Sad News About Charles Stanley’s In Touch Magazine

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=12341 ^ | July 25th, 2013 | Ligthouse Trails Editors

[jodyel]

Lighthouse Trails has watched in dismay over the past few years as Charles Stanley’s In Touch magazine has made the decision to promote contemplative/emergent names. When our editors picked up a copy of the August 2013 issue and saw a feature article written by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, we decided to call In Touch Ministries to find out who was responsible for the content in the magazine. Sadly, the response we received from the editorial department at In Touch left us with a sinking feeling that the evangelical church has been seduced and there was no turning back.

We’ll talk about the phone call in a minute but first a look at Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.

In June of 2011, Lighthouse Trails free lance writer Mike Stanwood wrote “Contemplative Spirituality Lands on Charles Stanley’s In Touch Magazine . . . Again.” In this article, it was revealed that in the January 2011 In Touch magazine issue, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove was featured in an article written by In Touch Managing Editor Cameron Lawrence. That article, titled “The Craft of Stability: Discovering the Ancient Art of Staying Put,” highlighted the “ intentional Christian community” at the Rutba House (Wilson-Hartgrove’s home) and their “daily prayer routine.” The In Touch article stated that Rutba House is an evangelical community rooted in the Protestant tradition and that Wilson-Hartgrove is an ordained Baptist minister, yet it also reported that Rutba’s community principles are borrowed from Benedictine monks and that all of their efforts are based on St. Benedict’s “rule of life.”

In Stanwood’s article, he points out that Wilson-Hartgrove is part of the “New Monasticism” movement within the emerging church. To help you understand just how serious this situation is with Charles Stanley and his ministry, read this following section of Stanwood’s article:

Wilson-Hartgrove is most recently known for co-authoring Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals with new monastic activist Shane Claiborne. Other books he has authored may also fall into the emerging/contemplative category. For example, one such book called New Monasticism: What It Has to Say to Today’s Church (1) has been endorsed by mystic proponents Brian McLaren, Phyllis Tickle, Tony Campolo, and Catholic priest and centering prayer advocate Richard Rohr. The mystics resonate with the “new monasticism” – this is plain to see.

On the surface, the new monasticism may look OK with its many good works of helping the poor and the needy. But the underlying belief system does not line up with biblical doctrine; rather it is about establishing an all-inclusive kingdom of God on earth now where individual salvation is replaced with a community salvation for the whole world. Atonement has less emphasis on Jesus Christ as the only atonement for man’s sins and instead becomes an at-one-ment where all of creation is “being” saved by coming together as one (and yes, seeing the divinity of man). This is the kind of “atonement” that McLaren, Tickle, and Rohr would resonate with.

It is important to see that they don’t just resonate with the good works coming out of the new monasticism; born-again Christians have been performing good works by helping the poor and needy for centuries and continue to do so. While this new monasticism supposedly distinguishes itself by its good works, in reality it is mysticism and the foundational beliefs of mysticism (i.e., panentheism, kingdom now, etc) that distinguish it. And it is that element that Tickle, McLaren, and Rohr embrace.

Additional resources on Wilson-Hartgrove’s website include a DVD called Discovering Christian Classics: 5 Sessions in the Ancient Faith of Our Future, a five-week study with contemplative advocate Lauren F. Winner (Girl Meets God) for high school or adult “formation.” A description of this DVD states:

“You will discover the meaning of conversion and prayer from the Desert Fathers and Mothers; how to love from the sermons of St. John Chrysostom; St. Benedict’s Rule of Life and how it became one of the foundations of Western Christian spirituality; how to have an intimate relationship with God according to The Cloud of Unknowing; and what it means to ‘pick up your cross” in the Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis.’”

Another book Wilson-Hartgrove has authored, called The Wisdom of Stability: Rooting Faith in a Mobile Culture, refers readers to the wisdom of Lao-tzu, the desert monastics, Thomas Merton, Benedictine spirituality, panentheist and interspiritualist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and Benedictine nun Joan Chittister.

In a Beliefnet interview one year ago, Wilson-Hartgrove shared how “we need the wisdom of those who’ve gone before us.” This wisdom he is referring to comes not from the Bible, but from the contemplative “Benedictines (who) taught us to start the day with common prayer.”1

After seeing what is at the core of Wilson-Hartgrove’s spiritual wisdom, it is not surprising to learn that he recently made an appearance at the [very emergent] Wild Goose Festival .2 According to an article in the Christian Post, the Wild Goose Festival was a “four-day revival camp in North Carolina featuring music, yoga, liberal talk and embracing of gays and lesbians.”

