He is John Eldredge, of http://ransomedheart.com/, and "The Father Effect" http://www.theperfectfather.org/, and YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TheFatherEffect, former self-described "flaming pagan", known more recently for his books "Wild at Heart" and "Waking the Dead" among others of similar heretical nature and twisted theology born of his man-centered, carnal and wild imagination, bathed in psychobabble.
See Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eldredge, excerpt which conveniently omits his testimony of drug use, arrests, etc when young, but is declared in the Todd Friel audios below.
"Eldredge describes himself, "I’m 51. I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado. My wife Stasi and I have three sons. My graduate degree is in counseling. Professionally, I’m a writer and a speaker. I don’t pastor. I’m not a preacher. I don’t have a church that I lead." [1]
While living in Los Angeles Eldredge was looking for a "worldview." After exploring other religions, Eastern mysticism, Lao-Tzu,
(see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao-Tzu: excerpt: "The story of Laozi has taken on strong religious overtones since the Han dynasty. As Daoism took root, Laozi was recognized as a god. Belief in the revelation of the Dao from the divine Laozi resulted in the formation of the Way of the Celestial Master, the first organized religious Daoist sect. In later mature Daoist tradition, Laozi came to be seen as a personification of Dao. He is said to have undergone numerous "transformations", or taken on various guises in various incarnations throughout history to initiate the faithful in the Way."),
and New Age spirituality, he discovered the writings of Francis Schaeffer, whom he calls one of the best philosophers of the 20th century. Through Schaeffer, Eldredge came to Christ and later to the church. He eventually got a master's degree in counseling and practiced in Colorado Springs before working for Focus on the Family.
(see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao-Tzu: excerpt: "The story of Laozi has taken on strong religious overtones since the Han dynasty. As Daoism took root, Laozi was recognized as a god. Belief in the revelation of the Dao from the divine Laozi resulted in the formation of the Way of the Celestial Master, the first organized religious Daoist sect. In later mature Daoist tradition, Laozi came to be seen as a personification of Dao. He is said to have undergone numerous "transformations", or taken on various guises in various incarnations throughout history to initiate the faithful in the Way."),
and New Age spirituality, he discovered the writings of Francis Schaeffer, whom he calls one of the best philosophers of the 20th century. Through Schaeffer, Eldredge came to Christ and later to the church. He eventually got a master's degree in counseling and practiced in Colorado Springs before working for Focus on the Family.
John received his undergraduate degree in theater from California Polytechnic University (Pomona) and his MA in biblical counseling from Colorado Christian University under the direction of Dr. Larry Crabb (a very well known psychoheretic; see Martin Bobgan's article "Larry Crabb: "Dr. Doublespeak?" http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/crabb12_4.html, and his e-book on Crabb "Larry Crabb's Gospel" at http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/e-books/LCG-ebk.pdf), and Dr. Dan Allender.
As per J. Beard's article about Crabb at http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/crabb/crabb.htm,
"Crabb believes that the best counseling model is one in which "truth" from both the Bible and the "spoils" from secular psychology are "integrated" into a combined counseling model."
Prior to joining Focus on the Family in 1988, John served for five years on the staff of Sierra Madre Congregational Church in Southern California.
As per J. Beard's article about Crabb at http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/crabb/crabb.htm,
"Crabb believes that the best counseling model is one in which "truth" from both the Bible and the "spoils" from secular psychology are "integrated" into a combined counseling model."
Prior to joining Focus on the Family in 1988, John served for five years on the staff of Sierra Madre Congregational Church in Southern California.
In July 2000, John left Focus on the Family to launch Ransomed Heart Ministries, a ministry devoted to furthering Christian spiritual life. A sought-after speaker, John travels extensively in the U.S. and abroad. John, his wife, Stasi, and their three sons live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.",
The self-glorified unregenerate nature of Eldredge is evidenced by the prideful, condescending, unmitigated gall of replacing scriptural truths with anecdotal fairy tales, secular songs, alleged personal divine revelation to him (see: another of his books, "Walking with God: Talk to Him. Hear from Him. Really." sold at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785206965?ie=UTF8&tag=denbur-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0785206965.), which promotes "conversational intimacy" with God,and secular movie based explanations for his beliefs, with the psychoheretical approach of redefining the sin nature as an inheritance from our "wounded fathers". As if that is not enough, he mischaracterizes God and God's nature, salvation, and other fundamental Christian beliefs for the alleged purpose of helping men be more manly in a feminized culture.We have had personal experience with a church that claims it is traditional, conservative, and biblically based, but somehow justifies the incorporation of Eldredge's materials for the consumption by its young men. This is being done with the full approval of the leadership, and their position is adamant and defiant, in the face of and despite the overwhelming evidence that proves they are wrong and negligent for allowing this false teaching to enter their church and exposing their young men to it.
We will present below all the evidence we have discovered to date which proves that many condemn Eldredge's writings as heretical, apostate, and anti-biblical. We also condemn this man's writings and pray that those who are so blinded and deceived will have the scales removed from their eyes and see the truth.
As an introduction let's take a look at two promo videos for the "Wild at Heart Boot Camp":
Consider the following reviews of Eldredge's works and decide for yourself if this man's materials should be avoided. We believe that you should avoid them for yourself and for any church ministry programs.
Todd Friel of Wretched Radio has 8 serious but humorous audio critiques (4 for each) of "Wild at Heart" and "Waking the Dead". They should be listened to in sequence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3-EFXObuD0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3esgFvR5PjU.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ElI1z5ysqM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svhC8ZgRaX4.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11oFBxCAKn4.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLm3RBMwdhU.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVmqB9Ygdq8.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICD2n11r3Gs.
David Cloud of Way of Life article: "BEWARE OF JOHN ELDREDGE AND RANSOMED HEART MINISTRIES" at: http://www.wayoflife.org/database/eldredge.html
Puritan Board lists a whole host of negative critiques of Eldridge's works:
http://www.puritanboard.com/f90/wild-heart-captivating-john-eldredge-65492/.
Daryl Wingerd of Christian Communicators Worldwide critique is excellent:
http://www.ccwtoday.org/article_view.asp?article_id=105.
Stuart Brogden of Forgotten Word Ministries:
http://www.forgottenword.org/wildheart.html.
Byron Borger of Hearts and Minds has a critique that is most thorough and recalls Eldredge's mystical roots as well:
http://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/reviews/john_eldredges_wild_at_heart_a/.
Midwest Outreach has its very good report specifically pages 3-7 and 14-15 of their newsletter:
http://www.midwestoutreach.org/Pdf%20Journals/2003/03sum.pdf.
Orrel Steinkamp of Let Us Reason Ministries has an article titled: "Braveheart vs. Mister Rogers: John Eldredge’s Walk on the Wild Side":
http://www.letusreason.org/BookR14.htm.
Jim Harmon of Psychoheresy Awareness Ministries is also excellent:
http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/wahbkrev.html.
Greg Donner's Thoughts article: http://gregdonner.org/thoughts/thoughts7.html, which states:
"Let me start by saying that I do agree with Mr. Eldredge in what I believe is the basic point he tries to make in his book: that men need to be responsible, accountable people—not cowards—who need to stand up for what they believe. However, the approach and methods that Eldredge uses are neither balanced nor scripturally sound, resulting in a book both inaccurate and disturbing in its content." And: "Frankly, I detest this book because what John Eldredge teaches is unbiblical—extrapolating and twisting Scripture out of context—but also because there is a flagrant stereotyping of what masculinity is, as well as an attitude of pride and superiority in his book which I find disturbing."
Gary Gilley of Southern View Chapel presents a damning review and excellent in depth two part analysis of Wild at Heart:
http://svchapel.org/resources/articles/22-contemporary-issues/540-wild-at-heart-part-1.
http://svchapel.org/resources/articles/22-contemporary-issues/541-wild-at-heart-part-2.
Randy Brandt review:
http://www.randybrandt.net/contend/books.php?id=bWild.
Christianity Today review:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/november/34.84.html.
