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Focus on the Family: Helping to Bring About a Generation of Parent Mystics?

A Lighthouse Trails Commentary

Next February, CCN (Church Communication Network) is presenting Beth Moore and Gary Thomas in a special Focus on the Family conference called Focus on Marriage. This is coming on the heels of a statement recently made by Focus on the Family that they only "occasionally" reference contemplative speakers such as Gary Thomas and Beth Moore and should not be accused of promoting contemplative spirituality. For Focus on the Family to say they just occasionally reference contemplative authors, all the while knowing they are about to present an entire conference with those same authors is not being up front. Such doublespeak should not be so. Beth Moore participated in the contemplative Be Still DVD and then later, through a ministry letter (see article below), acknowledged that she sees nothing wrong with the DVD or its subject matter. In addition, in her book When Godly People Do Ungodly Things, Moore touts contemplative favorite Brennan Manning as having been "one of the most remarkable books" (p. 290) she has ever read. Gary Thomas tells readers to repeat a word for 20 minutes to enter the silence (Sacred Pathways) and points readers (throughout his book Sacred Marriage) to a woman who promotes and instructs on tantric sex.

What's more, one of Gary Thomas' books that Focus on the Family sells, promotes (and defends) is Sacred Parenting. Thomas devotes an entire chapter of that book to contemplative spirituality, calling it the "active discipline" of "true listening," and says it is the way we can "seize heaven and invite God's presence into our lives" (pp. 58-59). In that chapter, Thomas names two people who he says brought about the "biggest change in my prayer life" as "a result of reading" their material: contemplative mystic Teresa of Avila and Frank Buchman. Buchman was the initiator of Moral Re-Armament, now called Initiatives of Change, an organization working towards inter-faith globalization. Buchman was a controversial figure, partly due to his 1930s public statements showing admiration for Adolph Hitler's leadership skills and stand against communism. Buchman was of the belief that if the world could find the right leader, even if he was a dictator, if he believed in God, he could change the whole world overnight. And according to cult expert Dave Hunt, Buchman was involved in both mysticism and the occult:

MRA founder Frank Buchman ... embraced new revelations through occult guidance [and] helped to set the stage for the New Age movement.... He inspired thousands on all continents to meditate ... decades before Maharishi Mahesh Yogi left India. (Hunt, Adaptation of Occult Invasion, 1998)

In Buchman's book, Remaking the World, he talks about a "new world order" in which a "world-wide spiritual awakening" is the only hope with a "new illumination" for "everyone" (pp.4-5). Buchman describes this new world order much like the hope of some present day Christian leaders with dominionist views and a dream of a three-legged stool (religion, government, and business) as the world's only chance of survival. Gary Thomas devotes three entire pages to Buchman in Sacred Parenting.

Teresa of Avila, also in Sacred Parenting, was a Carmelite nun who levitated during mystical trances, which indicates she was actually in touch with supernatural forces. In Sacred Parenting, Gary Thomas refers to Teresa's book The Interior Castle, and he lays out the steps of contemplative prayer, including Teresa's "prayer of recollection," in which the mind "stop[s] thinking" with the use of repeating a mantra (p. 62). 2

All things considered, Sacred Parenting hardly seems like it will be a "tremendous help and a great inspiration to those moms and dads who choose to take advantage of its message," as Focus on the Family insists.1

In addition to Focus on the Family's promotion of contemplative authors like Moore, Thomas, and Larry Crabb, Focus on the Family's own H.B. London has brought Richard Foster on board through London's Spiritual Formation series. Lighthouse Trails believes Focus on the Family is helping to propagate the contemplative message, and in so doing will help bring about a generation of parent mystics. In light of the strong New Age basis of contemplative spirituality, what a disappointment this will be to the many families who have looked to Focus on the Family in matters related to the raising of their children.