The fact is, anyone who is drawn to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, as Wilson-Hartgrove is, has got to be following a different spirit and another gospel or at the very least greatly deceived. Chardin, who is attributed to the term “cosmic Christ,” did not hide the fact in his writings that he believed, not in the Christ of the Bible, but a christ consciousness in every human being.

While we do not challenge Wilson-Hartgrove’s sincerity or concern for the poor and needy, we must challenge his consistent promotion of contemplative mystics and emergent leaders, and he certainly does not seem like a proper fit with In Touch Ministries, that is unless In Touch is going emerging. The reason we say this about Wilson-Hartgrove’s sincerity has to do with the phone call we had with two editors of the editorial staff of In Touch magazine on July 24, 2013. One of the editors we spoke with was Cameron Lawrence, the Editor in Chief (and also the one who wrote the 2011 In Touch article featuring Wilson-Hartgrove). Lawrence asked us if we had ever spoken with Wilson-Hartgrove personally, suggesting that he was a sincere man who lived out the Gospel by helping the needy. We answered him by stating that the issue at hand was not a private matter but rather a public issue because Wilson-Hartgrove is a public figure (books, conferences, articles, etc). We said that it did not matter what he might say in a private conversation, but it did matter what he was teaching others. And it mattered greatly that In Touch was promoting him.

When we spoke with Cameron Lawrence, we told him we wanted to know who was responsible for putting the article by Wilson-Hartgrove in the magazine to which he told us “the entire editorial staff” made the decision. We asked him if he would be interested in seeing some of our documentation to which he answered, “I have been on the Lighthouse Trails website, and I didn’t find it helpful.” The other editor we spoke with, who wished to remain anonymous, said it sounded like we were on a “witch hunt” to which we responded, “No, we are part of a Gospel-protection effort.”

At times like this, it is difficult not to become discouraged by the lack of interest in Christian intelligentsia and leadership regarding the contemplative/emerging issue. What more can we say to show them what seems so obvious to ourselves and many other Bible believing contenders of the faith? A number of years ago, when the Be Still DVD (a contemplative infomercial) came out and we saw Charles Stanley’s name in the credits as someone who supported the DVD, we contacted his ministry and spoke with a personal assistant. He accepted our offer for a free copy of A Time of Departing but said that Charles Stanley would be too busy to read it.

If the mystics whom Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove gravitates to are right, then Jesus’ words that He is the only Way to the Father are wrong. You can’t have it both ways. The opposite view – the contemplative – is that God is in all things, including all people. This is what all mystics believe, across the board. And if that were true, then the need for a Savior would vanish, and there wouldn’t be any need for ”one way” to God because man is already indwelled with God and a part of God.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

Endnotes: 1. New Monasticism & The Emergent Church: FS Talks with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove: http://blog.beliefnet.com/flunkingsainthood/2010/06/new-monasticism-the-emergent-church-fs-talks-with-jonathan-wilson-hartgrove.html.

2. Learn more about the Wild Goose Festival here: Left-Leaning ‘Wild Goose’ Festival Draws Ire of Evangelicals

[Elsie]

Gotta link?

[Elsie]

...but he left OUT: ignore them.

[Elsie]

Well; GOD sure 'affirms' GAYS!!!

---

Genesis 13:13

Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

Genesis 18:20-21
20. Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21. that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

Genesis 19:4-7
4. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house.
5. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6. Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7. and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing.

Psalms 12:8 The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.

Isaiah 3:9 The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.

2 Peter 2:13b Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.

Ezekiel 16:49-50
49. "`Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
50. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.

---

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2 Peter 2

1. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
5. if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
6. if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
7. and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men
8. (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)--
9. if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
10. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;
11. yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
12. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
13. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.

---

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But there IS hope!!!

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

9. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
10. nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

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If you could NOT change, you would be in most pitiful shape...
 

 

 

 

 

[jodyel]

Yes, I posted somewhere yesterday but will get again.

Give me two shakes.

[jodyel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axxlXy6bLH0

Here it is.

[jodyel]

Just not in the way they think.

