancient strand of
Christianity teaches that we are all caught up in the Divine Mystery we
call God, that the Spirit is in everyone, and that there are depths of
interpretation yet to be plumbed.... At the cathedral we "break the
bread" for those who follow the path of the Buddha and walk the way of
the Hindus. (p. 89)
Or are students going to be told that
McLaren teamed up in 2006 with interspiritualist Marcus Borg even though
Borg denies the virgin birth and other fundamentals of the Christian faith?3 Incidentally, McLaren says he has "high
regard" for Borg.4Most likely, students will be asked to focus on
McLaren's "good points," and not to throw the baby out with
the bath water as is a most common argument by those defending
contemplative spirituality.
But when we stop to think about what happened to popular author and speaker Sue Monk Kidd, there should be serious reconsideration
by Christian college professors and staff who seem to find it so necessary
to expose their students to contemplatives and emerging leaders.
Sue Monk Kidd started off as a conservative Southern Baptist Sunday School
teacher. One day, a co-worker handed her a copy of a book by Thomas Merton.
Ray Yungen explains what happened to her after that:
Once Monk Kidd read it, her life changed
dramatically. What happened next completely reoriented Sue Monk Kidd's
worldview and belief system. She started down the contemplative prayer road
with bliss, reading numerous books and repeating the sacred word methods
taught in her readings. She ultimately came to the mystical realization
that:
I am speaking of recognizing the hidden
truth that we are one with all people. We are part of them and they are
part of us ... When we encounter another person, ... we should walk as if
we were upon holy ground. We should respond as if God dwells there.(God's
Joyful Surprise pp. 233, 228)
One could come to Monk Kidd's defense by
saying she is just referring to Christians and non-Christians sharing a
common humanity and the need to treat all people well. Yet, while
respecting humanity is important, she fails to distinguish between
Christians and non-Christians thereby negating Christ's imperative,
"You must be born again" (John 3:7), as the prerequisite for the
indwelling of God. Her mystical universalism is apparent when she quotes
someone who advises that the Hindu greeting namaste, which translates, I
honor the god in you, should be used by Christians. (Ibid., pp. 228-229)
Monk Kidd, like Merton, did not join a metaphysical church such as the
Unity Church or a Religious Science church. She found her spirituality
within the comfortable and familiar confines of a Baptist church!
Moreover, when Monk Kidd found her universal spirituality she was no
teenager. She was a sophisticated, mature family woman. This illustrates
the susceptibility of the millions like her who are seeking seemingly
novel, positive approaches to Christian spiritual growth. Those who lack
discernment are at great risk. What looks godly or spiritually benign on
the surface may have principles behind it that are in dire conflict with
Christianity....
[J]ust a few years after she had written the book I've quoted, she wrote
another book on spirituality. This one was titled The Dance of the
Dissident Daughter. If ever there was a book confirming my message,
this book is it.
In her first and second books, Monk Kidd was writing from a Christian
perspective.... But with her third and fourth book, Monk Kidd had made the
full transition to a spiritual view more in tune with Wicca than with
Christianity. Now she worships the Goddess Sophia rather than Jesus Christ:
We also need Goddess consciousness to
reveal earth's holiness.... Matter becomes inspirited; it breathes
divinity. Earth becomes alive and sacred.... Goddess offers us the holiness
of everything. (pp. 162-163)
There is one portion in Monk Kidd's book The
Dance of the Dissident Daughter that, for me, stands out and speaks
right to the heart of this issue.... No one can lightly dismiss or ignore
the powers behind contemplative prayer after reading this narrative:
The minister was preaching. He was
holding up a Bible. It was open, perched atop his raised hand as if a
blackbird had landed there. He was saying that the Bible was the sole and
ultimate authority of the Christian's life. The sole and ultimate
authority.
I remember a feeling rising up from a place about two inches below my
navel. It was a passionate, determined feeling, and it spread out from the
core of me like a current so that my skin vibrated with it. If feelings
could be translated into English, this feeling would have roughly been the
word no!