*************************************

From a recent letter from Focus on the Family (see link above for full letter):

Lighthouse Trails ... assertion that Focus on the Family is "promoting" Contemplative Prayer and Spirituality is neither fair nor accurate. It is true that we have occasionally referenced speakers and authors who deal with subjects of this nature - individuals such as Richard Foster, Gary Thomas, Larry Crabb, and Beth Moore. But this, in our opinion, is not the same thing as "promoting" contemplative prayer. The truth of the matter is that we have far too much else on our plate to become involved in any such activity. The heart of our outreach is practical family ministry.

A Utopia Kingdom and Global Healing?

by Roger Oakland

The emerging church talks a lot about the kingdom of God on earth, but in language and philosophy much different from the Bible. One emergent writer hopes the emerging church will handle the problems of this world in a manner that is "smarter" and "more effective" than those who have gone before. With "integrative means of participating in the healing of our world," he believes:

The Spirit of God that hovered over creation is still present in our world, inviting us to collaborate with our Maker in the fulfillment of God's reign on earth.1

The same writer, Mark Scandrette, expresses his communal vision for a utopian world:

The kingdom of God is a generative people who believe that a more beautiful and sustainable way of life is possible.2

Doug Pagitt explains that the emerging church is looking for this perfect kingdom on earth that will:

... really be good news for the people of the world and not just the promise of a world to come. Many find good news in the call of Jesus to join the kingdom of God. And let me tell you "Kingdom of God" language is really big in the emerging church.3

When we think of the poor in Africa, or the homeless in America, or a child dying of AIDS, we want a world that has no suffering like this. But is the message of the kingdom of God that Jesus preached one that promises global healing and a world without pain and suffering? No, it isn't. Not now anyway. In our human thinking, we can't imagine that God would really want or allow all this suffering, so we decide that the goal for humanity should be unity, peace, no pain, or sorrow. And in an effort to accomplish this, the most important thing is forgotten. Jesus came to save lost sinners and give them utopia, so to speak, within their hearts. So, while we as Christians should do what we can to help the needy, our greatest responsibility is getting the Gospel to them.

Mark Scandrette goes so far as to say that the "interest in theologies of the kingdom of God is related" to a "sense of interconnection."4 Leonard Sweet calls this interconnection the TOE theory (theories of everything), in which all creation is connected together through a spiritual force he calls New Light. Sweet states:

If the church is to dance, however, it must first get its flabby self back into shape. A good place to begin is the stretching exercise of touching its TOEs [which he also refers to as Grand Unified Theory].... Then, and only then, will a New Light movement of "world-making" faith have helped to create the world that is to, and may yet, be. Then, and only then, will earthlings have uncovered the meaning of these words, some of the last words ... Thomas Merton uttered: "We are already one. But we imagine that we are not."5

The Kingdom Now theology and the emerging church's utopian kingdom are all about what the natural, carnal man views as significant. Jesus came to give peace and rest to the suffering, to the poor and those in need. It's a peace that passes all earthly understanding, and it's a kingdom, as Jesus said, not of this world. In our earthly minds we cannot understand this, especially when we think about the often horrific suffering all around us.

If Rick Warren or Brian McLaren were to take their message of the kingdom of God here and now (and don't think about that eternal home too much) to a poor man in a hut in Africa, what will it do for him? Supposing he can never leave that hut, how will their message help him? But with Jesus Christ's message, that man can be born again and by faith, through God's grace, have Jesus living inside him every day of his remaining life. Jesus promised that if anyone invited Him in, He would come in and sup with him (Revelation 3:20).

