Exposingspiritualformation part1-130108171501-phpapp02

Spiritually
Experiencing God
(Part 1)
The Alpha and the Omega

But if the watchman see the sword come,
and blow not the trumpet, and the people
be not warned; if the sword come, and
take any person from among them, he is
taken away in his iniquity; but his blood
will I require at the watchman's hand. So
thou, O son of man, I have set thee a
watchman unto the house of Israel;
therefore thou shalt hear the word at my
mouth, and warn them from me.
(Ezekiel 33:6-7)

Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather reprove them.
Reprove. Gr. elegchō, “to refute,” “to convict,” “to expose.”
Compare the use of the word in Luke 3:19; John 3:20; 8:9; 16:8. By
word and life Christians should be a continuous rebuke to the world
of evil. It is not sufficient to “have no fellowship” with the works of
evil; they must be reproved. The Christian cannot be neutral, a
passive observer in the face of wickedness; he must be aggressive
in exposure and denunciation of sin. Sympathy with afflicted men
must not degenerate into an easygoing indifference or sentimental
tolerance, otherwise it will be hard to show that we have “no
fellowship” with the works of darkness.
Gr. Greek
Nichol, Francis D.: The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary,
Volume 6. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1978; 2002, S.
1033

What would you have done if you had been
there the day that Eve was at the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil?

I would especially like to emphasize that the purpose of
sharing names and organizations is not to tear down
those within the church or to condemn people, that
alone is the Lord’s work. But there are people who are
associating themselves with deadly error, error that is
infecting my child and yours, my family and yours, my
neighbors and yours, my church and yours. These
individuals and entities are publicly promoting this “new
spirituality.” For that reason it should be publicly
denounced. It is not a denunciation of the individuals
themselves but of the error they espouse. The Lord calls
us to rebuke and exhort but to do it in love and this is
our purpose.

My husband then stated that he should
understand that these words of our Lord
had reference to cases of personal trespass,
and could not be applied in the case of this
sister. She had not trespassed against Sister
White. But that which had been reproved
publicly was public wrongs which
threatened the prosperity of the church
and the cause. Here, said my husband, is a
text applicable to the case: 1 Timothy 5:20:
"Them that sin rebuke before all, that
others also may fear." {2T 15.2}

Men whom God favored, and to whom he entrusted
great responsibilities, were sometimes overcome by
temptation and committed sin, even as we at the
present day strive, waver, and frequently fall into error.
Their lives, with all their faults and follies, are open
before us, both for our encouragement and warning. . .
As they, though sometimes beaten back, recovered their
ground, and were blessed of God, so we too may be
overcomers in the strength of Jesus. On the other hand,
the record of their lives may serve as a warning to us. It
shows that God will by no means clear the guilty. He
sees sin in his most favored ones, and he deals with it in
them even more strictly than in those who have less
light and responsibility. {PP 238.2}

Introduction
“Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing” are “Deceiving Many of the Elect” !
Today many SDA leaders and members are innocently, or some not
so innocently, being seduced by the miracles and demons of the
“three fold union” of Revelation. The three great spiritual forces
composing this “three fold union” are clearly identified in Revelation
16:13-14 (NKJV), which says,
“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth
of the dragon (Satan & spiritualism), out of the mouth of the beast
(the Roman Catholicism), and out of the mouth of the false prophet
(Apostate Protestantism including some deceived SDAʼs). 14 For
they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the
kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them (an
ecumenical movement) to the battle of that great day of God
Almighty.

This presentation documents how these “three spiritual
demonic forces” are being brought into the SDA church.
Catholic Mysticism and New Age Spiritualism is covertly
(and sometimes openly) being brought into our SDA
churches, educational institutions and hospitals by SDA
leaders. We document some of the leaders and where they
are getting their “new creative ideas for prayer and
worship”. Some of these leaders may be naïve, innocent
and ignorant. Others are well informed and knowledgeable
of their sources. Some even openly acknowledge &
document receiving their material from Catholic Jesuits and
New Age “Spiritualistic” leaders.

These attacks against our SDA Church and the Truth of Godʼs
Word are just a few evidences that Jesus is coming soon! “And
the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war
with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of
God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17
Jesus warned us, Matthew 24:24-27 (NKJV), “Then if anyone says
to you, ʻLook, here is the Christ!ʼ or ʻThere!ʼ do not believe it. For
false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and
wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told
you beforehand. Therefore if they say to you, ʻLook, He is in the
desert!ʼ (or some other “retreat”) do not go out; or ʻLook, He is in
the inner rooms!ʼ (special “Prayer Rooms”) do not believe it. For
as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so
also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

Before we consider what some believe to be “good things” coming from Jesuit
“spiritual instructors,” please consider the following history. Protestant and
Seventh‐day Adventist Bible scholars have long recognized “the little horn
power and beast power of Daniel 7, Daniel 8 , and Revelation to be the Roman
Catholic church and its satanically inspired opposition to Jesus, His faithful
followers, and His Word. The historical records of the Dark Ages are full of
stories of Catholic opposition to the Bible and Catholic efforts to destroy the
Scripture and keep it from the common people. Ignatius Loyola began the Jesuit
Order for the clearly stated purpose of stopping and undoing the Protestant
Reformation, which was simply a return to the teachings of Scripture and a
turning away from the spiritual traditions of the Catholic Church. In the Vatican
today stands a marble statue of Ignatius Loyola honoring him for his leadership
in destroying those choosing to follow scripture instead of Catholic Tradition.
The statue depicts Ignatius standing with one foot on the neck of a fallen
Protestant crushing out his life breath!
“Come now, let us reason together”. Has the Jesuit Order of today suddenly
had a conversion and is now seeking to spiritually strengthen their openly
avowed enemies, the Seventh‐day Adventists and other Protestants, the
people of the book ?

Or, could it be, the Jesuit’s have finally found an effective strategy to woo
Seventh‐day Adventist and Protestant focus away from their preaching of
the “more sure word of prophecy” (which puts Catholics in such a bad light)
to a new focus on Catholic Jesuit forms of supposedly wonderful spiritual
exercises such as Centering Prayer, Contemplative Prayer, Taize’ Prayer,
Labyrinths, Lectio Devina, and Spiritual Formation. And then, as a powerful
seductive spiritual force engulfs their being during these exercises, the
“angel of light” overwhelms their senses with an experience of spiritual
ecstasy banishing the Biblical warnings and the “still small voice” of the
genuine Holy Spirit. Now they are hooked on “the experience of Christ
Consciousness” and “Centering contemplative prayer” which becomes their
new spiritual focus. Happily the Jesuit’s see they neglect to study and
preach the deep Truths of the Holy Scriptures. Now Satan is happy. The
Jesuits are happy. And the seduced “saint” is reveling in his seduction and
praying earnestly to his new found god of love, “Please do it again!”, “Please
be intimate with me again”, while the true God’s present Testing Truths are
neglected and gradually exchanged for Ecumenical Truths acceptable and
adaptable to all the Great Religions of the world which are moving along
“the broad way leading to destruction” as they intimately worship their god.

The Story of the
Trojan Horse:
The story is told of the Greeks, who pursued an unsuccessful 10-year siege battle against the city of
Troy. So the Greeks decided to use craft and cunning to accomplish what they had failed to achieve by
open warfare. They built a huge figure of a horse. Inside the horse they hid a select force of 30 men,
then Greeks pretended to sail away. Feeling safe, the people of Troy opened the gates of their city and
pulled the Horse inside as a trophy of their victory over the Greeks. That night, however, the 30 Greek
soldiers crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed
back to Troy under cover of night. The Greek army entered and destroyed the city of Troy, decisively
ending the war.
The priest of Troy warned the people of Troy not to bring in the horse. But the priest and his two sons
were killed before he could be believed. The Kings daughter also warned that the horse would be the
downfall of the city and its royal family, but she too was ignored. Hence their doom and their loss of the
war.

Trojan Horse:
A "Trojan Horse" has come to mean a strategy that causes a targeted people to invite a foe into
their securely protected bastion or place.
Question....
Could some leaders in the Seventh-day Adventist Church be ignoring clear warnings and be
bringing in a Trojan Horse through the gates and within the walls of our Seventh-day Adventist
Church? Or to use Jesus’ warning could we be facing “WOLVES in SHEEP’S CLOTHING” ?

Welcome to the new age of “mystical spirituality” and its many ways of “encountering
God.” These are being woven into our churches, youth organizations, health ministries
and educational institutions. Could these new ways of being “spiritual” be actually old-fashioned
spiritualism disguised in new clothes?
Are we honestly-mistaken about today’s “God-encounters” and other attempts to reach
higher levels of spirituality?
Could these be “the Omega” of deadly heresies? Is it possible that these are Trojan
horses being wheeled into our churches and we aren’t realizing it?

