Willow Creek and Focus on the Family Promote Contemplative Prayer Proponents

[billiefan2000]

http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/7582011612.html


Willow Creek and Focus on the Family Promote Contemplative Prayer Proponents


Willow Creek and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality will join forces to promote Contemplative Prayer

Contact: UndergroundNews.us, 608-469-7956

MADISON, Wisc., Sept. 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- Starting on September 15, Willow Creek will distribute the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Church-wide study, which includes a kit, the EHS book, the EHS Group workbook, the teaching DVD, and The Daily Office.

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality was co-founded by Pete and Geri Scazzero


It is an organization that is supposed to "apply emotional health to biblical spirituality in order to transform leaders, relationships, churches and organizations" according to the EHS website.





Tenet 4 of the 12 Foundational Tenets on the website states, "the church today parallels that of the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th century.


Following the example of Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus, the desert fathers fled to the desert to seek God, we too must find our deserts in the midst of our activity for Christ.



We can learn a great deal from the contemplative, monastic tradition as we seek to remain rooted as we engage the world with the gospel."




However, many believe the desert fathers received many of their meditative techniques from Eastern beliefs or they developed spontaneously to be like the meditative techniques used in false Eastern religions.




The father of Contemplative Prayer, Thomas Merton, is widely recognized as the person in the twenty-first century who promoted Contemplative Prayer.



On page 17 of "Spiritual Classics" edited by Richard Foster and Emilie Griffin, it is said,



"His (Merton's) interest in contemplation led him to investigate prayer forms in Eastern religion.



Zen masters from Asia regarded him as the preeminent authority on their kind of prayer in the United States."




Also, on June 21, 2009, Focus on the Family put an article on their website called "Taking Off Our 'Happy Faces' at Church" by Lynne Thompson.



The article freely promoted the Scazzero's and their book "The Emotionally Healthy Church" (Zondervan) despite the Scazzero's promotion of Contemplative Prayer.




Other endorsers of the Scazzero's include John Ortberg (Menlo Presbyterian Church)


and Dr. Jack Hayford (President of the International Foursquare Churches).


A rebuttal article on Contemplative Prayer by Marcia Montenegro

http://www.christiananswersforthenew...vePrayer1.html

[billiefan2000]

BTW on a side note:


Trinity Church of Omaha Nebraska where Les Beauchamp is the current pastor




(disappointed in him cause a few years ago I had respect for him but he has gone down the seeker and emergent path so fast)



well, Trinity church of Omaha Nebraska has been very supportive of the teachings of Pete Scazzero and John Ortberg and other contemplative promoters






(just mentioning that as a warning for folks in Omaha area who maybe reading this to avoid that church at all costs

and also for those who go there. I know of folks who sadly go there




BTW: Trinity Church is also part of the infamous Willow Creek Association

=========================


Ray Yungen on what really Contemplative Prayer is and who promotes it











Ray Yungen on Emerging Church & Intersprituality

[Nightelf]

I just threw away all my Dr. Dobson books..... I am sickened that he has fallen into this mysticism.

[NotHomeYet]

This makes me so sad...I have always supported Focus and have looked to that ministry for resources so many times as my children have been growing up

[rrrrrpitch]

I used to go to Trinity Church in Omaha about 8 years ago. I am happy that I was saved through the gospel of sin and repentance before I attended through reading the bible independently because I probably would be believing some pretty messed up stuff these days.

I don't know how messed up the place is now but when I went there they had a "fresh start" program there in which a different gospel was prached in which Jesus died to change your personality. Another time I was in Terra Nova (which was led by Matthew Anderson from Waypoint in Omaha) which was a singles thing there and then one day everyone in the room just started chanting and babbling and jumping and dancing around all at once and this was a room of around 50 people (very cult like). Finally, another time I walked into a room in which the same pastor was in the room and people were getting "baptized in the spirit" and they were flailing around on the ground and falling down like a Benny Hinn show. I remember another time I went to a small group and they were all praying and chanting and rubbing oil on each other's hands and a girl there was talking about her "prophetical visions" that God was giving her. I remember they also had meditation in the basement and I was invited to it and I saw it.

While attending Trinity I felt out of place or like people were consistently telling me things that weren't true and doing things that seemed strange. I'm glad that I never followed the crowd but instead studied the crowd and compared it to God's Word.

Now they have a leader that promotes contemplative spirituality? Doesn't surprise me...



.