Cornerstone Newsletter

The Church Growth Movement's Evolution Into The Emerging Church
Part 5 -  Church Growth Movement Morphs Into The Emerging Church

By Greg DesVoignes

There was a large gap for me in doing research and even attending a church.  In the gap years my time and energy was almost all involved in other things; some not by my design.  The last article I wrote under the name "Christian Research Ministries" was around 2005.  I was not attending a church back then and really did not care to because of the false teachings of the CGM or some aspect of it that was in numerous churches.

Then sometime around 2013 one of our teenage grandson's invited us to go to a Christmas Eve service at a church he and his father had been recently attending.  It was a satellite location of a large denominational church.  The home "campus" unfortunately was one of the Willow Creek following CGM mega churches that converted to that model in the late 80s or early 90s.  However, not wanting to disappoint my grandson we accepted.  Perhaps it was different now?  No; it was worse.

The service was a drama skit that had nothing to do with Christ or the message of the gospel.  The skit was all about a husband looking for a diamond ring he could buy his wife for Christmas.  It was hard to sit through. The church building was full of people who were really into it.  But my grandson and son-in-law were not.  It embarrassed both of them and they apologized for it.  But this would be the norm to those who were children when this CGM thing started, or were otherwise new to this secular minded church.  I explained to them a little of the CGM and how this church was part of it.  I then realized I had to find a church that did not have the influences of the CGM or some other like thing in it so I could get my family away from the anti-Biblical influences for them and all of us, and into truth.

We ended up going back to my original church which seemed to have changed back to what it was before the CGM.  After a few weeks of listening to messages, we invited the rest of our family.

One thing that became apparent for me was the difference in the worship music from just a few years before and 2013.  It was different from the type that used to be sung before I stopped going.  I had no idea who the performers were behind the music and when I did find out who they were, I had never heard of them before.  While the musicality of the some of the songs was appealing, I started noticing that the words of some of these songs were not in accordance with the word of God and had some other issues.

For instance, some of the songs were singing to the Holy Spirit.  I had a problem with this because this concept is not in the Bible.  Our prayers are to be directed to the Father.  Sounds knit picking?  It's not.  Jesus was specific when he told his disciples how to pray; direct the prayer to the Father.  Then there was a song asking the Holy Spirit to fill the atmosphere of the room and calling on him for other things.  The word says where two or three are gathered in his name, He is in our midst and in ourselves, as we are supposed to be a temple of the Holy Spirit.  I found later that this concept led to acceptance of other deceptions.

There was singing of some writer's prophecy about seeing a revival.   But the Word speaks about a falling from faith and a revival of following doctrines of demons and deceitful spirits.  I could not sing the prophecy of some extra-Biblical person or theme. There was a song about "calling all angels". We are not to pray to angels, so this was also extra Biblical.

Many songs had numerous repetitive phrases that just vanished into nothingness after awhile of repeating them.  Some church service videos showed worship leaders singing a song for ten minutes, repeating the same phrase over and over. I saw concerts on line where songs went on for almost fifteen minutes with phrases repeated over and over up to 50 times in some songs.  I remember Jesus saying something about not using "vain repetitions" like the pagans do.  Then there was the loudness.  Having lost my high frequency hearing and having a constant high ringing in my ears, it is painful and distracting.  I later found that some churches actually offer earplugs to attendees.

In addition to the loudness, worship across a spectrum of churches had become concert like.  There were light shows and even occult related symbols projected on stage floors and on screens behind the stages of these worship bands.

In the realm of music God had changed from being majestic, as an old hymn said, "A mighty fortress is our God", to a sensual boyfriend girlfriend type relationship lyrics like "so heaven meets earth like a wet sloppy kiss".

In 1 John 4 we are told not to believe every spirit but to "try the spirits" to see if they are from God because even in John's time "many false prophets are gone out into the world".  So I started to look into who was behind the music.  At that time the music was primarily Bethel Music, Jesus Culture, Hillsong United, Kari Jobe, Elevation Worship, All Sons and Daughters, and a host of like minded younger groups and single performers.  What I began to see is that many of these groups and singles had a large church behind them.  And it became apparent that these performers were the Pied Pipers, the evangelists of the theological beliefs of the churches they were sent out of.

I did not like what I saw.  There was such a radical worldwide love of these and other groups.  They and their music were the accepted standard of the larger percentage of "popular" churches and their pastors today; especially of younger people.  They dominate being the source of what is called "worship music" under the category of "Contemporary Christian Music" (CCM).  They were, and still are, the draw into what is called, the "Emerging Church" and  doctrines that contradict God's word that come with it.

What I eventually realized was that an older generation of deceived CGM and NAR / Dominion Theology related leaders and churches had deceived a new generation of younger musicians and others that grew up in their churches (see "Birthing of the False Church Through Ecumenism).  Not knowing anything different, they grew up in being taught the apostate false teachings and techniques of their elders, thinking what they were being taught was the norm.

 And so it was I became familiar with the organizations and leaders of their host churches like Bethel Church, Redding, CA; Hillsong, Elevation, Gateway, Morningstar, International House of Prayer, and many more.  These younger musicians, believing they were doing a work of God, were and are, actually spreading a false message, a false gospel from out of their own churches. At the very least they were opening the door to the ideals of these churches.

What I ended up seeing is that the church on a world basis was becoming involved in this newer remodel of the CGM called the "Emerging Church" (EC).   But now the EC was on a higher level of compromising culture embracing, ecumenical, and occult steroids.  And it continues to "emerge" today to keep "relevant".