“That which has been [is] what will be, That which [is] done is
what will be done, And [there is] nothing new under the sun. Is
there anything of which it may be said, "See, this [is] new"? It
has already been in ancient times before us.”
Ecclesiastes 1:9,10

In the Great Controversy, Ellen White has this to say
about the reformation....
“The seed which Luther had sown sprung up everywhere.
His absence accomplished a work which his presence
would have failed to do. Other laborers felt a new
responsibility, now that their great leader was removed.
With new faith and earnestness they pressed forward to do
all in their power, that the work so nobly begun might not
be hindered. {GC88 185.3}
But Satan was not idle. He now attempted what he has
attempted in every other reformatory movement,--to
deceive and destroy the people by palming off upon them
a counterfeit in place of the true work. As there were false
christs in the first century of the Christian church, so there
arose false prophets in the sixteenth century. {GC88 186.1}

A few men, deeply affected by the excitement in the
religious world, imagined themselves to have received
special revelations from Heaven, and claimed to have
been divinely commissioned to carry forward to its
completion the Reformation which, they declared, had
been but feebly begun by Luther. In truth, they were
undoing the very work which he had accomplished. They
rejected the great principle which was the very
foundation of the Reformation,-- that the Word of God is
the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice; and for that
unerring guide they substituted the changeable,
uncertain standard of their own feelings and
impressions. By this act of setting aside the great
detector of error and falsehood, the way was opened for
Satan to control minds as best pleased himself. {GC88
186.2}”
...The fruit of the new teaching soon became apparent.
The people were led to neglect the Bible or to wholly cast
it aside. [GC pg. 185-187]

As is so often the case with
misleading teachings, it came
to the ranks of Seventh-day
Adventists subtly, as new,
advanced truth. At first it was
not discerned as a threat
to the church.
Dr. Kellogg had toyed with these concepts before James White's
death in 1881, and considering it "great light," had discussed it
with Ellen White.
"'Those theories are wrong,'" she told him. "'I have met them
before.'" He seemed dazed as she showed him the outcome of
espousing such a philosophy. She then admonished, "'Never
teach such theories in our institutions; do not present them to
the people.'"

Fifteen years later (1895) a Dr. A. H. Lewis, editor of
the Sabbath Recorder, prominent among Seventh
Day Baptists, and steeped in pantheism, visited
Battle Creek and was entertained in the Kellogg
home (Mrs. Kellogg was a Seventh Day Baptist).
Lewis talked his pantheistic views, which did not fall
on deaf ears. Kellogg first introduced pantheism
publicly in 1897 in a series of talks at the ministerial
institute that preceded the General Conference
session held in the College View church at Lincoln,
Nebraska. [5BIO pg. 281]

Abram Herbert Lewis (1832-1908)
History tell us that...
“In 1847 Lewis, along with his parents, migrated to Wisconsin,
settling first at Milton and then moving north to Berlin, where his
father became leader of a group which in 1850, was constituted as a
church. Opportunities for education were limited, but young Herbert
made the most of books and lyceums. It was during this time that he
was influenced by a brilliant skeptic and spiritualist physician. Lewis
went through a period of doubt as he began to question his faith in the
Bible and orthodox Christianity. He even asked that his name be
dropped from the roll, on the grounds that he was not in harmony with
the beliefs of the church....“
www.biblesabbath.org/tss/archives/471/profile_ahlewis.htm
Lewis in wording his account of the experience said...
“Under [a spiritualist physician’s] influence I became a ‘medium,’ after the
rude manner of those times.”
Taken from the book Rev. Abram Herbert Lewis, D.D., LL.D, a Biographical Sketch, American Sabbath
Tract Society by Theodore L. Gardiner, pg. 15

Dr. and Mrs. John H. Kellogg
Mrs. Kellogg, a life long Seventh-day Baptist, had
Graduated from Alfred University in 1872 and completed her
masters degree there in 1885. Dr. Lewis was once Mrs. Kellogg’s
pastor and president of the university where she got her
degree. Lewis’s paper (newsletter), the Sabbath Recorder, was
steeped in pantheism and it came regularly to the Kellogg home.
Windows: Selected Readings in Seventh-day Adventist Church
History by: Emmett K. Vande Vere pg. 251-252

On February 18, 1902, and Dr. Kellogg was on his way
home to Battle Creek. Changing trains in Chicago,
the doctor received his first notice that the Battle
Creek Sanitarium—his pride and joy--had been
reduced to ash and cinders by fire. Taking his seat on
the train, he requested a desk and paper. Preliminary
plans for a new building were finished by the time he
arrived home. Discarding Ellen White’s often-expressed
wish that “the sanitarium were miles
away from Battle Creek,” the doctor laid plans for
not just a new building, but a larger and more expensive building.
Naturally, such a project would entail considerable expense, therefore a plan was laid for
the denomination to mobilize the laity in a campaign to sell a new book prepared by the
doctor. All profits, including Kellogg’s royalties, would go to assist the medical work of the
church. This book, of course, was Kellogg’s infamous volume, The Living Temple. The
General Conference Executive Committee reviewed Kellogg’s book and decided that The
Living Temple would not be published under the auspices of the church. Unconvinced, Dr.
Kellogg ordered an initial printing of five thousand copies at his own expense. The books
were to be produced by the Review and Herald.
Taken from the book Hindsight: Seventh-day Adventist History in Essays and Extracts by
Dave Fiedler pg. 153-156

In November, 1901, the message now found in Testimonies, vol. 8, 90-96
was read to the Board of Directors of the Review and Herald. It reads, in
part:
“I feel a terror of soul as I see to what a pass our publishing house has
come. The presses in the Lord’s institution have been printing the soul destroying
theories of Romanism and other mysteries of iniquity. The
office must be purged of this objectionable matter...
You have given matter containing Satan’s sentiments into the hands of
the workers, bringing his deceptive, polluting principles before their
minds. The Lord looks upon this action on your part as helping Satan to
prepare his snare to catch souls. God will not hold guiltless those who
have done this thing. He has a controversy with the managers of the
publishing house. I have been almost afraid to open the Review, fearing
to see that God has cleansed the publishing house by fire...
Unless there is a reformation, calamity will overtake the publishing
house, and the world will know the reason...
In the visions of the night I saw a sword of fire hung out over Battle
Creek.”
Taken from the book Hindsight: Seventh-day Adventist History in Essays and
Extracts by Dave Fiedler pg. 153-156

A second time that same year, December 30, 1902, a major
Adventist enterprise fell prey to fire, this time it was the Review
and Herald Publishing house. It is worth noting that earlier that
day the building had been inspected by the chief of the city fire
department. Examining the electrical lines and other possible
sources of danger, he “pronounced everything in satisfactory
condition”. Obviously, something wasn’t satisfactory because that
same day the building was totally destroyed.
Five days later, when the debris had cooled enough to allow, the
fireproof vault was opened. All the printing plates stored inside
the vault had survived. The plates for The Living Temple, however,
were waiting to go on the press at the time of the fire and so
disappeared in the flames.
Taken from the book Hindsight: Seventh-day Adventist History in
Essays and Extracts by Dave Fiedler pg. 153-156

It was February, 1904, and the time had come for Ellen White to
bring finality to the twenty years of pointed warnings and reproofs
aimed at Dr. J.H. Kellogg and others who joined with him in an
apostasy among the leaders of the Remnant church. This apostasy
included, but was not exclusive to the pantheism espoused in Dr.
Kellogg’s book “Living Temple,” which contained theories leading to
erroneous conclusions concerning the presence and nature of God.
The acceptance of these theories by the thought leaders of the
church in Battle Creek opened the door to satanic control of their
minds.
“We need not the mysticism that is in this book. Those who entertain
these sophistries will soon find themselves in a position where the
enemy can talk with them, and lead them away from God. It is
represented to me that the writer of this book is on a false track. He
has lost sight of the distinguishing truths for this time. He knows not
whither his steps are tending.”
Testimonies for the Church Containing Letters to Physicians and
Ministers Instruction to Seventh-day Adventists (1904), page 52

As is so often the case with misleading teachings, it came to the
ranks of Seventh-day Adventists subtly, as new, advanced truth. At
first it was not discerned as a threat to the church. Dr. Kellogg had
toyed with these concepts before James White's death in 1881, and
considering it "great light," had discussed it with Ellen White.
"'Those theories are wrong,'" she told him. "'I have met them
before.'" He seemed dazed as she showed him the outcome of
espousing such a philosophy. She then admonished, "'Never teach
such theories in our institutions; do not present them to the
people.'"--MS 70, 1905. {5BIO 281.4}
Pantheism is the term used to designate the strange new teachings
that were being introduced by Dr. Kellogg and his book “The Living
Temple”. “In Living Temple the assertion is made that God is in
the flower, in the leaf, in the sinner. But God does not live in the
sinner. The Word declares that He abides only in the hearts of
those who love Him and do righteousness. God does not abide in
the heart of the sinner; it is the enemy who abides there.” {1SAT
343.1}

“Though no positive connection has yet been shown, it is
worth noting that this is exactly the position being taken
at that time by the recently formed (1875) Theosophical
Society of America.* This society is still very much in
existence, and is widely considered the single most
important force in the early development of what is now
more commonly referred to as the “New Age Movement”.
...Their journal, The Theosophist, was a curious mixture of
pantheism, reincarnation, meditation, and occult
methodologies.”
Taken from the book Hindsight: Seventh-day Adventist
History in Essays and Extracts by Dave Fiedler pg. 171
*(Formed by Madame H. P. Blavatsky who was a spirit
medium)

The Lord revealed to her the changes that might have taken place in the structure of
the church if Dr. Kellogg and his associates would have implemented their plans.
“The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation
was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would
consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging
in a process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would result?
The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church would
be discarded. Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have
sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. A new
organization would be established. Books of a new order would be written. A system
of intellectual philosophy would be introduced. The founders of this system would go
into the cities, and do a wonderful work. The Sabbath, of course, would be lightly
regarded, as also the God who created it. Nothing would be allowed to stand in the
way of the new movement. The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but
God being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which,
without God, is worthless. Their foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and
tempest would sweep away the structure. Who has authority to begin such a
movement? We have our Bibles. We have our experience, attested to by the miraculous
working of the Holy Spirit. We have a truth that admits of no compromise. Shall we not
repudiate everything that is not in harmony with this truth?” {I SM 204}

