Elephant Room 2: Jude's Apostates

Follow up on: 1-25-12 Elephant Room: Bible Prophecy; Apostasy "Jude also spoke prophetically about men who would in the last days make themselves out to be leaders over the entire Christian church...They "separate themselves", wrote Jude...perhaps, like a board of directors sitting in an "elephant room" thinking that they have the right to interpret the Word of God to fit their agenda and to direct policy for all churches everywhere..." [see post]

'New Tribers' T.D. Jakes, Jack Graham, Mark Driscoll, James MacDonald, Wayne Cordeiro,
Steven Furtick, Crawford Loritts; 1-25-12 Elephant Room 2

"THERE ARE NOW TWO PARTIES in the religious world. The party everywhere apparent has a faith fashioned for the present century – perhaps we ought rather to say, for the present month. It derides the 16th century Gospel and that, indeed, of every period, except the present most enlightened era. It will have no creed because it can have none; it is continually on the move; it is not what it was yesterday, and it will not be tomorrow what it is today.

Nor is it merely doctrinal belief – there is an essential difference in spirit between the old believer and the man of new and advancing views. This is painfully perceived by the Christian man before very long. Even if he be fortunate enough to escape the sneers of the cultured and the jests of the philosophical, he will find his deepest convictions questioned and his brightest beliefs misrepresented by those who dub themselves "Thoughtful men." When a text from the Word has been particularly precious to his heart, he will hear its authenticity impugned, the translation disputed or its Gospel reference denied.

At any rate, cost what it may, to separate ourselves from those who separate themselves from the truth of God is not alone our liberty, but our duty." Spurgeon (1888)

excerpted from Attempts At The Impossible @ Spurgeon Archive
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2Cor. 11:3,4

Elephant Room 2: Bible Prophecy; Apostasy

This post is a follow up on: Code Red: 'Code Orange' False Revival; Steven Furtick; And The Elephant Room 1-15-12 "A new tribe. There it is in a nutshell..."Transformation" is what it is all about. The transformation of the existing world system into a global society...This definitely includes the 'Christian religion'. It too must be "transformed" which will mean embracing the 'new way' of love, peace, tolerance, and acceptance, finding it's equal place in the "spiritual brotherhood" of mankind...The New Tribers...represented here by Furtick, have served notice. Either exchange your "fundamentalism" [i.e. biblical Christianity] and embrace the "new way to change the world", i.e. the evolving New Tribe inclusive spirituality, which these conferences are dialectically advancing, or "your day is done". [ see post]
***
What:
Elephant Room 2 When: One day only - January 25, 2012 from 9 – 4 CST
Where: Harvest Studios in Aurora, IL; simulcast at 65 locations around North America.
Who: Jack Graham; T.D. Jakes; Crawford Loritts; Mark Driscoll; Wayne Cordeiro; James MacDonald, Steven Furtick

About: The Elephant Room features blunt conversations between seven influential pastors who take differing approaches to ministry. No keynotes. No canned messages. These are “the conversations you never thought you’d hear.”...The Elephant Room is more than an event. It is the outgrowth of an idea...No one has a corner on the truth and methods must do more than ‘work.’

What if we created a new ‘tribe?’ A tribe based on being humble enough to listen and reconsider what the Scriptures actually say. A tribe that holds the essential tenets of the faith with a ferocious intensity and is open handed with everything else. Maybe, together, we can create a new center? A place where we are for everything the bible demands and demand nothing that scriptures are silent about. Look for guests from all places and belief systems. Don’t be surprised if you hear a conversation with someone that offends you or denies the faith as you see it. Don’t be shocked if you hear conversations with world religion leaders, or criminals or sinners of every variety, “such were some of us.” If the conversation can be helpful, clarifying, insistent or illuminating, or if we hope it will be . . .you will find it in the Elephant Room.
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"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant...." 2Peter 3:3-5

The phrase "elephant in the room" is used to describe a very large problem that everybody knows about but nobody wants to talk about because it is either very uncomfortable to talk about or it is too controversial. According to Jack Graham, T.D. Jakes, Crawford Loritts, Mark Driscoll, Wayne Cordeiro, James MacDonald [pictured], and Steven Furtick, there is an "elephant in the room" of the so-called Christian world, and that elephant is 'non-unity'. So deciding that the time has come to deal with the Christian elephant of non-unity, they elected themselves to hold a conference where all the causes of division in the so-called church world could be hashed out, and called it the "Elephant Room".