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  Romans 12:2

The Bridge Of Change From CGM to Emergent

I read a pretty good short definition of the EC which says,

"What is so interesting about this movement is the Emerging Church sanctifies the culture. The Emerging church sanctifies the post-modern culture as if it is legitimate and says if we're going to reach these people, we've got to become like these people. That's never been the biblical way...never. The Bible does not change. It's not a chameleon, it doesn't shift and change and adapt to culture. It confronts culture. It confronts an aboriginal culture. It confronts an ancient culture. It confronts a modern culture. It confronts every trend with fixed unchanging truth in every situation. And the Emerging Church not only is unwilling to believe the clear statement of Scripture, but it's unwilling to take the clear statement of Scripture and confront the culture. It wants to let the culture define what Christianity should be."  John MacArthur, gty.org/library/sermons-library/GTY107/whats-so-dangerous-about-the-emerging-church

I had not heard of the Emerging Church (EC) before I entered back into research.  Like with the unseen influences behind the CGM, it would appear that the root of the EC are the same sources I wrote of in Part 1.  They would be Bob Buford and Peter Drucker.  But into the more current "Leadership Network" fold of Buford from a few years ago, came the presence of Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt and Rob Bell.  There is already much written about the false teachings and beliefs of McLaren, Pagitt and Bell.  Rick Warren and Bill Hybels are kind of what I would call "crossovers".  I am not going to re-write what has already been written except to give the reader the warning flags when appropriate.  You can  go to the other websites that originated the research on them to get a firm idea of what they believe. I will give a few examples I have found for the purpose of this outline of the EC

Brian McLaren

As a warning flag example, Brian McLaren's bio on his website says in part that, "he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good."  In other words, he is ecumenical and his new kind of Christianity is not Christianity.  His Christianity is setting aside the true message for "the common good", which is not Christianity but compromise. His bio continues, "Brian draws resources from ancient traditions and practices to enrich spiritual formation today."  Source: brianmclaren.net/about-brian/.  Unfortunately his ancient traditions and practices are not all Biblical, nor is his new kind of Christianity.

For instance, some of the ancient traditions are those in Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam of which he thinks are fine, with only with a few exceptions.  McLaren has no problem in participating in the Islamic celebration of Ramadan and in 2009 he wrote of this noting his fasting partner was a Muslim by the name of Eboo Patel.  Source: brianmclaren.net/ramadan-2009-day-10/.  Patel was also a speaker at the Parliament of World Religions (see "Birthing of the False Church Through Ecumenism") in November 2018 held in Toronto, Canada. Patel founded an ecumenical faith organization for college students called "Interfaith Youth Core" (IFYC).  The IFYC website says of Patel,

"For over 15 years he has worked with governments, social sector organizations, and college and university campuses to help make interfaith cooperation a social norm. Named by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Leaders of 2009, Eboo served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council and is the author of Acts of Faith, Sacred Ground, Interfaith Leadership: A Primer, and Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise." Source: ifyc.org/eboo

Obama's Inaugural Faith Council is associated with the U.S. government's "Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships"  which is under the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA.  Source: dhs.gov/dhs-center-faith-based-neighborhood-partnerships.  Their outward purpose for these "partnerships" has to do with disasters and human trafficking (strange).  But, it's intended results are just another of the dots of becoming "One" as a social norm.  While in office, Obama started a "Campus Challenge" in which the desire was to make interfaith cooperation at colleges a priority.  One archived White House web page says of this,

"Since his inauguration, President Obama has emphasized interfaith cooperation and community service – “interfaith service” for short – as an important way to build understanding between different communities and contribute to the common good.

Interfaith service involves people from different religious and non-religious backgrounds tackling community challenges together – for example, Protestants and Catholics, Hindus and Jews, and Muslims and non-believers -- building a Habitat for Humanity house together. Interfaith service impacts specific community challenges, from homelessness to mentoring to the environment, while building social capital and civility."  Source: obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/ofbnp/interfaithservice

It all sounds good and noble.  However, while helping people is a noble thing to do, and we do need to interact with people outside of Christianity, this has a different end to it's mean when you look at the big picture of what is going on.  Jesus interacted with some pretty bad people; but to bring them to himself, not to find common good with them.  Jesus is the "common good". A government interfaith religious organization that promotes ecumenism under the Department of Homeland Security should be a red flag.  In reality there is no separation between "religion" and "state".   Patel is an example of the New Age Movement's progression to influence the main sectors of society to promote the "One" spirituality (interfaith cooperation) in government, business, and education for "the common good".

Next is McLaren's view of the need to change worship music to songs about "social justice".  He and Doug Pagitt are part of a new organization called "The Convergent Music Project".  It is described as being a site which people can access "progressive" music.  Below is a description of what they are about.

"Imagine a whole catalogue of songs for worship from diverse traditions and musical styles that will be theologically progressive/expansive and inclusive in terms of language and images. Imagine new, singable songs that move the heart and engage the mind—biblically based songs that promote life-giving spiritual formation, social justice, and the wellbeing of the planet. This is what CMP will be all about. Source: brianmclaren.net/good-actually-amazing-news-for-music-lovers/

"Social Justice" will be discussed in detail later in this article.  Note also the environmental theme of "wellbeing of the planet".

Doug Pagitt

Pagitt has a website called "Vote Common Good".  (sounds like a familiar set of words).  His bio says,

"Doug Pagitt is the Executive Director and one of the founders of Vote Common Good. He is also a national Initiator with Convergence, a collective of faith-engaged organizations, individuals, institutions, and networks who seek to embody a generous and just Christian ethos leading to constructive collective action in the United States.

