…a double-minded man [is] unstable in all he does. (James 1:8)

Decended From The Reformers But Praising The Doctrine of Counter-Reformers

With recent articles like Georgia Baptist Convention (SBC) Now Promoting the Cult of Richard Foster and Christianity Today Promoting the Roman Catholic Mystic Catherine of Siena at Apprising Ministries as well as Crosstalk: Ken Silva on “Evangelicals Embrace Mystics” we’re doing our best to sound the alarm as The Cult of Guru Richard Foster continues its dispersion of corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) into the mainstream “Protestant” evangelical community under the guise of Spiritual Formation.

It is an incontrovertible fact that this spurious CSM was originally culled from the meditation practices of pagan religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Sufi Islam. It then flowered within the antibiblical monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism. As further evidence of the influx of this CSM slithering into evangelicalism we now bring to your attention Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, who is the General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America.

When we look at Words from Wes: Two Summer Encounters it becomes painfully obvious that Granberg-Michaelson is really quite taken in by Emergent Church Guru Brian McLaren. Granberg-Michaelson tells us about his time with Emerging Church Spiritual Director [read: Roshi] McLaren:

As I reflect on July and August, two encounters—with a new friend and with an old friend—deserve to be shared. One was with Brian McLaren, who has become a new friend. We fished for a day and then met with RCA staff leadership on the deck of Dick Welscott’s cabin in Baldwin, Michigan, sharing together about the future challenges facing the church…

Those who attended the last General Synod will remember Brian McLaren from his presentation on Saturday night… [McLaren] is regarded as the intellectual leader of the “emergent church” movement. His most recent book is The Secret Message of Jesus, and before that he wrote the widely noted A Generous Orthodoxy as well as several other books…

McLaren thinks that the RCA’s efforts to discover what it means to be a denomination that is equipping its congregations “to follow Christ in mission” within contemporary culture are noteworthy, creative, and promising. That’s why he was willing to spend a couple days this summer with RCA staff. (Online source)

Just another example of “Protestant” lunacy in the Lord’s Name because we see that Guru McLaren was recommended to these RCA leaders in a positive light. But McLaren is highly ecumenical and Arminian (at best) and as such this Emergent Church Roshi stands against everything a truly “Reformed” denomination would be for.

Coming Under The Spell Of Roman Catholic Mystic Thomas Keating

And then there’s Wesley Granberg-Michaelson and his piece A Week for Retreat telling us about his visit to a Trappist Monastery and there taking part in the corrupt Contemplative/Centering Prayer which is at the very heart of CSM:

The past week was set aside for some days of retreat. I try to do this each year; traveling to St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado. It’s a special, spiritual place for me, because in 1997 I first went there with a group from the RCA (Tony Vis, Mary Clark, Chuck van Engen, Shari Brink, Gloria McCanna, John Chang, and Lou Lotz) to finalize the RCA’s statement of mission and vision. Those were inspired days that none of us will ever forget. The words that emerged from that time still have inspirational power today in the RCA…

Since then, I have returned there regularly. Each year prior to General Synod, I schedule a retreat of 3 to 4 days, and I usually find space in Snowmass… The guestmaster tells me that many of the guests–probably a majority–are Protestants. Last week, for instance, a group of pastors from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America were there with their bishop for a retreat. A Methodist group was scheduled to arrive next. All this speaks to the revival of interest in spiritual formation and contemplative prayer in many Protestant circles today. (Online source)

Well at least we’re trying to warn you here at AM, and for those who don’t know Granberg-Michaelson will tell you who it is that holds court at this monastery, which has even hosted “Protestant” pastors from the Luther-inspired ELCA along with their blind bishop:

Father Thomas Keating is part of the community, and his books on prayer have had a wide impact in many circles. He has written more than 20 books and tapes, one of which is Open Mind, Open Heart. He started an organization called Contemplative Outreach, which nurtures groups desiring to explore the path of “centering prayer” in their relationship with God. To learn more, visit www.centeringprayer.com. Chapters have grown up throughout the U.S. and other parts of the world. It was rich to spend time with him again in conversation. (ibid.)

Yes, this is a leader in the “Protestant” RCA extolling the alleged spiritual virtues of an apostate Roman Catholic monk. For more on Guru Keating I refer you to Thomas Keating Guidelines for Contemplative/Centering Prayer. Then Granberg-Michaelson even goes on to share some “wisdom” from one of the most sacred Golden Buddhas in all of CSM, the mystic monk Thomas Merton.

This AM piece is sent out as a grim wake-up call to any orthodox Christian leaders who might be left in this rotting RCA to begin to speak out. If you seriously think that the foolishness we have just read from Wesley Granberg-Michaelson can even get a radar fix on proper Biblical Reformed theology from where he is then you really do need to have your spiritual head examined.

And may this also serve to arouse the Rip Van Winkles in leadership positions within the evangelical community at large to the fact that this is exactly where Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Roshi Richard Foster and his twisted twin Dallas Willard will lead you with their unbiblical Spiritual Formation of neo-pietism.

The truth is this quasi-Catholic mystic mumbo jumbo has zero place in the Protestant Christian Church.

See also:

SPIRITUAL FORMATION IS PIETISM REIMAGINED

APOSTASY, CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM (CSM) IN THE SBC AND DISEASE IN THE CHURCH

WHO IS RICHARD FOSTER?

DELUSIONS OF DALLAS WILLARD