“I have some things to say to our teachers in reference to the
new book The Living Temple. Be careful how you sustain the
sentiments of this book regarding the personality of God. As the
Lord presents matters to me, these sentiments do not bear the
endorsement of God. They are a snare that the enemy has
prepared for these last days. . . .” {5BIO 297.6}
Ellen White revealed what she had seen, saying... "Angels clothed with beautiful
garments, like angels of light, were escorting Dr. Kellogg from place to place, and
inspiring him to speak words of pompous boasting that were offensive to God."--
Letter 220, 1903. {5BIO 304.5}
That which has been said in the testimonies in regard to
Living Temple, and its misleading sentiments, is not overdrawn.
Some of its theories are misleading, and their influence will be to
close the minds of those who receive them against the truth for
this time. Men may explain and explain in regard to these
theories, nevertheless they are contrary to the truth. Scriptures
are misplaced and misapplied, taken out of their connection and
given a wrong application. Thus those are deceived who have
not a vital, personal experience in the truths that have made us as
a people what we are. {5BIO 305.3}

“Living Temple,” contains the alpha of these theories. I
knew that the omega would follow in a little while; and I
trembled for our people. ...Few can discern the result of
entertaining the sophistries advocated by some at this time.
But the Lord has lifted the curtain, and has shown me the
result that would follow. The spiritualistic theories regarding
the personality of God, followed to their logical conclusion,
sweep away the whole Christian economy.” 1SM 203,20
I am instructed to speak plainly. "Meet it," is the word
spoken to me. "Meet it firmly, and without delay." But it
is not to be met by our taking our working forces from
the field to investigate doctrines and points of difference.
We have no such investigation to make. In the book
Living Temple there is presented the alpha of deadly
heresies. The omega will follow, and will be received by
those who are not willing to heed the warning God has
given.
(1SM, p. 200). {5BIO 305.5}

“Just as long as men consent to listen to these sophistries, a subtle
influence will weave the fine threads of these seductive theories
into their minds, and men who should turn away from the first
sound of such teaching will learn to love it. As loyal subjects we
must refuse even to listen to these sophistries. Their influence is
something like a deadly viper, poisoning the minds of all who listen.
It is a branch of hypnotism, deadening the sensibilities of the soul.”
{10MR 163.2}
“I was bidden to warn our people on no account to send their
children to Battle Creek to receive an education, because these
delusive, scientific theories would be presented in the most
seducing forms. The matter has been working in his mind in such a
way that he thinks he is to be the channel to infuse other minds
with great light regarding certain scientific problems. Words and
sentiments from my books will be taken and presented as being in
harmony with his theories. But the Lord has forbidden us to enter
into any discussion with him. . . .” {SpTB06 42.1}

Inspired counsel has warned us that there would
be a satanic assault more intense than that which
almost caused the church to fall 100 years ago.
Ellen White trembled for the safety of God’s
people and the potential effects this assault might
have if left unmet and was extremely concerned
for the safety of the church. This “omega” must be
something terribly threatening and dangerous.
What could possibly have made her react the way
she did?
We shall see shortly...

Spiritualism is now changing its form, veiling some of its more objectionable and
immoral features, and assuming a Christian guise. Formerly it denounced Christ
and the Bible; now it professes to accept both. The Bible is interpreted in a
manner that is attractive to the unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital
truths are made of no effect. A God of love is presented; but his justice, his
denunciations of sin, the requirements of his holy law, are all kept out of sight.
Pleasing, bewitching fables captivate the senses of those who do not make
God's word the foundation of their faith. Christ is as verily rejected as before;
but Satan has so blinded the eyes of the people that the deception is not
discerned. As Spiritualism assimilates more closely to the nominal Christianity of
the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. {4SP 405}

“Satan's angels are wise to do evil, and they will create that which some will claim
to be advanced light, and will proclaim it as new and wonderful; yet while in some
respects the message may be truth, it will be mingled with human inventions, and
will teach for doctrine the commandments of men. If there was ever a time when
we should watch and pray in real earnest, it is now. Many apparently good things
will need to be carefully considered with much prayer, for they are specious devices
of the enemy to lead souls in a path which lies so close to the path of truth that it
will be scarcely distinguishable from it. But the eye of faith may discern that it is
diverging, though almost imperceptibly, from the right path. At first it may be
thought positively right, but after a while it is seen to be widely divergent from the
way which leads to holiness and heaven.” (Evangelism pg. 590)

Remember this
graphic !
“There is a way [that seems] right to a
man, But its end [is] the way of death.”
Proverbs 14:12

This presentation will help to make you aware of some
mystical and spiritualistic teachings which are subtly making
inroads into many Christian churches. This includes some of
our Seventh-day Adventist churches and educational
institutions. These inroads are coming under the guise of
revival, enhanced spirituality, and a postmodern approach to
Christianity.
Have you heard of any of the following:
contemplative prayer, centering prayer, breath prayer, prayer
labyrinth, taize prayer, Christian yoga, spiritual disciplines &
spiritual formation, lectio divina, the silence, sacred spaces,
GODencounters and Jesus prayer, prayer stations, prayer
rooms, etc.?
This “new spirituality” has many, many names (too many to even list). It’s nature is mystical, pantheistic,
non-sectarian, ecumenical and humanistic. There is seen a low regard of doctrine and theology, a huge
emphasis on social justice and discovering our ancient future, a reinvention of Christianity and church, it
targets our youth and has its own erroneous interpretation of Scripture. It is new age theology and
spiritualism wrapped in Christian terminology.

Centering Prayer or
Contemplative Prayer

This book by Sarah Young is
extremely popular and has
made inroads to Adventism.
Sarah Young describes the
method in which she receives
messages from this presence
that she calls “Jesus.” These
methods are identical to the
way spirits are channeled by
spirit mediums.
Young also draws from other
authors who are mystical in
nature and uses the language
of spiritual formation.

This “contemplative/mystical” prayer, refers to a method of prayer that leads to a level
of consciousness where thoughts have ceased and the individual enters a state of mind
called the “Silence,” where many believe they experience the presence of God. Attaining
this “Contemplative” state, is facilitated by what is called “Centering Prayer;” one of
various methods or techniques of focusing or “centering” the mind, leading eventually to
an altered state.
Once mastered, this centering method submerges the disciple to a level of
consciousness that is on par with the trance of hypnosis. It is where they experience “utter
repose,” and are blessed with a new understanding of themselves and their relationship to
the rest of the universe. This altered state of mind is called by many names; the Silence,
the Quiet Place, and the Stillness, are a few used by Spiritual Formation enthusiasts. It is
here, in this “Mystical Silence,” where all mental activity ceases; a place in the mind where
there are no images or awareness of the flow of thoughts, that one has the most profound
and life-changing experiences; including a sense of God’s presence, as they have never
experienced before. It is here, where the devotee comes to understand his unity and
“oneness,” with all created things and all other people and becomes acutely aware of their
new mission in life, having much greater insight into how God leads them in everything
they do. It is also in this “Mystical Silence,” that some hear what they believe is Jesus, as
He speaks with them personally.
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/contemplativespirituality.htm

Laurie Cabot, a witch, wrote: “The science of Witchcraft is based
on our ability to enter an altered state of consciousness we call
‘alpha,’ where the brain waves register seven to fourteen cycles per
second. …this is a state of consciousness associated with
relaxation, meditation, and dreaming…In alpha the MIND OPENS
UP TO NONORDINARY FORMS OF COMMUNICATION, such as
TELEPATHY, CLAIRVOYANCE, AND PRECOGNITION.
Here we may also experience out-of-body sensations and
psychokinesis, or RECEIVE MYSTICAL, VISIONARY INFORMATION
that does NOT come through the five senses. In alpha the rational
filters that process ordinary reality are weakened or removed, and
the mind is receptive to nonordinary realities.”
[Laurie Cabot with Tom Cowan, Power of the Witch: The Earth, the
Moon, and the Magical Path to Enlightenment (NY, NY: Delacorte
Press, 1989), p. 173].

2717 Contemplative prayer is silence, the "symbol of the
world to come"12 or "silent love."13Words in this kind of
prayer are not speeches; they are like kindling that feeds
the fire of love. In this silence, unbearable to the "outer"
man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate Word, who
suffered, died, and rose; in this silence the Spirit of
adoption enables us to share in the prayer of Jesus.”
The New Roman Catholic Catechism under the heading
“Contemplative Prayer”

Parts of the article entitled “Centering Prayer” A Treasure for the Soul from
The National Catholic Weekly magazine called “America”
Joseph G. Sandman | SEPTEMBER 9, 2000 (Joseph G. Sandman is Vice President for Advancement at
Loyola University Chicago, where he teaches a workshop on centering prayer, Institute for Pastoral
Studies.)
The Origins of Centering Prayer
The current practice of centering prayer can be traced to the mid-1970ʼs, St. Joseph Abbey in Spencer, Mass., and three
monks, Abbot Thomas Keating, William Meninger and Basil Pennington. Their work was a response to the exhortations of
the Second Vatican Council to become more knowledgeable about other religious faiths through dialogue with believers
from these traditions and to revitalize the path of contemplative prayer in order to help Catholics, especially those who had
left the church, to find such experiences in their own faith tradition.
Fathers Keating, Meninger and Pennington entered into intense, sustained dialogue with leaders from other traditions who
lived near the abbey. They invited to the abbey ecumenically oriented Catholic theologians, an Eastern Zen master, Joshu
Roshi Sasaki, who offered weeklong retreats on Buddhist meditation, and a former Trappist, Paul Marechal, who taught
transcendental meditation. The interaction between these Christian monks and practitioners of Eastern meditation helped
distill the practice of Christian contemplative prayer into a form that could be easily practiced by a diverse array of
“nonmonastic” believers: priests, nuns, brothers and lay men and women.
Thomas Keating was personally disappointed that so many Catholics had left the church because they had no idea it
offered meditation practices that could cultivate the inner peace and spiritual union they desired. At a monastery gathering
in the mid-1970ʼs, Keating posed a question to his fellow monks that provided the impetus to the centering prayer
movement: “Could we put the Christian tradition into a form that would be accessible to people in the active ministry today
and to young people who have been instructed in an Eastern technique and might be inspired to return to their Christian
roots if they knew there was something similar in the Christian tradition?”