Additionally, Pagitt is the founding pastor of Solomon’s Porch, A Holistic Missional Christian Community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He also serves as a speaker and consultant for churches, denominations, and businesses throughout the United States and around the world on issues of Inventive Age culture, social systems Christianity, and Leadership. Pagitt has worked in churches, for a nonprofit foundation, and has owned three businesses in Minneapolis. Pagitt is the author of books on spirituality, Christianity and leadership including: Flipped, Evangelism in the Inventive Age, Preaching in the Inventive Age, Community in the Inventive Age, Church in the Inventive Age, A Christianity Worth Believing, and BodyPrayer.

So what is "Vote Common Good"?  They are a partisan religious organization with an agenda. They say,

"We want to dislodge control of Congress from the Republican Party on November 6th, because we believe that this would most directly affect common good in our country. That’s our chosen strategy for this midterm. For another election, we may have another strategy, irrespective of a party.  ("Common good" according to whom?)

We want to invite and help voters of faith, our brothers and sisters in so called “red districts,” to rise up and vote the heart of our shared faith—faith in our spiritual traditions, our country, and one another. (My note:  There is no shared faith in God mentioned here; just "faith" in whatever their definition is of "spiritual traditions" is of whatever religious belief, and faith in a country, and faith in man).  God told Jeremiah,

Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. Jeremiah 17:5

Back to Pagitt

We believe that kindness and compassion are foundational American values and that to vote for the needs of our neighbor, even when it means letting go of some our wants, is a deeply patriotic act.

This is not going to come without difficulty. We understand how hard sometimes it can be to rise up against the mainstream of one’s religious group, vote against its unspoken political requirements, and take risks that can affect one’s standing in the group.

We know that it is difficult to reconsider long-held ideological positions in light of the passions of religious culture and communities where we belong."...

"...This November, we will band together around the fire of our shared faith experience. We will show up at the ballot box and vote for the children who have been separated from their parents, the single mother who is not getting her assistance, and the left out groups in our society..."

"...This November, we will vote for the well-being of all creation, for religious equality and freedom, for integrity and character in our leaders, for safety of all in public and in private, for the poor and vulnerable, and for the prosperity of all who work hard for their families and communities.

This November, we will vote for the common good..."

Part of their "Commitments" are:

"4. We will vote with God’s creation (The Planet)  in mind – the oceans, rivers, and streams; the mountains, valleys, and farmland; the atmosphere, the delicate balance of nature, and our fellow creatures.

5. We will vote against policies and politicians who promise special privileges for any religion, including our own."

Source: votecommongood.com/what-and-why/

So the common theme between Pagitt and the interfaith government theme is "the common good".  There is the theme of environmentalism as seen in #4 of their commitments.  This is a big thing in the eastern thought that we have discussed in other articles.  This organization also appears to have a problem with abortion in its importance.

"For the past 30 years, Republican operatives have strategized and mobilized, often bullying Evangelicals to walk in lockstep with the GOP. They have manipulated Christians into supporting anti-abortion laws and court decisions at the cost of justice, equality and dignity. But in 2018, that is changing." Source: votecommongood.com/statement-on-tonights-election-from-vote-common-good/

Since when did abortion become something for "the common good"?  It is interesting that these have a concern about illegal aliens being separated from their children, but not for killing the unborn.   It would appear that abortion is not as high priority for "justice, equality, and dignity".  Is this being concerned for, as they say, "the well being of all creation"?   Be wary of this "common good" concept;  it's meaning is dark.

Vote Common Good also had part of a speech McClaren gave at what is called the Wild Goose Festival in July of 2018.  In part  McClaren said,

"It’s not too late to chart a different course. If we shift from self-interest and party-interest to the common good, we can create new systems that help us move forward. We can discover positive strategies that have fewer unintended negative consequences, with more long-term common-good benefits.

No matter how different we are, or appear to be, we share our common origins, common destiny, and our common experience of suffering and hope." (My comment: No, we do not all share a common destiny)  Source: votecommongood.com/brian-mclaren-whats-happening/

Note:  The Wild Goose Festival is a New Age type ecumenical "art, music, and story driven transformational experience grounded in faith-inspired social justice" Source: wildgoosefestival.org/  What can be seen in all of these "movements" is the "social justice" aspect.  They say it is rooted in  "progressive Christian tradition".  Looking at photos from one festival, it is far from Christian.  It appears to be a religious Woodstalk/Rainbow Gathering-looking music and speaking event where any sexual orientation and religion is welcome, and beer is served on tap (it really is).  Tony Campolo is involved with it as was Bill Hybel's wife, Lynne Hybels, at the original festival. Amy Grant performed at a recent one.  Doug Pagitt has also been a speaker.

Rob Bell

Bell is the former pastor the the mega church, Mars Hill.  He supports gay marriages and believes that New Age evangelist Oprah Winfrey is "wonderful".  His beliefs are well known to be contrary to true Biblical teachings.  Again, you can search other sites and see where he stands with the truth of the Bible; which is apostate.

The bottom line is that McLaren, Pagitt and Bell are very ecumenical and are more in line with the globalist New Age thinking than Biblical Christianity.

The Deception Of "Common Good"

"Common good" is a vague and subjective concept. For instance it can mean different things to different people.  One person's definition of "common good" may be vastly different from another's.