There is a huge problem with this though, and it's bigger than any elephant.

Code Red: 'Code Orange' False Revival; Steven Furtick; And The Elephant Room

About six years ago purpose driving promoter Rick Warren stated that "Christian fundamentalism" would be an enemy of the 21st century: Rick Warren, Politics, and One World Religion 8-14-08 "January 10, 2006; Rick Warren says Christian fundamentalism will be an enemy of the 21st century" [see post]
***
With that thought in mind it is important to take note of the current state of affairs in the present world of so-called Christendom here at the beginning of 2012; in particular with regard to two conferences - one underway now and a second which will follow immediately after:

What: Code Orange Revival (underway) "A twelve night worship experience to set the stage for 2012
When: January 11 - 22, 2012
Where: Steven Furtick's "Elevation Church", Charlotte, NC
Who: Craig Groeschel; Jentezen Franklin; Matt Chandler; Christine Caine; Ed Young; Israel Houghton; Perry Noble; Stovall Weems; Kevin Gerald; T. D. Jakes; James MacDonald; Steven Furtick

About: "Code Orange has a lot of meanings in different sectors of society, but in general it signifies that there is a heightened sense of urgency—something significant is about to happen. Probably the most fitting example that relates to our revival is the description for the Code Orange stage of a volcano: Exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption, timeframe uncertain. That's what the Code Orange Revival is about. We are asking and believing God for an eruption of His power and movement among us in 2012. The 12 days that we will gather for the revival is the stage just before the eruption....The event will be broadcast live on the web for free all over the world from Elevation
***
What: Elephant Room
When: One day only - January 25, 2012 from 9 – 4 CST
Where: Harvest Studios in Aurora, IL; simulcast at 65 locations around North America.
Who: Jack Graham; T.D. Jakes; Crawford Loritts; Mark Driscoll; Wayne Cordeiro; James MacDonald, Steven Furtick

About: The Elephant Room features blunt conversations between seven influential pastors who take differing approaches to ministry. No keynotes. No canned messages. These are “the conversations you never thought you’d hear.”...The Elephant Room is more than an event. It is the outgrowth of an idea...No one has a corner on the truth and methods must do more than ‘work.’

What if we created a new ‘tribe?’ A tribe based on being humble enough to listen and reconsider what the Scriptures actually say. A tribe that holds the essential tenets of the faith with a ferocious intensity and is open handed with everything else. Maybe, together, we can create a new center? A place where we are for everything the bible demands and demand nothing that scriptures are silent about. Look for guests from all places and belief systems. Don’t be surprised if you hear a conversation with someone that offends you or denies the faith as you see it. Don’t be shocked if you hear conversations with world religion leaders, or criminals or sinners of every variety, “such were some of us.” If the conversation can be helpful, clarifying, insistent or illuminating, or if we hope it will be . . . you will find it in the Elephant Room.
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First thing to notice is that the conferences are basically back to back and feature some of the same speakers so they must be considered as designed to complement each other. The "Code Orange Revival", presently underway, is described basically as the rumblings of a volcano threatening to erupt...with the 12-day "revival" being the stage just before the eruption. The "eruption" of course, when it does happen, is to be a new and powerful 'movement of God' in 2012. Big is easier to sell.

The second conference, the so-called Elephant Room, will then pick up right where the "revival" left off and begin to focus the energy and give it a tangible direction. What direction that will be is actually summed up neatly in their own mission statement, quoted above. It says "What if we created a new tribe?"

