Keeping up the flow of scripture-destroying ‘preachers’ lined up to visit Northern Ireland during 2007, the following link
http://www.emins.com/template.aspx?parent=220&pid=243&area=18&aNAme=&textsize=A
gives details of a return visit to Belfast by Erwin McManus, this time at the Odyssey Arena [cost £30.00] and this time under the auspices of ‘Evangelical Ministries’.
Last year he was a guest speaker at the CFC [Christian Fellowship Church] in Belfast and in advance of that visit I posted a warning on our website and this link will take you to that warning article –
Today I received a further report from the helpful Christian group in America, ‘Lighthouse Trails’ that I referred to in my previous article. This is what they had to say in today’s report –
Erwin McManus: “Trying to create an entire new category” of spirituality
In a Relevant magazine interview, Erwin McManus states the following:
Because people don’t know where to put our community [Mosaic] they put us in the “emergent” category, and we really are a different animal than emergent. We’re not against emergent, but we are not like them.
While it may or may not be true that Erwin McManus is not part of what people think of as emergent, McManus is part of what we call emerging spirituality. There is a difference. Emergent would be within the confines of certain emerging church leaders (Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball, Doug Pagitt, etc.), but emerging spirituality encompasses much more. It is a belief system that has pervaded much of Christianity today. And this belief system has its roots in New Age theology (which goes back to the Garden of Eden and says man is like God and all is united with God). In this scope, Erwin McManus is emerging, and it doesn’t really matter if he calls himself emergent or not. But what does matter is that his influence continues to grow right in the midst of Christianity.
With David Jeremiah publicly endorsing and promoting McManus, and Rick Warren bringing him on board at the upcoming Saddleback Church Worship Conference & Festival, many more people will be introduced to McManus’ spirituality. While it is confusing why Jeremiah would promote him, it is understandable why Rick Warren resonates with McManus – the two are going in the same direction. Regardless, it would be worth our time to examine the underlying layers of both emerging spirituality and Erwin McManus’ doctrines. In the past, we have written several articles pertaining to this, and we encourage you to read some of them. Below is a link to the recent Relevant/McManus interview and several links to related information.
In the interview, McManus says, “Our dilemma is that we are trying to create an entire new category, and people keep trying to put us in different ones.” Typically, if someone is trying to build a reputation or convince people they are a certain way, they will do what they can to paint a picture of who they really are. Part of this process would be hanging out with like minded people and sharing similar visions with the public. With McManus’ rejection of “emergent” and his joining with Rick Warren, it certainly gives some food for thought. And this fall McManus will be joining New Age sympathizers Laurie Beth Jones and Ken Blanchard at the Lead Like Jesus conference. Their common vision they say is “Souls serving souls. Imagine 6.8 billion souls served by LLJ leaders by 2010.” I think we’re beginning to see this “new category” that belongs to Mr. McManus.
Quotes by Erwin McManus:
The Barbarian Way was, in some sense, trying to create a volatile fuel to get people to step out and act. It’s pretty hard to get a whole group of people moving together as individuals who are stepping into a more mystical, faith-oriented, dynamic kind of experience with Christ. So, I think Barbarian Way was my attempt to say, “Look, underneath what looks like invention, innovation and creativity is really a core mysticism that hears from God, and what is fuelling this is something really ancient.” That’s what was really the core of The Barbarian Way. (from another Relevant interview)
My goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ. (Christian Examiner, March 2005)
Some people are upset with me because it sounds like I’m anti-Christian. I think they might be right. (from The Barbarian Way)
For more information:
The Relevant/McManus interview
Laurie Beth Jones on Platform with Blanchard and McManus; Jones: “Divine Connection in Myself and Others”
Erwin McManus and the Barbarian Way
David Jeremiah Proposes “Major Paradigm Shift” For His Church
A SPECIAL REPORT: Erwin McManus, the secret behind The Secret
In his latest book ‘The TRUTH war’ Pastor John MacArthur identifies how much of today’s thinking and philosophies could be labelled as being ‘Postmodernism’ and he defines this as follows ‘Postmodernism in general is marked by a tendency to dismiss the possibility of any sure and settled knowledge of the truth’ [p10-11]. He then writes later ‘postmodernism’s one goal and singular activity is the systematic deconstruction of every other truth claim. The chief tools being employed to accomplish this are…the dissection and annihilation of every clear definition…the undue exaltation of mystery and…the cultivation of uncertainty abouteverything’ [p11-12].
Earlier we read how Erwin McManus sought to draw a clear distinction between himself and between what Lighthouse Trails classed as his ‘emerging spirituality’ and what has come to be known as the ‘emergent’ movement represented by people like Brian McLaren [due to speak at the Summer Madness event in Belfast June/July 2007 – see our warning here.
However, it is clear from their writings and public teachings that these men, Erwin McManus and Brian McLaren do actually share a common ‘Postmodernism’ agenda in that they are certainly employing the tactics identified by Pastor MacArthur as they each seek to ‘deconstruct every biblical truth’.
Just prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote of how those days would be marked with “the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, and for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie, that they all might be judged, who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” [2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12].
In Vine’s ‘Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words’ we read this on page 151 of the New Testament section – ‘In 2nd Thessalonians 2:10 “all deceivableness of unrighteousness” signifies all manner of unscrupulous words and deeds [like Erwin McManus and his approving/participating experience of naked men having a tug-of-war contest?] designed to deceive’.
Those engaged in such deceit are said according to God’s Word to be “perishing”, to be “deluded”, to have “believed a lie”, to have “believed not the truth” and in consequence they are having “pleasure in unrighteousness”.
This last “pleasure in unrighteousness” phrase echoes back to Romans 1:18 where Paul wrote of “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold [Vine’s Dictionary – ‘hold down’, ‘restrain’] the truth in unrighteousness”.
Earlier we read a quote from Erwin McManus where he stated ‘My goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ’. (Christian Examiner, March 2005)
When Erwin McManus speaks of ‘destroying Christianity’ it is clear that what he is actually doing is he is casting aside the clear, unambiguous doctrinal truths revealed by God in His Word – a Word that is able to “make people wise unto salvation” [2nd Timothy 3:15] and instead what he is offering in place of “the pure milk of the word” [1st Peter 2:2] will actually turn out to be “stones for bread” [Matthew 7:9].
When it comes to MANDATE [and Summer Madness] I advise all to make such a NO-DATE, for men like Erwin McManus and Brian McLaren will only take their listeners on a ‘blind date’ as in Luke 6:39.
Cecil Andrews – ‘Take Heed’ Ministries – 1st June 2007