Coming From the Lighthouse

September 27, 2007

In This Issue -

Doug Pagitt No Longer Speaking at Southern Baptist Convention Wired2Grow

Bible Prophecy on Trial

Briercrest College (Canada) Presses Forward Into Contemplative/Emerging

Many Pastors Promoting Rob Bell

A Slaughterhouse Religion

Catholic Priest Encourages Practice of Yoga

Publishing News

Oakland, Yungen in BC, Canada Conference

Printer Friendly Version
Doug Pagitt No Longer Speaking at Southern Baptist Convention Wired2Grow

On September 14th, Lighthouse Trails reported that Doug Pagitt would be the featured speaker at the Baptist State Convention North Carolina Wired2Grow 2007. We have now learned that Pagitt is no longer scheduled to speak. We spoke with personnel at the BSCNC office after learning that Pagitt's name had been removed from the conference website. The BCNC office confirmed that Pagitt was indeed pulled from the speaking schedule. Here are some highlights from the September 14th report:

* Doug Pagitt, one of two speakers at the Wired2Grow conference, was recently featured on CNN (Headline News) in a short news brief with John MacArthur. The topic was Yoga. Pagitt backed up his ongoing view that yoga is safe and healthful. MacArthur on the other hand said that Christians should not "borrow an expression from a false religion," but his comments "If it's just purely exercise, and you're a strong Christian, it probably wouldn't have any impact on your faith" may leave some viewers confused.

With Doug Pagitt now removed from the schedule at the Wired2Grow conference, this apparently leaves just one speaker - Rick McKinley, who is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Community in Portland, Oregon. While removing Pagitt will send a message from BSCNC that they oppose the spiritual beliefs of the emerging church (yoga, mysticism, etc.), retaining McKinley as a speaker could send the opposite message. McKinley's church, Imago Dei Community is an emerging church with spiritual affinities similar to Doug Pagitt's. See Imago Dei's School of Theology for some evidence of this: 1, 2, 3

Thus, by removing Pagitt and keeping McKinley, a confusing, contradictory message is being sent. And what's more, with so many favorable, positive references to contemplative and emerging within the BSCNC camps, the message sent will be more confusing than ever.

Bible Prophecy on Trial

Because there is a growing connection between those who promote contemplative spirituality (i.e., mysticism) and those who reject the study of Bible prophecy regarding the second coming of Jesus Christ, the following information and documentation is crucial in understanding the nature of both the spiritual formation (contemplative) movement and the emerging church movement.

In Faith Undone, Roger Oakland states that Bible prophecy is on trial. He explains:

"Many who were once looking for the return of Jesus have fallen asleep. We now live in a period of time where numerous prominent Christian leaders are telling the Christian masses that paying attention to the signs of our times in light of the Bible is a waste of time. And many of them take it a step further and accuse those who believe what Bible prophecy says about the end of the age of being negative and self-centered.

"In the Purpose Driven Life, Warren was actually laying ground work for the emerging church's new reformation, a reformation that rejects thinking about the return of Christ and works more at convincing the multitudes that Christ is already in them as a global christ-consciousness. As you will see in the following documentation, Warren has a low regard for Bible prophecy. Perhaps this helps explain why so many who once were anticipating the return of the Lord have become occupied with worldly ambitions. Warren writes:

When the disciples wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus quickly switched the conversation to evangelism. He wanted them to concentrate on their mission in the world. He said in essence, "The details of my return are none of your business. What is your business is the mission I have given you. Focus on that!"

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching:... And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. (II Peter 1:19)

Today seekers are hungry for symbols and metaphors and experiences and stories that reveal the greatness of God. Because seekers are constantly changing, we must be sensitive to them like Jesus was; we must be willing to meet them on their own turf and speak to them in ways they understand.

If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy. (Rick Warren, PDL, pp. 285-286)

Tony Campolo says that Christians who "make a big thing of their claim that we are now living in the final stage of church history prior to the second coming of Christ" have been the cause of "extremely detrimental" consequences. They "discount the Sermon on the Mount," they don't care about the needy, and they have had such a negative "impact on geopolitics," which Campolo says "can lead only to war." Basically, according to Campolo they are the reason the world is in such a mess, and they are holding back progress of a more emerging spirituality. (Faith Undone, p. 160, quoting Tony Campolo, Speaking My Mind)

It is time that the church woke up to its true mission, which is to materialize the kingdom of God on earth, today, here and now.... People are no longer interested in a possible heavenly state or a probable hell. They need to learn that the kingdom is here, and must express itself on earth ... The way into that kingdom is the way that Christ trod. It involves the sacrifice of the personal self for the good of the world, and the service of humanity ... (Occultist,Alice Bailey)

