What’s Up with Lilly Endowment – Funding Pastoral Sabbaticals with a Contemplative Agenda

To Lighthouse Trails: Eli Lilly, a major pharmaceutical company, in conjunction with Christian Theological Seminary (a liberal seminary in Indianapolis, IN) is funding pastoral sabbaticals. It appears it is just a part of a national program. Seems highly suspect to me. I wouldn’t be looking twice except that I know a local pastor applying for the grant. I find it very disturbing, but not necessarily surprising considering this church was already “purpose driven” several years back. M. ___________ OUR RESPONSE: Dear M._______, In 2007, Lighthouse Trails became aware of the Lilly Endowment grants that were being given to congregations and their pastors (the pastors then allowed to go on sabbaticals that had contemplative/emerging overtones). Since then, Lilly Endowment has turned over the administration of the Clergy Renewal Program to Christian Theological Seminary in Indiana (incidentally one of the schools on the Lighthouse Trails contemplative college list) but is still giving the grants. And today, just as was the case back in 2007, the Clergy Renewal Program has contemplative/emerging leanings. That’s actually an understatement. A look around the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs website will show ample evidence of these propensities. We are reposting below our 2007 article as you may find it helpful as it includes further documentation. Once again, another instance where Christian pastors have compromised the calling to walk in the truth of God’s Word and rather participate in a mystical paradigm shift. In 2012, the Lilly Endowment gave 6.5 million dollars to clergy members through the National Clergy Renewal Program. According to one report: One hundred and forty-seven congregations will receive up to $50,000 to enable their pastor to take a three- to four-month sabbatical to gain fresh perspective and renewed energy for the ministry. And according to the Lilly Endowment document that lists the winners of the 2012 grants, pastors will: . . . seek to regain spiritual vitality through the ancient Christian practice of walking as pilgrims in several countries—the path of Jesus in Israel, the path of the Exodus, some or all of the 500-mile Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James) in Spain, the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul in Greece, Turkey and Italy—and making retreats in Benedictine monasteries, walking the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, and living in sacred space on the Isle of Iona and other Celtic spiritual destinations. Winners represent various denominations including Southern Baptist, Independent, Presbyterian, Reformed, Episcopal, United Methodist, Lutheran, Nazarene, Evangelical Free, and Mennonite. http://www.pastoralexcellence.com/resources (Resource page that is provided by the Clergy Renewal Project - filled with many contemplative/emergent resources). Below is the article we wrote in 2007. Still relevant today because Lilly continues to pour money into pastors lives to help them become more contemplative and more emergent. It is also still a relevant article because the Christian figures who participated in trying to thwart and diminish their critics (e.g. Lighthouse Trails) never recanted what they were doing and supporting. “Emerging Church – A Move of God or a Well-Funded Enterprise?” – from 2007 The name keeps popping up – Lilly Endowment . Huge amounts of money being given in the form of grants to proponents of the emerging church. As Roger Oakland documents in his book, Faith Undone, Lilly gave $691,000 to the Youth Ministry & Spirituality Project (Mark Yaconelli) in 2001. Lilly had funded the beginning of that project in 1997 as well. Lilly also funded Project on Congregations of Intentional Practice, another emerging-type project with Diane Butler Bass . 1 New Age sympathizer Parker Palmer (friend and inspiration to emerging leader, Len Sweet) also enjoyed the benefits of Lilly Endowment grants.2 In an article titled “Social Change and Communitarian Systems,” it explains: The Lilly Endowment “a private foundation…that supports community development, education and religion,” has also helped fund the [Peter] Drucker Foundation. But more recently, it has shown its support for Baptist leadership and pastoral training. Strangely enough, the two — Drucker’s communitarian vision for the “social sector” and seminary training in community-building — fit together…. This grant [$300,000] makes all the more sense in light of a new partnership between Golden Gate Seminary and Saddleback Church. The Baptist seminary will build a new branch on the Saddleback campus to train church leaders to use the digital data tracking technology needed to meet and monitor community needs around the world.3 In 1999, the now emerging/contemplative-promoting Bethel Seminary received $1.5 million from Lilly Endowment in a project created to identify “the next generation of Christian leaders.”4 Now, according to an article by emergent Tony Jones, in a more recent grant called Faithful Practices, Jones reaped benefits from Lilly.5 [Jones article no longer online.] And the money just keeps coming in. While many think that the emerging church must be a move of God because of its success and popularity, big funding could have a lot to do with it. Some of the participants of the Faithful Practices project include Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, and Karen Ward. All four are part of the emergent church and the shift toward the new spirituality that rejects biblical Christianity. Pagitt and Jones are the editors of the new release, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope; McLaren and Ward are contributing writers for the book. That book is reviewed in “Emergent Manifesto: Emerging Church Coming Out of the Closet“ and also in Faith Undone. The Manifesto clearly shows the pantheistic/universalist/New Age element of the emerging church. But while the message of the emerging church is anything but biblical, with a little financial help from its friends, it doesn’t look like the emerging church is going to disappear anytime soon. Lately, some emergent leaders have been posting articles on the Internet, complaining about their critics. Erwin McManus wrote a recent article titled, “Emerging Angle” where he referred to critics’ analyses as “violent attacks” and likens them to war violence. Dan Kimball, in a recent blog posting, calls emerging critics “little barking poodles” (showing a photo of a growling poodle with sharp fangs).6 And it is no secret that Rick Warren has done everything from accuse Lighthouse Trails of breaking into Saddleback’s server (telling us Federal agents are investigating us)7 to calling fundamentalist Christians a big enemy of the 21st century and likening them to Islamic terrorists. What is ironic is that most of the “critics” of the emerging church are small, obscure ministries that have virtually no extra funding and operate on their mere love for the truth and the Gospel message. What’s more, emerging leaders outnumber their critics, have the support of mass media (both Christian and secular), and are published by the biggest Christian (and secular) publishing companies. But in spite of the contrast between emergents (and their funding and support) and Bible-believing critics (and their lack of funding and support), critics have become a sore spot to emerging leaders to the point where they refer to us as “barking poodles,” enemies of society, and violent. Is it possible God is using the foolish things of the world to confound the wise? Is it possible that things are not always as they seem? The critics of the emerging church are no great thing – we could be gone tomorrow, but that does not matter because what is a great thing is the God who has sent His Son as an atonement for sin (something often rejected by the emerging church), and offers salvation freely to those who receive Christ by faith through His grace. That is a great thing, and that is worth defending … and it is a message that can never be snuffed out. No amount of funding can destroy God’s truth. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:9-17)