It was the purest inner knowing I had experienced, and it was shouting in
me no, no, no! The ultimate authority of my life is not the Bible; it is
not confined between the covers of a book. It is not something written by
men and frozen in time. It is not from a source outside myself. My ultimate
authority is the divine voice in my own soul. Period. (p. 76)(excerpt from A Time of Departing, chapter 7)
Later in that same book Monk Kidd stated
that God dwelled in everything, even excrement! That's where a
contemplative mystic (Thomas Merton) took her.
Now we must soberly ask, where will Brian McLaren take the Nazarene
students?
"And that because of false brethren
unawares brought in, ... to whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for
an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you." - the Apostle Paul
(Galatians 2: 4, 5)
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Cedarville
University Cancels Shane Claiborne Event
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On
January 23rd, Lighthouse Trails reported that Cedarville University
had scheduled emerging church leader Shane Claiborne to speak at Cedarville
on February 11th. It has now been brought to our attention that the
Claiborne event has been cancelled. Lighthouse Trails spoke via email with
John Davis, Associate Director of Public Relations for Cedarville
University, who confirmed that Shane Claiborne would not be speaking there
after all. Davis stated: "In light of the concern expressed, both on
and off campus, about Shane Claiborne, the university has opted to cancel
the event."
The evening with Claiborne that was going to take place was titled after
Claiborne's book, The Irresistible Revolution. Our Jan. 23rd report
pointed out that proceeds from the sale of that book were going to many
emerging/contemplative type organizations including Brian McLaren's home
church and mystic proponent Tony Campolo. The book's foreword is written by
liberal political activist Jim Wallis.
One Cedarville professor wrote to Lighthouse Trails today after hearing of
the cancellation and said he was sorry that Claiborne would not be speaking
because students need to "become active participants in the world of
ideas and to become critical thinkers." He added that perhaps
"Claiborne's visit would have sparked a number of interesting and
educationally valuable conversations that we so desperately need to
have." Another person called us, identifying herself as a student at
Cedarville, and said it was "very unfortunate" that Claiborne was
cancelled. She said he was a wonderful person and his book had great ideas.
While it is understandable that professors wish for students to have
knowledge of various mindsets, it is not so understandable that they would
want to use those promoting false doctrine to instruct students, even if
they are really nice people. When we asked a Cedarville University
personnel last week if he would bring in a New Ager to address the
students, he said no. But, as we pointed out, that is what they are doing
by bringing in any emerging church leader and/or author. The two
philosophies line up very neatly. Thus, while we agree that Christian
college students should be informed on the various religions and
spiritualities of the world, we disagree that they should learn them from
the practitioners themselves. But none of these things move me, neither
count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with
joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify
the gospel of the grace of God. No. Neither do they need to bring in an
emerging activist to teach the students about mysticism and emerging
spirituality.
The problem is most people don't really know what emerging spirituality is
all about. Thus, it is difficult for people to see it as anything but a
different kind of Christianity but Christianity none the less. While we
believe it is for the best that Shane Claiborne will not be speaking at
Cedarville this February, our ongoing concern is that if Cedarville
faculty, staff, and students do not fully understand the spiritual
implications of emerging, then next month or the month after that it will
be another name and then another.
We beseech Cedarville students and faculty to learn what the dynamics of
the emerging church are. This would include understanding contemplative
spirituality because mysticism is the driving force behind emerging. In
fact, without mysticism there would be no emerging church movement.