Surph's Side Blog post:
"Wild At Heart": the false god of John Eldredge and his integrationism"
http://surphside.blogspot.com/2013/02/wild-at-heart-false-god-of-john.html.Susan Bertalotto at http://evangelists.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/the-apostasy-of-casey-treat/, excerpt:
"Then in 2004, I again attended CFC while visiting friends. That particular Sunday, after the worship service, Casey Treat drove up the middle aisle on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. He was advertising and promoting the Wednesday night men’s group that he taught. The reason for the Harley? Treat was demonstrating his “wild at heart” proclivities. He informed the men in the congregation that the book “Wild At Heart” by John Eldredge was being used in the men’s group. I just laughed; have you ever heard of that book? “Wild At Heart” is an emotional, beat-on-the-chest publication that describes how a man can be what he is meant to be. Oops, how a man can be what he is meant to be IN GOD. Eldredge had to add that or else Christians wouldn’t be suckered into buying it. I had checked into that book in 2002 when someone had asked me about it. You can look up parts of the book onamazon.com. On pages 3 and 4, the basic premise of the whole book is stated: (paraphrased) “Adam was created in the wilderness, outside of the Garden of Eden; Eve was created IN the Garden. Because Adam was created in the wilderness and placed in the Garden, he didn’t really belong there and wanted to get out the whole time he was in communion with God.” I kid you not! Read it for yourself. Since when does Adam want to get OUT of the Garden? The reason he left is because of SIN. Not because he wanted to be “wild at heart”. The whole premise is laughable if it wasn’t so sad. So Casey Treat bought the whole story – hook, line, and sinker. And he is teaching and encouraging the men in his church to buy into a lie also. Where is his discernment? Why is he not protecting the flock from wolves such as John Eldredge and Scott Peck?
Charisma Magazine: http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/online-exclusives/248-people-events/1404-pastor-is-blasted-after-bill-clinton-visits-california-church, excerpt:
"A member of Imago Dei church, which he describes as charismatic, Eldredge said he was deeply influenced by the teachings of Jack Hayford, former senior pastor of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, Calif. "From pastor Hayford I learned the dynamics of healing, counseling, deliverance and discipleship--to see God's people truly set free,"
We have posted previously about Jack Hayford here:
http://ratherexposethem.blogspot.com/2013/02/jack-hayfords-involvement-in.html,
in which we pointed out Hayford's promotion of the Hebraic Messianic movement at his "King's University", his affiliation with the New Apostolic Reformation of C. Peter Wagner, John Wimber's Vineyard Church and Paul Crouch of TBN Broadcasting.
We said: "In these videos of an interview with Hayford, pioneer of the mega-church movement, mention is made of his song "Majesty", a dominionist, Kingdom-now worship song, reflective of his dominionist theology, which meshes with the "Christian Zionism" of John Hagee and the charismaticism, mysticism, and Zionism of the Messianic/Hebraic Roots movement. We also get to hear about his demonology and other beliefs which descends from Aimee Semple McPherson.
Example of Eldredge's influence on the undiscerning Mennonite brethren:
"Man Day" "Affirms Godly Masculinity, Service To Others"
Organizers have hosted growing men’s event for six years. See: http://www.usmb.org/man-day-affirms-godly-masculinity-service-to-others. Quote: "Kroeker and other Man Day organizers—Kenyon Gerbrandt, Jason Klassen, Brian Banz, Mike Yutzy, Eric Flaming, Jeff Husted, Toby Kennedy and Brent Lang—take cues from John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart. “Aggression is part of the masculine design; we are hardwired for it,” writes Eldredge. Accordingly, Man Day activities include a mechanical bull, an extensive paintball course, college basketball on the big screen and a shooting range that offers a “120-gun buffet.” An annual highlight is the Great Pond Race in which salvaged cars are raced around a five-acre pond “until they smoke and die,” then set on fire or blown up. Food served throughout the event includes grilled steak, deep-fried Twinkies and Oreos, a crawfish boil and an infamous “bacon bomb.” For some, the day becomes a worship experience." (??? Really?)
Scott Peterson of Churchlandia responds and condemns the above in his article:
"Godly Masculinity is Not Destruction & Aggression":
Excerpt quoted:
"This event seems to reflect an entirely worldly and pagan festival of ritualistic destruction merely for the sake of reveling in such destruction. Such activities bear no likeness to the kingdom Jesus has established. If aggression seems so natural to men it is not because it is God’s design but because we are complicit in the overwhelming narrative of aggression that runs through a damaged and groaning creation. We are aggressive and seek destruction because we take pleasure in the fallen nature of this world. When we look to the consummation of God’s kingdom we discover that it will be free of all of this imagery. It is a kingdom of hope and life; a kingdom of renewal and peace. Most importantly, it is a kingdom for which we are called to be vanguards. We are to be ambassadors of Christ’s kingdom and we are called to show this broken humanity that another world is possible and in fact is already among them."Still unconvinced about the need to reject and avoid Eldredge and his works?