A new tribe. There it is, the whole thing in a nutshell. To make this happen the Elephant Room conference will bring in seven big names in Christendom representing a cross-section of different views and doctrinal beliefs and sit them down so all together now they can "reconsider what the scriptures actually say", because, "no one has a corner on the truth". With those ground rules agreed to, "the conversations" will begin and the different views will then begin to be merged and a pre-planned compromise reached. The new tribe concept will be birthed across the globe. The handiwork of the hegelian dialectic.

That very briefly is an overview of what is taking place.

"Transformation" is what it is all about. The transformation of the existing world system into a global society. That process is far advanced. Before it can be completed though the religions of the world must also be transformed so that they can be fitted into the new global system. This definitely includes the 'Christian religion'. It too must be "transformed" which will mean embracing the 'new way' of love, peace, tolerance, and acceptance, finding it's equal place in the "spiritual brotherhood" of mankind where "religious" is out but "spiritual" is in, because religion divides but spirituality is inclusive. Which is exactly what these conferences are for...moving old way old day Christendom into casting aside religious differences...and creating the new way new day characterized not by divisiveness but by inclusivity - the "New Tribe". With the big names involved in this, it must be considered as being very significant. The strong delusion will be far reaching.

There is still one big problem though, the one identified by Rick Warren a few years back - it is those nasty "Christian fundamentalists". They are just too religious. They just will not "embrace change"...and because of that are the "enemies of the 21st century" [see 'Warren' at top]

Christian fundamentalists as enemies brings up a very interesting connection to these conferences. That same sentiment expressed by Warren was recently expressed, and actually taken to a whole new level, by none other than Code Orange Revival/Elevation Church founder himself, Steven Furtick, in the release of a 'hissssss'-y fit video about ten months ago [3-1-11] called "Hey haters":

'Another' Gospel - Wayne Cordeiro

Wayne Cordeiro's 'Dream' And Invisible Guides: a book review

follow up on Trouble In Paradise: Cordeiro, New Hope, and the emergent heresy/apostasy

Seeing the participation of Wayne Cordeiro with the 'unleashing and imagining' emerging church leaders at the recent 'Awaken 2008' emerging conference (linked above - TiP), and being aware of his wide influence, it became a matter of necessity to take a closer look at his teaching and doctrine. 'Guilt by association' may or may not hold up in court, but just the same..."Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Amos 3:3  [*2017 update/correction: All references to "Holy Spirit" should be read "Holy Ghost" (link)]

For that reason Wayne Cordeiro's book "Dream Releasers" was randomly chosen for a representative sample of his teaching and examined. Regretfully, the report is not good.

***************

'And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD...But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.' Genesis 4:3,5

It's an amazing thing to consider how so much of what passes today for Christian teaching can be anything but, and yet the mass of professing Christians are completely unable to discern the errors. The most foundational points of what would be called "sound doctrine" can be completely absent and no concern will be raised by those receiving the instruction. The Holy Spirit can have nothing to do whatsoever with the activities in question, and He will never even be missed by the crowds of followers..

Such is the case with this little book by Wayne Cordeiro entitled "The Dream Releasers", published in 2002, and still being sold through the New Hope Oahu church which Cordeiro founded. The fact that the book continues to be sold shows that the particular philosophy/theology espoused is unchanged. This is a serious problem for any who would receive the teaching of this book without exercising discernment as to the 'soundness' of the doctrine.

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing Romans 7:18

By a liberal use of 'Christianese', an exterior appearance of Christianity is retained in Cordeiro's teaching, a thin veneer, but the truth of the Word of God has been gutted and replaced with a slick teaching of 'human potential' development. The little 5" by 7 1/2" book uses the word "potential" no less than fifty (50) times in approximately 137 double spaced pages. The book has 189 pages total but the content itself is contained on 137, the rest being blank, or title pages, or illustrations, etc.. In comparison, another subject, a crucial one, which shall be discussed later, was mentioned absolutely zero times. None, nada, no mention whatsoever.