Jesus told His disciples the world would always have suffering and there would always be poor people. He didn't say this to give allowance to ignore or avoid the poor and suffering. But He wanted His followers to know that this earth is not the final destination for those whose names are found in the Book of Life (those who belong to Christ). That is why in the Book of Revelation, the apostle John said:

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.... And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21:1,4)

The true kingdom of God makes no sense to the unbelieving, unsaved person. The very idea of it is foolishness to him. Thus, human schemes and theologies are created to fit his way of thinking. But the Bible says what is wisdom to man is foolishness to God:

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (I Corinthians 1:18-21)

(Excerpt from chapter 9, Faith Undone)

Notes:

1. Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, Mark Scandrette section, "Growing Pains," p. 30.
2. Doug Pagitt, "Unraveling Emergent," op. cit.
3. Ibid.
4. Mark Scandrette, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, p. 27.
5. Leonard Sweet, Quantum Spirituality, p. 13.

Related:

Dominionism - A Theology That Intermingles with Mysticism But Not the Word of God

Christians, Muslims, and Jews Will Meet Together on July 16th in Spain

The following 4 news stories are from different news agencies, covering the inter-faith meeting that is taking place on July 16th in Madrid, Spain.

#1 "Saudi Arabia to Host Major Interfaith Conference"
By Joshua Goldberg
Christian Post

Christians, Jews and Muslims will gather in Madrid later this month for [what] could be one of the highest profile interfaith meetings in recorded history.

The three-day conference, hosted by Saudi Arabia, aims to highlight the attendees' shared heritage as children of Abraham and lists many prominent leaders and figures of faith including evangelist Franklin Graham, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, and former Vice President Al Gore.

Also among the 200 prominent religious leaders will be major Jewish leaders including Rabbi David Rosen, the former chief rabbi of Ireland and head of the interfaith committee of the American Jewish Committee.

Although Israel and Saudi Arabia do not currently have formal diplomatic ties, Rosen said that he believes the conference will do much to promote peace and understanding.

"I think that will be a great achievement," he told The Associated Press. Click here to read this entire article.

#2 "All preparations in place for interfaith conference"
Badea Abu Al-Naja
Arab News

MADRID: The Muslim World League (MWL) has completed all preparations for the international interfaith conference that begins here on Wednesday, the pan-Islamic body said in a statement. More than 200 leaders of different religions, including Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, are expected to attend the three-day conference. Click here to read more.

#3 "Saudi king set to lead rare interfaith talks in Spain"
By Caryle Murphy
The Christian Science Monitor

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - In a first for a Saudi Arabian leader, King Abdullah will convene a conference in Madrid as part of a Saudi outreach to defuse interfaith tensions, improve Islam's image, and restore respect for religious values.

King Abdullah's initiative - a three-day meeting starting July 16 that will include Muslim, Christian, and Jewish clerics, as well as representatives of Eastern religions - stands out among interfaith gatherings that have become commonplace in the post-9/11 world. . . . The 200 invitees included vocal critics of Islam, notably the Rev. Franklin Graham, a conservative Evangelical who has called Islam an "evil and wicked" religion. He cannot attend because he is preparing for a trip to North Korea, a Graham spokesman said. Click here to read more.

#4 "Saudis invite Israeli to Madrid parley"
By Matthew Wagner and AP

The Jerusalem Post

Saudi Arabia invited an Israeli rabbi on Thursday to attend an interfaith conference to be held in Madrid.

Rabbi David Rosen, president of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, is the only rabbi who lives in Israel who was invited by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and the World Muslim League to the conference that is slated for July 16 to 18. . . . Several months ago, Abdullah announced that he planned to hold a major interfaith summit in Saudia Arabia. The Madrid conference is a precursor to that much larger initiative. Click here to read more.

Conference Alert: Lead Like Jesus Revolution

CCN (Church Communication Network) is sending out notices about their upcoming Lead Like Jesus Revolution conference, which will take place on October 17th. The event will be broadcast to various locations across North America. Advertisement states that this one-day event features "the nation's most influential Christian leaders." Two of those "influential" leaders are Ken Blanchard and John Ortberg (who are also the hosts of the event). Both men are two of the strongest and most influential proponents of the contemplative prayer movement.

