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1/The
Election is Over--What About the Department of Peace:
Now that the election is over, Lighthouse Trails has a question, and that
is, "What about the Department of Peace?" Most Christians have
probably never heard of it. Those who have been tracking the news through
Lighthouse Trails for some time most likely have. One thing that may happen
with the new administration is that the Department of Peace will become a
reality.
2/They
Say the Emerging Church is Dead - The Truth Behind the Story:
According to a September 19th Christianity
Today blog article, the emerging church is dead. "An
overused and corrupted term now sleeps with the fishes," the article
states. But is this even remotely true? Or rather could it be that the
emerging church, or what we call the "merging" church, is
morphing into its next "higher" level, and just as a butterfly
would not want to be called a worm, neither do many in this evolving
movement want to be called "the emerging church" any longer.
However, unlike the beauty of a golden butterfly broken from its cocoon,
the merging church does not share such grandeur. In reality, it is a
dangerous pied piper leading millions over a deadly cliff of deception. And
just as the "birth" of the emerging church was a well-thought
out, highly-financed "dream" of millionaire corporations and
futurists, so too will be its supposed "death" and rebirth. But
don't be fooled, the emerging church and the spirituality behind it is
alive and kicking.
3/Why
Christian Leaders Should Not Promote Henri Nouwen:
Henri Nouwen embraced a New Age spirituality after many years of
drawing from the wells of mysticism. From his earliest writings, Nouwen was
interested in Thomas Merton (whom he met once at the Gethsemani monastery
in Kentucky), the Catholic monk who helped to bring contemplative
spirituality out of the monasteries and into Christianity at large. After
turning to mysticism himself, Merton came to believe that Divinity (God)
dwells in all human beings.
4/Brian
McLaren's Hope for the Future - The Minds of Your Grandchildren:
In McLaren's recent book, he gives a detailed analysis of how the emerging
church is God's answer to a stifled, fearful Christian church. He explains
that this merging church must infiltrate the "institutions that
rejected it," adding that "conservative Protestants have repeated
their Catholic sibling's earlier mistakes (referring to the Catholic
church's one time rejection of Galileo). Then he says: "But over time,
what they reject will find or create safe space outside their borders and
become a resource so that many if not most of the grandchildren of today's
fundamentalists will learn and grow and move on from the misguided battles
of their forebears [biblical believers]." You see, McLaren and his
emerging church fellows (Pagitt, Sweet, Warren, et.al) want to change the
minds of our children and grandchildren. That is why Rick Warren once said
that the older traditional ones will have to leave or die because they
won't change, thus the emphasis in the emerging church on the youth.
5/Will
Department of Defense Turn to Meditation?: An article,
"A proven enlightened counter-measure," written by Dr. David
Leffler, an eight-year US Air Force veteran, now the Executive Director at
the Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS), appeared in The Aljazzera
Magazine, an "independent media organization established in 1992 in
London" reporting on world events that affect the Middle East.
In the article, Leffler discusses US Defense Secretary Robert Gates in
Gates' recent speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Gates said that
"[e]nlightened counter-measures ... will bolster the internal strength
of vulnerable states so they will not harbor violent networks seeking to
launch the next attack." Leffler suggests that in the DoD's
"struggle to eliminate violent extremism," eastern-style
meditation techniques should be used.
6/Saddleback
IS a Contemplative Church: As Lighthouse Trails has
reported many times in the past, Rick Warren (pastor of Saddleback Church)
has been promoting the spiritual formation (i.e., contemplative prayer) movement
for many years. This report will show that Saddleback Church is directly
recommending numerous contemplative materials to those under their
influence through "spiritual formation" and what they term
"maturity."
7/Christianity
Today Proclaims Ancient Future Church At Hand: In the
February issue of Christianity Today, the cover article titled "The
Future Lies in the Past"" proclaims that the "ancient
future" church is now a reality. The cover photo shows a young man
kneeling in a pile of sand (shovel sitting next to him), and he has just
dug up a medieval looking Christian cross. The caption reads "Lost
Secrets of the Ancient Church: How evangelicals started looking back to
move forward."
8/Warren,
Blanchard, Hybels, Laurie, Buford - Launching New York Leadership Center:
the New York City Leadership Center. This is a inter-religious venture that
is being supported by some of the country's most prolific Christian figures
including Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Greg Laurie, Ken Blanchard, Bob Buford
and Frances Hesselbein (representing the late Peter Drucker). The new
Leadership Center hopes to "see the redemption of [their] communities
through leaders leading together."