Today, when we told Ray Yungen what had happened at Cedarville, he asked us
to convey something he felt was vital. It is from his book A Time of
Departing:
Dr. Rodney R. Romney, former Senior
Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Seattle is a person frequently quoted
as an example of a New Age Christian. He very candidly revealed what was
conveyed to him in his contemplative prayer periods. The "source of
wisdom" he was in contact with told him the following:
I want you to preach this oneness, to
hold it up before the world as my call to unity and togetherness. In the
end this witness to the oneness of all people will undermine any barriers
that presently exist.1
Could this be a familiar spirit speaking
here? Jesus Christ did not teach that all people are one. There are the
saved and the unsaved. And Jesus Christ is the catalyst for this
distinction. But the spirit who spoke to Dr. Romney also revealed something
else of vital importance. It declared, "Silence is that place, that
environment where I work."2 Please pay attention to this! God does not
work in the silence--but familiar spirits do. Moreover, what makes it so
dangerous is that they are very clever. One well-known New Ager revealed
what his guiding (familiar) spirit candidly disclosed:
We work with all who are vibrationally
sympathetic; simple and sincere people who feel our spirit moving, but for
the most part, only within the context of their current belief system.3
The term "vibrationally
sympathetic" here means those who suspend thought through word
repetition or breath focus--inward mental silence. That is what attracts
them. That is their opening. That is why Tilden Edwards called this the
"bridge to far Eastern spirituality," and this is what is being
injected into the evangelical church!
If Cedarville students and faculty cannot grasp the underlying reality and
spiritual framework behind the emerging church, then they could find
themselves swept up into a spirituality that is not in harmony with the
Gospel of the grace of God.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself,
so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have
received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
(Acts 20:24)
Notes:
1. Rodney R. Romney, Journey to Inner Space (New York, NY: Riverview
Press., 1986), p. 132.
2. Ibid., p. 138.
3. Ken Carey, The Starseed Transmissions (A Uni-Sun Book, 1985 4th
printing), p. 33.
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Rethinking Revised
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Recently
Roger Oakland attended the Rethink Conference at the Crystal Cathedral. His
article, "My Trip to the Rethink Conference," describes his
visit. Roger has written a revision of this article with some
afterthoughts. You can read the revised article by clicking here.
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Evangelical Mysticism
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by
Tom McMahon
The Berean Call
I find myself increasingly grieved these days by what I see taking place
among those who profess to be evangelicals. I know the term
"evangelical" has undergone radical changes regarding its meaning
and practice. Yet when I use the term, I'm going by a very simple
definition: I'm referring to those who claim to accept the Bible alone as
their authority for knowing and receiving God's way of salvation and for
living their lives in a way that is pleasing to Him.
Thirty years ago, it was young adult evangelicals who were used wonderfully
by the Lord to help open my eyes to the fact that I was eternally separated
from God and that the religious system I was depending on to get me to
heaven was a false hope. That wasn't easy for me to accept at the time.
Although my commitment to the Roman Catholic Church had weakened during my
late twenties, the attitude "I was born a Catholic, I'll die a
Catholic" was woven into the fabric of my mind.
As I think back on those days, I recognize that I was a young man in
bondage. Certainly, I was in bondage to sin, as is everyone who is not born
again. But there was another bondage that also gripped me: the bondage of
Roman Catholic tradition, with its sacraments, liturgies, rituals, and sacramentals.
Not only were such things unbiblical-they were works of the flesh and
devices of demons. In my own life, as well as throughout the history of the
Church of Rome, they were soul-gripping superstitions advanced under the
guise of spirituality. Click here to read this entire article.
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2000 Years of Deception and Error: Benedictines, Cistercians,
Trappists
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Benedictines, Cistercians, Trappists
The men I talk about
in this post, along with others in the monastic and Roman tradition, have
had a great influence on the emergent church. You will notice they are
strongly influenced by Eastern beliefs.
Note: The "lectio divina," "centering prayer," "contemplative
prayer" and other "spiritual disciplines" are not found in
the Bible. Do a word search. I did find one verse with discipline in it.
The word "spiritual" is used with man, gifts, law, blessings,
songs, wickedness, understanding, house, sacrifices, but not disciplines.