William Meningerʼs contribution was to develop a simple, easily taught method of prayer
based on the 14th-century mystical classic, The Cloud of Unknowing. Believers are invited
to enter into a deep, silent state of “unknowing” during which one expresses oneʼs “naked
intent” to rest in deep communion with God. Meninger suggested the mental repetition of
a single “sacred word” that symbolizes the believerʼs intention to turn completely toward
God. This made it easier to let go of the thoughts and feelings that would invariably come
into oneʼs awareness during prayer. …………….
The Growth of Centering Prayer
Flowing from Meninger and Basil Penningtonʼs retreats in the mid-1970ʼs, the teaching and
practice of centering prayer has grown steadily in the United States and abroad. When
retreats at Spencer could no longer accommodate all who wished to attend, Keating and
his associates trained others to teach centering prayer. After his term as abbot at Spencer
had ended, Keating moved to St. Benedictʼs Monastery in Snowmass, Colo., in 1981. There
he offered a series of talks on prayer at a local parish in Aspen. These conferences and
retreats represent an important seminal event in the growth of centering prayer…………….
The past 16 years have seen … significant growth in the practice of centering prayer around
the world. From 1988 to 1999 Contemplative Outreach chapters have grown from a few
dozen to 154, and prayer groups have increased from 73 to 439.

What Is Centering Prayer? (These are their words)
Centering prayer is a remarkably simple method that opens one to Godʼs gift
of contemplative prayer. Its practice expands oneʼs receptivity to the presence
and activity of God in oneʼs life. It is a distillation of the practice of monastic
spirituality into two relatively short periods of prayer each day.
(Abbot, Father) Keating suggests only four simple guidelines for practicing
centering prayer:
1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to Godʼs
presence and action within.
2. Sitting comfortably with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently and
introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to Godʼs presence
and action within.
3. When you become aware of thoughts, return ever so gently to the sacred
word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a
couple of minutes.

Contemplative prayer - is not just “contemplating while you pray.” The Bible
instructs us to pray with our minds (1 Corinthians 14:15), so, clearly, prayer does
involve contemplation. However, praying with your mind is not what “contemplative
prayer” has come to mean. Contemplative prayer has slowly increased in practice
and popularity along with the rise of the emerging church movement—a movement
which embraces many unscriptural ideas and practices. Contemplative prayer is one
such practice.
Contemplative prayer, also known as “centering prayer,” is a meditative practice
where the practitioner focuses on a word and repeats that word over and over for
the duration of the exercise. While contemplative prayer is done differently in the
various groups that practice it, there are similarities. Contemplative prayer involves
choosing a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God's
presence and action within. Contemplative prayer usually includes sitting
comfortably and with eyes closed, settling briefly and silently, introducing the sacred
word. When a contemplative pray-er becomes aware of thoughts, he/she is to
return ever so gently to the sacred word.
...Contemplative prayer, by design, focuses on having a mystical experience with
God.
www.gotquestions.org/contemplative-prayer.html

Mrs. White publicly reproved a sister. She and her
husband said that instead of Mrs. White publicly
reproving her, she should have followed the
“directions of our Lord in Matthew 18:15-17. . .”
James White then replied “that he should understand
that these words of our Lord had reference to cases of
personal trespass, and could not be applied in the
case of this sister. She had not trespassed against
Sister White. But that which had been reproved
publicly was public wrongs which threatened the
prosperity of the church and the cause. Here, said my
husband, is a text applicable to the case: 1 Timothy
5:20: "Them that sin rebuke before all, that others
also may fear." {2T 15.2}

ComeBeStill.org
Founded and directed by
Tom & Delcy Kuhlman
“Mrs. Kuhlman's 25 years of mothering her own and other
people's children contributed insights concerning unmet needs
for pastoral services to help people surmount everyday stresses. Accordingly she earned a
Master of Divinity degree at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary and continued
for five units of clinical pastoral education.
With this preparation and the endorsement of the Adventist chaplaincy ministries office, she
assumed the responsibilities of staff chaplain for the Memorial Hospital of South Bend,
Indiana.
Mrs. Kuhlman... resigned from that position because she and her husband [felt] called to
establish a spiritual retreat facility. It will be located on 70 acres near the seminary at Andrews
University in order to allow easy access to ministers, students, and others wishing to enrich
their spiritual development.”
Adventist Review

“Today there are coming into educational institutions
and into the churches everywhere spiritualistic
teachings that undermine faith in God and in His
word.... [B]ut however beautifully clothed, this theory
is a most dangerous deception.... The result of
accepting it is separation from God” (Ministry of
Healing, p. 428).

Spiritual Formation =
Contemplative Spirituality,
Sacred Listening, IgnatianWay
Breath Prayers

Ignatius of Loyola created and conducted this apostolate for 15 years before he was
ordained. Through it, everyone knows, he drew scores of men into the Company of Jesus.
It surprises no one who knows the history that Spiritual Exercises are proving an
astonishingly effective instrument of lay spirituality even in the postmodern era. They are
being used for and by and with lay people in many formats all around the world and then
supply the basis of sophisticated spiritualities for the marketplace. It is safe to say that
more people are going through the one-on-one directed Exercises today than at any time in
history. It is safe to say something more: Spiritual Exercises are being used as an apostolic
instrument by better-educated laity. (Tetlow, 1994, National Jesuit News, Dec.)
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/se/se.htm

Spiritual Formation, another term for contemplative spirituality, eventually leads into
the arena of the emerging church (both are based in mysticism).
Spiritual Formation -- Spiritual Formation is just another term for Contemplative
Spirituality. The idea behind Spiritual Formation is that we need certain practices and
disciplines in order to be like Christ.
“The best way to understand this process is to recall what happened during the Dark
Ages when the Bible became the forbidden book. . . . I believe history is repeating
itself. As the Word of God becomes less and less important, the rise in mystical
experiences escalates, and these experiences are presented to convince the
unsuspecting that Christianity is about feeling, touching, smelling, and seeing God.
The postmodern mindset is the perfect environment for fostering spiritual formation.
This term suggests there are various ways and means to get closer to God and to
emulate him. Thus the idea that if you do certain practices, you can be more like
Jesus. Proponents of spiritual formation erroneously teach that anyone can practice
these mystical rituals and find God within. Having a relationship with Jesus Christ is
not a prerequisite.” (Coming from the Lighthouse Newsletter, Oct. 08, 2007).
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletter100807.htm

• What is Spiritual Formation
• (a.k.a. "Sacred Listening" "the Ignatian Way" “Spiritual Disciplines”)?
Spiritual formation (SF) teaches the occult ideas of "inner healing," and
"contemplative prayer".
Spiritual Formation is the Roman Catholic Mysticism formulated by Ignatius
Loyola who founded the Jesuit Order in the year 1540.
It involves deeply occult techniques like lectio devina.

Dr. Derek J. Morris –
Former advisor and
college professor
who taught Spiritual
Formation classes
Homiletics and
Pastoral Theology at
Southern Adventist
University, and formerly,
senior pastor of the
Forest Lake SDA Church.
Currently, Dr. Morris is
the Editor of Ministry Magazine and adjunct Spiritual Formation professor at
Andrews University Theological Seminary.
I spoke to Dr. Morris personally and he has assured me that he abandoned
spiritual formation and those things that go along with it. He stated that he
believes non-biblical spiritual formation is dangerous to the Seventh-day
Adventist Church. Dr. Morris has denounced spiritual formation publicly.
HOWEVER . . . . . .

“Spiritual Formation In Ministry”
by Derek Morris
“A leading Protestant advocate of spiritual direction is Tilden
Edwards, director of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in
Washington, D.C. As I began my own prayerful search for a spiritual
friend, I came across the significant work by Tilden Edwards,
Spiritual Friend: Reclaiming the Gift of Spiritual Direction. I strongly
recommend this book as a valuable resource. There, for the first
time, I caught a glimpse of the real value of spiritual direction as a
means of nurturing spiritual life.”—Spiritual Formation, pp. 6-7.

Morris continues:
“I called Shalem and shared with Dr. Gerald May that I was a
pastor, interested in the process of spiritual direction. His response
was very positive. He offered to send me a list of several
individuals in my state who had completed or who were presently
enrolled in the Spiritual Guidance Program. He suggested that I
select a spiritual friend that I could easily relate to, and that I seek
the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the process.”—Spiritual
Formation, pp. 7-8.
Morris tells how he was “experiencing a high level of resistance. I
was to learn later that such resistance is common…” (p.8). (May I
suggest that this resistance was the voice of conscience warning
not to do this) Morris just overrides the resistance telling how he
had “twenty days of resistance” but then he called Louise Young. “I
shared with her my spiritual journey and my desire to explore the
process of spiritual direction.” (p. 8).