In a nutshell the teaching is something along these lines:

The gospel of 'Dream Releasing' basically starts with the premise that God has given a wonderful and exciting dream to all people. Cordeiro writes:

"Everybody has one. It might be imprisoned by faulty character or it could be paralyzed by others' disdain. Still, everybody has one. Everybody has . . .a dream. This dream is a hope of what we can be for God. It was divinely installed at His moment of choice. But unless that potential is recognized and released (p. 26) it remains richly unproductive, helplessly filled with hope and powerfully impotent. But once discovered, it becomes a honing device, an invisible guide that navigates us through the precarious passages of life." (p. 27)

It is to be noted that no scripture references are given for these statements. The reason for that is not difficult to find because there are no scripture references for these statements.

Anyway, following this line of teaching then, every person has a "divinely installed" dream, says Cordeiro, but it is in the form of dormant potential inside of them and so must be first recognized and released, and when that happens they will then have an invisible guide to direct them through life. Yes, says Cordeiro, using a rewritten partial scripture from an unidentified bible version at this point in an attempt to buoy up the teaching:

"Each of us carries a treasure in our earthen vessel." (pg. 37)

(The actual verse reads: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels". Note that the 'we' (referring only to truly regenerated Christians) has been changed to "each of us", the correct word 'this' (referring to the indwelling Holy Spirit) has been replaced with an "a", and the "our" has been added. [complete verse quoted below])

With the 'half-verse' reworded to fit the theme of the book, as will be seen, Cordeiro then expounds upon the idea that "each of us" have "a" treasure in "our" vessel just waiting to be discovered and displayed for God's glory. According to his interpretation, these treasures in "our" earthen vessels are actually human potentials which are bound up inside of every person, essentially waiting to be maximized, and when that potential is transformed into the realized dream it will become a "honing device" to guide a person through life. Here is his list of treasures to be mined and actuated:

YOUR UNTAPPED POTENTIAL -

• untapped power,
• unfulfilled dreams,
• unwrapped gifts,
• undeveloped talent,
• available energy,
• unused success,
• all you can become,
• all you want to do (p. 37)
  

In the second letter to the church of Corinth though, when the apostle Paul wrote these words: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (2 Cor. 4:7), he was not referring to any dormant human potential i.e. untapped power, unwrapped gifts, undeveloped talents, all you want to do, etc., but to the incredible treasure of the indwelling Holy Spirit living in the heart of a man. "Not of us", Paul wrote, but wholly of God, through the Spirit of God, living in frail earthen vessels. Frail earthen vessels that have no potential to achieve greatness, that have nothing whatsoever in themselves to develop for the use of God Almighty. No "untapped power" or "available energies" are needed by the Lord, no "all you can become", etc... "Not of us", wrote the apostle.

Here then is exposed a dangerous flaw and a serious discrepancy between the apostle Paul's teaching and Cordeiro's teaching found in his "Dream Releasers" book. It must be pointed out here that Cordeiro's 'twist' of this verse of scripture to support his premise is irreconcilable with the correct interpretation i.e. the indwelling Spirit, and must be rejected.

Continuing on with the review...human potential i.e. the 'natural man', loves to be told of it's greatness, and Cordeiro obliges:

"you have been entrusted with a magnificent destiny." (p. 43) and..."he has destined each of us for greatness, for a brilliant future" (p. 47) and..."In every life is contained all the potential through which God can accomplish great things." (p. 50)

Come one, come all, yes sir, step right up, everybody, anybody...greatness and magnificence and brilliance are hidden inside of you, writes Cordeiro. And oh, how true it is that the 'natural man' loves to hear these things. But, as Cordeiro reiterates, the problem is that these hidden talents lay undeveloped in us and must first be discovered and developed or they will end up in the cemetery unused:

"Will you deprive this generation and the next by taking the God-given treasure inside of you to the cemetery?" (p. 63)

Which leads to this conclusion which Cordeiro draws, giving us to understand the mission of Jesus:

"Jesus came as a dream releaser." (p. 64)

Yes that's right...according to Cordeiro, the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came to help fallen humanity fully realize their human potential, to activate their dreams and their inherent, albeit latent greatness. In summation, saying the Lord Jesus Christ came to help us 'maximize our flesh'...would be an accurate assessment of this seriously flawed, unscriptural teaching. This critical error is dealt with in the conclusion of this review.