Ken Blanchard has been the topic of many Lighthouse Trails reports. Best known for his One Minute Manager top seller, Blanchard professes to have become a Christian in the late 1980s. However, he has been promoting and endorsing books, authors, practices, and organizations, which have an eastern religion emphasis, consistently for over twenty years. Often, he has written the forewords to books that outwardly teach New Age meditation practices and books that are Buddhist or Hindu in nature. A recent example is a book titled Little Wave and Old Swell (2007 edition) (see our report), in which the author of the book says it is "inspired by Hindu swami Paramahansa Yogananada." Blanchard also sits on the board of advisors for a New Age group called The Hoffman Institute. The Institute takes its name from a method called The Hoffman Quadrinity Process. The book The Hoffman Process (written by Tim Laurence) is a primer in eastern-style meditation and New Age spirituality. Here are a few quotes from that book:

"I asked my friends up above. They always have the right answer," he replied, referring to his spirit guides that, as a psychic healer, he often consulted.-Tim Laurence, speaking about the Hoffman Process founder, Bob Hoffman, p.15.

Many traditions around the world focus on the breath as a link to the divine. -- Indeed, it is used as the focus of the Buddhist practice called Vipassana, or "insight meditation."

You can use a short meditation to remind yourself of this connection to all others in this world of ours.--As you breathe, feel that breath coming from your core essence. p. 207.

When you are open to life, you start noticing the divine in everything. p. 209.

Of the Hoffman Process, Blanchard says:

The Hoffman Process brings forth spiritual leadership in a person. It made my spirituality come alive. Through the Hoffman Process I actually brought my faith into my daily actions. (from the Hoffman Institute website) (emphasis added)

Another book Blanchard wrote the foreword to is Jim Ballard's book, Mind Like Water. In the book, Ballard states:

I signed up for the yoga meditation lessons ... founded by Paramahansa Yogananda....I had evidently reached a level of consciousness beyond the usual ... I continue to consider meditation far and away the most important thing I do. (p. 77,78)

In this book, Ballard instructs on breath prayer, visualization, mantra meditation, and a number of other practices to enter the altered state of consciousness. Blanchard, who spoke at Saddleback last year and who currently sits on the New York Leadership Center's advisory board with Rick Warren and Bill Hybels, says in the foreword of Ballard's book:

Jim Ballard's wonderful book, Mind Like Water ... I hope that you and countless other readers will find in Mind Like Water some ways to calm your mind and uplift your consciousness.

Blanchard, who will be co-hosting the CCN Lead Like Jesus event with John Ortberg, is considered a leading influencer in today's Christian world at large.

John Ortberg's 2005 book, God is Closer Than You Think has a who's who of mystic proponents, some of which include Anne Lamott, Annie Dillard, Gary Thomas (Sacred Pathways), Brother Lawrence (who danced violently like a mad man when he practiced the "presence"), interspiritualist Tilden Edwards (Shalem Institute), Thomas Kelly (Divine Center in all), Jean Pierre de Caussade, Frederick Buechner, Meister Eckhart, Dallas Willard and Thomas Merton. Ortberg's book, The Life You've Always Wanted has many of these names as well. Ortberg and contemplative promoter Ruth Haley Barton Barton co-authored Ordinary Day With Jesus, which instructs readers in mystical prayer practices. Both helped to develop Willow Creek's Spiritual Formation program.

CCN represents today's most popular Christian figures: Beth Moore, T.D. Jakes, Max Lucado, Philip Yancey, James Dobson, Gary Thomas, Rick Warren, Leonard Sweet, Brian McLaren, and Erwin McManus, to name a few. A large percentage of the 80+ CCN speakers promote both contemplative spirituality and the emerging church.

For more research on Ken Blanchard, click here.

Is General Baptist Ministries Going Toward Contemplative?