[annalex]

Some among the Protestant sects might adopt practices such as the Rule of St. Benedict. It is not going to harm them in itself: it is always good to follow Christ in prayer and fasting; and might even teach them something; but without orthodox Catholic core the trappings of Catholicism do not bring grace and may instead drive the heresy deeper, because they combine with the general Protestant error. You all need to convert to the Catholic Church that Christ founded if you are indeed as interested in the Holy Person of Christ as you say you are, without distinction.

[annalex]

What do you find in these contrary to Catholicism?

[verga]

the difference is????

The lighthouse people don't come knocking on you doors or fill out contact cards. Other than that they are pretty much the same.

When I lived in Western New York the JW's used to send them to me by the droves. Finally one of their overseers/ elders came to the house. I got out some old copies of the Watchtower and the Bible and after about 2 hours he was asking to leave.

[BeadCounter]

I’ve seen “Imitation of the Christ” in all kinds of Protestant bookstores now. I’ve read it, seems to be all about being humble and humility (perhaps those terms say the same thing).

[imardmd1]

Read at last Psalm 1 regarding the benefits of meditation. It is not likely that you will understand Scripture based only on your or my reasoning.

However, the episkopos (which Baptists consider to be a pastor of the local church, most certainly the senior pastor) of 1 Tim 3 must be the husband of one wife (is that one wife at a time? or one wife in his lifetime? certainly the only husband of that woman, no divorce acceptable); he must rule his house well (not only his wife being a willing subject to his rule, but also his children)(see esp. verse 5); and if the wives of deacons must be well-behaved in the social context in loyalty to husband and churchchurch or in the worldly community, how much more so the wife of a pastor?

And for Titus, in appointing presbutoi (elders) as officers of local churches, Chapter 1 gives the same criteria to apply as were given Timothy for qualifications of episkopoi (bishops) and diakonoi (deacons) candidates. For Baptists, referring to the pastor, the terms bishop and elder are equivalent, interchangeable. In Chapter 2, the wife of the pastor/bishop/elder is to be able to teach by example how to love her husband, love her children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers of the family home; good in attitude, accomplishment, and reputation; and obedient to her husband.

In this requirement, unhappily, Dr. Stanley has not been able to command these qualities from his family--only demand them, and in this he has failed as yet; therefore he is no longer qualified for this office in the church. It is further demonstrated that he is not able to teach how these features in family harmony are to be achieved.

Please read and meditate on these verses, and see if you do not come to the same conclusions that the Scripture, in context, shows me.

Do you have a serious problem in selecting, memorizing, meditating on, and applying Scripture? If so, you might want to have a personal chat with a spiritually mature counselor, in whom you feel you can trust, for useful guidance.

Respectfully --

[imardmd1]

Actually, the most serious heresies are among those who effectively operate according to the Roman model, . . .

Thanks for your thoughtful comments on this issue.

[editor-surveyor]

LOL!

[editor-surveyor]

Graham and Schuller are both Freemasons.

Both media creations too.

When two or more are gathered in his name, Yeshua is there.

[Elsie]

After watching and HEARing what was said; it seems to me that BG is saying that many are on a PATH to Jesus as Savior, even if they do not know it yet.

Looking back at MY life, I can state that I was EXACTLY in one of the categories named by BG - looking for SOMETHING that I did not know what it was yet.

[Elsie]

You’re kidding; right?

[Elsie]

I got out some old copies of the Watchtower and the Bible and after about 2 hours he was asking to leave.

Good for you!

(But I suspect I might been asking to leave after that much time, too! ;^)

[Elsie]

In this requirement, unhappily, Dr. Stanley has not been able to command these qualities from his family--only demand them, and in this he has failed as yet; therefore he is no longer qualified for this office in the church.

Wow!

You've set the bar kinda high!!

I get the impression that Jesus must have said something to him on the lines of, "Get thee behind me..." or something similar.

[Elsie]

In this requirement, unhappily, Dr. Stanley has not been able to command these qualities from his family--only demand them, and in this he has failed as yet; therefore he is no longer qualified for this office in the church.

And yet...

Luke 14:26

“If any man come to Me and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

[boatbums]

Is the thread successfully highjacked now?)

Odd that! They shriek and moan when a thread IS about them and, when it's not, they MAKE it about them!