Robert Schuller's advice to young church leaders would seem to apply to new apostolic Christians: "Don't let eschatology stifle your long-term thinking." (C. P. Wagner, from Reinventing Jesus Christ

We are not eschatological Theonomists or Classic Dispensationalists (e.g. Scofield) and believe that divisive and dogmatic certainty surrounding particular details of Jesus Second Coming are unprofitable speculation, because the timing and exact details of His return are unclear to us. (Mark Driscoll, Acts 29 Network

Coming out of New Age teachings, I had learned in a very personal way that the details of Jesus' return are definitely our business. Understanding the events surrounding His return was critical to understanding how badly I had been deceived by my New Age teachings. I had learned from reading the Bible that there is a false Christ on the horizon and that for a number of years I had unknowingly been one of his followers. Because the Bible's clear authoritative teachings about the real Jesus and His true return had been brought to my attention, I was able to see how deceived I was. By understanding that there is a false Christ trying to counterfeit the true Christ's return, I was able to renounce the false Christ I had been following and commit my life to the true Jesus Christ. (from Deceived on Purpose, p. 147)

In the Bible in the book of Revelation, it says that Satan will deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9). The emerging church movement has three essential elements that are consistent throughout the movement that may help this great deception to occur:

1. The embracing of mysticism
2. The belief that the kingdom of God will be established on earth BEFORE Christ returns.
3. The rejection of eschatology (the study of end-times and Bible prophecy relating to it).

The combination of these three things could help to bring about the great falling away of which the Bible speaks. We pray that every Bible-believing Christian will be able to comprehend these things and warn their families and loved ones.

"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." I Thessalonians 5:1-6

Briercrest College (Canada) Presses Forward Into Contemplative/Emerging

Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan, Canada is a Christian institution that claims to provide "Bible based education enabling Christ-like integrity in life, thought, and service." 1 On a Belief statement, they say they believe: "The Holy Scriptures as originally given by God, divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy, and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct." 2 However, the college/seminary is pushing forward in promoting both contemplative and emerging spiritualities, both of which are contrary to the "Holy Scriptures."

This report will show many different avenues through which contemplative/emerging is influencing and/or entering Briercrest.

In Faith Undone, Roger Oakland makes some interesting observations about Briercrest professor Dale Dirksen:

In an article he wrote titled "Old is 'New' Again: the Emergent Church," Dirksen says that emergent people are "questioning" things like "the power of human reason" and "have a lot of interest in ancient ideas." He says they are "hungry for mystery and searching for God."

Dirksen explains what he sees as advantages for the changes the emergent church hopes to bring. He explains:

Cultural change requires careful and thoughtful response... It is often in change that we refine, or even rediscover the major things and set aside the ones that do not matter so much. We have the chance to do that now.

Similar to most emergent church advocates, Dirksen is looking for a new kind of Christianity. He asks:

If we are going to get serious about following the command of Christ to make disciples, it will mean adopting a new kind of attitude, a new sense of mission. How can we learn about this new culture in which we find ourselves? What is its language? What are its practices? What are its gods?

Dirksen provides his readers with insights that can be used for evangelizing the postmodern generation. He offers a suggestion to understanding emergent language and culture:

[The emergent language] is more than a verbal language. It involves pictures, symbols, actions, even smells. To speak "emergent" the church will need to use more than just words. The good news is that we can find this emergent language in our own faith. But we will have to look back a long way. (emphasis added)

Just how far back does Dirksen think we need to look? He answers that when he states:

To connect with emergent people, however, we will need to look back much further than the twentieth century or even the Reformation. Ancient practices that seem to have spiritual significance for emergent people are often found in the third century, the turn of the first millennium, or the drama of worship in the Middle Ages.

Going back to ancient teachings is necessary, according to Dirksen, but only as far back as the mystics of the third century. (see Faith Undone, pp. 71-72; *see below for Dirksen references)

Dirksen is referring to the desert fathers, who are third century monks that practiced contemplative prayer. Some believe they got these meditative practices from practitioners in pagan religions.One such person is meditation proponent Daniel Goleman from his book Meditative Mind:

The meditation practices and rules for living of these earliest Christian monks bear strong similarity to those of their Hindu and Buddhist brethren several kingdoms to the east. While Jesus and his teachings were their inspiration, the meditative techniques they adopted for finding their God suggest either a borrowing from the East or a spontaneous rediscovery. The ways of the Desert Fathers influence Christian monasticism to this day.

Briercrest has become no stranger to the mystics, including Brother Lawrence (who "danced violently like a madman"3 when he went into the silence), panentheist Thomas Kelly, mystic Teresa of Avila and many others.4, calling the writings of these mystics "great works of Christian devotion." It was Thomas Kelly who said that every human being has a divine center and a holy sanctuary.5

One Briercrest course titled "The Writings of Thomas Merton" is taught by Lynn Szabo. Szabo is a "distinguished scholar of the poet, mystic, and political activist Thomas Merton"6 and has served on the Board of Directors of the International Thomas Merton Society. Those who have researched the spirituality of Thomas Merton understand that he was a practitioner and promoter of Eastern-style mantra meditation, which led him to say he was "impregnated with Sufism" (Islamic mysticism -from Merton and Sufism, p. 109).