I find it very interesting that there is much political-looking (but religious) sparing on Globalism vs Nationalism today in America, and between America and those in other countries that would rather have a Globalist run planet.  In America "Sovereignty" and "Nationalism" have been twisted by some to mean something evil, when for 200 years it was considered patriotic and good. 

However now this is beginning to be looked down upon in favor of Globalism.  For instance, President Macron of France recently indicated this in his Armistice Day speech in a jab to President Trump in which Macron denounced nationalism as a "betrayal of patriotism" saying, "Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism".  If you are a globalist, this would be your view.  In their view globalist thinking is better for the common good.

In America it is partially seen in the form of "open borders" and permissive illegal entry.   It is obvious that the media is part of this when they have ignorantly and spitefully re-defined nationalism to mean something racist as "white supremacy".  Pay attention to this trend.  They are muddying the waters. There is a very anti-white male, anti-white male- dominance move going on.  It is being pounded in frequent, sly, subtle rhetoric by news people every day.

These globalists will eventually get their globalism for their "common good" wish under the very temporary rule of the anti-Christ. Do not be deceived by it.  There is a large difference between unity in love of the "interfaith" ecumenism of the Emerging Church, and unity of the faith in Christ of the Bible.  Truth is not popular today; New Age thinking is.

While seemingly outrageous thinking to some, many are involved in this spirituality and are waiting for a global "New Age" to come.  Those knowingly involved in it call this "paradigm shift" in thinking, the "Age of Aquarius".  In 1969 there was a popular song by The Fifth Dimension  explaining what is called "Aquarius".  The song explained this astrological age as replacing the Piscean Age (age of Jesus) with that of Aquarius.

"When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius..

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation
Aquarius"

So you can see how the themes of the song relates to the "new kind of Christianity".   "Peace, love, harmony, love, understanding, sympathy, trust.  And yes even the integration of the occult  in their "mystic crystal revelation, and the mind's true revelation", achieved through the contemplative / visualization practices.

Aquarius is a god. There is the constellation Aquarius. In Babylonian "mythology", Aquarius is a Babylonian god whom is referred to as "GU LA" or "the Great One".  Aquarius is supposed to be the Water god, Ea ("house of water) aka Enki, or a handsome youth by the name of Ganymede who was chosen by Zeus to be his water bearer and lover.  One of Enki's sons is supposed to be Marduk, who in the Bible is known as Merodach or Bel.

One pro Babylonian god writer on the subject of this ancient by New Age Babylonian god said,

"Enki´s is therefore the organising intelligence that sets the pattern so that the deities of the land can work for the land´s good as a harmonious whole. Thus, Enki is given power (or force) by Enlil, Lord Air and the leader of the younger generation of Mesopotamian gods, to set up the pattern whereby the gods and goddesses, the cities and neighbouring regions of Sumer will work in harmony for the delight of kings and princes and the common good of the land. "  Source: gatewaystobabylon.com/essays/essayenkiworld.html

Of interest is that Enki, as his supposed demon brother Pazuzu, is also supposed to be king of the watery Abyss.  There are those among many varied and diverse groups that believe Enki is coming back.  As I noted in a previous article, Revelation 9:10-11 speaks of such a thing being released from the Abyss.  It says,

"And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."

Revelation 17:7-8 says of the beast that comes out of the pit,

"And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is".

Interesting because many religions and other groups are waiting for some sort of god or alien to "come back"

Below is a picture (left) of Enki coming out of a portal to the Abyss.  Enki is also known as Dagon, the god of Philistines (center) - Judges 16:23, 1 Samuel 5, 1 Chronicles 10. Picture on right is Pazuzu, Babylonian king of demons and Abyss, with scorpion tail.

Enki	Dagon	Pazuzu

Paul said,
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12

Jesus said of his disciples,
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19

Indications of Emergent Church

Like it's predecessor, the CGM, the Emergent Church model seeks to be relevant to the culture as a way to attract people.   Back in the late 80s and early 90's the proponents of the CGM said if you don't adapt, you die.  It is the same mantra of the Emerging Church.  So, like the CGM, these churches adopt the norms of the ever changing culture in many ways.  Since the norms of the culture have increasingly lower moral standards, this is not good.

Below is an outline of some of the indicators that a church is part of this EC culture.

Tolerance and Compromise

Many of the leaders of this movement are compromising Biblical Christianity.  Part of this can be seen in their lack of stance on things such as what the Bible teaches on homosexual and gay marriage issues.  They have a hard time answering questions as to where they stand on these things.   They skirt answers or double speak their answers, or may say things like "who am I to judge".  They may say that Jesus never addressed it.  They're wrong; he did.  Jesus said that the "Scriptures" speak of him and if these pastors read them (Old Testament) they would see he condemned these things.  I have seen other reasoning to excuse away these things.

Then there is the accepting the religions of the world.  Certainly it would be wrong to not be accepting of a person, but not to the point of compromising and becoming acceptant of their religions.  But this is what is going on as can be seen in the ecumenism of many of these leaders.  Some have actually said there are "many roads to Christ".

One of the most obvious but somehow really overlooked is tolerating the really outward realm of the Satanic.  For instance Chad Veach, and his wife of Zoe Church in Los Angels have no problem with posters of Satanic bands in the lobby of their church (left photo below)  Nor do they have a problem wearing T-shirts that promote them.  They even have one of their children in an ACDC T-shirt from their "Highway to Hell" album.  Chad is a protégé of Judah Smith and was the Youth Pastor in his church before going to Los Angeles.

