Christian Research Net

It was in late fall of 2004 that I realized a very important Biblical principle. Up until then I had always assumed that when God gives us a message or lesson or sermon or counsel in which to write or teach or preach or give to those who needs to hear it, He would also cause those hearing it to recognize it as the truth, believe it,  and obey it. Reality hit hard. The principle I learned was that God is glorified when we obey Him whether the results of our obedience meet our expectations or not. What happened was that I shared with the men at our old church the wonderful news that all God really wants from us is our devotion and obedience rather than just our religiosity. The results were not exactly what I expected. For the most part, I was looked at like I was a little green spaceman from the planet Zargon.

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With more on this disturbing story there is this from NewsChannel 5 Investigates: 

A few former members of a church said they were sexually abused as children and the church did nothing to stop it. "The man that raped and abused me was the brother of the minister of this church," said Crystal Mears…

Mears said she was 8 when she was raped by her grandfather, a leader in the Christian Gospel Temple in Cross Plains…Videos obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates show Cornelius Mears leading worship services. He originally led the congregation in Chino, Calif. But in 1993, Mears told the 400 members they needed to move to White House, Tenn…

And WSMV Nashville reports: 

Some women are coming forward and claiming they were sexually abused as children at their church. Also, they said leaders of their church knew about it… The women are former members of Christian Gospel Temple. In the early 1990s, approximately 400 members moved from Chino, Calif., to White House, Tenn…

Channel 4 spoke with church’s current minister, Steve Farmer, over the phone. He said he has only been served with one lawsuit. Farmer said the church is not trying to hide anything. Their services are streamed live over the internet, and their doors are always open to the public. "We believe that the allegations against Christian Gospel Temple are not true or correct,” said Farmer…

A piece at Apprising Ministries that reminds us of the growing influence of what is called Spiritual Formation currently slithering deeper into the American Christian Church. Against the backdrop for the articles Something Not Right with Southern Baptist Convention Crossover ‘08 and Part 2, which concern some things that should raise red flags for us as we read news pieces about the annual meeting of the SBC set for June 10 and 11 in Indianapolis, IN and the emphasis on prayer.

In a current story about prayer in the SBC and the annual convention from the Florida Baptist Witness we read:

signs and symbols will be posted throughout the convention center for a prayer journey. Believers can stop and pray at each station or pray as they walk along the prayer path at the convention center. (Online source, emphasis added )

The point being prayer isn’t the problem; it’s the type of prayer that may be the issue.If we have people leading prayer who are also practitioners of corrupt Contemplative/Centering Prayer, which is actually transcendental meditation dressed up for the Christian, they also bring with them other spurious spiritual practices. Things like icons, labyrinths and prayer stations from apostate Roman Catholicism.

See also: SPIRITUAL FORMATION: JUST SAY NO

THE CULT OF GURU RICHARD FOSTER

Here we learn that Rick Warren doesn’t believe that sermons will produce spiritual maturity, Bill Hybels of Willow Creek is one of the greatest pastors in history, Ecclesiastes was actually talking about strategies for the church growth movement in certain sections, and prayer and preaching doesn’t grow a church. Sheesh.

Watcher’s Lamp continues the examination of the Evangelical Manifesto.  Read how the proponents of the Evangelical Manifesto:

• clearly distinguish themselves from conservative or fundmentalist Christians. 
• favorably quote a mystical, existential philosopher by the name of Søren Kierkegaard ( an Emergent favorite)
• demonstrate their much-touted brotherly love by stereotyping fundamentalist Christians as militant, "sub-Christians"

Read the rest here at the Watcher’s Lamp.

See related post

Decoding The Evangelical Manifesto’s Call For Global Ecumenism

Not long after my wife and I began searching for a new church back in 2006, we visited one just a few blocks from the one had just left. A coworker of mine served there as part of one of their worship teams. This was one of the churches my ex-pastor was continually commenting about because of how small it started out and how big it had become while his church seemed to be stagnant, maybe even declining. The “worship” at this church was what I like to call “show time!” There are all sorts of colored lights with spot lights on those “performing.” Each had their own microphone and were all dressed in the same colors. There was at least 20 musicians on stage playing drums, keyboards, guitars, horns, you name it. The drummer was enclosed in a glass booth. It was all very cool. 

