Assemblies of God General Superintendent Letter Responds to Lighthouse Trails Article
– Defends Contemplative Spirituality
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| "Regarding the Lighthouse Trails article, SPECIAL REPORT: Assemblies of God “Believe” Conference Makes Bold Move – Brings in Contemplative Key Player Ruth Haley Barton,” the General Superintendent of the AOG denomination, George O. Wood,  has issued a response via e-email. Because this response has been sent out to an undisclosed number of people as a form letter, we consider this a public response; thus we are posting the entire response below. Dr. Wood has included a statement from “Dr. Jodi Detrick, chairperson for the Network for Women in Ministry, which is cohosting this gathering along with the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.” Lighthouse Trails will be preparing its own public response to Dr. Wood and to Dr. Detrick. However, at this time, we are only posting their letter. We will say this, however: Dr. Detrick has attempted to insert an ad hominem argument of Pentecostalism vs. non-Pentecostalism; Lighthouse Trails will not be engaging in that discussion as the true issue at hand is contemplative spirituality versus the Gospel and the authenticity of the Cross": From the General Superintendent: "Ruth Haley Barton is the scheduled speaker for the evening gathering for female ministers at General Council.  Below is a statement from the Task Force for this event and Dr. Jodi Detrick, chairperson
for the Network for Women in Ministry, which is cohosting this gathering along with the
Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. Dr. Detrick is an ordained minister and a respected religion columnist for the Seattle Times. She is also the spouse of Dr. Don Detrick, who serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the Northwest District of the AG and is the current leader of the AG Secretary/Treasurer’s Fellowship, as well as a member of the General Presbytery. I trust the response that she and her Task Force has provided will be helpful." George O. Wood, General Superintendent.
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There are three websites that the Detricks have online: http://growingorganicdisciples.com/, which promotes Don Detrick's book: "Growing Disciples Organically-The Jesus Method of Spiritual Formation". This website contains a reference to an article he wrote in 2007 titled "Sacred Serenade: The Role of Music in Spiritual Formation", and in which he refers to Dallas Willard (a very well known contemplative proponent), Brian McLaren (well known emerging church leader and contemplative), and Chuck Swindoll (well known Christian "psychologist"). http://jodidetrick.com/, and http://jesusheartedwoman.com/, the latter promoting her own book "The Jesus Hearted Woman". 
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"We have received your inquiry regarding the guest speaker for the credentialed women in
ministry event at General Council 2013. A couple of websites attempt to discredit Ruth Haley
Barton (along with Beth Moore, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Moody Bible Institute, Focus
on the Family, and many others—several of the most effective ministries and Christ-like
teachers of the Word and of the Christian life today). These websites (which as far as we can
tell are by non-Pentecostals) generally do not report their qualifications to do “research”
and condemn her ministry specialty, contemplative prayer, (along with spiritual formation
and direction—two other well-recognized forms of in-depth discipleship) as a false version of
Christianity, more akin to something practiced in Eastern religions. Therefore, we want to
respond to the issues at the root of this misunderstanding.
As people of Pentecost, we believe in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, in a dynamic faith that
can be experienced. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we are called to share the Christ-life: to live like
Jesus, to do the works of Jesus, and to know the Father as Jesus did—personally and intimately. One
way to cultivate such intimacy is to quiet ourselves from all of the noise around (and within) us, and wait
upon the Lord, in order to hear from Him. Such “tarrying” has a rich tradition within our Movement. Our
early forebearers like Maria Woodworth-Etter and Smith Wigglesworth communed with the
Lord like that, and as a result preached under a powerful anointing, while ministering with
signs and wonders. The pursuit of communion with God through intimate, personal experience
is a kind of spirituality that has been part of the Assemblies of God since the beginning, but
sadly, the number of Christ-followers actually practicing it has declined over the years. Interestingly,
today there is a growing hunger, even outside our Fellowship, for that kind of relationship and experience
with God.
Ruth Haley Barton is committed to helping people connect with Jesus Christ in a meaningful way,
especially those who have been so busy serving Him that they’ve forgotten how important it is to really
know Him, and to spend time with Him.
Sadly, some are saying that seeking the Lord in such a way equates with the practices of
meditation and contemplation in Eastern religions. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and
is an unfortunate and inaccurate identification. Eastern religions utilize pagan practices designed
to empty one’s mind, thus opening oneself to the spirits of darkness. In fact, Satan often attempts to
steal, copy, or distort Christian practices that have their origin in true faith. One can find false religions
that practice prayer, fasting, forms of divine healing, visions, tongues, prophecies, and other things we,
as Pentecostals hold dear. Even yet today, there are many that would accuse Pentecostals of
being cultish mystics because we embrace the mysteries of a divine God who moves outside
of our natural realm.