Briercrest has placed a major emphasis on Spiritual Formation and includes the teachings of Henri Nouwen and many others of similar spiritual affinities. In one course, Spiritual Formation BT112, the syllabus shows that Richard Foster's book, Devotional Classics is used as a textbook. It is in that 1993 book that Foster exalts mystics like Thomas Merton, John of the Cross, Nouwen, Evelyn Underhill and several others. In the book, Foster says:

I am constantly pleased at how applicable Merton's writings are ... The guidance he gives on meditative prayer is practical and "bite-sized." (p. 66).

In Devotional Classics, Foster also recommends readers read Merton's books Seeds of Contemplation and Contemplative Prayer for a "deeper" spiritual experience. No doubt, many Briercrest students who take this course will be introduced to eastern mysticism through Thomas Merton. The instructor of this particular course at Briercrest says that the exercises from the textbooks are "required" to do. In other words, if students want to pass, they better practice contemplative prayer!

While there are numerous other examples, this report will give one final example of Briercrest's move in the contemplative direction. On their Internet Research Guide sits resources such as Leonard Sweet (New Age sympathizer), The Ooze (an emergent organization) and Worship Leader magazine (a very pro-emergent, pro-mystic publication). Rather than there being a disclaimer that these websites could be harmful to one's spiritual health, Briercrest calls them "recommended Internet resources you may find helpful in your studies."

I was struck by the incredible wisdom that could be found apart from the "approved" evangelical reading list. A Trappist monk, [Thomas] Merton gave me a new appreciation for the meaning of community. His New Man and New Seeds of Contemplation touched my heart in ways other religious books had not. Not long afterward my thinking was stretched again, this time by Thich Nhat Hanh--a Buddhist monk ... Hanh's Living Buddha, Living Christ gave me insight into Jesus from an Eastern perspective. (p. 157. ATOD)

Many Pastors Promoting Rob Bell

Is it OK for a "strong Christian" to practice YOGA?

The heart and core of the Christian faith is the gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures. This foundational belief is under attack by many who are considered to be leaders of the Emerging Church movement that is sweeping the world and "re-inventing" Christianity.

It is for this reason we chose the title Faith Undone: the emerging church ... a new reformation or an end-time deception for my book published by Lighthouse Trails.

Chapter 11 of Faith Undone is titled "A Slaughterhouse Religion?" This chapter was written to shine a light into the darkness and show where the Emerging Church is headed.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is under attack exactly the way the Bible warns - by doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1). However, many professing Bible believing Christians are not aware of the attack against the gospel that is presently underway.

Some pastors (for example, Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa) who have read Faith Undone, after reading chapter 11, are warning their sheep. Then there are others (even pastors that are part of the Calvary Chapel fellowship) who refuse to read Faith Undone, but have chosen to attack the book (and me personally) without looking at a single page.

I challenge those who have not read Faith Undone because they say I am "too negative," or "too critical," to read chapter 11 - "A Slaughterhouse Religion?" To read this special preview of Chapter 11 of Faith Undone, click here.

Catholic Priest Encourages Practice of Yoga

Assist News
'Christians Priests Ignorant Of Yoga,' says Father John Ferreira, an Indian Catholic Priest

AGRA, RAJASTHAN, INDIA (ANS) -- According to the news carried on the Indo Asian News Service website (www.eians.com), Roman Catholic priest, Father John Ferreira, principal of St. Peter's College in Agra, one of India's oldest educational institutions, says Christian priests in Britain are completely ignorant about yoga.

"They know nothing about yoga. They should first study and experience the benefits of India's ancient science before commenting," Ferreira, 57, told IANS in an interview.

He was referring to the uproar in Britain after some British clergy called for a ban on yoga classes for children, terming it "unchristian activity."

Not sex, but yoga education, is the need of the hour, Ferreira said, speaking after a half-hour yoga class at an assembly attended by over 1,500 students, teachers and office assistants. The yoga session is held every school day. Click here to read the rest of this news story.

More on YOGA

A Sermon by Rob Bell - The Theology of Breathing

http://blogs.echurchnetwork.net/Assets/UserBlog/314/052905.mp3

On October 14th, Holocaust survivor and Jewish believer, Anita Dittman, will speak at the Bless Israel meeting, a ministry of Twin City Fellowship in Minneapolis.

Publishing News  - FAITH UNDONE 2nd Printing

Oakland, Yungen in BC, Canada Conference

November 9-11, 2007