Lectio Divina: What it is, What it is Not, and Why It is a Dangerous Practice

Lectio Divina – There’s a lot of talk about it today; umpteen books are published and more are on the way about lectio divina; and an increasing number of evangelical/Protestant figures are writing about it, endorsing it, and teaching it. Some people think lectio divina simply means to read a passage of Scripture slowly (or “praying the Scriptures”) then ponder or think on that Scripture. That can be a part of it. But if you ask mystics or contemplatives what it entails (And who would know better than they?), they will tell you that lectio divina (pronounced lex-ee-o di-veen-a) always includes taking a passage of Scripture (or other writings), reading it slowly, then working your way down until you have just a word or small phrase from the passage that you are meditating on (repeating over and over). Basically, you are coming up with a mantra-like word or phrase that has been extracted from a passage of Scripture, which, according to contemplatives, if repeated for several minutes will help you get rid of thoughts and distractions, so then, they say, you can hear the voice of God and feel His presence.

Contemplative mysticism pioneer Thomas Keating explains what lectio divina is not. It is not traditional Bible study, not reading the Scriptures for understanding and edification, and not praying the Scriptures (though praying the Scriptures can be a form of lectio divina when a word or phrase is taken from the Scriptures to focus on for the purpose of going into “God’s presence.”).1 Keating says that lectio divina is an introduction into the more intense practices – contemplative prayer and centering prayer.

While some people think lectio divina is just reading Scripture slowly, and what’s wrong with that, it is the focusing on and repeating a word or small phrase to facilitate going into the “silence” that is the real danger. There is certainly nothing wrong with reading Scripture carefully and thoughtfully. Thoughtfully, we say. In eastern-style meditation (and in contemplative prayer) thoughts are the enemy. Eastern-style mystic Anthony De Mello describes this problem with thoughts in his book Sadhana: A Way to God:

To silence the mind is an extremely difficult task. How hard it is to keep the mind from thinking, thinking, thinking, forever thinking, forever producing thoughts in a never ending stream. Our Hindu masters in India have a saying: one thorn is removed by another. By this they mean that you will be wise to use one thought to rid yourself of all the other thoughts that crowd into your mind. One thought, one image, one phrase or sentence or word that your mind can be made to fasten on. (p. 28) 

Spiritual director Jan Johnson in her book, When the Soul Listens: Finding Rest and Direction in Contemplative Prayer also believes that thoughts get in the way, and the mind must be stilled:

Contemplative prayer, in its simplest form, is a prayer in which you still your thoughts and emotions and focus on God Himself. This puts you in a better state to be aware of God’s presence, and it makes you better able to hear God’s voice, correcting, guiding, and directing you. (p. 16)

Ray Yungen explains this silence that contemplative mystics seek:

When [Richard] Foster speaks of the silence, he does not mean external silence. In his book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Foster recommends the practice of breath prayer (p. 122)—picking a single word or short phrase and repeating it in conjunction with the breath. This is classic contemplative mysticism. . . . In Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, he [Foster] ties in a quote by one mystic who advised, “You must bind the mind with one thought” . . . I once related Foster’s breath prayer method to a former New Age devotee who is now a Christian. She affirmed this connection when she remarked with astonishment, “That’s what I did when I was into ashtanga yoga!” (A Time of Departing, p. 75)

With lectio divina, the word or phrase one repeats eventually can lose its meaning, and this repetitive sound can start to put the practitioner into an altered mind state. Yungen tells us that: “Keeping the mind riveted on only one thought is unnatural and adverse to true reflection and prayer. Simple logic tells us the repeating of words has no rational value. For instance, if someone called you on the phone and just said your name or one phrase over and over, would that be something you found edifying? Of course not; you would hang up on him or her. Why would God feel otherwise? And if God’s presence is lacking, what is this presence that appears as light during meditation and infuses a counterfeit sense of divinity within? (ATOD, p. 76).”

Yungen exhorts believers that “the goal of prayer should not be to bind the mind with a word or phrase in order to induce a mystical trance but rather to use the mind to glory in the grace of God. This was the apostle Paul’s counsel to the various churches: ‘Study to shew thyself approved’ (II Tim. 2:15) and ‘we pray always’ (II Thessalonians 1:11) as in talking to God with both heart and mind. (ATOD, p. 75)

In order to help those you care about stay clear of contemplative spirituality and spiritual deception, it is important for you to understand how lectio divina plays a significant role in leading people toward full blown meditative practices. And we propose that this “presence” that is reached during the “silent” altered states of consciousness from saying a word or phrase over and over (or focusing on the breath or an object) is not God’s presence. God has instructed us in the Bible not to perform “special kinds of process[es] or “formula[s], as Thomas Keating calls lectio divina, (source) to induce mystical experiences (Deuteronomy 18:9-11); thus, we believe ample warning about lectio divina is warranted. LTR

Contemplative Prayer - Eastern Meditation "Christianized"

Keating, Kundalini and Contemplative Prayer
By Brian Flynn

The class began with a meditation exercise that we were to practice everyday when we awoke and again each evening. Elinor instructed us to sit with our feet firmly on the ground and to close our eyes. She then asked us to imagine roots or cords extending from the soles of our feet down into the earth. She said to imagine going deeper and deeper to the light, with the heat and power of the earth below us. Her words flowed from one to another and had an almost hypnotic effect on me:

Once the cords reach a certain point, attach the cords to that power. Bring that energy up those roots, up through the soles of your feet, up your legs, and allow them to attach to the base of your spine to the first Chakra. You are now grounded in earth’s energy.

I finally felt I was heading in the right direction and tapping into a world and an energy that would give guidance and insight. Excerpt from Running Against the Wind.

During my years as a New Age medium, grounding myself was one of the first steps required to prepare my mind before performing psychic readings. It was from this series of meditative steps that I was able to hear from my spirit guides. Who could have guessed that years later I would be warning Christians not to imitate this exact same practice?

After I was saved, many church leaders asked me if I would be willing to share my testimony and to offer an explanation of the New Age practices that I used to perform. At first I felt a little apprehensive because although I was involved in these practices personally, I actually knew very little about their origin. This led me to do extensive research on the movement I had left behind.

After several years of research on this topic, I was fortunate to have the chance to speak to Peter Jones who has authored many books on the occult. When I described the meditation process of what we called in class "running our energy" he explained that it was a form of a Kundalini meditation. I had never heard the word used to describe this practice before.

The Sanskrit word Kundalini means the curled one, and is also called Kundalini awakening or the awakening of the serpent. Practitioners describe it as a curled channel in the tailbone area. It can rise through the chakras (psychic centers situated along the spine from the tailbone to the top of the head), creating physical symptoms ranging from sensations of heat and tremors to involuntary laughing or crying, nausea, diarrhea or constipation, rigidity or limpness, and animal-like movements and sounds. [Emphasis added]

I considered myself fortunate to have never experienced the symptoms that are described above. However, I never knew the reason why until recently. My publisher, Lighthouse Trails Publishing, received a letter from a woman who before becoming a Christian was practicing Kundalini. After reading my book, she offered an interesting insight as to why I did not experience any of the negative manifestations of the Kundalini awakening:

First and most startling, when Brian and his wife went to the spiritual coach, to learn to channel, they did a type of grounding exercise which they called "running their energy." This running of the energy is what saved them from possibly having a neurological crisis. In other words, although the purpose of the class was nefarious, the technique was good! The technique was to keep them "grounded" while they were flying off into the empyrean (the highest heaven) to contact spirits, for their protection. Apparently it worked to this extent: although they became subject to spirit guides, they did not become sick.