It is similar with Michael W. Smith.  He owns a venue in Nashville called "Rocketown".  It is open to an EC church on Sundays and rented out to heavy metal bands at other times, like A Divided Light (middle - promotion photo) (right - Facebook photo)

Zoe Church Satanic metal band posters	Rocketown Event photo for "A Light Divided"	A Light Divided - Facebook

Not so nice. The EC, like the CGM, is a worldly church; but a combination of the worldly church of Thyatira (who tolerates doctrines that lead God's people astray), and the church a Pergamum (who holds to the doctrine of Balaam which in part was ecumenism with the false religions, and his use of visualization to make things happen)

The Bible is explicit on this.  Paul said,

Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?  1 Corinthians 10:21-22

One very trendy thing among the EC NAR churches is to embrace Catholicism and its  current and ancient mystic teachers, their writings, and "spiritual practices".  You will hear and see references in their teachings, sermons, and books to those such as Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola, G. K. Chesterton, Matthew Fox, and others.

This brings us to the next indicator.

Integrating Occult Practices As "Science" And / Or Methods Of "Spiritual Formation"

This is probably one of the most outward signs of apostasy of the EC that has come into the church; the teaching of witchcraft and all of it's forms condemned in Deuteronomy 18.

This can be seen in the occult practice of visualization and guided imagery that is taught in "The Practice" at Willow Creek and in "Practicing the Way" at Bridgetown Church in Portland, OR.  It can be seen in the books these and other churches promote and sell on Contemplative meditation and those on neurology by such New Age ideologists as Daniel Siegel.

Rick Warren's Saddleback Church has done the same integration via his going to outside of Christian resources and incorporating these outside resources into his own church via his book "The Daniel Plan".  These outside sources are Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Mark Hymen, and Dr. Daniel Amen.  Saddleback has a video on their website of Hymen taking and teaching viewers through a guided imagery session. Dr Amen teaches Kirtan Kriya, a form of Kundalini Yoga and is into the teachings of the Hindu teaching of Tantric sex. (see my article on Visualization)

In the sermons and materials of these churches, you may see references and recommendations to Contemplative meditation / prayer authors such as books by Franciscan Priest, Richard Rohr,  or Richard Foster, Dallas Willard and other like minded persons.

As noted in another article, members of Bethel Church, Redding, CA and some other New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) participants integrated "quantum physics" with New Age teachings on sound and vibration in their book "The Physics of Heaven",  in attempt to make them both acceptable as being Christian.  By the way, contacting spirits was one of the things promoted by the god Enki.

Some of the churches on the NAR side like Bethel, engage in form of Contemplative prayer they call "soaking" or "soaking prayer".  They also may engage in a laying on of hands that causes rolling on the floor, uncontrollable jerking and ticks and symptoms of neurological problems.  It is what happens when someone is involved in Kundalini Yoga.

Earlier in this article I noted that songs were being addressed to the Holy Spirit and that this was not Biblical and brought about other non-Biblical concepts.  I'll give some examples.

On three different occasions and videos from Bethel Church, Pastor Bill Johnson's daughter-in-law, Jenn Johnson, has spoken in front of the church and spoke about seeing what she called, the "Holy Spirit".  She compared his appearance to the cartoon genie in Disney's "Aladdin".  She said he was blue, "funny" and more.  Bill and Bennie Johnson were sitting in the front row and did not seem to have a problem with this.

Next is the alleged manifestation of the Holy Spirit filling the "atmosphere" of the church at Bethel during services in the form of gold dust.  I have an article on this one.

Then there is Kim Walker Davis from Jesus Culture (formerly of Bethel Church).  There is a video of her at a concert spending about 40 minutes describing her visual contact and conversations with Jesus and God.  According to Kim, Jesus brought her before God who was sitting at a table.  Now since not even Moses was allowed to see the face of God, this is not a Biblical Jesus or God she was encountering.  Yet, her goal is to bring her followers into this encounter.  This is all out of Bethel.

Kari Jobe, came out of a mega church called "Gateway".  It is operated by a "prosperity" pastor and Jobe's Father is one of the pastor of one of their campus churches.  Kari also associates with the Hillsong and Bethel churches as well as others.  At one of Bethel's "Heaven Come Down" conferences in 2016 Kari and her husband were being interviewed by Brian  and Jenn Johnson.  In this interview Kari spoke of her sister having a still born baby.  She said that her sister asks God to show her the baby girl and was given dreams and visions of her.  Kari noted her sister told her that during a worship time she saw some dad dancing with his daughter and then the Holy Spirit "leaned into her and said, "Oh Kris, I dance with here every day"  Video Source: daystar.com/ondemand/video/?video=4924637297001 at 25 min. It was not taken into account that God has not permitted the calling up of the deceased.  Now since this spirit "leaned into her" it must have been some manifestation. However, no one seemed to have a problem with these things.  It was all natural as they were raised in the occult as being normal in Christianity.  Bethel is one of the most outward New Age churches.

So for many of these who call upon what they think is the Holy Spirit, they just address as a single word now; "spirit".  For instance you may hear one of them say, "Spirit told me".  It has become very generic.

Yoga

Some of the EC churches are teaching Yoga exercises in their churches or sponsor them.  These call Yoga, "Christian Yoga" or "Holy Yoga".  There is nothing Christian or Holy about them.  The source of Yoga is Hinduism.  And what is a Christian doing going to an anti-Christ religion to get what they think is a health benefit?  Some would say that they are not into the religious aspect, just the exercises and poses.  Sorry, in the Hindu religion there is a spiritual reason for both.  I am not going to go into a lengthy discourse on it but just the poses alone are bad.  Each pose represents one of the many Hindu gods.  In other words, you are making an image of a false god with your body.  AARP states that 35,000,000 people in just America alone practice Yoga.