Is the General Baptist Ministries (General Association of General Baptists) going toward contemplative spirituality? The General Baptist denomination has been around since the late 1800s, with presently over 800 churches and over 70,000 members. Their Statement of Faith lays out a biblical plan of salvation and the Christian faith. But the movement appears to be leaning toward contemplative spirituality.

On the organization's main website, it reads:

General Baptists are moving forward under the theme of "No Church Left Behind." To leave no church behind, our efforts will be centered in "Gaining Agenda Harmony" and "Building Movement Loyalty." We will be actively involved in the assignment given the church to take the planet for Christ.

One of the people they will be turning to to help with this vision is Jennifer Kennedy Dean, the author of Heart's Cry: Principles of Prayer. In her book, Kennedy Dean says:

God calls us to silence, inner as well as outer. He invites us to listening prayer [contemplative prayer] ... in the inner sanctuary of our souls.... Listening prayer is the ground from which spoken prayer grows. Spoken prayer will not reach its fullness unless it is born in listening prayer" (p. 127).

This listening prayer, Kennedy Dean says brings about a "place of His presence," in which "You will find Him." She adds:

God has things to tell you.... Something you didn't know before?.... When we learn the art of silence, then we create the setting in which God can reveal to us His secrets.... We are not programmed for silence. It does not come naturally to sit quietly in God's presence without words. Listening to God is a learned discipline" (pp. 128-129).

Kennedy Dean tells readers they will find this "center" as they "visualize the presence of God, visualize yourself in that presence .... In His presence, I feel the need to empty myself. I visualize placing things on His altar" (p. 129).

In the back of Dean's book, she recommends two other books she wrote for more information on "listening prayer." In one of those books, Riches Stored in Secret Places, Dean references panentheist Thomas Kelly. It is Kelly, a panentheist, who said that within every human being is a divine center, a holy sanctuary (from A Testament of Devotion). Dean quotes Kelly from his chapter called "The Light Within," in which Dean refers to the "secret sanctuary" (p. 43). This "secret sanctuary" Kelly is speaking of is what Kelly calls "abiding Light behind all changing [life] forms." Kelly says: "In that Current we must bathe. In that abiding yet energizing Center we are all made one" (p. 38)." In referring to this "secret sanctuary," which Kelly says is in all of life, Dean tells readers to use "the meditative exercises" in her book. Some of the techniques Dean refers to are lectio divina and visualization (though she does not call them this, but she describes them).

Kennedy Dean will be a speaker at the Women's Conference during the General Baptist Mission & Ministry Summit (July 28-30) this year. In addition, Larry McKain will also be speaking. 1 McKain is the founder and Executive Director of New Church Specialties, which coaches and mentors pastors and leaders through the New Church University. The University is using books by an array of contemplative and or/ emerging authors to train these leaders. Some of these are: Leonard Sweet, Brian McLaren, Steven Covey, leadership guru John Maxwell, mystic proponent Jim Collins, contemplative/emerging proponent Rick Warren, and New Age meditation proponent Ken Blanchard.

In addition to the upcoming conference where McKain will be speaking, General Baptist Ministries is working closely with McKain's organization. On the GBM website, under Congregational Ministries, congregations are encouraged to seek after "church renewal and refocus through New Church University training." This means that General Baptist congregations everywhere could potentially be introduced to Leonard Sweet, Ken Blanchard, and the others whom the University points to and recommends.

Lighthouse Trails spoke with General Baptist Ministries director, Dr. Steven Gray, and we asked him to describe the relationship between New Church Specialties and GBM. He told us that a "partnership" between the two organizations had been formed. He did state that even though the New Church University is using McLaren and Sweet's books, the General Baptist Ministries is not. But he did acknowledge that GBM is recommending books by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.