After the “worship,” the main pastor walked onto the stage with the spot lights following him. The stage was black. The stairs were black. They worked the lights so that nothing could be seen on the stage except the pastor. He was dressed casually in all black. He was carrying a nice looking cardboard box which he set on the table next to the pulpit. He said a few words to direct our attention to the screen which dropped down silently behind him. Then the auditorium went dark. We watched a movie for about 15 minutes of a glass blower working on a vase. The video took us through the whole process of blowing and shaping the glass. It looked like both hard work and a bit fun. In any case, when the movie ended the spot light came back up revealing the pastor preparing to open the box.

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From US News and World Report: 

Charging that the word "evangelical" has been hijacked by politics, a group of prominent evangelicals last week announced the publication of a 19-page manifesto asserting that theological principles should be more important than any policy preferences in defining a movement that now claims roughly 4 out of 10 Americans. But while the drafters of the manifesto hoped to raise evangelicalism above the political fray, some reactions to the document are already revealing a strongly political tenor…

And this from Darrell Bock in the Dallas Morning News:

The signers of the Evangelical Manifesto believe that there is a great deal of confusion publicly about what evangelicals are and what they are about. Some of this is the fault of evangelicals, including the signers. This manifesto was initially signed by a range of people – from Dallas Theological Seminary folk to Jim Wallis – a rare grouping that represents the full evangelical spectrum. How could such a diverse group sign this manifesto and urge others to join? Does it really even matter…

Apprising Ministries brings out that the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate birthed from apostate Roman Catholicism would open the door for Trappist monk Thomas Merton, one of most highly prized Golden Buddhas of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), to openly pursue his own antibiblical interspiritual “dialogues.” As we show you he wasn’t alone and, just as previously pointed out in the piece Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell, Dalai Lama and the Interspiritual Seeds of Compassion Event, this lunacy in the Lord’s Name is ongoing still.

Because of this we see an antichrist reversal of the Reformation being led by leaders within postevangelicalism like Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren and Emerging Church spokesman Brian McLaren. And the vehicle through which this tridentine “transformation” is being accomplished is supposed Spiritual Formation, which is only neo-pagan CSM from the antibiblical monastic traditions of Roman Catholicism lightly sprayed with Protestant terms. Do not let yourself be fooled.

In this excerpt from SPIRITUAL FORMATION: JUST SAY NO here Apprising Ministries brings out that one can look long and hard throughout the history of the on-going Protestant Reformation and you will not see “spiritual formation” until the Quaker mystic  Richard Foster arrives with his book Celebration of Discipline in 1978.

And if you won’t believe us then listen to Foster himself over at the Emergent OOZE. The following comes from SPIRITUAL FORMATION: A Pastoral Letter by Richard J. Foster:

Dear Friends,

By now enough water has gone under the Christian Spiritual Formation bridge that we can give some assessment of where we have come and what yet needs to be done. When I first began writing in the field in the late 70s and early 80s the term “Spiritual Formation” was hardly known, except for highly specialized references in relation to the Catholic orders. Today it is a rare person who has not heard the term. Seminary courses in Spiritual Formation proliferate like baby rabbits. Huge numbers are seeking to become certified as Spiritual Directors to answer the cry of multiplied thousands for spiritual direction. And more… (Online source)

The Christian Post is reporting on Paige Patterson’s (president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) recent statement which lays the blame for the decline in baptisms at the feet of the seeker-sensitive / culturally relevant methods that were developed and promoted en masse by men like Rick Warren and Bill Hybels. Said Patterson:

Weak preaching and cultural adaptability are just two of many reasons Southern Baptists give to explain the decline of membership and baptisms.

“[T]he shallow state of preaching has exacerbated the lethargy of the church and left the lost with no real Word from God,” said Paige Patterson, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, in a column in Baptist Press.

“The pastor ought to be the major source of theological understanding and the most able teacher of the Bible,” he added.

“Anemic pulpits create anemic churches and denominations.”

Since the release last month of the latest data on Southern Baptist membership and baptisms, both of which declined, Southern Baptists have speculated why the largest Protestant denomination in the country has been seeing lower numbers.

“Well, the time has come to identify the real problems,” said Patterson.

