2008 National Pastors Convention could send many pastors in mystical direction

Pastors and church leaders who are planning on attending the
2008 National Pastors Convention, which will be presented by
Zondervan Publishing and InterVarsity Press this coming
February, should think twice about going. After travel expenses,
ticket, lodging and food, the cost for the event for one pastor
could easily run over a thousand dollars. In light of the
speakers who will be teaching, and other events being offered,
this may prove to be an unfruitful way to spend so much money,
and may even be spiritually detrimental.

Speakers at this year’s event include some of the most blatant
proponents of contemplative spirituality and the emerging
church, which in many cases also means having a propensity
toward Catholic mysticism and interspirituality. Some of these
speakers include: Ruth Haley Barton, Tony Jones,
Erwin McManus,
John Ortberg,
J.P. Moreland, Calvin Miller, Scot McKnight, and
Dan Kimball. Chuck Colson, co-author of the ecumenical
Evangelicals & Catholics Together document will also be
speaking. Emerging church favorite Phyllis Tickle (who once
called Brian McLaren the next Luther) will be a speaker at the
event as well.
1 A number of other speakers also fall into the
contemplative/emerging camp.

Extra activities offered at the convention, in addition to
seminars by the speakers, include “Christian
Yoga” presented by Shelly Pagitt (wife of emerging church
leader Doug Pagitt), New Age sympathizer
Rob Bell’s Nooma films, opportunities to be instructed by
“spiritual directors” (those who teach contemplative
spirituality), and prayer Labyrinths.

Critical concern courses will offer “Practicing the Presence of
Jesus: A Spiritual Retreat” by Mark Yaconelli, who once revealed
to Lighthouse Trails that he taught mantra meditation in his
classes. Popular teachers Henry Cloud and John Townsend (CCN)
have found a teaching place at the convention too in a critical
concerns course called “Revolutionizing Group Life in the
Church.” Having these two mainstream speakers will give much
credibility to the event in the eyes of many. Dan Kimball will
teach a course named after his book They Like Jesus,
But Not the Church. 

To help prepare pastors and leaders for the convention, an
over-night, pre-event pastors retreat will take place at the
Mission San Luis Rey retreat center. A description of the
retreat explains:

“This National Pastors Retreat provides leaders with a safe
place to be honest about the challenges of spiritual
leadership, to experience spiritual rhythms of solitude,
prayer, and community, and to deepen their understanding of
leadership that flows from one’s authentic self [not Jesus
Christ]. Led by The Transforming Center leaders Ruth Haley
Barton and Joe Sherman, this retreat offers a meaningful
introduction to the community, spiritual rhythms, teaching
themes, and guided experiences that will come to
characterize National Pastors Retreat.”

Ruth Haley Barton, who helped to create the spiritual formation
curriculum (with John Ortberg) for Willow Creek church teaches
the fundamentals of contemplative spirituality to thousands of
pastors and leaders at her
Transforming Center. Something that is vital to understand
is that Barton was trained at the
Shalem Prayer Institute. This center was founded by Tilden
Edwards who boldly proclaimed that Christians who exclude
eastern spiritual practices from their prayer life impoverish
their spiritual resources (Living in the Presence, p. 18-19).

Zondervan’s National Pastors Convention is wrongly titled. Its
present name gives the impression that this is a Christian
event. However, it is anything but that, and it will mislead
many unsuspecting Christian pastors and leaders. Unfortunately,
by the time they’ve each spent hundreds of dollars for the event
and are packed and ready to go there, most of them will not have
read this article and may become caught in the web of deception
that is woven throughout the contemplative prayer movement and
the emerging church and for which Zondervan and InterVarsity
Press have become evangelists.

Earlier reports from
www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com:
| Emergent Manifesto

Deceptive
Roots of the Emerging Church

The
Re-Think Conference | Deceptive
Roots of the Emerging Church

Yoga, Mysticism & Moody Bible Institute