Morris tells of how Barry and Connolly, two Jesuits, in their book, The
Practice of Spiritual Direction, spend an entire chapter dealing with
the phenomenon of ‘resistance.” (Morris, p. 8). Finally, after much
“resistance” and fear, Barry Young became Morris’ Spiritual Director.
Morris describes the ‘tremendous freedom” once he took the plunge
to reveal his hidden self.
Basically, the Spiritual Director functions as a kind of Father confessor.
Morris quotes Elizabeth O’Conner describing the process: “It is an
open relationship where your fear, feelings of rebellion, critical
attitudes, misgivings, etc., are confessed… Your Spiritual director is
one to whom you want to reveal your hidden self.”
(Elizabeth O’Conner, Call to Commitment (New York: Harper and Row,
1963), p. 201. (emphasis added)

Whereas traditionally in Roman Catholicism, in the confessional the priest
is supposedly not supposed to see the person confessing, in the new
confessional of Jesuit Spiritual Formation and Jesuit Spiritual direction,
there is a face-to-face contact on a regular basis at regular times (p.11) a
la Jesuit Spiritual Directorship.
In concluding his paper, Derek Morris recommends that the young
theology student, who leaves the seminary for his first parish, should get
a Spiritual Director as soon as he arrives at his parish: “In the years that
followed I discovered experientially what Roy Oswald had concluded from
his research of 102 Seminary graduates some years before: Crossing the
boundary for Seminary to parish is never easy. Moreover, the need for
personal spiritual formation is ongoing. However, the process of spiritual
direction is a tremendous resource. He notes that ‘Those who had the
good fortune of finding a spiritual father/mother/friend as they begun in
the parish found the going somewhat easier.’ [Oswald. P. 18.]” –Derek
Morris, Spiritual Formation in Ministry, pp. 11, 12.
http://www.danielrevelationbiblestudies.com/020820063.htm

Many are now aware that Dr. Morris is now the editor of Ministry Magazine,
a publication that goes out to ministers of all faiths throughout the world.
It has been circulated recently that Dr. Morris had recanted his position on
spiritual formation. However, since taking over as editor of Ministry
Magazine, he has allowed publication of articles by other authors who
believe in and promote spiritual formation. Authors like:
• Bonta Joyner-Shields (assistant editor of the Adventist Review)
• Skip Bell (theology professor at Andrews University & leader of Vervent)
• Eugene Peterson (author of the Message Bible)
• Joseph Kidder (theology professor at Andrews University)
• And others, all in issues of Ministry Magazine while Morris was editor
These are deeply involved with spiritual formation and quote others who
are deeply involved in the spiritual formation movement like, Leonard
Sweet, Reggie McNeal, Monte Sahlin, etc.
Morris’ answer to this is that these articles were slated for publication (six
months) before he took over as editor.

Morris was senior pastor at Calimesa SDA Church from
2001 to 2004.
An assistant pastor, Ken Curtis, was also there working
under Morris and is still working as assistant pastor there.
Curtis’ responsibilities include teaching spiritual formation.
Curtis says that while Morris was senior pastor, there was
“no indication” that he had abandoned spiritual formation.
What kind of spiritual formation do they teach at Calimesa
SDA Church?

Written in part by Adele Gonzales, a Catholic
Author
Recommended authors include Bill
Hybels, John Ortberg, Eugene
Peterson, Brian McLaren and others
who promote mystical spiritual
formation

While at Forest Lake church, Morris established the
“House of Prayer Experience” prayer meetings.
The source of the House of Prayer movement is
interesting.

The House of Prayer movement was started by a Catholic priest. It
was designed to promote things such as “silence, solitude, prolonged
solitary prayer [and studying] . . . the masters of spirituality. Among
those who were drawn to it was Thomas Merton.

Morris states he abandoned mystical spiritual
formation in the early/mid 1980’s.
Morris was teaching a group of chaplains at a
chaplain’s convention at the Grand Ole Opry
Hotel in 1990.
During his presentations, he was pushing
mystical, contemplative prayer to these Adventist
chaplains.
Let’s explore a little more about Morris.

This web page is
dedicated to those who
are promoting “spiritual
direction” and other
contemplative/spiritual
formation ideas.
A thesis written by
Dr. Derek Morris

Derek Morris : Adjunct professor
teaching Spiritual Formation 2010

"Men in positions of responsibility are in danger of changing leaders.
This I know, for it has been plainly revealed to me." [SpTB02 48.2]
"But I am now speaking of actual mistakes and errors that those who
really love God and the truth sometimes commit. There is manifested on
the part of men in responsible positions an unwillingness to confess
where they have been in the wrong; and their neglect is working disaster,
not only to themselves, but to the churches. . . you will be left to make
mistakes of a similar character, you will continue to lack wisdom, and
will call sin righteousness and righteousness sin. The multitude of
deceptions that will prevail in these last days will encircle you, and you
will change leaders, and not know that you have done so." Review &
Herald, vol. 2 p. 448-49. Dec.16, 1890.

There has been a call for Morris to resign his positions of leadership
within the Adventist Church based upon the following quotation from
Early Writings, p. 101.
God will not entrust the care of His precious flock to men whose mind
and judgment have been weakened by former errors that they have
cherished, such as so-called perfectionism and Spiritualism, and who,
by their course while in these errors, have disgraced themselves and
brought reproach upon the cause of truth. Although they may now
feel free from error and competent to go forth and to teach this last
message, God will not accept them. He will not entrust precious souls
to their care; for their judgment was perverted while in error, and is
now weakened. The great and holy One is a jealous God, and He will
have holy men to carry His truth. The holy law spoken by God from
Sinai is a part of Himself, and holy men who are its strict observers will
alone honor Him by teaching it to others. {EW 101.2}
Morris has definitely been involved in spiritualism when he delved
into spiritual formation.

Andrews Seventh-day
Adventist Theological
Seminary

The name of the
program has been
changed but the
content has remained
the same.

Pastor Dwight Nelson quotes from
emerging church/contemplative
authors like N. T. Wright & others.
Also notice Pastor Nelson’s hands.
This still was taken from a sermon
about prayer.
This hand gesture was given at
least 7 times during the sermon.
It has a mystical meaning that
indicates the person has
“ascended to new heights”
spiritually or has been
“enlightened.”

Many a star that we have admired for its brilliance will
then go out in darkness.--PK 188 (c. 1914).
Men whom He has greatly honored will, in the closing
scenes of this earth's history, pattern after ancient Israel.
. . . A departure from the great principles Christ has laid
down in His teachings, a working out of human projects,
using the Scriptures to justify a wrong course of action
under the perverse working of Lucifer, will confirm men
in misunderstanding, and the truth that they need to
keep them from wrong practices will leak out of the soul
like water from a leaky vessel.--13MR 379, 381 (1904).
Many will show that they are not one with Christ, that
they are not dead to the world, that they may live with
Him; and frequent will be the apostasies of men who
have occupied responsible positions.--RH Sept. 11, 1888.
{LDE 178, 179}

Remember the
pose this man is
in.
You will see it
again.

Jon Dybdahl’s contemplative propensities are strongly presented in his 2008 book, Hunger:
Satisfying the Longing of Your Soul. In Hunger, Dybdahl favorably instructs on contemplative
practices such as lectio divina, visualization (p. 64), the Jesus Prayer, and breath prayers
(p. 52). Dybdahl explains in his book that in his “not-so-secret quest for God,” he turned to Quaker
Thomas Kelly’s book A Testament of Devotion. It is Kelly, a panentheist, who said that within every
human being is a “Divine Center,” a “secret sanctuary” (from A Testament of Devotion). This
“secret sanctuary” Kelly is speaking of is what he calls “abiding Light behind all changing [life]
forms.” He says: “In that Current we must bathe. In that abiding yet energizing Center we are all
made one” (p. 38).” Dybdahl says in Hunger that Henri Nouwen “intensified” his ”craving” for “God’s
presence.” (p.12) But the presence that Nouwen is speaking of is the same as that of mystics, and it
is this mysticism that led Nouwen to reject Jesus Christ as the only path to God at the end of his life
(Sabbatical Journey). Dybdahl’s book is brimming with references to contemplative mystics: David
Benner, Morton Kelsey, Adele Alberg Calhoun, Tilden Edwards, Richard Foster, Ken Boa, and
Brother Lawrence. (also see this critique on Hunger)
www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
Professor at Andrews Theological Seminary

Required Reading
for a course at
Andrews University,
taught by Jon
Dybdahl

Another course by
Jon Dybdahl at
Andrews University

Oakwood University published a rebuttal to a video
featuring Deonte Jefferson, in which Mr. Jefferson
accused a Professor Kwesi of teaching spiritual
formation.
As part of the rebuttal, Professor Kwesi’s syllabus was
published. From the syllabus it is apparent that Kwesi
is teaching the spiritual disciplines of Richard Foster.
These disciplines were gleaned from the spiritual
exercises of Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit
order. The syllabus has not changed since that time.
Rather than discount Mr. Jefferson’s account, the
university gave it credence. Oakwood’s response is
very similar to that of Andrew’s University.

Celebration of Discipline
Prayer; Finding the Heart’s True
Home

Published by the Committee on Adventist
Ministry to College and University Students
(AMiCUS)

General Conference Bulletin, informing the church at large of
its plans to implement the teaching of Spiritual Formation around
the world.
“The Adventist world church created the International
Board of Ministerial and Theological Education (IBMTE) in
September 2001, designed to provide overall guidance and
standards to the professional training of pastors, evangelists,
theologians, teachers, chaplains and other denominational
employees involved in ministerial and religious formation, or
spiritual formation, in each of the church's 13 regions around
the world.” - ATN News -

Matt. 7:15
Tells us... Beware of false
prophets, who come to you
in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravenous
wolves.

Spiritually
Experiencing God
(Part 2)
Take a break!
The Alpha and the Omega

Lectio Divina
Latin for "divine reading," "spiritual reading," or "holy
reading" and represents a method of prayer and Scriptural
reading intended to promote communion with God and to
provide special spiritual insights. The principles of lectio
divina were expressed around the year A.D. 220 and
practiced by Catholic monks, especially the monastic rules
of Sts. Pachomius, Augustine, Basil, and Benedict.

The practice of lectio divina is currently very popular among Catholics and
gnostics, and is gaining acceptance as an integral part of the devotional
practices of the Emerging Church. Pope Benedict XVI said in a 2005 speech, “I
would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of lectio
divina: the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings
about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is
speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart.”
Lectio is also said to be adaptable for people of other faiths in reading their
scripture—whether that be the Bhagavad Gita, the Torah, or the Koran. Non-
Christians may simply make suitable modifications of the method to
accommodate secular traditions. Further, the four principles of lectio divina
can also be adapted to the four Jungian psychological principles of sensing,
thinking, intuiting, and feeling.
The actual practice of lectio divina begins with a time of relaxation, making
oneself comfortable and clearing the mind of mundane thoughts and cares.
Some lectio practitioners find it helpful to concentrate by beginning with
deep, cleansing breaths and reciting a chosen phrase or word over and over to
help free the mind.