Consider this last video of John Eldredge speaking at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California, that we call "It's All About Heart, Not The Mind" when being a Christian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcu3b-xyOtI.
Well, that is just not biblical, but when your kids have gone to Westmont along with other children of emerging, contemplative and mystical personalities, using the mind just interferes with an experience with God. Lighthouse Trails Research added Westmont to its list of contemplative teaching schools in 2010,
(see: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=5322).
This is the letter received by Lighthouse Trails which prompted their action: (Full Text):
November 24th, 2010 | 
Author:
LTRP Note: After confirming the information in this email, we have added Westmont College to the list of Christian schools that are going down the contemplative/emerging spirituality path. (Our list)
Dear Lighthouse Trails:
I have benefited from your Lighthouse Web site, especially in researching Spiritual Formation. Our _________ graduated from Westmont, where we were very involved via Parents Council. Under Gayle Beebe, the college began taking a different direction that has clearly alarmed us. Beebe has co-written a book with Richard Foster, who has spoken at chapel more than once, along with John Eldredge and Bill Hybels, who probably spoke because their children matriculated there.
(Beebe is also one of the evangelicals who signed a document in support of a Palestinian state, and is a signer of the evangelical green movement as well, documented in articles available on the internet.)
Now I also see that Houghton College is on your list, and I am sad. Shirley Mullen was an extremely popular and effective teacher and Dean, before becoming President of Houghton.
Below is [an article with ] the latest concerning Westmont. I have printed out the list of colleges and ministries from your site. Now you must add one more.
Sincerely, L.
Article about Westmont from Westmont College media relations department
Gift to Create Institute for Christianity, Culture at WestmontPatty and Eff Martin also pledge to fund a Center for Spiritual FormationBy Scott Craig TrusteePatty Martin and her husband, Eff, have made a significant pledge to Westmont College establish the Martin Family Institute for Christianity and Culture and the Dallas Willard Center for Spiritual Formation.Patty MartinPresident Gayle Beebe announced the gift Oct. 25 at the college’s Board of Trustees meeting.“The purpose of the Willard Center is preparing a new generation of Christian leaders to articulate the philosophical, theological and biblical rationale for developing an interactive relationship with Christ,” Martin said. “We hope the center will help create an undergraduate major and minor in Philosophy, Psychology and Spiritual Formation.”“We’re thrilled with this gift and expect the new institute and center to make a significant impact on our students and help Westmont become a leader in the discipline of spiritual formation,” Beebe said. “Our Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts has focused new attention on the value of a liberal arts education, and we expect the Martin Family Institute and the Willard Center to also draw leading scholars nationwide to its conferences and conversations.”The couple will fund the institute and center over a three-year period, and a search for a qualified director to oversee the center begins soon. Dallas Willard, noted author and professor at USC for whom the center is named, will lead a discussion by the presidents of Westmont, Azusa Pacific University, Pepperdine University and Gordon College in January 2011 to promote coordination of spiritual formation programs.The Willard Center will launch a visiting fellow program in spring 2012 and begin planning a conference to be held in 2013. Other activities will include offering retreats and providing training in spiritual mentoring.Martin joined the Westmont Board of Trustees in 2005. She and her husband learned about the college through the students and alumni they met at their church.“Westmont graduates impress me and my husband with their vibrant faith and Christ-like character,” Martin says.She became acquainted with former presidents David Winter and Stan Gaede and met Beebe through the Renovare organization.A certified spiritual director who teaches classes in spiritual formation at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, Martin earned a bachelor’s degree at San Jose State University and master’s degrees in education and counseling psychology at Notre Dame de Namur University.She and her husband, Eff, have been married for 35 years and have three grown children. Eff Martin is a retired investment banker.— Scott Craig is the media relations manager for Westmont College.