Conversely, Christian contemplative prayer is a biblical spiritual discipline with a goal of focusing one’s
attention on God in order to thoroughly fill one’s heart and mind with Christ and His Word. Following
biblical instruction to “meditate on God’s word day and night,” and to “be still and know that He is God,”
such activity has been practiced by Pentecostals for centuries. This is reminiscent of an old hymn that
reminded believers to “turn your eyes upon Jesus” so that the “things of earth may grow strangely dim
in the light of His glory and grace.”
Some have inaccurately reported that Ruth Barton teaches the use of only three words as the sum of
all prayer. This is a misrepresentation of her encouragement to find a simple, personal prayer to say to
God when one is entering into a time of silence and listening in His presence. This act of listening in
quietness is only one narrow aspect of prayer life but one that is often greatly neglected, to our loss.
Of course we are to pour our hearts out in fervent prayer and intercession, and also to shout with praise.
But it is also important to cultivate stillness; using a simple prayer (not as a mantra, as some have
implied) to call our hearts back from stray thoughts and distractions is the goal in Mrs. Barton’s
instructions on how to “be still and know that He is God.” Pentecostal Christians often pray and sing
repetitive words. In our weekly church services, we hear the words, “Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus.”
repeated often in sincere prayer. We sing and pray “Come Holy Spirit, I need Thee,” and mean it from
our hearts. The Psalms are full of prayers that use repetition as a way to honor God and to focus on
Him. Every time people say the Lord’s Prayer, they are repeating a “prescribed prayer” that our Lord
told us to pray. In Matthew 6:7, Jesus was very intentional with His use of words when He told his
disciples ‘not to use vain repetition as the heathen do.’
Our prayers are not to be vain, useless words repeated without thought. He also said the heathen
thought they would be heard for their “much speaking” but obviously He did not mean that every long,
extended time of heartfelt prayer is prohibited. We must be careful not to condemn our brothers and
sisters in Christ who are committed to Scripture and are being used mightily by God, even though,
on the surface, it looks somewhat different than we are accustomed to.
One other caution we would be wise to heed is not to judge a person’s current theology or
spiritual vitality based solely on secondary associations or those whom they may have
studied under in the past.
Acts 7:22 says, “Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech
and action.” In Acts 22:3, Paul said, “I studied under Gamaliel…” God chose to include this academic
background about these men in His Word. Both of them had those influences in their history that we
would certainly deem questionable, at best, but they went on to embrace different beliefs as they
encountered the living God in a personal way. In the bio on her website, Mrs. Barton includes these
important words: “The breadth of Ruth’s study and learning in a variety of settings contributes to the
strength of her teaching and writing. While she values all that she has gained from the teachers and
institutions in which she has studied, this does not imply endorsement of everything taught in these
environments. Ruth’s teaching and writing have been most profoundly shaped by her commitment to
“examine the Scriptures to see if these things are so.” (Acts 17:11)” Here is the link to her statement
of faith and it would helpful to read what she believes and adheres to, in her own words, and not from
other sources: http://www.transformingcenter.
Further, it is unwise to jump to conclusions that since Speaker A, once quoted Speaker B, who then
quoted secular speaker C – that therefore Speaker A and Speaker C are in the same boat with one
another. The Apostle Paul quoted pagan poets in Acts 17, but that did not mean he was a pagan.
And, interestingly, his quotation was not even used in a negative context meant to disprove that pagan
poet. In fact, he used what the pagan poet had said to make a case for God’s truth.
We want to assure those with concerns that there is not even the smallest part of us that
embraces any form of eastern religion or the New Age movement’s teachings and practices.
We are a group of Spirit-filled women, all volunteers, who prayerfully met together and considered who
might bring something valuable to our event at General Council. Scripture exhorts us that we will
know a tree by the fruit it bears. Countless AG people, and credentialed leaders, have
testified to drawing much closer to the Lord as a result of Ruth’s books and teachings. We
have personally talked with those who were on the verge of dropping out of ministry until they read,
“Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership,” her book based on the life of Moses. Ruth was chosen
by our credentialed women in ministry committee because so many of them have come to appreciate
her message of setting aside all the busyness and noise to focus on Jesus, and quietly wait upon the
Lord. It’s really no wonder that the enemy would like to keep this message from being heard. He would
prefer that Christian leaders remain too busy to stop their activity, wait on God, and hear from Him.
It is our prayer that God will use this event to continue to draw women closer to Him and to
help our female ministers fulfill their calling with longevity, spiritual health, and an even greater
anointing of the Holy Spirit."
The Task Force for the Women in Ministry-AGTS Event at General Council____________________________________________________________________________ THIS BLOG WOULD LIKE TO REFUTE THE ABOVE APOLOGETIC OF BARTON BY REFERRING TO A PREVIOUS POST OF OURS SHOWING BARTON'S LONG HISTORY OF CATHOLIC, BUDDHIST, AND EASTERN MYSTICAL INCLINATIONS, EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND, ASSOCIATIONS AND TEACHINGS: Ruth Haley Barton and her Transforming Center (see: http://www.thetransformingcenter.org/) