Contemplative prayer and the belief system behind it are moving full speed ahead into Christendom. If you are a parent, be careful where you send your kids to camp this year and where you send your teens to college. Christian camps and Christian colleges are quickly becoming a fertile ground for contemplative spirituality. "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." I John 5: 9-12

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The Be Still DVD by Fox Home Entertainment was just released in April. Featured speakers include Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Max Lucado, Beth Moore and many others. Shortly after the DVD was released, Moore issued a statement denying any involvement with eastern mystical prayer practices. However, there has been a growing concern about her statement and the fact that Moore's ministry, Living Proof Ministries, never placed the statement on their website.

Lighthouse Trails has now received emails from a number of people who have sent us a new statement from Living Proof Ministries. Because Living Proof is issuing this statement to the public, we are making this available for all to read. (See new statement.)

According to this recent email, Moore's original statement of apology should now be disregarded. The statement clarified: "[W]e believe that once you view the Be Still video you will agree that there is no problem with its expression of Truth." Living Proof is offering to send a free copy of the DVD to anyone who receives their email statement and wishes to view the DVD, saying that, "[I]t would be our privilege to do this for you to assure you that there is no problem with Beth’s participation in the Be Still video." Read entire report.

The Ooze website promotes contemplative and emergent philosophies, and is considered to be one of the more popular emerging church ministries. And yet, evangelical leaders such as Rick Warren, given their endorsement of the Ooze. Of the Ooze, Rick Warren states that it is, "one of the best online communities related to post-modern ministry." (Issue #247 2/22/2006. Also see this issue.) This means that pastors around the world will likely recognize the Ooze as a trusted source for spirituality.

Of contemplative prayer, Spencer Burke (the Ooze's director) says: "I stopped reading from the approved evangelical reading list and began to distance myself from the evangelical agenda. I discovered new authors and new voices at the bookstore-Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen and St. Teresa of Avila. The more I read, the more intrigued I became. Contemplative spirituality seemed to open up a whole new way for me to understand and experience God. I was deeply moved by works like The Cloud of Unknowing, The Dark Night of the Soul and the Early Writings of the Desert Fathers."
—Spencer Burke, The Ooze

As you begin this path, simply pray for the Lord to center you on a word or phrase that he gives you. For example, the word or phrase might be love, peace, or "God’s love is better than life." Feel free to use your Bible or the attached scriptures to read a verse repeatedly until you centered upon it. Try to pick something small that you can focus on. Go where he leads. As you walk the path, simply walk while repeating this phrase in your head.

With such instructions and with the structural similarities, it is accurate to say that Simpson University is promoting the labyrinth. Scriptures given by Dr. Brown to support the use of such a practice (the prayer path) include Genesis 3:8 (Adam walking in the Garden of Eden with the Lord), Genesis 18:16 (Abraham's walk with the Lord), and Matthew 26:37 (Jesus walking with three of the disciples) but in none of these cases or anywhere in Scripture is there a reference at all to a labyrinth structure or instruction on repeating words or phrases. This is a misuse of the Word of God.

In further examination, it has been found that Simpson University is promoting contemplative spirituality in other ways also. In a course titled TH 6000 Spiritual Formation, a "Selected Bibliography for Spiritual Formation" lists the most prominent Who's Who of contemplative, including panentheists and interspiritualists such as Tilden Edwards, Basil Pennington, Morton Kelsey, Thomas Merton, Gerald May and Alan Jones. The list also includes "Christian" contemplatives: Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Henri Nouwen, and Eugene Peterson.

For a Christian university to deny any involvement with the New Age or paganism but to adhere to the teachings of the above listed teachers is alarming at best. If a student picks up a book by someone like Morton Kelsey or Tilden Edwards, they will read that God is in all people and that mysticism is the means by which we are all united.

We invite any readers to research the authors listed above, and you will find without doubt that their views are in direct conflict with biblical evangelical Christianity.

Note: Simpson University is a Christian Missionary Alliance school.

Related Information:

Contemplative Prayer Article by Ray Yungen

Christian Colleges Promoting Contemplative

A video game called Left Behind - Eternal Forces, that is scheduled to be released sometime in 2006, was inspired by the best- selling Left Behind book series. According to Gary Bauman of Left Behind Games, the producers of the game, the game offers warfare. Bauman says:

The Bible contains lots of stories about warfare. Many of the early books are actually historical accounts of violent battles. In doing a game based on the Book of Revelation, we're offering gamers a chance to participate in a fictionalized story about the ultimate apocalyptic battle—the end of the world.

According to a Newsweek article, "Left Behind Games CEO Troy Lyndon, whose company went public in February, says the game's Christian themes will grab the audience that didn't mind gore in 'The Passion of the Christ.'"

The Left Behind Games Advisory Board includes representation from several organizations including Campus Crusade, AOL Time Warner, and Purpose Driven. Mark Carver is Executive Director for Purpose Driven Church. Left Behind Games signed a contract with Tyndale House publishers (the publishers of the Left Behind series) for the game rights.

The Global Day of Prayer 2006 

Emergent proponent, author, and speaker Tony Campolo is one of the keynote speakers at this year's Christian Camping and Conference Association Convention (CCCA).

Formerly called Christian Camping International, CCCA is the largest representative organization for Christian camps in the United States. They are hosting their annual convention in Philadelphia, PA November 27-30 of this year. According to convention promotion on the CCCA web site, this year's theme is titled, "Rebirth of a Notion", an obvious play on the Philadelphia convention site as the birth place of our nation. In reading further, we discover the 'devil' in the details,

"The theme, "Rebirth of a Notion," will be the basis for exploring how Christian camp leaders can benefit from returning to the philosophical roots of camping, while discovering how to retool for the future."

It is uncertain what "philosophical roots" these may be, but many Christians of discernment will recognize the 'Rick Warren-like' approach of claiming an old message with a new method of communicating. It sounds like the basic, "our message must never change, but our methods must" approach. I'm afraid the message does get changed. With Campolo as a keynote speaker, it's hard to imagine him encouraging hundreds of camp directors and leaders to return to teaching the Bible in their camps.

While it is unfortunate that the leading organization in Christian camping has chosen to have someone like Tony Campolo as a keynote speaker, it is not surprising. It appears that CCCA has been moving in this direction for many years, with recent conventions offering a program heavily laden with methodology, management, and technique. Camp directors and staff, who have just come through a summer of giving 110%, are being inundated with technique when they really need to be refreshed in the teaching of the Word.