There are a number of resources on line of former New Age practitioners that will give you some insight on this occult practice.   Former occultist Johanna Michaelsen, Author of "The Beautiful Side of Evil" and Like Lambs To The Slaughter said this about Yoga.

 "You cannot separate the exercises from the philosophy. ... 'The movements themselves become a form of meditation.' The continued practice of the exercises will, whether you ... intend it or not, eventually influence you toward an Eastern/mystical perspective. That is what it is meant to do! ... There is, by definition, no such thing as 'neutral' Yoga" —Johanna Michaelsen, Like Lambs to the Slaughter, pp. 93-95).  From Lighthouse Trails Research.

Johanna is on a video where she was interviewed about many of the occult practices she was involved with and shows how the church is being deceived by them; including Yoga.  It can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0h19HT7An0

Another person who has experience with this is the late Caryl Matrisciana.  She lived in India for 20 years and was involved with Yoga.  She was interviewed in 2013 about Yoga and at about 34 min on the video she explains the fallacy and danger of Christians engaging in even the exercises.  As she notes, Yoga is a discipline that prepares a person for death within the context of Hinduism to be reincarnated (41 min).  At 42 minutes she asked why the Christian would engage in it and rightly calls it "Christianized occultism".  The video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMwtLgwKUYk

Sermon Series On Sex

I found this quite interesting. There was and apparently still is, a trend among these the pastors of these churches to do a several week series (up to 8 weeks) on sex.  There are even sermons that have been put on line for pastors to use to teach these sermons; including the graphics.  These guys have a tendency to go way over the top in their sermons on this topic.

For instance, in one sermon by EC pastor Judah Smith, he told the congregation how many times he and his wife have sex.  The following is actually from an MTV article written by a reporter who visited Smith's church.

“Pastor Smith is a fashionable 20 minutes late to the stage. While we wait, a cavalcade of Bieber hits tumbles from the speakers, and eventually, a sexy Christian rock band — made up of other non-famous, very hot Jesus followers in backward hats and the apparently required distressed denim — sets up and begins to jam languidly…”

“…Abruptly, and without warning, he changes lanes. “My name’s Judah, I’ve been married to my wife 17 years as of November 5,” he yells, to raucous cheers. “It was an awesome anniversary celebration and there was just a lot of sex. Chels and I have determined that we literally have had sex more than 2,000 times. We actually counted. Can I say something about sex for a minute — can we elevate the conversation?” More cheering, loud laughter. “If you had sex with the same person 2,000 times, you get good. I’m just saying. I’m having a lot more fun than you are. I can guarantee you that, buddy. " Source: mtv.com/news/2960659/could-going-to-celebrity-church-make-me-feel-better-about-trump/

In two separate on line sex sermons by Levi Lusko, in speaking how Adam may have lusted for an attractive Eve, Lusko quoted a verse from a sexual song called "Low".  It is a song about a guy watching a pole dancer and wants to take her home for sex.  It is pretty graphic. He gave this sermon at least twice.  Once at Skip Hertzig’s Calvary Chapel in Albuquerque, NM in 2012 and again in 2017 at the Christian Faith Center in Federal Way, WA.  

Another example would be Ed and Lisa Young of Grapevine in Texas.  They actually had a bed hoisted to the top of their church, and as an article on this said "...and settled in for the next 24 hrs to talk about their favorite topic: Sex.  'I think in the Christian world, there are so many people who are uneasy about sex and sexuality' Ed Young said, 'Most married couples want to have sex, but their not having enough sex.'" Source: abcnews.go.com/US/sermons-sex-pastors-preach-pro-sex-god-christian/story?id=15433285

Some of these pastors have a tendency to have an element of crude speech in their sermons, thinking it to be humorous.

Promoting the "Arts"

Some of these churches have moved into the use of skits, story, dance, and such entertainment to replace or as one CGM pastor told me to "augment the boring word of God".  Some others use drawing or painting during sermons, worship, and conferences that is supposed to bring some meaning into whatever is going on.

There is a new category of vocation they brought into the church from the world called a "Creative".  This is not listed as a gift of the Spirit, but came from the world.  For the most part, a "Creative" is supposed to be someone who thinks out of the box and who is kind of a rebel.  For the most part in the world these would be actors, producers and writers, artists.  For instance there is what is a world-wide private membership club called Soho House.  Its membership is for those in the film and entertainment business as well as those who are in what they call "creative industries".  These industries are advertising, architecture, art, crafts, design, fashion, music, performing arts.

Zoe Pastor Chad Veach is  a member of one of these clubs.

In the church it is pretty much the same, mostly in the music end.  For instance Elevation Worship says,

"He asks of us, and He’ll take care of drawing people to Himself. But we still feel like He calls us to be creative in how we approach designing the worship experiences here. And sometimes that looks like singing a “secular” song.”
Source lightinthecity.com/music-review-kingdom-com/

"Congregations" and Groups Are Now "Tribes"

Like the CGM, the EC is using different terminology to describe themselves.  For instance you will hear some pastors referring to their congregations or parts of them as "Tribes".  This is interesting because it is out of the old hippie movement and is one that is used a lot by the "Rainbow" community.  The Rainbow Tribe gatherings are the same as the Wild Goose Festivals; but a whole lot dirtier.  The Rainbow gatherings are described as

"...temporary loosely knit communities of people who congregate annually in remote forests around the world for one or more weeks at a time to enact a shared ideology of peace, harmony, freedom, and respect.  Anyone is allowed to attend and participants refer to themselves as a "Rainbow Family". The goal was to create what they believe is a more satisfying culture—free from consumerism, capitalism, and mass media—that's nonhierarchical, furthers world peace, and serves as a model for reforms to mainstream society." Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Gathering

They too are ecumenical.