The pastor of
Pioneer
Memorial is
Dwight Nelson

Christian mysticism - is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious
awareness of God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Christian mysticism
usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or
awareness, such as deep prayer (i.e. meditation, contemplation) involving the person of
Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. This approach and lifestyle is distinguished from other
forms of Christian practice by its aim of achieving unity with the divine. In the words of
Oswald Chambers, "We receive His blessings and know His Word, but do we know Him?"
In the tradition of Mystical Theology, Biblical texts are typically interpreted allegorically...
For Christians the major emphasis of mysticism concerns a spiritual transformation of the
egoic self, the following of a path designed to produce more fully realized human persons,
"created in the Image and Likeness of God" and as such, living in harmonious communion
with God, the Church, the rest of humanity, and all creation, including oneself. The Eastern
Christian tradition speaks of this transformation in terms of theosis or divinization, perhaps
best summed up by an ancient aphorism usually attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria: "God
became human so that man might become god.“
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_mysticism

Another form of Christian
mysticism is Taize prayer and worship

Taize
Worship
Taizé prayer - Taize is an ecumenical
sung and silent participatory prayer
service designed to achieve a
contemplative state through music,
song and silence.
www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/taize.htm
“Something very interesting at Taizé is that this
formula of calming repetition has been taken up
in the liturgy; that is, it is not used only in
personal prayer, but also in prayer together or
common prayer. Some young people, who know
almost nothing of mystery, are introduced to it
here, and they begin to learn how to pray.”
Olivier Clément www.taize.fr/
en_article338.html
Brother Roger, the founder and Prior of the ecumenical community of Taize, France was born in 1915 in
the town of Provence in the Swiss Jura. His father, a Protestant minister of the Lutheran tradition, had a
powerful influence on the life and spirituality of the young Roger. Of him Roger wrote many years later,
"I am sure that my father was a mystic at heart. From an early age Roger was very conscious of the
divisions between Protestant and Catholic, but was encouraged by his parents to look beyond them. The
openness, discretion, and freedom with which Roger grew up regarding the division of Christians in the
years that followed developed into a prophetic quality that has been acknowledged the world over.
http://www.spiritualitytoday.org/spir2day/904234burke.html

Located in Taize, France.....
On Friday nights the Cross of Taize, an icon brought to Taize by the
members of the orthodox Church, is placed flat on the floor of the
Church of Reconciliation. The weekly liturgical commemoration of the
Paschal Mystery thus begins. All present are invited to come forward to
the cross. As a gesture of their solidarity with the poor and oppressed
peoples of the world, they place their foreheads on the Cross and
remain there for a few moments. This symbolic gesture brings home
very clearly that Christ still suffers in the downtrodden and victims of
injustice in the world today.
Through the liturgy, people come in touch with their own brokenness
and pain and find it in their hearts to forgive both themselves and
others. They become very much aware of the fact that the sufferings of
Christ, as an act of total love, are for them personally, as well as for the
rest of humankind. The Spirit of God enables people to seek repentance
and healing and to know deep within themselves that they are indeed
loved.

Prayer Labyrinth - A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines
the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth
represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. Labyrinths have long been
used as meditation and prayer tools.
It is so designed to lead to a center (one's own self) and back again into the world - it does not lead
one to Jesus, but teaches self-reliance ("New Age")! Satan's ancient lie of self-worship, "you don't need
God's laws...” At its most basic level the labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey to the center of your
deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are.
http://www.lessons4living.com/labyrinth.htm

Labyrinths – A “Prayer Tool,” the labyrinth is a winding walk
through a maze pathway, that one takes physically. It is another
way to perform contemplative or centering prayer in which all
paths lead to God, the middle-eye of “Divine Illumination” (the
mystical realization of our own Divinity) at the center. Walking a
Labyrinth is a personal meditative activity and can be understood
as a path of contemplation or prayer for people in seeking the
Divine or seeking peace without regard to any particular religious
tradition. The Labyrinth has been part of the esoteric world for a
long time and its roots are deep into the occult, New Age, and
pagan world; its uses and purposes are as a “conduit for the
mystical.” According to the international Labyrinth Society it is "a
single path or universal tool for personal, psychological and
spiritual transformation. Labyrinths are thought to enhance right
brain activity.”

2004 SDA European Youth
Congress Workshops

Examples:
Prayer
Labyrinths
with Prayer
stations

Article from the Australian
edition of Signs of the
Times entitled:
“Stillness is Golden”

Richard Foster
Want more? Go to this prayer labyrinth.
Brother Lawrence

Postmodernism and the
Emergent Church Movement

We are being told... we must develop Emerging Churches
which can reach the postmodern mindset.

We are revamping our worship styles...
Reborn worship...

• Ecumenicalism
Ecumenicalism—“Deified ecumenical empire”
When there is a loss of a transcendent religious consensus, the community idolizes “unity”
while still accommodating great diversity. For example:
--When Rome lost its localized ancestral religion and turned into a vast empire, it
instituted emperor worship.
The divinized Roman empire was “ecumenical,” that is worldwide Rome tolerated people
of all religions, provided they worshipped Caesar as God. Christians who couldn’t do this
were put to death.
--Toynbee sees something similar in ancient Egypt, Sumeria, Persia, the Ottoman Empire,
the Imperial Dynasties of China, and even the trappings of the worldwide British Empire.

In Today’s postmodern society we are also seeing a new
reality emerging—the worship of unity, which will
ultimately result in the loss of liberty.
--Talks of “global unity” by environmentalists, New Age
theologians, business gurus, rock stars, etc.
--Global economy
--Ominously, an ecumenical movement to unite all
religions. The “ecumenical movement” that was
constructed during the Modernist era (by liberal
theologians) attempted to unite all churches by
obliterating their distinct beliefs.
Note that the worship of unity inevitably results in a loss of
liberty. Individuality, by definition, must be suppressed if
there is to be unity. It has happened before—during the
early church, medieval church, communist era. And may
happen again—in our time—even in protestant America.

In this context, we may compare all the world’s religions to a dairy herd. Each
cow may look different on the outside, but the milk would all be the same. The
different religious groups would maintain their own separate identities, but a
universal spiritual practice would bind them together–not so much a one-world
church as a one-world spirituality.
Episcopal priest and New Age leader Matthew Fox explains what he calls “deep
ecumenism”:
Without mysticism there will be no “deep ecumenism,” no unleashing of the
power of wisdom from all the world’s religious traditions. Without this I am
convinced there will never be global peace or justice since the human race
needs spiritual depths and disciplines, celebrations and rituals, to awaken its
better selves. The promise of ecumenism, the coming together of religions, has
been thwarted because world religions have not been relating at the level of
mysticism.12
Fox believes that all world religions will eventually be bound together by the
“Cosmic Christ”13 principle, which is another term for the higher self.
http://kimolsen.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/filling-the-vacuum-with-mysticism/

Postmodernism and the Emergent Church:
Leading statisticians are claiming that somewhere between 40-50 years ago, a
fundamental shift took place in the way people think about reality. And with this shift in
reality, the church has been greatly impacted on how it views itself and its mission in the
world. Scholars refers to this seismic shift as post-modernism. And the Emergent Church is
an attempt by some Christians to respond to this new reality.
Many church members see everything as fine: new worship style, new approach music,
new approaches to church growth, new kinds of leadership in the church, new (alternate)
lifestyle, etc.
Attention is given to painting the walls with new and bright colors, re-arranging the
furniture or exchanging pews for sofas and chairs, dressing down, changing the carpets
and curtains, and installing modern technological gadgets to make the house more
comfortable and "user-friendly, changing our terminology from worship service to a
“gathering” or “community”.
We water down our unique remnant message and capitalize on our similarities
with other denominations all under the pretense of “loving our neighbor” or
“unity”.

Postmodernisms 2 key pillars/concepts
The two key concepts that define postmodernism are:
1.) “THERE ARE NO MORAL ABSOLUTES”
“There Is No Right or Wrong”
- “Morality is relative”
2.) “THERE ARE NO ABSOLUTES”
“There Is No Absolute--“Truth is relative”
Only one problem:
These are absolutes!
When people ask you, “What is postmodernism?” you can simply explain that it is a
worldview way of thinking, that says “There are no moral absolutes” and “There are no
absolutes.”
The first claim deals with ethics or morality. The second concerns truth or teachings/
doctrines. These two pillars of postmodernism are the Trojan horses that some seek to
drag into the church.
Our contemporary postmodern culture is seeking to cut off the ethical leg of biblical
holiness. The absence of moral absolutes (no objective basis of right or wrong) reflects a
much bigger problem—namely, the loss of objective truth.

The contemporary postmodern culture
further creates these problems...
While people have always committed sins, they at least acknowledged these were
sins. A century ago a person may have committed adultery flagrantly and in
defiance of God and man, but he would have admitted that what he was doing was
a sin. However, today, what we have is not only immoral behavior, but a loss of
moral criteria. This is true even in the church. We face not only a moral collapse
but a collapse of meaning. “There are no absolutes.”
It is hard to proclaim forgiveness of sins to people who believe that, since morality
is relative, they have no sins to forgive. It is hard to witness to truth to people who
believe that truth is relative (“Maybe Jesus works for you; but crystals work for
me”).

Postmodernists idolize absolutely their new
secular trinity of tolerance–diversity–choice.
The intellect is replaced by the will. Reason is replaced by emotion.
Morality is replaced by relativism. Reality itself becomes a social
construct.
• Where everything is possible and almost
nothing is certain.