People who practice kundalini in America often become sick. Because they are not grounded, for one thing, or if they are grounded, they push the exercise beyond where grounding can physically protect them. When I had my kundalini awakening, I was not grounded and was not taught what it was at all. So I became very sick.

I am not sure if my teacher knew that the grounding portion of the multiple steps to running our energy was to prevent the Kundalini effect or not. When I asked my teacher what were the origins of this practice she often danced around the question. She either did not know or refused to share that information. In either case, does it not seem odd that a spiritual practice whose purpose is to either bring harmony in one’s life or to feel closer to God would have a negative physical manifestation?

On a pro-contemplative spirituality web site, I came across the descriptions of those who had experienced the same effect while practicing contemplative prayer. Here is one example:

"I have been practicing Centering Prayer for 2 ½ years…. I began experiencing Kundalini-like symptoms three months after beginning the practice. They were quite intense at first. They have continued in various forms since then. Lately, I only experience them at the very beginning of prayer. I am not aware of any other moral manifestations. Father [Thomas] Keating advised me personally to ignore them if I could, and if they were too bothersome to “balance the energy” with physical exercise or a yoga practice."—Gary

Thomas Keating

Is the practice of kundalini and contemplative prayer the same? Father Thomas Keating, who has inspired many evangelical contemplatives like Henri Nouwen​, Richard Foster, and Brennan Manning, wrote the foreword to Philip St. Romain's book, Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality. In the forward, Keating acknowledges that kundalini is the same as Christian contemplation. He states:

Since this energy [kundalini] is also at work today in numerous persons who are devoting themselves to contemplative prayer, this book is an important contribution to the renewal of the Christian contemplative tradition. It will be a great consolation to those who have experienced physical symptoms arising from the awakening of kundalini in the course of their spiritual journey ... Most spiritual disciplines world-wide insist on some kind of serious discipline before techniques of awakening kundalini are communicated. In Christian tradition ... the regular practice of the stages of Christian prayer ... contemplation are the essential disciplines...

Keating explains that the reason spiritual directors are needed is to help guide the Christian contemplative is because of the powerful and dangerous nature of kundalini. He says that these "spiritual directors" may need to consult with "Eastern teachers in order to get a fuller understanding."

The disciples of Jesus Christ​ did not call upon Eastern teachers to guide them when praying to our Lord. Nor is there any warning in the Bible cautioning us about negative physical manifestations when engaging in simple Christian prayer. For years, I have been telling my Christian brothers and sisters that contemplative prayer is an Eastern form of meditation. Finally, I have a contemplative who admits it to be so. And now that I know about Keating’s declaration that kundalini is the same as contemplative, Richard Foster’s statement makes more sense. In Foster’s book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, he states:

I also want to give a word of precaution. In the silent contemplation of God we are entering deeply into the spiritual realm, and there is such a thing as a supernatural guidance that is not divine guidance. While the Bible does not give us a lot of information on the nature of the spiritual world, we do know … there are various orders of spiritual beings, and some of them are definitely not in cooperation with God and his way! … But for now I want to encourage you to learn and practice prayers of protection.… “All dark and evil spirits must now leave.”

I believe Foster made these comments because he was well aware that contemplative prayer could be dangerous because it is no different than kundalini. And yet in Celebration of Discipline (p. 13, 1978) he says “We should all without shame enroll in the school of contemplative prayer."

The unfortunate outcome is that both Thomas Keating and Richard Foster continue to endorse contemplative prayer and encourage others to engage in this un-biblical practice when they know good and well it can have detrimental effects.

How much more evidence do the leaders in our churches require before they repent of promoting this practice When Rick Warren stated in his first book, Purpose Driven Church that Foster’s spiritual formation was a wakeup call to the church, he gave the green light to millions to practice something that could potentially have long or permanent lasting damage on practitioners.

I pray fervently that my fellow Christians will return to the word of God for comfort and knowledge and that they will come to understand the true means of grace that our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us. Please pray with me that this will come to pass.

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