Pt. IV: The EC and BNYC: Is the EC Building Momentum?
BNYC 2006 Alarms
Lighthouse Trails Research actually had to warn concerned
parents away from BNYC 2006 because of the following dangers or potential
spiritual hazards:
WARNING: West Coast Youth Conference Will Promote
Contemplative Spirituality
Parents, who are considering sending their teens to the BNYC
(Brethren National Youth Conference), should think twice about this. While the
conference will include speakers like Ray Comfort and Josh McDowell, it will
also offer a variety of contemplative resources and teachings to the teens. The
links below show some of the concerns.
2. Offering emerging teacher, Don Miller’s book, Blue Like
Jazz "A remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely
loving God."
3. Youth Workers Resources: (This list includes Youth
Specialties, Group Publishing, and Relevant Mag, all of which promote, endorse, and
teach contemplative, emerging and Eastern style practices and beliefs. (See our
research on Youth Specialties.)
This event is being held at a university (Biola) that
partners with Richard Foster and Larry Crabb in the Spiritual Formation Forum.
In addition, Biola’s Institute of Spiritual Formation teaches contemplative
spirituality. The conference is offering a resource to parents called
www.cpyu.org, which has numerous connections to contemplative and emerging (http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=772&more=1&c=1).
Lighthouse Trails received a phone call prior to the
conference from a concerned parent who informed them that “during the Triple
Trax session, youth will be taken to both a Buddhist temple and a Moslem
mosque.” http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletter071706.htm#article2
According to a CE National web page:
Dan O’Deens, who is
heading up outreach for BNYC, had several teens give testimonies about their
outreach activities during the day Monday. Jay Bell of GBIM reported on a group
that visited a Moslem mosque, spending time with an Imam. Tomorrow the group
will visit a Sikh temple, followed by a Buddhist and then Hindu temples.
http://www.cenational.org/bnyc/at-bnyc/2006/report-detail.asp?eventUnique=session980&day=Monday
If I may, there aren’t a lot of things more disturbing to me
than going on the BNYC 06 website and seeing a smiling Grace Brethren girl (or
three) in Muslim headdress! Lest you think I am overreacting, the youth were
clearly told that their visit to a Buddhist temple and mosque were not to
be opportunities for witnessing or sharing the gospel. Remember, however that
according to the above statement from the website, these were classified as “outreach
activities”. One wonders how that can actually be the case if they were
specifically told not to witness
They were merely field trips in which they were to cultivate
a respect for other religions. Here’s the rub, though. This type of interfaith
encounter is probably not best for young people at a Christian conference,
especially if they are going to remove shoes and don a headdress. This is a
concession to a religion that needs Christ, first and foremost, and caution
must be utilized in this endeavor. I’m not saying it wasn’t but entering false
places where demons are worshipped is a very risky field trip and not
necessarily appropriate in my opinion for a Brethren conference. I definitely
don’t blame a concerned parent for being wary.
Addendum: Having said
that, I was contacted and criticized for really missing their point of this
field trip. Let me just remind everyone reading that I CONCEDE that this may
have been viewed as a strategic visit and I am not attacking Jay Bell or anyone
for this. I merely share my concern given what I know about Mosques, Hinduism,
and Islam from being a missionary in India. If you agreed with this excursion
that is your right and I applaud your right to feel however you desire
concerning it. My disagreement does not make me an enemy of anyone who feels
differently. I stand by my concerns here and welcome further discussion.
Josh McDowell and Ray Comfort were also speakers that year
and I shared the same hope as Lighthouse Trails did when they said:
“It is our hope that Ray
Comfort and Josh McDowell will warn teens attending the conference not to
participate in any of the contemplative sessions.”
Alas!
I am afraid they did not…
From BNYC to Momentum
In 2007, BNYC changes to Momentum: http://www.cenational.org/bnyc/
http://www.cenational.org/cenational/newsBlog/index.asp?IDNum=1448&eventCode=
The speakers slated were Francis Chan and David Livermore. I
must say that Francis Chan is a good speaker and he, as a graduate from John
Macarthur’s Master’s Seminary, much of what he says and does is biblical and
encouraging. Alas, however, he has been sharing at conferences all over with
some emerging teachers that promote their beliefs and seem unconfronted by men
who should know better. What I am trying to say is that Francis Chan and others
who would not ascribe to the emergent views (hopefully) share the platform at
these conferences with some of these men and it therefore becomes unclear as to
the firmness of their position in some areas of emergent belief. This is merely
an observation not an accusation..
Pastor Francis Chan, who has been a favorite speaker at the
BNYC for the past seven years, has also been speaking with Erwin McManus at
conferences. One such event is the annual Hawaiian Island Ministries
conference in Hawaii: http://www.himonline.org/oldsite/conference_pages/conf_hon_schedule.html
At this conference in Honolulu, he spoke alongside McManus,
contemplative promoter Dallas Willard and emergent Tony Campolo. It must be
noted that the Hawaiian Island Ministries or HIM conferences have a history
fraught with false teaching and they have introduced all manner of deception
year after year to the islands. I just wish Chan wasn’t featured there
alongside these men because of what THEY clearly teach. One assumes of course
that Chan doesn’t really know whom he is speaking alongside, or does he?