Not surprisingly, the General Baptist Small Groups manual tells small group leaders to train their groups to practice Solitude and Silence. As Chuck Swindoll does in his book, So You Want to Be Like Christ: Eight Essential Disciplines to Get You There, the manual differentiates between an outer quietness, Solitude (removing tv, radio, sitting by a stream), and Silence. This is important to understand. While all believers should spend quiet time in prayer, study, and contemplating and thinking about God's Word and His attributes, we are never instructed in Scripture to enter a mental silence where the mind is put in a type of neutral state. For those who may wonder if this is what the General Baptist Ministry is really alluding to, one only needs to look at who they are recommending in the manual: Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Larry Crabb, Dan Allender, and Bill Hybels.

The General Baptist Summit is sponsored in part by Oakland City University (Indiana). The General Baptist school points to contemplative/emerging authors as well. For instance, in Worship Leadership 305, the instructor uses textbooks by emerging leader, the late Robert Webber. In RS 101 (Church Life) and T 505, the professors are using a textbook by the late emerging church friend and mentor, Stanley Grenz. Other authors being used that would be in a similar camp are Steve Sjogren, Rick Warren, Peter Drucker, Ken Blanchard, Buddhist sympathizer Peter Senge, and Philip Yancey.

The General Baptist Ministries are not the only ones turning to McKain's organization for training leaders. A list on the GBM website includes 21 denominations using the materials and instruction from the New Church Specialties. A few of those are: Church of the Nazarene, the Wesleyan Church, Free Methodists, and Independent Bible Churches. One thing that Lighthouse Trails finds troubling is an endorsement for McKain's University by Nazarene General Superintendent Dr. Jim Diehl 2. When A Time of Departing first was released in 2002, Jim Diehl read that book and contacted Lighthouse Trails to say that he wholeheartedly agreed with its message. At that time, we warned him that contemplative was coming fast into his denomination, largely at that time through the Nazarene seminaries.

While GBM may not currently be using the recommended teachings of Leonard Sweet in their training, the General Baptist partnership with McKain and the University gives a green light to GBM churches to explore Sweet's and Blanchard's materials. It is Leonard Sweet who has stated that "the power of small groups is in their ability to develop the discipline to get people 'in-phase' with the Christ consciousness and connected with one another." P. 147 So one can only wonder, is this christ consciousness what some General Baptists will ultimately find? If they turn to Sweet, the answer is yes. We pray and hope that General Baptist Ministries will reconsider their partnership with New Church Specialties and also their affinity with Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, and other contemplatives. Otherwise they may end up with a kind of thinking that brought Ken Blanchard to say: "Buddha points to the path and invites us to begin our journey to enlightenment. I ... invite you to begin your journey to enlightened work." (from What Would Buddha Do At Work) or Richard Foster to say, "We should all without shame enroll in the school of contemplative prayer" (COD, p. 13).

Reiki: "The power to transform others into New Age consciousness"

by Ray Yungen

One of the fastest growing New Age healing techniques being used today is Reiki, (pronounced ray-key), a Japanese word which translates universal life energy or God energy. It has also been referred to as the Radiance Technique. Reiki is an ancient Tibetan healing system which was rediscovered by a Japanese man in the 1880s and has only recently been brought to the West.

The technique consists of placing the hands on the recipient and then activating the energy to flow through the practitioner into the recipient. One practitioner describes the experience in the following way:

When doing it, I become a channel through which this force, this juice of the universe, comes pouring from my palms into the body of the person I am touching, sometimes lightly, almost imperceptibly, sometimes in famished sucking drafts. I get it even as I'm giving it. It surrounds the two of us, patient and practitioner.1

One obtains this power to perform Reiki by being attuned by a Reiki master. This is done in four sessions in which the master activates the chakras, creating an open channel for the energy. The attunement process is not made known for general information, but is held in secrecy for only those being initiated.