Benedictine, Cistercian or Trappist Monks who have influenced the
emergent church
Thomas Merton (1915-1968), a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Our Lady
of Gethsemani, in Kentucky, was one of the most influential Catholic
authors of the 20th century. Thomas Merton was strongly influenced by
Buddhist meditation, particularly as found in Zen and was a lifetime friend
of Buddhist meditation master and Vietnamese monk and peace activist Thich
Nhat Hanh. Merton was also a proponent of inter-religious dialogue,
engaging in spiritual dialogues with the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh and
D.T. Suzuki. His theology attempted to unify existentialism with the tenets
of the Roman Catholic faith. He was also an advocate of the non-rational
meditation of contemplative prayer. Click here to read this entire report.
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Rick Warren Calling for Reconciliation Between Politics and
Religion
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According
to an AP (Associated Press) report out of Washington DC,
"Rick Warren is calling for reconciliation in politics and the
church." Warren spoke at Washington's National Cathedral on Sunday.
The report also stated that Warren said "the nation needs both
liberals and conservatives, and he lamented that evangelicals are often
viewed as only 'right wing.'"1 Warren's ongoing message has been that "right
winged" Christians against gay marriage and abortion need to come to a
middle of the road place with liberal "Christians" who want to do
something about the environment and AIDS.
An article on Christianity Today's blog by Stan
Guthrie asks the question: "But with the persistent push in our
culture toward both abortion and homosexual marriage, what would these
critics have Christian conservatives do? ... Are we not allowed to answer
[our critics]?" According to Rick Warren, the answer to that last
question is no - there should be no resistance.
Rick Warren's talk on Sunday was titled "A New Century: A New
Reformation"2 and called "a very special conversation."
The National Cathedral is an Episcopalian church with a focus on
interspirituality and global peace. In October of 2007, the Cathedral held
the Interfaith Peace Prayer Practices festival which
included: monks from the Dalai Lama's personal monastery in Dharamsala,
India, a labyrinth, the Holy Catholic Eucharist, Kabbalistic (Jewish
mysticism) prayer practices, Sufism (Islamic mysticism), and contemplative
prayer from the panentheistic Shalem Prayer Institute (where Ruth Haley
Barton was trained).
While many may think Rick Warren is out of his element in a place that
honors the various mystical traditions of the world, in reality, he fits in
well. Warren has promoted the contemplative prayer movement for many years
and is partly responsible for the huge success of Richard Foster's Celebration
of Discipline. Warren has also been an evangelist for the emerging
church movement, which is a catalyst for mysticism and interspirituality in
Christianity.
Warren's statement of the need for both liberals and conservatives and his
view of bringing together religion and politics fall in step with the
three-legged stool concept that Warren derived from people like Peter
Drucker. The three-legged stool is the unification (and reconciliation) of
religion, government (politics) and business (economics).
Quotes from Rick Warren's talk at the National Cathedral:
"[F]or the last 50 years the hands and the feet of the body of Christ
have been cut off and we've just been a big mouth ... and usually we're
known more for, at least evangelicals are known more for what they're against
than what they're for. And I'm just tired of that, and I intend to change
it." (14:09 minute mark)
"People ask me all the time, Are you left-winged or right-winged? ...
I'm for the left wing and for the right wing.... the fundamental truth is
Washington needs both wings.(14:45 m. mark)
"Just because you disagree with someone doesn't give you the right to
demonize them." (15:30 m. mark)
"A two-legged stool with fall over. In order to solve the world's
greatest problems, it takes three sectors of society ... it takes
government, it takes businesses, it takes churches ... all three legs of
the stool work together (19:45 m. mark)
Other Quotes by Rick Warren:
Personal computers have brand names. But inside every pc is an Intel chip
and an operating system. Windows.... The Purpose Driven paradigm is the
Intel chip for the 21st-century church and the Windows system of the
21st-century church." Rick Warren, Christianity Today, Oct. 2005
"[W]e are possibly on the verge of a new reformation in Christianity
and another Great Awakening in our nation ... The signs are everywhere,
including the popularity of this book." Rick Warren, Baptist Press,
Sept. 2004
"I really do feel that these people are brothers and sisters in God's
family. I am looking to build bridges with the Orthodox Church, looking to
build bridges with the Catholic Church, with the Anglican church."