The rest of the book basically lays out a methodology of do's and don'ts for personal 'potential development', and then goes on to give instruction on how to be a 'developer' of others 'potential'; becoming their 'dream releaser'; following the model that Jesus demonstrated, as he was the "master dream releaser" (p. 82). It's all wrapped up in the context of serving God and the church and good deeds, etc. and lends itself to the church growth seeker-friendly system.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Rom. 8:14

THE FATAL FLAW - NO HOLY SPIRIT

As to other questions of sound doctrine or unsound doctrine in Cordeiro's "Dream Releasers" teaching, the subject now before us will prove to be it's fatal flaw. Any further inquiry in regard to other problems in the book will have become unnecessary. The patient is dead on arrival. This deadly flaw in the "Dream Releasers" concerns Cordeiro's teaching on the amazing all powerful 'dream' itself. This incredible dream/entity takes on a life of it's own, according to Cordeiro's teaching, and will take control of the person's life. This dream has remarkable abilities. Once the dream is recognized and released, 'it' becomes the all-wise driving force of the person's life. 'It', this apparently personified entity referred to by Cordeiro as the 'dream', even acts as a "spiritual GPS" with gieger-counter qualities to guide us to our destination. He writes:

"After one of my speaking engagements, I was treated to lunch by the host pastor, I had the privilege of riding in his new BMW, a sleek vehicle sporting all the bells and whistles. One embellishment especially caught my eye. It was a device called a GPS (global positioning system), prominently mounted into the center dash." (p. 28)

"An all-knowing God has planted a similar, albeit spiritual, GPS within us. He deposits a dream of what we can be for Him, a dream that acts as our internal honing device. God's GPS has Geiger-counter qualities that reward us with an increasing pulse the nearer we approach our destination. When we stray, it reminds us of our intended address and questions our choice of heading. Not only does it give us a true bearing, but once it locks onto its target, its intense pursuit also leaves all other motivations far behind."

"This one dream, our honing device, can conquer any distraction. It defeats the most deceptive ruse along our (p. 29) path. It brings clarity to life and focus to an otherwise blurry picture. Nothing can rival the power of the God-ordained honing device installed in each of our hearts." (p. 30)

(and) "...an invisible guide that navigates us through the precarious passages of life." (p. 27)

The "dream", says Cordeiro, has miraculous and amazing powers. "It" can act as an "internal honing device", it can warn us if we stray and remind us of where we are supposed to be going, and question us if we are not "headed" in that direction. "It" will give us a true bearing, lock onto the target, and block anything else from the picture. "It" conquers any distraction, defeats any hidden dangers along the way, brings clarity, life, and focus. Nothing can rival 'it's' power. Yes, this Omnipotent dream is our "invisible guide" through life.

An invisible guide?

Yes, in Cordeiro's teaching, the Omnipotent dream, "installed in each of our hearts", has replaced the Holy Spirit and put Him completely out of work. The Almighty dream has everything handled, and let us not forget, nothing can rival it's power, and this clearly includes the Holy Spirit. This is an extremely dangerous teaching. That this is Cordeiro's teaching is easily further proved from the pages of the book. There is not a single mention of the Holy Spirit in the entire book. Not a single one, while human potential is referred to no less than fifty times. No mention of being filled with the Spirit of God, or being taught of the "Spirit of God", or of being led by the Spirit of God, or even of 'walking in the Spirit' for that matter. This is a fatal flaw. A mysterious dream, an "invisible guide" has replaced the third Person of the Godhead, the precious Holy Spirit. This fact clearly exposes the tremendous error of Cordeiro's 'christianized' version of maximized human potential. One can only come to the conclusion that the true "invisible Guide" of the Christian, "even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him" (John 14:17) must be unknown by the author of the book...for the Lord Jesus declared that "when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth". (John 16:13) The Holy Spirit is unseen in the teaching of the book, and because he is excluded from it's system of religion he has not guided it, and consequently there is no truth, only error-ridden doctrine. Once again, this flaw is fatal.

Jeremiah 23:26-27 'How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams...'