Many do not seriously think through the implications of what they’re
saying, either people are ignorant or simply confused. But that is precisely
another mark of postmodernism: Believing in mutually inconsistent ideas:
For example in postmodernism,
--You can be a Christian and not believe that Jesus is the Son of God
--You can believe in Christ and Buddha at the same time
--You can be a Protestant and not believe that the Bible is the inspired and
trustworthy rule of faith
--You can be an Adventist and not believe in a literal, visible, and audible
second coming.
--You can be a Seventh-day Adventist and not believe that God created the
world in six literal days and rested on the seventh; hence a Seventh-day
Adventist. Today, it is possible to claim to be a good Adventist and believe
in naturalistic evolution
This is called pluralism...

Pastor of Hollywood SDA Church
Pastor Loren
Seibold
editor

• What we have now is pluralism (your truth is as valid as
my truth).
• Your education is now not to teach you truth but to
redefine truth, it’s about “what works” (pragmatism).
It’s no longer about the pursuit of truth.
• Religion is now a preference, a taste or a choice, we
believe in what we like, in what we want to believe,
peoples views of God vary (cafeteria style religion). You
create your own designer “god”.
• Morality then becomes a desire (what I like or want).

To the postmodernist, the claims of Christianity are not denied; they are rejected because
they purport to be true. Those who believe “there are no absolutes” will dismiss those who
don’t share these same ideas and label them as “intolerant,” as trying to force their beliefs
on other people.
No historical text (e.g. Bible) can be absolutely true. We must approach the text, not to find
out what it objectively means (the truth), but to unmask what it is hiding. We call this “the
hermeneutics of suspicion.”
Don’t believe what the text says but instead, “interrogate the text” to uncover its hidden
political or sexual agenda. For example, we must not humbly accept, bur rather interrogate
the
--Bible
--E.G White’s writings, and so on....
--History, etc.
• So we now have spirituality without a
truth foundation and once we remove
truth from spirituality we have
spiritualism (the occult).

• A new way of "doing" church is emerging. In this radical paradigm
shift, exposition is being replaced with entertainment, preaching
with performances, doctrine with drama, and theology with
theatrics. The pulpit, once the focal point of the church, is now being
overshadowed by a variety of church-growth techniques, everything
from trendy worship styles to glitzy presentations to vaudeville-like
pageantries.
• In seeking to capture the upper hand in church growth, a new
wave of pastors is reinventing church and repackaging the gospel
into a product to be sold to "consumers." Whatever reportedly
works in one church is being franchised out to various "markets"
abroad. As when gold was discovered in the foothills of California,
so ministers are beating a path to the doorsteps of exploding
churches and super-hyped conferences where the latest "strike" has
been reported. Unfortunately the newly panned gold often turns out
to be "fool's gold." Not all that glitters is actually gold.

Rick Warren: pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in
California. Has written a 399-page book, “The Purpose Driven
Church, which is being used as a “How-to” manual throughout
church growth circles. Its principal teachings are:
• The principle of pragmatism: (p. 13-15) He says pastors need to
learn to recognize a “wave of God’s Spirit and ride it”
• (p. 14) ...“if it works , it must be right”! ...He encourages young
pastors to leave behind that old fashioned church music in favor
of jazz or rock or whatever turns your people on! He encourages
churches to imitate the culture and “dress down” for church.

- Figure out what mood you want your service to project, and then
create it. (p. 264)
-Cultivate an informal, relaxed and friendly atmosphere. We made a
strategic decision to stop singing hymns in our seeker services. We have
attracted thousands more because of our music. (p. 285)
-Saddleback now has a complete pop/rock orchestra. (p. 290)
(so whether you come to serve God depends on
if your style of music is being played)
-Use more performed music than congregational singing... (p. 291)
-The ground we have in common is not the Bible, but our common
needs, hurts and interests as human beings. (p. 295)
-Make your members feel special ... they need to feel special. (p. 320,
323)
*Note: the focus is on meeting peoples needs but they are neglecting
leading them to Christ. (Matt. 6:31-33 needs religion)

In his book Rick Warren also states...
"You must match your music to the kind of people God wants your church to
reach.... The music you use 'positions' your church in your community. It
defines who you are.... It will determine the kind of people you attract, the
kind of people you keep, and the kind of people you lose.“ (Rick Warren,
“Selecting Worship Music”, July 29, 2002)
"The church that claims to reach everyone is only fooling themselves. No style
of church can possibly reach everyone. Take a close look and you'll find that
every church has a "culture." This culture is determined by the predominant
kind of people who make up the congregation. Whoever your church has right
now is who you're likely to attract more of - whether you like that fact or not.
What is the likelihood of a church full of retirees reaching teenagers? What is
the likelihood of a church full of urban professionals reaching farmers? What
is the likelihood of a church full of military personnel reaching peace activists?
Highly unlikely. That's why we must start all kinds of services and churches."
(another words we must be “seeker sensitive”)
(Rick Warren Interview, Pastor's.com, August)

I disagree with Rick Warren and his followers...
If it is true that rock music (disguised as praise music and praise dancing) is the
most effective medium to reach young people today, why is it that math teachers
and chemistry professors donʼt set their classes to heavy beat and hip swinging
music? Why donʼt politicians employ clowns and illusionists to present their political
messages?
Common sense tells us that these entertainment media are not the most
credible methods to communicate serious messages. A doctor, meeting an
apprehensive patient, does not dress like a clown in order to tell his patient that
she has cancer. If a doctor who wants to be taken seriously does not resort to this
kind of frivolity, isnʼt it folly to announce Godʼs message of warning and judgment to
a dying world by resorting to entertainment?
It is often suggested that because most people—especially young people—donʼt
want to listen to the gospel, we have to “bait” them with gospel entertainment and
gimmicks. Once we attract them by these contemporary methods, then we can
“hook” them with the true message.
It is a mistake for us to think that the world will embrace our message when we
use worldly methods. The New Testament tells us that when Christ came to the
world, “the world knew him not” (Jn 1:10), for He was “not of this world” (Jn 8:23).
What makes us believe that we can succeed in ways that Christ did not use?

Dan Kimball says of Rick Warren....
Rick Warren is not only supportive of the “emerging church,” he
believes that it is exactly what is required at this time. He believes
this is what “the purpose-driven” church that he founded will
become in the “postmodern world.” He notes:
“In the past twenty years, spiritual seekers have changed a lot. In
the first place, there are a whole lot more of them. There are
seekers everywhere. I’ve never seen more people so hungry to
discover and develop the spiritual dimension of their lives. That
is why there is such a big interest in Eastern thought, New Age
practices, mysticism and the transcendent.”
Dan Kimball, The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for the New
Generation, Zondervan, 2003, page 6.
Notice: Developing a close relationship with Christ and learning to die to self
is not mentioned at all. Many are allowing the “seekers” to dictate what is
and is not taught in churches today. God is no longer the focus hence we
have created a man centered religion.

Rob Bell
(famous for his NOOMA videos, author of “Velvet Elvis” and
“Love Wins”)
NOOMA comes from the greek word “pneuma” meaning breath
and the idea of noogenesis, the emergence of intelligent forms of
life.
In his writings, Bell affirms things as truth regardless of the
source, saying "I affirm the truth anywhere in any religious
system, in any worldview. If it's true, it belongs to God."[12]
Bell says, "This is not just the same old message with new
methods. We're rediscovering Christianity as an Eastern religion,
as a way of life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Bell
"He [Bell]described breath as a form of prayer and urged people to
relax and "breathe out" all of their anger and stress from the past
week."
—David Crumm, Getting To The Root Of Religion

Ellen White in reference to Battle Creek College had this
to say about the importance of numbers...
“If you lower the standard in order to secure popularity
and an increase of numbers, and then make this increase
a cause of rejoicing, you show great blindness. If
numbers were evidence of success, Satan might claim the
pre-eminence; for in this world his followers are largely in
the majority. It is the degree of moral power pervading the
college that is a test of its prosperity. It is the virtue,
intelligence, and piety of the people composing our
churches, not their numbers, that should be a source of
joy and thankfulness.” {5T 31.3}

Someone says, “I know some of these authors have some
theological issues, but there is some good in what they say
too. I just take the good and leave the other out.”
Here’s an illustration of the fallacy of this argument:

Unfortunately, some of us pastors and church leaders are sometimes
to blame for the introduction of gospel gimmicks into church. We
appear to put popularity, job security, position, and the illusion of
outward success above our duty to the Chief Shepherd. We seem to
fear that if we were to take a stand against these forms of
worldliness in our churches, we would create enemies and threaten
our support among our constituencies.
It is often suggested that before we can reach the world with the
gospel, we have to employ the worldʼs methods to proclaim Christʼs
truth. But this reasoning is indefensible for at least two important
reasons: (1) Worldly methods trivialize the message; (2) Worldly
methods are contrary to biblical teaching.
“Conformity to worldly customs converts the
church to the world; it never converts the world
to Christ.” GC pg. 509

Warning of the dangers inherent in responding to other churchesʼ
invitations to learn from them and employ their methods of labor,
Mrs. White wrote: “They may desire us to unite with them and
accept their plans, and may make propositions in regard to our
course of action which may give the enemy an advantage over us”
(General Conference Bulletin, April 13, 1891).
Throughout our history, there has always been a temptation for our
ministers to pattern our practices after other churches. Ellen G.
White warned against this in her day: “A new order of things has
come into the ministry. There is a desire to pattern after other
churches” (Signs of the Times, Dec. 27, 1899). She expressed her
concerns about the influence of other churches on our ministers:
“Some ministers are adopting the customs of other churches,
copying their habits and manner of labor.” (ibid., May 25, 1882).