Rick Warren at Anglican conference, 11/05
"Today there really aren't that many Fundamentalists left; I don't
know if you know that or not, but they are such a minority; there aren't
that many Fundamentalists left in America." from RW talk at the Pew
Forum on Religion
"Now the word "fundamentalist" actually comes from a
document in the 1920s called the Five Fundamentals of the Faith. And it is
a very legalistic, narrow view of Christianity" ... Pew Forum on Religion
Related Stories:
Rick Warren and Leonard Sweet Riding the "Tides of
Change" on the Heels of Mysticism
Social/Political Activism and the New Age
Rick Warren Predicts Christian Fundamentalism To Be Enemy
of 21st Century!
Rick Warren Distorts the Instructions of Jesus to Fit His
Global Peace Plan
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Contemplative Proponents Rick Warren and Pete Scazzero Talk to
New York Pastors
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By Katherine T. Phan
Christian Post Reporter
"City Pastors Switch Pulpits for Solitude, Renewal"
MT. BETHEL, Pa. - When city folk want a refuge from the hustle and bustle
of the city and the laundry list of demands from daily life they come to
the quiet hills of Pennsylvania. For New York pastors, finding renewal is
also as simple as going back to the basics.
"Silence and solitude are the two most difficult spiritual disciplines
in the West," Pete Scazerro, author of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, told a crowd
of 300 New York church leaders who kicked off their annual prayer retreat
at Mt. Bethel, Pa., on Monday.
As a pastor himself, Scazerro said there were times he was so busy
fulfilling the demands of his position that it was hard for him to find
time alone with God. He could be preparing a sermon for hours and still not
think about God, he said to acknowledging grunts and chuckles.
"We're not a reflective people, we are a doing," said Scazerro to
the church leaders. "But unless we get to God, we cannot send a life
raft to our church."
Placing God in the center again has be done with a conscious effort, said the
author, who challenged the leaders to re-incorporate a "trellis"
or "rule of life" such as Scripture, Sabbath, or play and
recreation into their spiritual journey. Click here to read this entire news story.
Related Stories:
Is Rick Warren Promoting Contemplative Prayer?
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The Occult, The New Age and the Emergent Church: Understanding
the Basics
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by
Gregory Reid
Youth Fire ministries
In our modern church world that has gone almost two decades without any
substantial teaching about the dangers of the occult and the new age, we
have left ourselves - and our youth - exceptionally vulnerable to all
manner of deception, occult practices disguised in religious garments, and
new age socialization and globalization dressed as "Doing
Church." If we have any hope of stemming the tide of the massive wave
of spiritual darkness that has come as an angel of light to cripple the
church, we have to first have at least a base understanding of (1) What the
occult is, (2) What the New Age is, (3) What the Emergent Church is, and
(4) The terminology, language and buzzwords that these groups use. Later a
more detailed explanation of what these terms mean will be written. This is
by no means an exhaustive study, but will at least give you a "sense
of the thing" and will train your spirit to recognize the Deceiver
when he comes - however he comes....
In the last few decades, the new age has come into full blossom and become
part of much of our culture, media and education. If there is a common
agenda, it is for one world, one religion, global peace, and realizing
man's Divinity. It is heavily seated in the Green movement, animal rights
groups, radical feminist groups, and gay rights groups. It is tolerant of
all faiths, except one - fundamentalist Christianity. One is free to
believe anything one wishes, so long as one does not believe that the Bible
is the only truth and the infallible, inspired Word of God....
The emerging church is beginning to become a social and political force and
less and less of a spiritual force, as emphasis on evangelism, the Second
Coming, taking a stand against sin and having a clear Biblical word is
being replaced with a silence on those issues if not a denial of the
importance of them, in order to do social good. Click here to read this entire article.