There is one mention of a spirit in the book though, and it may provide an interesting insight. Cordeiro relates an experience he had one night in a graveyard standing at the grave of a long dead missionary by the name of Titus Coan.

"One day while feeling completely inadequate and ill-equipped for what God had required of me, I visited Titus's grave on a hill near Haili church, the congregation he founded. After 10 years of pastoring, God was stirring my heart to pioneer again, and the thought scared me to death. I stood over his grave and poured out my heart to God: God I really need your help this time. Forgive my presumption, but I know that Elisha's asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit before he was taken away. I realize that Titus Coan was taken in 1882. I guess that I'm 110 years late, but I'll ask anyway. I ask for a double portion of his spirit.

I feel about as inadequate as he must have, yet you worked in spite of him. You may need to do the same with me until I learn to believe more - but I will! I know it wasn't Titus Coan who accomplished all that took place. It was you all along wasn't it? Would you work through me like you did through him? Would you give me the same passion? Would you be so gracious as to show me what you showed him? (p. 124)

I silently stood there for -what seemed an eternity. No bright lights. No parting of the heavens. No booming voice. Yet I walked away -with a renewed faith, convinced that God was able to do what He had promised." (p. 125)

First thing, looking inward, and feeling "ill equipped for what God had required of me" as Cordeiro says, may be a normal enough feeling for anyone. What is missed here though is that God does not 'require' anything of us (except obedience of course), for we are only earthen vessels after all. Again, "not of us", as Paul wrote. But, by the indwelling Holy Spirit, he will work through the vessel. God will not work any other way. A Christian can be filled with God's Spirit simply by asking... "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13)

It's very interesting to note how at this pivotal point in Cordeiro's life he prayed and what he asked for. He never asked the Lord for the Holy Spirit, instead, he asked 'God' for a double portion of Titus Coan's spirit. The prayer was not in Jesus name either, at least not as recounted in the book. Standing at a grave site and asking for a double portion of a dead man's spirit is a very dangerous proposition. As to the OT and Elijah and Elisha, it should be understood that Elisha had then no promise of the Holy Spirit as does each individual Christian today, by the grace of God through the finished work of the cross. Elisha had no direct access to God either, as do Christians today, as the veil had of course not yet been rent. Today we are to "enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus" for the 'veil' has been rent. Elisha could not do this. Elisha's example is not to be followed. Of these matters two things are certain. If a Christian does not ask the Father to be filled with the Holy Spirit, he won't be. And, if a Christian isn't coming to the Father with his request through the finished work of the cross, in Jesus name that is, his prayer will not be heard, much less answered. Cordeiro seems to have missed it here on every point. Don't know what happened that night at the graveyard, but it seems clear what did not happen. The missing Holy Spirit in the Dream Releasers book would corroborate that conclusion.

"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD...But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect." (Gen. 4:3,5a)

Finally, this 'program' to develop potential is nothing new, for there is nothing new under the sun. The first one to try it, a long time ago, brought a big basket of fully developed potential from his own orchard, big juicy polished fruits, the very best he could produce. That man was Cain, but in offering the fruit of his own efforts he had rejected the substitutionary requirement of the blood sacrifice. Religious yes, but it was religion on his own terms. He would not submit his self-will unto the Lord, but sought to perfect his own human potential, instead of yielding obedience to another, the LORD God Almighty. Men have never changed and still seek to be accepted in their own merit. They still refuse to believe that..."no flesh shall glory in his presence" (1 Cor. 1:29)

Cordeiro's "Dream Releasers"? Dangerous pseudo-christianity...not even close to the genuine article, as a matter of fact. Paul the apostle used the phrase "another gospel" to describe these sort of aberrations, and then used the word 'accursed' twice in association with those who propagate them. (Gal. 1:8-9)

It would prove wise to carefully consider the words of Jude found in the eleventh verse of the epistle that bears his name:

"Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain..."

Tom Montali

***

see also: Trouble In Paradise 4-3-08 'Wayne Cordeiro, New Hope, and the emergent heresy/apostasy'

Trouble In Paradise

Wayne Cordeiro, New Hope, and the emergent heresy/apostasy

Red alert for New Hope Churches in Hawaii.