9/Obama
Foreshadows Coming Spirituality (Mar. 2008): Rick
Warren and Barack Obama share views on global peace and world-wide
unification. Obama, who was a speaker at the "Pentecost 2006: Building
a Covenant for a New America" conference, used "the speech as a
call for continued dialogue and bridge-building between religious
conservatives and progressives." This "bridge-building" is
the same kind of talk Rick Warren uses when he is discussing his "new
reformation" that will include all religions, in which he states that
he will do "whatever it takes" and work with anyone at all to
accomplish this new reformation in his lifetime.
In Obama's address at Pentecost 2006, he talked about the "connection
between religion and politics." This is what Rick Warren talks about
with his "three-legged stool" philosophy that government,
religion and business have to work together if global peace is ever going
to happen. In light of the popularity of both these men, and given the
possibility that Rick Warren could potentially be "the President's
pastor," their views on global peace should not be overlooked.
A recent USA Today article,
"Saddleback founder Warren driven to expand his reach," begins by
asking the question "Could California pastor Rick Warren possibly be
everywhere at once?." The article mentions Warren's global travels,
while promoting his Purpose Driven Peace Plan and the recently launched
Peace Coalition. The question that should be asked is "Can pastor Rick
Warren possibly serve both God and man at the same time?." With modern
technology, jet travel, Internet and other high speed communication, and
millions of dollars at Warren's disposal from book sales, the first feat
may not be too difficult to accomplish--in essence Rick Warren is
everywhere at once. But the second, serving both God and man at the same
time, is utterly impossible.
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YEAR IN REVIEW: 2008 Top 10 Stories by LT Authors
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"Churchless"
Christianity by Roger Oakland: With Rick Warren saying your religion
should have no bearing on your spiritual life, Erwin McManus saying he
would like to destroy Christianity, and missionary societies telling new
converts they can have Jesus without Christianity (or baptism), the results
could be devastating and will very likely undo the tireless efforts of many
dedicated missionaries around the world. These Bible-believing missionaries
have risked their lives and given up comforts and ease to travel around the
world sharing the good news that becoming a Christian (having Jesus Christ
come into your heart and life) is the way to eternal life. Now, right
behind them, come emerging church missionaries who say Christianity is a
terrible religion, and Christians are out to lunch--so just become a
Christ-follower, and you don't even have to tell anyone about it. In fact,
you can still live like you always have.
They
Say "I AM" - "For Many Shall Come in My Name" by Ray Yungen: My
research has brought me to a point where the full implication of Paul's
words are surprisingly real. I believe the Bible contains an important
signal that the changes of times and seasons may indeed be at hand. In
Matthew 24:3-5, which is a chapter dealing with the tribulation period,
Jesus spoke these revealing words to His disciples concerning the signs of
His coming and the end of the world (age).
The
Great Heretical Idea: Oprah and Eckhart Do the New Age Shift by Warren Smith:
With friend and New Age author Marianne Williamson simultaneously teaching
A Course in Miracles daily on Oprah & Friends XM Satellite Radio, Oprah
now offers two very public New Age classes. These classes are teaching
millions of people that the way to save themselves and the planet is not by
accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but rather by accepting
"the Christ within."
An
Enlightened Race? by Caryl Matrisciana: The Germany of the 1920s and 1930s
was in social and economic despair, looking for a leader who would free her
from the Great Depression. The man with the promise of hope was Adolph
Hitler. A man with an affinity for the occult and "an abiding belief
in astrology," he claimed he was ordained by God to usher in one
thousand years of peace and prosperity with a super race of humans. A
student of Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine (the Theosophical
Society's "bible"), Hitler manipulated an entire nation to
surrender its collective mind to him.
"I
Just Had a Vision!" by Kevin Reeves: I believe that most
of what are reported as visions are not such at all, but could be more
appropriately termed mental pictures. The two are certainly not synonymous.
Mental pictures occur constantly during our waking hours but don't
necessarily have anything to do with the spiritual, whereas visions always
have their origin in the supernatural realm. As we speak in conversation,
we see mental images, memories, etc., to correspond with the dialogue;
reading gives us the same experience. Even television viewing offers the
same scenario, as the images dancing across the screen click on our own
past experiences or connections with our present situations. This can
transpose into our times of prayer, giving us mental pictures that may or
may not be of God.... The practice itself can be dangerous, actually
maneuvering an innocent Christian in the wrong direction.