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Purpose Driven Unveiled
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by Roger Oakland
The concept of Purpose
Driven people and churches has become a phenomenon that is sweeping the
world. Since the publication and promotion of the idea by Rupert
Murdoch-owned Zondervan, the name of Pastor Rick Warren has become
synonymous with a man who has a plan to bring hope for planet earth.
When I say the planet,
that is exactly what I mean. Over the past five years I have spoken to
pastors and church leaders in over twenty-five countries. Where ever I have
gone, the message of purpose driven has proceeded me.
I have just completed
two conferences for pastors and church leaders, one at the city of Antipolo
near Manila and the other at Bageo. Because The Purpose Driven Life has
been widely distributed throughout the Philippines (either for free or very
little cost), the concept of the purpose driven Christian has reshaped the
minds and the motives of Christian leaders who now desire to have
mega-churches, just like Pastor Rick.
While it is true, that
the purpose driven movement encourages all to become purpose driven for the
cause of good over bad, somewhere along the line, the social gospel that is
being promoted has set the gospel according to the Scriptures aside, or at
least, caused it to be lost in the zeal to eradicate AIDS, poverty and
illiteracy. Click here to read this entire article.
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OCEA (Ohio Christian Educators Association) Brings
Emerging/Contemplative Proponents to Conference
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OCEA
(Ohio Christian Educators Association) began over 50 years ago with "a
vision to host an annual event where church teachers, both pastors and
laymen, could receive solid biblical training." Various denominations
and ministries are represented, and participants in the conferences come
from around the nation. Each year the Christian Ministries Conference is
held in Ohio and is a well attended event.
A woman who has been attending these annual conferences for many years
contacted Lighthouse Trails last week when she found out that
emerging/contemplative proponents Tony Campolo and Wayne Rice would be the speakers.
Both Campolo and Rice are discussed in Roger Oakland's book Faith Undone.
What many people may not know is that Rice co-founded Youth Specialties
with the late Mike Yaconelli several decades ago. Oakland explains:
In the late 1960s, two youth workers in
their twenties, Mike Yaconelli and Wayne Rice (who happened to be working
for Youth for Christ at the time), wanted to change the way youth ministry
was viewed and approached. They self-published a small booklet called Ideas,
began talking to senior pastors and churches, and in 1970 held their first
conference. They called the company Youth Specialties. Interestingly, the
late theologian Frances Schaeffer attended their second annual conference.1
Schaeffer would be very surprised if he had known that thirty years down
the road this young sprouting organization would become one of the major
catalysts for the emerging church movement.
Just a few years after Youth Specialties was launched, Zondervan publishers
took notice of the two men's work:
Youth Specialties' passion for youth
workers caught the attention of Zondervan Publishing House in 1974.
Zondervan came to YS and said, "You guys are weird and unpredictable.
We want to put your books in bookstores," recalls Mike. Zondervan was
very Dutch, very Grand Rapids, very conservative--but hey, they believed in
our mission!2
Zondervan's interest in Youth Specialties
would only increase, and over the next thirty years, the two companies
would publish over 500 resources for youth workers. It is worth mentioning
that Zondervan became the property of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in
1988. Murdoch's corporation, also owner of Fox News, has been a major
catalyst for Purpose Driven Life and now we see for the emerging
church through Zondervan. This is significant in light of Rick Warren's
relationship with Murdoch. Warren says he is Murdoch's pastor;3 it is clear
that both he and Youth Specialties benefited from a corporation that had a
net profit of 21 billion dollars for the 2004 fiscal year,4 and whose
founder (Murdoch) received a "papal knighthood" from Pope John
Paul II for Murdoch's donation of "large sums of money" to the
Catholic church.5
In 1984, as Youth Specialties grew and its circle of influence spread
across the country, Zondervan signed a co-publishing agreement with Youth
Specialties. Eventually, there was the National Youth Workers Convention,
the National Pastors Convention, and another 100 seminars throughout the
year around the country.