Use of Occult Images and Symbols

As noted in Part 1 of this series, the CGM model meant removing anything that had what was viewed to be symbolic of Christianity.  Overtime images and symbols in churches and the realm of Christianity in general, have been replaced with symbols associated with ancient occult religions.  Now since the EC believes that images and symbols of the arts can replace or augment teachings, there are messages or concepts conveyed in the symbols.

For instance in the ancient teachings of the god Hermes is a concept of what is called "Theurgy", part of Hermetism.  This concept comes in the phrase "as above, so below" and is seen usually in the form of two up and down triangles or other symbols.  The ultimate goal of Theurgy is to become united with higher counterparts, which leads to the attainment of Divine Consciousness.  This symbol is used a lot by the EC churches as is the occult visualization practices that bring one into connection with the spirit world where they think they are connecting with God.

One of the first persons to actually use this phrase in replacing the words of Jesus is Eugene Peterson in his book The Message when he switched the way to pray from, "on earth as it is in heaven", to "as above, so below".  Compare the left photo from a witchcraft symbol to the center and right photos from Bethel Church, Redding's Open Heavens conferences ads.  Note also the replacement of letters with symbols used in the occult.

"As above, so below" is usually displayed as mirrored images, or as one arm extended up and the other pointed downward.

In witchcraft	Bethel Church Open Heavens Conference	Bethel Church Open Heavens

Below are some captured images from trailer videos for Elevation Church "Code Orange Revival" conferences.  These images just momentarily flash as the video is playing.  The videos were stopped to capture each one.  There are more than are shown.

As above, so below symbolized with occult Valknut symbol appearing	Top:  (L)Templar cross; (R)As above so below Bottom: (L)Valknut; (R)Hail - New level of consciousness

Photos below are Hillsong related

Hillsong London Christmas show Mirrored triangles	Hillsong London Christmas show As above so below with arms	Hillsong United album As above so below symbology

Elevation Worship	Switchfoot	Casting Crowns

Below is another symbol used in ancient and occult religions in the form of what is called "sacred geometry".   It is called in some forms, "the flower of life, or "the seed of life".  It goes back to ancient religions in Babylon / Assyria / Egypt, and others.  It has long been used in the Catholic church's architecture. It has been adopted by other segments of Christianity and is showing up in various places.

Mesopotamian god (Louvre, Paris)	Thomas Nelson Bible cover	Hillsong church backdrop

There are others, but these should give an example.  One must ask "why"?  These leaders are putting a lot of emphasis on the art, imagery, and images and symbols to portray a concept and replace written words (like Scripture) with them.

Social Justice

Earlier I noted that Brian McLaren has been promoting changing songs from worshiping God, to that of themes of "social justice".  "Social Justice" is a mantra the world bandwagon is on, including the EC.  There are people like Kari Jobe who herself is into the anti-human trafficking.  Remember, human trafficking was part of Obama's Interfaith movement, it is also a goal of the Parliament of World Religions and is part of "Deep Ecology".  But is that all?  No.

There is another key player in this EC movement's social justice thinking.  His name is Jim Wallis (Reverend) and he has also been a contributor to the Wild Goose Festival as a speaker.  The Wild Goose Festival website say this about Wallis in their bio of him;

"Jim Wallis is a New York Times bestselling author, public theologian, speaker, and international commentator on ethics and public life. He recently served on the White House Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and was former vice chair of and currently serves on the Global Agenda Council on Values of the World Economic Forum" Source: wildgoosefestival.org/2016-festival/speaker-storyteller-2016/jim-wallis/

So, like some of the others, he too was connected to the ecumenical government social justice of Obama and is involved in Global "agendas".  According to what I have read, he was also a "spiritual advisor" to Obama and is supposed to be known for his peace and social justice activism.   He also has a shady background

In a September 1976 issue of Sojourners magazine Wallis said,

"“As more Christians become influenced by liberation theology, finding themselves increasingly rejecting the values of institu­tions of capitalism, they will also be drawn to the Marxist analy­sis and praxis that is so central to the social justice movement.” Source: Jim Wallis, “Liberating and Conformity,” Sojourners (September 1976):3, 4;  as quoted from perspectivedigest.org/article/132/archives/19-2/the-religious-left-and-the-religious-right-at-end-times

Wallis is the founder of "Sojourners".  Brian McLaren is also a contributing author to Sojourners and a friend of Willow Creek.  McClaren has been a speaker at Willow Creek conferences.  Of interest is that Lynne Hybels of Willow Creek and new CEO of Awana, is also a contributing writer to Sojourners.  She is also a proponent of social justice.  But more disturbing is that Sojourners has received donations from leftist atheist billionaire, George Soros' Open Society Institute (source: Article, Evangelical Left Icon Jim Wallis Finally Admits to Dollars from Billionaire Leftist George Soros, Christian Wire News, August 2010. 

More recently the Washington Post had an article on Soros which is below

George Soros and his 'rented evangelicals' outed by Christian leaders

By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times - Monday, October 22, 2018

A new video from the American Association of Evangelicals reveals how George Soros, through his many funding ventures, has been busily infiltrating the Christian base in America to divide, and ultimately conquer, the religious minded within the Republican Party.