Obama's
Fictitious Pro-Israel Team by Jan Markell:
Much is being made of several Jews who are now a part of the Obama
administration. Some seem to think that a few are very pro-Israel Jews and
that we will thus see a new course of American-Israeli relations. I hate to
burst bubbles but they are dead wrong.
Shaping
the Minds of the Youth by Roger Oakland: 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 Francis Schaeffer attended
their second annual conference. 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.
Those
Who Resist by Kevin Reeves: These are critical days for the body of
Christ. We are in the epoch of church history spoken of by the apostle Paul
as "perilous times" (II Timothy 3:1). What makes the danger all
the more imminent is that not much of the church believes it. Many of us have
owned the glorious but erroneous vision of an end-times remnant walking in
unconquerable power, transforming entire societies. The result has been
nothing short of catastrophic. How soon we forget. Every cult in the world
has sprouted from the fertile soil of deception, always initiated by a
drastic move away from the primacy of the Word of God into the nebulous,
self-defining atmosphere of experience.
Meditation
Explosion - 17 Million Meditators! by Ray Yungen: In
2003, Time magazine reported (in a feature article on meditation) that 10
million Americans practiced meditation. Now, four years later, Dr. Rick
Levy, in his book Miraculous Health, claims that number is now 17 million
in the United States alone.
"Servant Leadership" ... A
Christian Idea ... Not Exactly by Warren Smith:
Today, there is much talk about teaching
people to become good leaders. In reality, what is happening is people are
being taught to be good followers. The term (and the concept) Servant
Leadership, used by many of the most prolific Christian authors and
teachers today, did not originate with them.
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YEAR IN REVIEW: 2008 Top 10 LT Stories by Other Ministries
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YEAR IN REVIEW: 2008 Conference Alerts
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LT PUBLISHING NEWS: 2008 Year in Review and Preview of 2009
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Publishing Year in Review
Things We Couldn't Say is the true story of
a Christian resistance worker in Holland during WWII. Diet Eman is
alive today at 88 years old. Her story is one of incredible courage and
faith. Lighthouse Trails is so honored to be able to represent both Diet
Eman and Anita Dittman (Trapped in Hitler's Hell),
two women who survived one of the most horrific times in human history.
Out of India, an apologetic
biography, tells the story of India-raised Caryl Matrisciana, who is a
long-time Christian film producer and the founder of Caryl Productions.
Born and raised in India, Caryl saw firsthand the effects that Hinduism had
on the people of that nation. After leaving India as a young adult, she
became involved in the counter-culture New Age movement, only to find that
the elements of Hinduism and the New Age were very much the same. Later as
a Christian, Caryl discovered that this same spirituality had entered the
Christian church through various avenues.
Lighthouse Trails also
launched websites for two of our authors in 2008: www.atimeofdeparting.com for Ray Yungen and www.deceivedonpurpose.com for Warren Smith. On these
sites, you can learn more about the authors, get book information, donate
to them, and find links to many of their articles. Our other author
websites can be found by clicking here. Lighthouse Trails
is very grateful to have the opportunity to publish books by men and
women who so sacrificially work to defend the Christian faith.
Faith Undone, Roger Oakland's
powerful book on the emerging church and the new spirituality, was released
in the summer of 2007. Since then, the book has been distributed around the
world, and we believe it has made a difference in the lives of many
Christians as well as entire churches.
In 2009, we will be releasing a 3 part
DVD lecture series by Ray Yungen, addressing the New Age, mysticism,
contemplative spirituality, and interspirituality.
We also have signed a contract with
Carolyn A. Greene, a Canadian author who has written a novel, Castles in the Sand.
This will be Lighthouse Trails' first fiction story. It is about a young
Christian college girl named Teresa, who is introduced by her Spiritual
Formation professor to the writings of a young mystic girl from
the 15th century, Teresa of Avila. The story shows the dramatic influence
this has on the 21st century Teresa, as she plunges into mysticism.
This will be "fiction with a message" that will hopefully help
readers to see the true nature behind contemplative spirituality (Spiritual
Formation), which has so quickly pervaded Christian colleges, seminaries,
and universities across the globe.