Twelve years later, Youth Specialties partnered with San Francisco
Theological Seminary to form the Youth Ministry & Spirituality
Project.6 The following year, the young organization was awarded a grant by
the Lilly Endowment.7 By this time, Youth Specialties had contacted the new
emergent leaders and said they wanted to work together. Sharing many of the
same spiritual affinities as Emergent, Youth Specialties hoped to help take
the movement to the next level with more books, more conferences, and more
growth.
In 2006, Zondervan bought Youth Specialties.8
As many Lighthouse Trails readers are
aware, Youth Specialties and Zondervan are major catalysts for both the
emerging church and contemplative spirituality. Today, Wayne Rice is
actively involved with a ministry called HomeWord, the ministry of Jim
Burns. Burns promotes contemplative spirituality; for example Burns
strongly promotes spiritual director Ruth Haley Barton. A 2006 radio interview Burns did
with Barton shows this very clearly when he says she is one of his favorite
guests and speaks with great admiration regarding her work in
"transforming" lives through contemplative spirituality. Click here to listen to interview. Barton was trained
at the panentheistic Shalem Institute and later worked with John Ortberg on
developing spiritual formation curriculum at Willow Creek. HomeWord has
numerous favorable articles, references, and books by contemplatives and
emerging leaders such as Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo, Henri Nouwen, and Thomas
Merton, etc. Wayne Rice is also founder of Understanding Your Teenagers, an organization that
turns to Youth Specialties and other organizations that have propensities
toward contemplative/emerging spirituality.
OCEA's also has invited mystic proponent Tony Campolo, and on a phone
message at the OCEA office, Campolo's book The God of Intimacy and Action is favorably
mentioned. This book resonates with contemplative spirituality as does his
book Speaking My Mind (also mentioned on the OCEA phone message), in which Campolo states:
Beyond these models of reconciliation, a
theology of mysticism provides some hope for common ground between Christianity
and Islam. Both religions have within their histories examples of ecstatic
union with God ... I do not know what to make of the Muslim mystics,
especially those who have come to be known as the Sufis. What do they
experience in their mystical experiences? Could they have encountered the
same God we do in our Christian mysticism?" p. 149-150
It is most regretful that OCEA has chosen
Rice and Campolo to give "solid biblical training" to educators.
Because contemplative spirituality is not biblical, it is possible that
attendees will get something other than biblical training at this year's
event.
Notes:
1. Youth Specialties' 30th Anniversary: http://www.youth specialties .com/about/30th.
2. Ibid.
3. Malcolm Gladwell, "How Rick Warren Built His Ministry" (New
Yorker, September 12, 2005, http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/article.asp?ArtID=9636).
4. "News Corporation: Earnings Release for the Quarter and Fiscal Year
Ended June 30th 2004," accessed online at http://www.newscorp.com/Report2004/2004_annual_report.pdf.
5. Steve Boggan, "Catholic anger at Murdoch's papal knighthood" (The
(London) Independent, February 17, 1998).
6. From the Youth Ministry & Spirituality Project website: http://www.ymsp.org/about/history.html.
7. "Youth Ministry and Spirituality Project Receives Major
Grant," (Youth Specialties News, January 11, 2001).
8. Press release from Zondervan, Tara Powers, "Leading Christian
Publisher Zondervan Acquires Ministry Organization Youth Specialties"
(May 2, 2006).
Related Stories:
Tony Campolo on Mystical Experiences
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Al Gore and Tony Campolo Address Baptist Organizations
|
The
New Baptist Covenant, an alliance of over 30 Baptist organizations, hosted
the 2008 Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant conference
which began January 30th. A luncheon was to be held with guest
speaker, Al Gore. Other speakers at the event included Tony Campolo and former presidents Bill Clinton
(keynote speaker) and Jimmy Carter (the founder of the New Baptist
Covenant).
