You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?

Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (Galatians 3:1-3)

Spiritual Freedom!? You Can’t Handle Spiritual Freedom!

In the following current example Apprising Ministries brings you a most vivid illustration concerning where pastors and leaders in the emerging church like Dan Kimball and Doug Pagitt and Shane Claiborne are now taking the gullible and so-called “Protestant” evangelical community of the American Christian Church. The women quoted below is speaking of an event held by a church called The Refuge , which is—what else:

a new faith community, all equal, love jesus, pretty messed up, lead, follow, laugh, cry, serve, co-pastors, stories of brokenness and healing, smoker friendly, the refuge. (Online source)

In the post authentic community (shift keys are apparently verboten in emerging church circles) at The Refuge Blog we also learn more about this spiritual group hug:

there’s no question, at the refuge, we believe spiritual transformation happens through community. it is not the only way. there are lots of ways to experience God, grow in our relationship with God, and learn a lot about God. Jesus transforms in many wonderful ways. but we also wholeheartedly believe that the greatest work of our spiritual journey will happen through relationships, true authentic community.
(Online source)

This alleged authentic community is classic methodology in the emerging church with their twist of what the ancient church was actually like. The basic idea is, they think that because churches initially met in people’s homes this means there was no structure and Scripture was open to interpretation as the group would decid together what it meant. Even a quick glance at the pastoral epistles in the New Testament will quickly dispell that democratic dream.

However, the Church is a Theocracy ruled by Christ Jesus Himself and He has already told us:

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)

But you see, pouty postmodern spiritual fourteen-year-olds don’t like that so they have found apostates like Emergent Church spiritual director/guru Brian McLaren to scratch their itching ears and tell them that they don’t have to follow what God said if they don’t want to. You can just reimagine it. So where is this Emergent Church—the cult of repainted (post) liberal theology—with “teaching pastors” like Rob Bell taking your young in your youth groups?

Well, here’s an eyewitness recounting of what is going on right now in many evangelical churches in what are often called “alternative” services:

i will say i was so proud of the refuge tonight—we did the spiritual discipline of silence & solitude as a community, watched the rob bell nooma noise dvd & created 5 different stations for people to go to in complete silence: fire, prayer, communion, darkness (we had ties for people to blindfold themselves), and praise.

we had a few guided questions at each place. we were making apologies to people for pushing them to try something so awkward together and the push back to us was “cut it out, we can hack it”. it was lovely. i come from that darn attractional mindset sometimes and forget that at this point no one is at the refuge because of the feel-good show because there most certainly isn’t one. they are here to dig in, give new things a try, and be part of the conversation instead of sitting passively.

i looked up during my time at the prayer station & i got a little teary realizing “damn, we’re really doing this!” i always have this little noogling fear we’re going to systematically drive people away with these crazy experiments but i have to say i think it’s glorious to at least be trying. everyone’s experiences were all over the place.

i did kind of hear from God during my silence. in general, when i am anxious, my foot & leg start shaking, sometimes just subtly, sometimes a little less covert, but it is always just my anxiety popping out and is a way i know i’m stressed and anxious. i’ve been noticing a bit more lately.

during the quiet God gave me this repeated image of his strong gentle hand on my leg. “honey, settle down.” the verse that popped into my head was one of my favs. psalm 46:10–be still and know that i am God.
i kept writing down: i am God. kathy, you are not. i am God. you are not. be still. i am God. you are not. settle down. be still. i did feel a little less anxious & am always reminded when i make a little intentional space God seems to seep in something i need to hear.

well, it was a good wacky refuge eve and a great example that worship doesn’t have to mean music & church doesn’t have to mean a sermon. (Online source)

O no; well, we sure wouldn’t want to hear a sermon from the Bible that might cut right across the highly subjective fuzzy “feelings” about what we guess we might “kind of hear from God” and what we think He may have said to us in our existential encounter. Men and women, I am the Lord led out of apostate Roman Catholicism myself who has studied the origins of these highly subjective supposed “spiritual disciplines” of contemplative spirituality borrowed from pagan religions.

I am in a good position to tell you that what you just read is in essense the apostate practices of monks and nuns in the various monastic traditions of the antichrist Roman Catholic Church, which eventually led to the Protestant Reformation in the first place. Don’t be fooled by this return to ritualistic Roman bondage and come out from among them—now—before it’s too late for you personally:

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
(2 Thessalonians 2:8-12)

See also:

MONASTIC EVANGELICALS AND THEIR PROSTITUTION IN ANCIENT SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

EMERGENT WOLVES ENTER YOUR SHEEP PENS THROUGH YOUTH GROUPS

MEDITATING ON CONTEMPLATIVE/CENTERING PRAYER

A DIFFERENT MESSAGE FOR A DIFFERENT TIME?