In 2009, we also hope to release Roger
Oakland's biography, Let
There Be Light. Roger, raised in a Christian home, received his
degree in Biology and became a devout believer and teacher of evolution,
until he discovered there was a Creator and a God who loved him and sent
His Son to die for him. Roger's biography reveals the intimate details of
his life, including the death of two sons and the victories and heartbreaks
of ministering around the world. The book will be another Lighthouse Trails Apologetic Biography, showing the faithfulness of God in a believer's life while providing
information and truth for the exhortation and edification of the
saints and an evangelistic emphasis for the unbeliever.
Lighthouse Trails will also be releasing
its first Spanish translation, Faith
Undone. This edition will be distributed with a special focus
in Mexico, Central and South America. We are very grateful to our
translator, Sally, and the editors she works with in Columbia. She is
currently translating A
Time of Departing, which will be released in late 2009 or early
2010.
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Franklin Graham on Rick Warren: "He must be doing
something right."
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LTRP Note: The following recent article by Christianity Today quotes Franklin
Graham as saying that Rick Warren is a "minister of Jesus Christ"
and that "he [Rick Warren] must be doing something right" if the
gays and the liberals are mad at him.1 We present this article as an example of how
Christian leaders (such as Graham) are not warning the body of Christ about
Rick Warren's teachings and beliefs that include a three-legged global
peace plan and the new reformation/new spirituality. The Christianity
Today article states they are presenting a "special section"
on Rick Warren in this month's online edition. The section lists numerous
articles CT has written on Rick Warren over the past decade.
Lighthouse Trails would like to provide its own "special section"
on Rick Warren as well. Please click here to view our special section on our coverage over
the last 1/2 a decade.
"Franklin Graham: Obama/Warren Criticisms Ludicrous"
Sarah Pulliam
Christianity Today
Evangelist Franklin Graham knows a thing or two about getting flack for
praying at an inauguration. He took heat after praying in Jesus's name at President
Bush's inauguration in 2001. I just spoke with Franklin Graham, who gave
his take on Obama's decision to ask megachurch pastor Rick Warren to give
the invocation at his inauguration. We have also compiled our coverage of
Warren over the years in a special section.
Here are some highlights from the interview:
[Obama] is including evangelicals at his inauguration, but I don't know if
he'll include them in his administration. Time will tell. But Rick Warren
will have Obama's ear on important issues.
Do you have any advice for Rick Warren?
My advice to Rick is to stay true to your convictions, and don't back up
one step. I don't think he will. When you have the far left and the gay
advocates mad at you, you must be doing something right. Click here to read this entire article.
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Rick Warren Wins Approval by Homosexual Singer
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LTRP Note: The following out-of-house article by the Huffington Post is for research
and informational purposes. The writer, Melissa Etheridge, who met Rick
Warren a few days ago at the MPAC Convention, believes that the world is on
the brink of a new era.
"The Choice is Ours Now"
by M. Etheridge, Huffington Post
"This is a message for my brothers and sisters who have fought so long
and so hard for gay rights and liberty. We have spent a long time climbing
up this mountain, looking at the impossible, changing a thousand year-old
paradigm. We have asked for the right to love the human of our choice, and
to be protected equally under the laws of this great country. The road at times
has been so bloody, and so horrible, and so disheartening. From being
blamed for 9/11 and Katrina, to hateful crimes committed against us, we are
battle weary. We watched as our nation took a step in the right direction,
against all odds and elected Barack Obama as our next leader. Then we were
jerked back into the last century as we watched our rights taken away by
prop 8 in California. Still sore and angry we felt another slap in the face
as the man we helped get elected seemingly invited a gay-hater to address
the world at his inauguration." Click here to read this entire article.
Related:
Rick Warren "Annoyed" with Those Who Challenge
Him - Serving Two Masters Not Working
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"Controversial minister Warren delivers King Day
service"
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ATLANTA (AP) - The Rev. Rick Warren, whose selection to deliver the
invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration has angered gay
activists, will be in the pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to
deliver the keynote address at the Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative
service.
The Jan. 19 service at King's former church on the federal holiday marking
what would have been his 80th birthday comes the day before the
inauguration ceremony in Washington.
King Center President Isaac Newton Farris Jr. said holiday organizers
tapped Warren to speak at the service for his "unifying spirit"
and commitment to his conservative faith, which is part of the concept of
the "beloved community" embraced by King. Click here for source.
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