Former presidential candidate, Al Gore, is a popular speaker and author on
environmental issues. What many may not know is he is also a promoter of
New Age thought. Research analyst Ray Yungen explains:
It would surprise many Americans to know
that they actually voted for a New Age sympathizer for president of the
United States in the 2000 election. In a Time magazine article in
2003 called "Just Say Om," former presidential candidate, Al
Gore, said the following about meditation: "We both [he and his wife]
believe in regular prayer, and we often pray together. But meditation--as
distinguished from prayer--I highly recommend it."
One might argue that perhaps Gore was not referring to mystical type
meditation and that he didn't have any such proclivities, but this notion
would be put to rest by his endorsement of a book (Marriage of Sense and
Soul) by Ken Wilber, a leading figure in the New Age. On the
back cover of the book, Gore proudly proclaimed Wilber's book is "one
of my new favorites." New Ager Neale Donald Walsch publicly revealed Gore's spiritual
sympathies in the following comments he made at the Humanity's Team
Leadership Gathering in 2003:
You know Al Gore. I know Al well and he
says to me, "Hey Neale, I used to be the next president of the United
States." Al has read my books and loves them, but he can't possibly
say that publicly.... He should be able to, and in the society we're going
to recreate he will be able to, but right now he can't. (1)
For those not familiar with Walsch's
work, this may not seem that significant. But Walsch is the author of the Conversations
with God books, in which millions of copies have been sold. His books
are the supposed conversations between Walsch and "God." Walsch's
"God" proclaims:
The twenty-first century will be the time
of awakening, of meeting The Creator Within. Many beings will experience
Oneness with God.... There are many such people in the world now--teachers
and messengers, Masters and visionaries--who are placing this vision before
humankind and offering tools with which to create it. These messengers and
visionaries are the heralds of a New Age. There is only one message that
can change the course of human history forever, end the torture, and bring
you back to God. That message is The New Gospel: WE ARE ALL ONE. (from For
Many Shall Come in My Name, 2nd ed., pp. 55-56)
The 30 plus Baptist organizations that
are part of the New Baptist Covenant represent 20 million Baptists around
the world, according to the NBC website. Baylor University and the Baptist
Standard news source stand among the groups that have joined the NBC.
While some may be surprised that Baylor University is on the list, the
school's spiritual affinity toward the New Age showed up last year when
they invited New Age sympathizer Leonard Sweet to speak. 2
The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Baptist body in existence, is
not part of the New Baptist Covenant. A statement on the NBC website
explains why:
While a number of the leaders in the New
Baptist Covenant are members of Southern Baptist Churches, and individual
Southern Baptists and Southern Baptist congregations are expected to participate
in the Celebration, the SBC's leadership has to date not been involved in
this initiative. The organizations represented in the New Baptist Covenant
are members of the North American Baptist Fellowship, an affiliate of the
Baptist World Alliance. The Southern Baptist Convention withdrew from
membership in the North American Baptist Fellowship and the Baptist World
Alliance in 2004.
In addition to Al Gore and Tony Campolo,
both advocates of eastern mysticism, some of the "Presenters" at
the conference are also proponents of mystical meditation: MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), The Alban Institute,
and The Upper Room.
While this article will not attempt to determine whether there are
political motives behind this newly formed organization that includes at
least three major political personalities, one thing can be stated with
surety: The New Baptist Covenant has the potential of being another avenue
through which mystical spirituality will enter the lives of millions of
people and thus take them further away from the Gospel message of Jesus
Christ.
Related Stories:
Carter, Clinton Back Moderate Baptists
Thousands of young people to attend New Baptist Covenant
event
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Falling Sparrow Series by Lighthouse Trails Publishing
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the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all
numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many
sparrows." Matthew 10: 29-31
The
Falling Sparrow series is Lighthouse Trails Publishing's first imprint.
These are specially selected biographies that illustrate God's great
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