Again, she plainly states... “There is to be no compromise with those who
make void the law of God. It is not safe to rely upon them as counselors. Our
testimony is not to be less decided now than formerly; our real position is not
to be cloaked in order to please the world's great men. They may desire us to
unite with them and accept their plans, and may make propositions in regard
to our course of action which may give the enemy an advantage over us……
you are not to look to the world in order to learn what you shall write and
publish or what you shall speak. Let all your words and works testify, "We
have not followed cunningly devised fables" (2 Peter 1:16). "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" (2 Peter 1:19); italics supplied. {2SM
371.1}
“. . . mysticism, New Age ideology, and a return
to Rome, are the building blocks of the emerging
church.”
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletter021307.htm

Let’s look at some of
the many ways
Seventh-day
Adventists are
choosing to
“re-invent” worship....

A place where our youth are invited to “experience”
or “encounter” God through prayer stations, the
silence, contemplative prayer, prayer rooms, etc.

Allan Martin, who helped create GODencounters.
(with his wife and daughter)

Godencounters by
Allan Martin, Shayna
Bailey and Lynell
LaMountain (husband
of singer Jennifer
LaMountain)

By Lynell Lamountain
and Allan Martin

Link2Uth June 2006 vol. 11 Issue 6
by A. Allan Martin, PhD.
Finally, an opportunity for young adults to come and explore the spiritual disciplines that Jesus invites us to!” lauded
Matthew Gamble, a featured presenter at the 2006 GODencounters Conference held in Florida. “Finally, an atmosphere
where young adults can come and worship God freely! . . . God is up to something huge.”
Gamble was among over 3,200 attendees who shared in the 10-day gathering focusing on rest and refreshment that God
offers in “Sacred Space” also known as Sabbath. Based on the Biblical passage of Matthew 11:28-30, young adults
experienced worship sessions, prayer rooms, concerts, and social venues giving emphasis to Godʼs desire for us to learn
the “rhythms of grace.” Admittedly, being still enough to hear the voice of grace is not easy.
“I am guilty of living a hectic lifestyle,” confessed Red Cereno, a 32-year-old, graphic designer. “GODencounters made
me realize that to have that sacred space with God I have to put Him first on my list--not just an afterthought when Iʼm
drowning in lifeʼs sea of obligations and responsibilities.”
Gamble along with Terry Hershey, Michael Card, and Elia King encouraged young adults to create “living” room in their
lives, where the white noise of “busyness” doesnʼt drown out the deeper life that Christ is drawing us toward. In music,
Biblical preaching, interactive prayers, and group discussions, the value of sacred space was affirmed.
“Iʼve realized how much stuff occupies my mind and that I need to stop and disconnect from the world,” added Kim, who
works as a teacher. “GODencounters has truly deepened my intimacy with God. It has shown me the importance of my
sacred space and hearing Godʼs voice.”
Engineering major, Ruben Moore, 17, shared, “GODencounters has taught me to be still with God, allowing the sacred
space in my life to be filled by His presence.”
Sacred Space is more than stillness, more than Sabbath observance; Itʼs living life according to Godʼs rhythm and
delighting in relationships with Him and His children. GODencounters afforded young adults a chance to explore this
together and encourage each other in that journey. Joining with thousands of other young adults admittedly took some
by surprise.
(continues on next slide......)

“Itʼs amazing to realize that Iʼm not the only one struggling. Itʼs even more amazing to come to a place like
GODencounters and find people who understand and are willing to take the time, and make the effort to help
me in my walk with Christ,” shared Wesley Lange, a 25-year-old, avionics mechanic. “Everyoneʼs enhanced
my GODencounter! My relationship has been greatly renewed!”
Fire department EMT, Shannon Prachniak, 31, added, “GODencounters has been a refreshing and renewing
reminder of what kind of follower of Christ I want to be. More of my time in this world needs to be spent in
constant communion with God and His people.”
“Itʼs so encouraging to me to gather with other young adults in my community and see so much fervor for
Jesus,” shared Erika Hueneke, a 26-year-old freelance writer. “I also found that I probably wouldnʼt have set
aside this sacred space for myself – GODencounters created this space for me. In it, I heard the voice of
grace and was challenged to be that voice in othersʼ ears.”
The GODencounters Conference intends to be more than a spiritual pep rally, an event, a momentary religious
rush. Committed to a seven-year process of focusing on vital spiritual disciplines for young adults, there is a
holy intention to GODencounters.
In addition to the conference, there are follow-up retreats and gatherings popping up across the country. There
are many resources online [www.GODencounters.org] including referrals to faith communities and small
groups committed to doing life together locally. For many, GODencounters is a life-changing experience,
attuning young adults hearts to Godʼs voice for the long haul...
Link2Uth June 2006 vol. 11 Issue 6
by A. Allen Martin, PhD.

Suggested books
from the
GODencounters
Team members

Others include:
Richard Foster
Jon Dybdahl
John Ortberg
Tony Campolo
Philip Yancey
Chuck Swindoll

“I learned about this way of having a born-again
experience from reading Catholic mystics, especially The
Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola.
Ignatius, a founder of the Jesuit order, was once a soldier
and it was only when he spent a long time in a hospital
bed recovering from a battle wound that his heart and
mind focused on God. Like most Catholic mystics he
developed an intense desire to experience a “oneness”
with God. Gradually, he came to feel an intense yearning
for the kind of spiritual purity that he believed would
enable him to experience the fullness of God’s presence
within.” pg. 30
“After the Reformation, we Protestants left behind much
that was troubling about Roman Catholicism of the
fifteenth century. I am convinced we left too much
behind. The methods of praying employed by the likes of
Ignatius have become precious to me. With the help of
some Catholic saints, my prayer life has deepened. pg. 31
~ Tony Compolo
Letters To A Young Evangelical

What is meant by “experiencing God”?

Notice the mystical look to these ads. Coincidental?

Who are they really
experiencing and
encountering ?

Matthew Gamble:
Part of the Center for
Creative Ministry and
fan of Ryan Bell
Prayer rooms & prayer
Journeys

Serving in the Ohio
Conference, strongly
supports the new
spirituality

Remember Faith House Manhattan?

Excerpt from the Southern Accent from Southern Adventist University
Sabbath, January 31
9 a.m. – Adoration 1 - Leonard Sweet (Church)
9:30-10:15 a.m. - Continental Breakfast (Church Fellowship Hall)
10:15 a.m. - Saltworks Sabbath School (Hulsey Wellness Center)
Social Experiment - formerly SMC & 9:75 (Church Fellowship Hall)
Come & Reason (Wolftever Room - Thatcher South)
Adoration 2 - Leonard Sweet (Church)
11:30 a.m. - Connect: Andy Nash (Collegedale Academy)
11:45 a.m. - Renewal: Leonard Sweet (Church)
2 p.m. - Brazilian Club Evangelism (Wright Hall)
3:30 p.m. - Benefit Concert for the Pewitts (Church)
Adventist Theological Society - Dr. Jud Lake (Lynn Wood Chapel)
6 p.m. - Evensong - Collegedale Academy Choir (Church)
8 p.m. - Warren Miller Ski Movie (lies P.E. Center)
Leonard Sweet was invited to speak in the church services by Alex Bryan
http://www.archive.org/stream/southernaccentse64coll/southernaccentse64coll_djvu.txt

Southern Adventist
University

• Joe Horness - After 25 years as the Worship Director and a leader on the
Programming staff at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, Illinois, Joe has
recently moved to Traverse City, Michigan, where he is now the Associate Pastor and
Director of Worship Arts at Bay Pointe Community Church. Joe is a nationally known
worship leader and co-author of the book, “Exploring the Worship Spectrum” and of
numerous articles on worship and worship leading. As the director of Engaging the
Heart Ministries he regularly teaches and consults with churches on the topic of
planning and leading effective worship ministries.

Pastor Sam Leonor from La Sierra University
Some people call it a church service, but we prefer
the term “Gathering.” ~Pastor Sam Leonor~

Pastor Sam
Leonor
Member of
the band
“Big Face
Grace”

Video of “Big Face Grace” at La Sierra University
with SDA Pastors Sam Leonor & Tim Gillespie
Both of these pastors are leaders in “The One Project”

“The things you have described as taking place in Indiana, the Lord has shown me would take place just
before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums,
music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to
make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit never reveals itself in such methods, in such a bedlam of noise. This is an invention of
Satan to cover up his ingenious methods for making of none effect the pure, sincere, elevating, ennobling,
sanctifying truth for this time. Better never have the worship of God blended with music than to use musical
instruments to do the work which last January was represented to me would be brought into our camp
meetings. The truth for this time needs nothing of this kind in its work of converting souls. A bedlam of noise
shocks the senses and perverts that which if conducted aright might be a blessing. The powers of satanic
agencies blend with the din and noise, to have a carnival, and this is termed the Holy Spirit's working.“
{2SM 36}
“...last January the Lord showed me that erroneous theories and methods would be brought into our camp
meetings, and that the history of the past would be repeated. I felt greatly distressed. I was instructed to say
that at these demonstrations demons in the form of men are present, working with all the ingenuity that Satan
can employ to make the truth disgusting to sensible people; that the enemy was trying to arrange matters so
that the camp meetings, which have been the means of bringing the truth of the third angel's message before
multitudes, should lose their force and influence.” {2SM 37}

“Men became excited, and
were worked by a power
thought to be the power of
God....” {2SM 37.2}

Those things which have been in the past will be in the future. Satan will
make music a snare by the way in which it is conducted. God calls upon
His people, who have the light before them in the Word and in the
Testimonies, to read and consider, and to take heed. Clear and definite
instruction has been given in order that all may understand. But the
itching desire to originate something new results in strange doctrines,
and largely destroys the influence of those who would be a power for
good if they held firm the beginning of their confidence in the truth the
Lord had given them. {2SM 38}

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