On Brian Orme’s blog, he writes concerning Chan:
“When he was talking about faith and movement—he mentioned a
conversation he had with Erwin McManus, Erwin said that he wanted to experiment
with his church—he wanted to see if he could send so many people out for
ministry that he would kill it … he hasn’t succeeded yet—but it’s a noble goal,
I think.” http://brianorme.com/blog/?p=324
Chan is also slated to speak at these conferences alongside
McManus and others:
Spirit West Coast: The speaker’s list includes
Brennan Manning, the author of two dynamic, life-changing Christian books,
“Abba Father” and “The Ragamuffin Gospel;” Erwin McManus, pastor of Mosaic in
Los Angeles, and one of the top cutting-edge "generation next"
churches in America; Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church and the
president of Eternity Bible College in Simi Valley. In addition to being a
pastor, Chan hosts the radio program “Truth Be Known” http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Mar06/Art_Mar06_21.html
Spirit West Coast - Del Mar not only features dozens and
dozens of concerts and music artists, but also world-class Bible teaching and
speaking seminars and messages. The ministry team for 2006 includes popular
Southern California pastors Erwin McManus (Mosaic in L.A.) and Francis Chan
(Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley), and evangelist/motivational speaker
Darrell Scott. http://www.goodnewsetc.com/036SND2.htm
Francis Chan will also speak with McManus at the New
Awakening conference, apparently cancelled for 07 but on for 08: http://www.jamanewawakening.com/speakers.html
Also this year Francis Chan spoke at the Willow Creek Arts
Conference: http://2007artsconferenceblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/teaching-is-art.html
And the upcoming Catalyst conference will also be EC
friendly:
“The Catalyst Conference is a premiere Leadership experience
held in Atlanta, GA, on October 3-5, 2007. Catalyst has quickly become THE
event for young leaders from all over the country.” http://www.jamanewawakening.com/speakers.html
Chan will share the platform with: Erwin McManus, Ken
Blanchard- endorsed Patrick Lencioni, Rick Warren, Shane Claiborne, founder of
a “new monasticism” community.
By far the most concerning speaking engagement Chan will be
at is the EC/contemplative friendly Youth Specialties National Youth Workers
Convention in 2007: http://www.youthspecialties.com/NYWC/2007/content/information/speakers_artists
This contemplative youth conference will feature Dan
Kimball, Dave Livermore, Francis Chan, and Mark Yaconelli and will promote this
mysticism. Lighthouse Trails provides this noteworthy warning:
“TheNational Youth Workers Convention
will take place in three different US cities this coming fall (October through
November). The event is presented by Youth Specialties, an organization
that has been a springboard for contemplative and emerging spiritualities for
many years. If your youth pastor or youth workers are planning on attending one
of the three conventions, we urge you to take a look at the following links
(from the NYWC website). We think you will agree that attendees will receive a
hearty dose of mystical spirituality and emergent messages that can ultimately
lead followers away from biblical faith:
Labyrinths,Taize worship, Catholic liturgy,
meditation - it's all at the 2007 National Youth Workers
Convention.” http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php
Dear folks, here’s the problem. However good a speaker Chan is and a sound teacher, the men he’s
sharing platforms with in these conferences should be being publicly confronted
(and have been) about their false teachings.
I’m not saying that Chan agrees with these men BUT I
find myself extremely disappointed that he could allow these things to go
unaddressed and unconfronted and agree to be featured alongside some of these
dangerous teachers. Maybe he is confronting them I cant judge that
either but there doesn’t appear to be that much of a distance between speakers
who agree to train and teach at these conferences while leaving such crucial
issues unaddressed or dealt with to those present.
Chan’s college pastor at his Simi Valley church is Chuck
Bomar who gave few nods to emergent
teachers in his question-answer session at this year’s Momentum.
One last Chan concern is that I cant help wondering what
John MacArthur would think about Chan’s sharing the stage with these men that
MacArthur has rightly identified in some cases as the false teachers they are.
It is my prayer that Francis Chan will make a stand and, if he fails to do so,
that CE National will heed these warnings and make a stand against Chan’s
continuing participation in conferences like these. Only time will tell. This
is merely a suggestion based on my opinion. Any and all are free to disagree.
Another Momentum speaker is David Nasser and his message at
momentum 2007 was also pretty good but on his website he promotes contemplative
mystic Brennan Manning. He’s also worked with pro emerging Youth specialties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Nasser
On his website he recommends people to read the Purpose
Driven Life and a book by contemplative Brennan Manning: who wrote some
famous books Ragamuffin Gospel and Above All and promotes the
spiritual contemplative stillness which again has more in common with new age
or eastern religious meditation than anything Christian. Here are some quotes
and details concerning Manning:
Ray Yungen tells us:
“Behind Manning's charisma lie some troubling connections.
For example, Manning favorably quotes a Catholic monk, Bede Griffiths, in two
of his books, Abba's Child and Ruthless Trust. Griffiths, like
Merton, "explored ways in which Eastern religions could deepen his
prayer." Griffiths also saw the "growing importance of Eastern
religions ... bringing the church to a new vitality."
Manning: "['T]he vast majority of my ministry is in the
evangelical world.'"
"In order to hear from God, Manning himself retreats to
silence and solitude. It takes him about 20 minutes he says, to come to a state
of inner stillness." (A Time of Departing, 2nd ed., p. 84).
Manning also claims
that New Ager Beatrice Bruteau is a "trustworthy guide to contemplative
consciousness" (from his book Abba’s Child).
I’m not saying Nasser agrees or believes in these things but
Manning is a dangerous fellow to point young people to start reading from.
Nasser also shared at a Kentucky conference with; you
guessed it, Erwin McManus: http://www2.kybaptist.org/kbc/welcome.nsf/printpages/mackey20030123