Click Here to read the rest of the story.

From the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Towers Online May 05, 2008 By David Roach

The emphasis Christians place on the traditional Christian doctrines of hell and the second coming of Jesus inhibits believers from living effective lives of service in this world, according to speaker and author Brian McLaren.

McLaren explained his views at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., as a featured speaker during the Willow Creek Association’s annual Shift student ministries conference, April 9-11. During the conference’s opening session, Bo Boshears, executive director of student ministries for the Willow Creek Association, said he does not agree with all McLaren’s views but that all youth ministers should consider his thoughts.

In his most recent book, "Everything Must Change" (Thomas Nelson), McLaren commends Willow Creek pastor Bill Hybels as one of only a handful of evangelical leaders properly addressing global poverty and equity for the world’s population.

Until 2004 I could not stand to read some Old Testament books such as Leviticus and Job. I would read them only to find my mind wandering off in all directions. It was frustrating. However, something wonderful happened after God changed me over a period of about 8 months from January through August. I don’t know exactly what He did, but I interpret it as a severe and necessary heart transplant. He may have simply circumcised my heart. I don’t know. However, I do know that until that time I was very religious, but very self-focused. I loved the Lord, and served in many capacities in church. I was a Bible teacher. However, the rest of the time was all mine. I was fleshly. I was focused on my own desires. However, I was very frustrated with my lack of self-control. I desperately wanted victory over these things.

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Based on a tip from an ol’ buddy, Mike Clawson, this post from Apprising Ministries discusses an interview with Emerging Church Spiritual Guru Brian McLaren which appeared in the Washington Post last Thursday. Around Maharishi McLaren’s usual a-logic double-speak we’re told:

Author Brian McLaren is among the most influential American religious thinkers of the last decade. His break with rigid orthodoxy and embrace of new worship styles is at the center of what is called the emerging church…[which]  reclaims ancient practices…

Here we will remind you that these “ancient practices” pushed by Yogi McLaren, his friend Dallas Willard, and others like Roshi Richard Foster, are alleged “spiritual disciplines”—more accurately stated as Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism—slithering into your churches under spurious Spiritual Formation: Just Say No.

See also: THE CULT OF GURU RICHARD FOSTER

BRIAN MCLAREN: SPEAKING FOR SATAN

The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines

Nearly two years ago my wife and I left our old church because the leadership there began the processes to change it to the Purpose Driven Church model. There were warning signs that something was not quite right well over a year earlier. For instance, some couples had left the church because they wanted less “frivolous worship” and more Biblical preaching. About that time the Pastor created care groups. Each of  the Deacons was given families to care for.

There is nothing wrong with that, but when I began calling those in my group I came across some of those families which had left. They were nice to me when I called, but firmly told me that they weren’t coming back. I asked the Pastor what was going on. He told me that those folks wanted “only Hymns” and no “Contemporary” music. I looked at him and suggested that perhaps we could have both. He just shook his head and said that nothing could be done and that I should just cross them off my list.

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In this piece Apprising Ministries will show you why no genuine Christian denominations and churches should be inviting Brian McLaren, leading Guru of the postliberal cult of the Emergent Church, in to teach at any level whatsoever because he is actually speaking on behalf of Satan.

The Global National Day of Prayer took place this weekend, along with The Roman Catholic observance of Pentecost:

PRAYER, UNITY, TRANSFORMATION…Come and experience a foretaste of heaven by joining 30,000 others at Millwall Football Stadium and millions around the globe for a time of worship, repentance, celebration and prayer - praying for our communities, our nation and the world…

Read more on the ecumenical and purpose driven details of the Global Day of Prayer at the Watcher’s Lamp.

Matt 7:21 (KJV)) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

In this article John MacArthur writes:

Love is the best known but least understood of all God’s attributes. Almost everyone who believes in God these days sees Him as a God of love. I have even met agnostics who are quite certain that if God exists, He must be benevolent, compassionate, and loving.

All those things are infinitely true about God, of course, but not in the way most people think. Because of the influence of modern liberal theology, many suppose that God’s love and goodness ultimately nullify His righteousness, justice, and holy wrath… The God most evangelicals now describe is all-loving and not at all angry…  We must recapture some of the holy terror that comes with a right understanding of God’s righteous anger…

Go to Pyromaniacs and you’ll understand: "In the red corner casting doubt where there is no doubt–Brian McLaren. And in the blue corner preaching the Word of God–Charles Spurgeon."