One of the main reasons Reiki has become so popular is its apparently pleasurable experience. Those who have experienced Reiki report feeling a powerful sense of warmth and security. One woman, now a Reiki master, remarked after her first encounter: "I don't know what this is you've got but I just have to have it."2 People don't make such comments unless there is an appeal involved. A successful business woman gives Reiki the following praise:

Reiki should be available through every medical, chiropractic and mental health facility in this country. Your fees are a small price to pay for such impressive results. I don't know how Reiki works, but it works; that's all that counts in my book.3

New Age teaching is that once someone is attuned he or she can never lose the power; it is for life. Even distance is not a barrier for the Reiki energy, for the channeler may engage in something called absentee healing, in which the energy is sent over long distances, even thousands of miles.

One master relates:

Just by having the name or an object of the person or perhaps even a picture in your hand, you can send Reiki to them to wherever they are in the world.4

Over one million people are practicing Reiki in the United States alone today.5 In many cases, these are people who treat or work with others on a therapeutic basis, such as health professionals, body workers, chiropractors, and counselors. Despite its bizarre and unconventional nature, Reiki has struck a chord with an incredible number of average people. In Europe alone, the number of people accepting Reiki is very impressive. One Reiki master claims that in the thirteen years she lived in Europe she alone initiated 45,000 people into Reiki as channelers.6

What Reiki is really about is using this power to transform others into New Age consciousness. As one Reiki leader states:

[I]t also makes a level of spiritual transformation available to non-meditators, that is usually reserved for those with a meditative path.7

Statements like this reveal that Reiki is in line with all the other New Age transformation efforts. It changes the way people perceive reality. Most practitioners acknowledge the truth of this. A German Reiki channeler makes this comment:

It frequently happens that patients will come into contact with new ideas after a few Reiki treatments. Some will start doing yoga or autogenesis training or start to meditate or practice [sic] some other kind of spiritual method.... Fundamental changes will set in and new things will start to develop. You will find it easier to cast off old, outlived structures and you will notice that you are being led and guided more and more.8

What concerns me is that Reiki apparently can be combined with regular massage techniques without the recipient even knowing it. A letter in the Reiki Journal reveals:

Reiki is a whole new experience when used in my massage therapy practice. Massage, I thought, would be an excellent tool to spread the radiance of this universal energy and a client would benefit and really not realize what a wonderful growth was happening in his or her being (emphasis mine).9

Of all the New Age practices and modalities, Reiki holds the title to being the most intriguing and perhaps eerie one. This is brought out in the following observations made by one of the leading Reiki masters in the country. He reveals:

When I looked psychically at the energy, I could often see it as thousands of small particles of light, like "corpuscles" filled with radiant Reiki energy flowing through me and out of my hands. It was as though these Reiki "corpuscles" of light had a purpose and intelligence.10

Since Reiki is not something taught intellectually even children can be brought into it. In one Reiki magazine, I found an ad that was offering a Children's Reiki Handbook: A Guide to Energy Healing for Kids. The book is described as a "guide that provides kids with what they need to prepare for their first Reiki Attunement.11

(Excerpt from For Many Shall Come in My Name, pp. 78-81)

Notes:
1. "Healing Hands," New Woman Magazine (March 1986), p. 78.
2. Joyce Morris, "The Reiki Touch" (The Movement Newspaper, October 1985).
3. Barbara Ray, Ph.D., The Reiki Factor (Smithtown, NY: Exposition Press, 1983), p. 63.
4. "Vincent J. Barra Psychic Healer Transmits Reiki Energy" (Meditation Magazine, Summer 1991), p. 31.
5. William Lee Rand, "Keeping Reiki Free" (Reiki News Magazine, Spring 2005), p. 37
6. Mari Hall, "Reiki and the Adventure of My Life" (Reiki News Magazine, Summer 2006), p. 14.
7. Paula Horan, Empowerment Through Reiki (Wilmot, WI: Lotus Light Publications, 1990), p. 9.
8. Bodo J. Baginski and Shalila Sharamon, Reiki Universal Life Energy (Mendocino, CA: Life Rhythm, 1988), pp. 33, 49-50.
9. "Sharings" (The Reiki Journal, Vol. VI, No. 4, October/December 1986), p. 17.
10. William Lee Rand, "The Nature of Reiki Energy" (The Reiki News, Autumn 2000, p. 5.
11. The Reiki News, Spring 2006, p. 43.

