In a package that comes with the return address Dr. J. Chris Schofield, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina today at Apprising Ministries we received the booklet Inviting God’s Presence: Congregational Committees Seeking God’s Direction published by BSCNC, which is the state convention of Southern Baptists in NC.

As further example of the growing influence of The Cult of Guru Richard Foster and its corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) within the Slowly Becoming Catholic under the heading “Spiritual Practices for Committee Meetings” on page 11 we read:

• Include one extra chair as a visible symbol of God’s presence.
• Light a candle at the beginning of the meeting as a visible symbol of God’s presence in the meeting…
• Include some form of Scripture praying…read it slowly and prayerfully as your prayer to God. Allow a few moments of silence for reflection.

And so there is no doubt what kind of “Scripture praying” we’re talking about on page 14 we are told:

Utilize a form of prayer that is called Lectio Divina (Latin term for “Sacred Reading”)…

• Slowly, prayerfully read the text. Pause.
• Ask group members to share one word of the text that “touched” or stood out to him/her.
• Slowly, prayerfully read the text again. Pause.
• Ask group members to share the feeling that is aroused in him/her in hearing the text.
• Slowly, prayerfully read the text another time. Pause.
• Ask group members to share how he/she believes God would have them respond to the text.
• Conclude with prayer for the courage to make that response…

Feel free to experiment with your Lectio Divina prayer pattern. (14)

Men and women, you need to understand that this Lectio Divina is part of the CSM that originally flowered in the antibiblical monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism and is wrapped up with the so-called “Christian” meditation of Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP).

And how do I know? No less an authority than the late Roman Catholic monk and “Spiritual Master” Basil Pennington explains in his book Lectio Divina:

For the past twenty-five years we have been sharing Centering Prayer in all parts of the world. In all our prayer workshops we have always included lectio. For the monk and nun, lectio and contemplation, Centering Prayer, are all part of one reality. (ix)

So for those who wonder why I have been referring to the SBC as the Slowly Becoming Catholic, when it comes to the SBC state convention of North Carolina, the BSCNC, the answer should be coming more into focus for you.

As I said in Learn Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) the SBC Way with Baptist State Convention of North Carolina this SBC state convention is making no effort whatsoever to hide its incorporating antibiblical practices from the Roman Catholic Church.