Truly, with the left, political wars know no bounds. Nothing’s sacred; not when it comes to the leftists’ drive to succeed. 

Here’s what AAE put out in a press release: “Democrat ministers Rev. Jim Wallis and allies are now touring many states on ‘Vote Common Good’ buses to … split the evangelical vote before the mid-term elections. The AAE video features the newly released voice recording of [Jim] Wallis of Sojourners as he publicly denied that he was a recipient of Soros funding.”

But guess what? His denial's proven a bit - umm, wrong"
Source: washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/22/george-soros-and-his-rented-evangelicals-outed-chr/

So, EC leaders Bill and Lynn Hybels are connected with Brian McLaren, Jim Wallis of Sojourners, who are all connected with a world renown atheist by the name of George Soros.  So who is George Soros? 

He was born in Hungary into a Jewish family, immigrated to the UK and ended up in America where he became a U.S. citizen.  (That's the short version). Aside from being a billionaire philanthropist he is also considered a globalist and one who uses his money to manipulate religions, governments, economies, elections, and protests.  He was interviewed by 60 minutes in 1998 in which some of these things came out.  If it is still on-line (apparently is removed at times) this interview can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSyczwuTQfo . 

According to the Washington Times, some of the protests he has funded are the Ferguson riots, Moveon.org, and Black Lives Matter protests.  Of interest is that people from Sojourners were also involved to participate at Ferguson. Source: washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/14/george-soros-funds-ferguson-protests-hopes-to-spur/

Soros is not what you would call an upright person, and the fact that he is involved with funding supposed religious organizations / media such as Sojourners, is not a good thing.  Remember that Lynne Hybels of Willow Creek is a contributing writer to Sojourners?  She also worked with and supports a peace organization called Telos.   Telos has  received from  $25,000  to $300,000 contributions from Soros' organization, the Foundation To Promote Open Society.  Source: facebook.com/RefugeeInfoResource/posts/soros-watch-willow-creek-churchs-lynne-hybelss-telos-group-has-received-at-least/752778711500163/.  Telos has received much more from Soros over the years.  Soros himself is anti-Israel and is for open borders and mass immigration.

Telos, founded by Todd Detherage and Greg Khalil,  is supposed to be an organization promoting peace between Palestine and Israel, but is viewed as more a pro-Palestinian organization. Lynne Hybels took Telos sponsored tours to Israel / Palestine (see articles at: camera.org/article/telos-group-promotes-anti-zionist-narrative-in-evangelical-community/, meforum.org/articles/2014/the-end-of-evangelical-support-for-israel, and others.

On June 5th,  2013 a media called Breitbart published an article about Hybels' connection to Soros titled, Evangelical Leader Provides Voice for Pro-Immigration Soros Front Group.  In part the article said,

"Lynne Hybels, co-founder of the well respected Willow Creek Community Church, an often copied Chicago area evangelical mega-church, has become a national voice for the front group for the George Soros funded National Immigration Forum, a leading advocate for the crony capitalist laden Schumer-Rubio “Gang of Eight” immigration bill. "

One could literally write pages of connections and make wall size charts showing connections between these people and others in the complicated web of the Social Justice realm alone.  Many are those that are hidden with various front organizations who are manipulating the thinking of a lot of people via emotionalism, twisting scriptures and money.  It is interesting how so called "Christian" organizations and leaders can be controlled and manipulated to the thinking of an atheist through his money.  This is one major example of how false teachings come into the church.

Those in this alliance with evil fail to understand what they are doing (or maybe they do) and how they oppose the Bible when it says,

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

It is also an example of the last days false system when you see "religion", business, and government come together.  Like Paul said in the verses above to come out from among them, Revelation has the same message to God's people to come out of a soon to be destroyed global system.   Revelation 18:23 says

"And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived."

In short, "Social Justice" is one of the highways that will lead to  the oneness of "Socialism" for "the common good"

Conclusion

These are only some examples of what the EC is, some of its manifestations,  and who some of the lead players are in it.  There are many more.  There is only one solution to countering this and that is to study scripture and test all things to see if they are of God in his Word.  You have to know God's word, not Satan's manipulation of it like the many disguised "angels of light" do, but as it is written in truth.

So in connecting the dots in the EC you can see the connections between EC leaders such as Pagitt, McClaren,  and "Vote for the Common Good".  Then from here, the connection to Lynn Hybels of Willow Creek to Jim Wallis, "Vote for the Common Good" and to George Soros.   I comes full circle and right back to Willow Creek and Bill Hybels who was one of the forerunners of this whole system of falsehoods.

You can see how these have incorporated the occult into the church and have disobeyed God's word in doing so.  You can see how they have gone to those who are not even a part of Christianity to further their church building and non-Biblical desires.

Certainly the church, or at least the apostate part, brought foreigners into the temple to defile it like Israel did as seen in the verses below.

We are ashamed because we have heard reproach; Disgrace has covered our faces, For aliens have entered The holy places of the LORD'S house. Jeremiah 51:51

when you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you offered My food, the fat and the blood; for they made My covenant void--this in addition to all your abominations. Ezekiel 44:7

Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, Our houses to aliens.  Lamentations 5:2

So is the "relevant" culture of the EC churches.  By the way, the concept of being "relevant" is nothing more than one of Evolution.

God said he would destroy this system and this apostate bride who is not true to her own husband but has sought the words and helps apart from Him.  That is why he gives the warning to "come out" of these made up teachings that are not out of God's Word.