Perilous times are here. New Hope head pastor Wayne Cordeiro has evidently joined the "emergent church" apostasy as evidenced by his appearance at this "Awaken conference" (below), which reads like a who's who of the self-styled 'emergent' church (research it). If you are a member or even casually attending, it is of the utmost importance for you to understand what is happening here because these self-proclaimed so-called spiritual leaders are on "a journey into the imagination"....and you too will be 'led' together with them into "their imaginations" if you don't 'wake up' and get yourself, your family, and your friends out from under their apostate teaching!

Too strong?

Not at all, when you truly understand the depth of this 'emergent' delusion and how ungodly this movement is. Please, we implore you to read through this brief posting, and then follow all the links to see for yourself whether or not these things are true. Your very salvation is at risk!

Too strong?

No, no , no! See for yourself:
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from conference website:

AWAKEN 2008 April 1-3: An Unleashing of Imagination and Possibilities

"Awaken is more than a conference - it's a journey into the imagination of spiritual leaders like Erwin McManus, Bill Hybels, Wayne Cordeiro, Nancy Beach, Dan Kimball, Lee Strobel, Ralph Winter, Henry Cloud, Nancy Ortberg, Mark Batterson, and more."

"Stop thinking outside the box. Awaken is for spiritual artisans and cultural architects who are ready to erase the lines of the box and unleash imagination and possibilities. Awaken will challenge you, inspire you, shake you up, awaken your dreams and passions, and free you to create your future."
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Who is Erwin McManus?

Erwin McManus is the catalyst behind "Awaken". What is "Awaken"? Go here to have a look. Be forewarned though, there is nothing here even remotely biblical:

Quoted from site: "Erwin is the catalyst behind Awaken, a collaboration of dreamers committed to creating environments that expand imagination and unleash creativity. Convinced that the world is changed by dreamers and visionaries, Awaken serves the purpose of history by maximizing the divine potential in every human being.": source

re: "maximizing the divine potential in every human being" (this is the original lie spoken by the serpent to Eve: "ye shall be as gods" (Gen. 3:5). go here for more info.

It is not possible to get any further away from the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ than this!

Again, nothing even remotely biblical at all about "Awaken". In fact, is has much more in common with Oprah Winfrey, the "High Priestess" of universal global spirituality, and her latest undertaking, which is also styled as an "awakening":

Oprah Winfrey class 700,000 commit to exploring East-West-hybrid mysticism: article

"a free, 10-week online class taught by Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle, the German-born spiritual teacher and author of the current Oprah's Book Club pick "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purposes.." see: oprah-alert "

"Awaken", or "awakening", is the term used by the 'emergent/new-age/global-spirituality' proponets to promote the idea that mankind is spiritually evolving, and is now finally becoming aware (awakening) to the 'fact' of his own inherent divinity. As McManus says...the "divine potential in every human being".

Apparently, pastor Wayne Cordeiro of New Hope Oahu is "on board" with the program. New Hope Church, will you also be "awakened"?

read more on subject and the interconnection of this and the Awaken conference where Cordeiro is speaking: lighthousetrailsresearch
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Church member/attender of New Hope Hawaii......here is a question that you must answer if you would be found faithful, understanding the need to "make your calling and election sure" (2 Peter 1:10), and not found to be of those that are abandoning "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints"...as "certain men" who have "crept in unawares" are doing here, openly it might be added, leading others astray along with themselves (Jude 3-4):

Question: What does "erasing the lines", "unleashing the imaginations", "creating you own future", etc. have to do with biblical Christianity?

Answer: Only this....these things diametrically oppose it on every point! As far as the east is from the west.

(again, follow all the links and learn all you can)

What to do?

Answer: Abandon is the answer...but not "the faith", abandon the ship! And if you can see the truth, then you will take as many as possible with you! There is no other answer.

Tom Montali
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see also: the false gospel of Wayne Cordeiro's Dream and Invisible Guide ("Dream Releasers" book review)

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Jeremiah 7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. (cf. Deut. 13:1-5; bible search tool on right)