The match was over rather quickly as Spurgeon, a Spirit-filled man powerful in Christ, made quick work of the mealy-mouthed milquetoast McLaren.

See also: BRIAN MCLAREN IS IN DENIAL

BRIAN MCLAREN OF THE EMERGING CHURCH IS AN APOSTATE AND A LIAR

BRIAN MCLAREN: CULT LEADER OF THE EMERGENT CHURCH

Apprising Ministries with a short post that will be especially interesting to those who wonder why people like Dr. John MacArthur refer to Emergent Church spokesman Doug Pagitt as a universalist. The troubling ideas from Pagitt in this piece, and yes we realize this is a redundant statement, will help you see why.

If we listen to some today it is as if the Incarnation of Christ was to show Man how to live in such a way that there would be no war, no hunger, no sickness and that the Earth be recovered back to the pristine state of Creation. Was this His mission? I took this last week off because my son was visiting us. He is in his first year of residency at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. We drank lots of coffee and visited the Apple Store and book stores all over the Kansas City area. I always visit the “Religion” section in these stores. I was struck by the number of books I saw that attempted to blend Jesus Christ into all religions or even non-religious causes. One book I saw was a supposed list of the parallel sayings of Buddha with those of Christ.

(click here to read this post)

In a continuing series Apprising Ministries seeks to introduce the Body of Christ to various teachers of a counterfeit Christianity through their neo-pagan “spiritual disciplines” of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), a corrupt spiritual blight which is currently spreading apostasy through the evangelical camp as quickly as an Oklahoma wildfire.

Here you’ll be introduced to “Father” Richard Rohr, author of the book Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer, which you’ll see in Rob Bell In A Nutshell: Contemplative Mysticism Emerging Church icon and contemplative Rob Bell himself recommends this book.

The Shack is being advertised as THE book that will help you “see God as you never seen him before”. (that’s an understatement!)

Below is a simple graphic that shows you the unholy trinity at the heart of The Shack.

In The Shack ‘god’ the father is an African American WOMAN called Papa (a goddess!), ‘god’ the son is a plain looking Middle Eastern man with a big nose and ‘god’ the spirit is a small, delicate little Asian girl (another goddess!). The Shack also teaches the heresy of modalism and is chock full of other serious doctrinal errors.

Sadly, Christians are buying this book in droves and claiming that it’s changed their lives or opened their mind to new ideas about God. But, this book teaches false doctrine, false theology and a false triune godhead and the author has publicly rejected the doctrine of Sola Scriptura.

This is not the one True God of the Bible and Christians should not read this book in their quest for finding spiritual truths because the false teaching is so bad and so dangerous that this book can only be classified as ’spiritual poison’.

Heed the warnings of scripture.

2Th. 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

—

Further Resources

YouTube Video Exposing the False Doctrine of The Shack as it relates to the doctrine of the Trinity.

Tim Challies Review of The Shack

Inside we find:

• Staking Claim of The New American Evangelical Identity
• The Call For Global Ecumenism & Pluralism for Survival
• Redefining Christ’s Command to be Salt and Light
• Global Ecumenism For Global Good & Cooperation Despite the Reformation
• Roman Catholic Saint Illustrates What It Means to be a Christian
• Biblical Christianity Not The Only Way; Reduced to a Principle of Civility
• Resultant Statement of Christian Universalism?

Read the first in a series of posts from the Watcher’s Lamp.

In a post at Apprising Ministries draws together into one place some assorted resources concerning the New Age theology of Oprah Winfrey.

See also: OPRAH WINFREY SPEAKING AS A CHRISTIAN

OPRAH WINFREY A CHRISTIAN?

Christianity Today informs us well after the fact:

Never underestimate the power of an Oprah endorsement. Ever since she branded German-born spirituality guru Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose the 61st Oprah Book Club selection in January 2008, the book has sold 3.5 million copies. Over the past several weeks Oprah and Tolle have hosted unprecedented free “webinars,” on which Oprah-Tolle discuss a chapter from the book each week and field live questions from the online audience. That audience grew to 2 million people…