More research on Reiki, click here.

Also read: Reiki, Thomas Merton, and Richard Foster

Ray Yungen Coming to 8 Cities This Summer

Lighthouse Trails author, Ray Yungen, will be visiting 8 cities this August, sharing his information about contemplative spirituality, the New Age movement, the emerging church, and the impact these belief systems are having on the church and our society. These seminars will all be free of charge and are open to the public. Below are the dates and locations. If you live near any of these cities, we hope you will get the chance to attend one of these meetings. For updated information on Ray's itinerary and for more information on the meetings below, visit his website at: A Time of Departing Ministries

1. Piqua, Ohio (near Dayton/Milwaukee)

Piqua Church of the Nazarene, July 27

2. Indianapolis, Indiana

Franklin Road Baptist Church, August 2-3

3. Johnson County, Kansas (near Kansas City) with Warren Smith

Johnson County Calvary Chapel, August 7-9

4. Clarinda, Iowa with Warren Smith

Calvary Chapel of Clarinda, August 10 (call for more information)

5. Cedarburg, Wisconsin

Cedarburg Cultural Center, August 16

6. Hartland, Wisconsin

Lake Country Bible Church, August 17

7. St. Paul, Minnesota

Twin City Fellowship, August 23

* Ray will be wrapping up his August trip in Winkler, Manitoba. If you live near there, email or call us for information if you would like to attend one of the meetings there.

Ray will be in California during the month of October. He will be speaking in Redding, San Diego, Lodi, and other cities. If you have a group that would like to have Ray speak, please let us know.

Summer/Fall 2008 Catalog

The Summer/Fall 2008 Catalog is now available online. We hope you will find our selection of books and DVDs helpful and relevant.

If you are a Lighthouse Trails customer, you will be receiving a copy of the catalog via U.S. mail in 2-3 weeks. If you have never ordered from us before and would like to have a copy of the catalog sent to your home, please send your name and mailing address to: catalog@lighthousetrails.com. Please write "catalog" in the subject area of your email to us.

Summer 2008 Book Release: Things We Couldn't Say Has Gone to Press

Our Upcoming Release, Things We Couldn't Say, Has Gone to Press! Order your copy today and receive it By August 10th.

Lighthouse Trails Presents:

Things We Couldn't Say by Diet Eman - August 7, 2008

This is the true story of Diet Eman, a young Christian woman who joined the Christian resistance movement in the Netherlands during WWII. Together with her fiancé and other Dutch men and women, "Group Hein" risked their lives to save the lives of Jews who were in danger of becoming victims of Hitler's "final solution."

Things We Couldn't Say is an endearing and moving love story that occurs in the midst of extreme danger and often unbearable circumstances and loss. Before the war ends, Eman, her fiancé, and several in their group are arrested and sent to concentration camps - many of them lose their own lives.

This story will help us remember a time in history that should not be forgotten and will inspire us to live more courageously and stand for what is right, doing so by the power and grace of God. Things We Couldn't Say is a powerful illustration of II Corinthians 12:9, which states: "And he [the Lord] said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Things We Couldn't Say
ISBN 978-0-9791315-7-8
Retail $14.95, 352 pages
August 2008
PRE-ORDER TODAY

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"Will sweep you into 1930s Germany and back with your faith intact ... [Trapped in Hitler's Hell] carries a stark message for today's Western Christian ... will refocus your priorities and recharge your spiritual life."-Leo Hohmann, Read entire review at The Messianic Times Trapped in Hitler's Hell

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Find out the truth about the emerging church and the avenues through which it is entering Christianity.

Faith Undone by Roger Oakland

Find out more about the book that tells it like it is.