For people will be lovers of self. (2 Timothy 3:2, ESV)

Interlocking Circles Centered On Self

With limited manpower, being that I am but one man, I do what I can here at Apprising Ministries to uncover disturbing trends within the mainstream of the evangelical community of the church visible. Primarily, as a former Roman Catholic, I focus on the egregiously ecumenical Emerging Church aka Emergent Church—morphing into Emergence Christianity (EC)—which is a cult of postliberalism now firmly within mainstream evangelicalism.

At the same time I’ve also been covering the influx of corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) ala Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster—and his spiritual twin Dallas Willard—rooted as it is in the Quietist Counter Reformation within apostate Roman Catholicism. Here I’ll lay out for you a couple of very key points that many either don’t know about, or don’t seem to care about, as it concerns the semi-pelagian (at best) Church Growth Movement (CGM).

The first has to do with a group called Leadership Network that was founded by Bob Buford; in her article Social Change and Communitarian Systems Christian researcher Berit Kjos brings out that:

Bob Buford, [who’s] the founding chairman of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management (now titled “Leader to Leader Institute), made his management strategies available to Pastor Rick Warren and Saddleback years ago. Among the sermons offered for sale at Pastor Warren’s website, http://www.pastors.com/, is a 1997 sermon credited jointly to Rick Warren and Bob Buford titled, “Leaving a Legacy.”

Buford left his top role at the Drucker Foundation to found Leadership Network, which seems to serve as a virtual arm of the Drucker Foundation offering management theories, training and technology to large churches around the world. Through its global network of large churches, Buford has been bringing Drucker’s management structures to pastors and church leaders around the world. (Online source)

Since it’s not the subject of this article, suffice to say that we’re already off-track biblically because what we’re dealing with here are but pragmatic business “success” strategies forming the basis of growing organizations; in this case ostensibly churches. The second point is tied to this first area; in How Leadership Network created the “Emerging Church” the Herescope Research Team informs us that:

There are many interconnections between Bob Buford of the Leadership Network, Rick Warren of “purpose-driven” fame, and Brian McLaren of the “Emerging Church.” On the website http://www.anewkindofchristian.com/archives/000226.html, “The website for A New Kind of Christian, Brian McLaren answers the question, “How did Emergent start?”

“1. Emergent grew out of the Young Leader Networks, which was launched in the mid-90’s by Leadership Network, a Dallas-based foundation. Doug Pagitt, Chris Seay, Andrew Jones, Brad Smith, and others were involved before I was, and they did a great job of setting a tone and direction for the emergent conversation.” (Online source)

Corrupt Contemplative Spirituality Is Mysticism-Lite That’s Bent Inward Toward The Self

These are the facts; both the Purpose Driven/Seeker Driven sector of mainstream evangelicalism, and this Emerging/ent/ence approach to Christianity, are actually extensions of the CGM. Bottom line: They both share virtually the very same wrong view of human nature; and what the EC has added to the mix is spurious CSM, which was a core doctrine from its inception in its attempt to reach the more spiritually-oriented postmodern seekers. But as you’ll see in Rick Warren Now Openly Promoting Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism now CSM has also crossed into the PDL sector as well.

As a matter of fact in Peter Scazzero Promoted By Rick Warren I showed you that CSM guru Peter Scazzero, a featured speaker at Warren’s upcoming Radicalis conference, heads up a group called Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (EHS) who’ve already announced to us: 

We are excited to announce our partnership with the Willow Creek Association! Starting Sept. 15, WCA will begin to distribute the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Church-wide study, which includes the kit, the EHS book, the EHS Group workbook, the teaching DVD, and The Daily Office. (Online source)

The above alone puts this EHS, and its teaching re. “The Daily Office” ala an Ignatius of Loyola, a champion of apostate Roman Catholicism and the founder of the militantly pro-Roman Catholic Church spiritual Gestapo Unit known as the Jesuits, squarely within the mainstream of the visible professing Protestant church. And then, as you can begin to see e.g. in Confusion Concerning Calvinist Spirituality? and How To Practice Meditative Prayer; Or Lectio Divina-Lite?, spurious CSM is even becoming reason for concern in younger Reformed sectors of the church visible as well.

All of this is very necessary background as you listen to the sermon review below by Christian apologist Chris Rosebrough, host of the Fighting for the Faith program which can be heard on the Pirate Christian Radio network at 6PM Eastern time. Below Rosebrough is reviewing the 11/28/09 sermon Overcome My Feelings of Inadequacy by Jason Anderson, who is “Teaching Pastor/Lino Lakes Campus Pastor” at “Real + Relevant” Eagle Brook Church (EBC) of Lino Lakes, MN. This sermon was actually the opening message from their current Overcome series.

If you didn’t know, EBC is modeled after your typical Purpose Driven/Seeker Driven megachurches, which I told you extend from the rotten root of the CGM. We can see this e.g. from Mega church luminary shares wisdom with other leaders, where we’re informed: 

Church leaders from the five-state area gathered at Eagle Brook Church in Lino Lakes May 21 [2009] to hear a Q-and-A session with the Rev. Bill Hybels, best-selling author and community church luminary.

Hundreds of church representatives listened as Eagle Brook Senior Pastor the Rev. Bob Merritt asked Hybels a series of questions about how to lead a church. Hybels is senior pastor of Willow Creek Church in the Chicago area,… (Online source)

And this really doesn’t come as any kind of surprise because EBC happens to be a pride and joy within the Willow Creek Association of Churches. So EBC, while sharing traits with megachurches of Popes of the Carolinas like Perry Noble and his disciple Steven Furtick, EBC would actually lean closer to PDL Pope Rick Warren and his Purpose Driven Saddleback Church. In fact, in the sermon below—amidst much business talk about teams of “leadership”—you’ll hear Anderson gush about meeting Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel, two mega-stars of CGM, in language bordering on idolatry.

In closing this for now, I felt led of the Lord to put this review online 1) as a vivid example showing how the influence of spurious CSM has already affected pastors like Jason Anderson; it’s reversing proper biblical understanding and moving them toward the love of the self (see—2 Timothy 3:2 above). And, because so many are under man-centered megachurches like EBC, 2) Rosebrough’s teaching within his review of Anderson’s people-pleasing preaching will prove most edifying in showing you what a God-centered and Christ-centered pastor should be preaching from the Scriptures.

 

See also:

CORRUPT CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM GAINING GROUND IN EVANGELICALISM

TIM KELLER: THE ‘KINGLY’ WILLOW CREEK CONFERENCE

CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM (CSM) OF SPIRITUAL FORMATION IS RECKLESS FAITH

“INWARD JOURNEY” ESPOUSED BY RICHARD FOSTER IS A FORM OF DIVINATION

CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY OF RICHARD FOSTER ROOTED IN THE EASTERN DESERT AND THOMAS MERTON

DISCIPLINES TO DECEPTION IN SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION

DONALD WHITNEY AND EVANGELICAL CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM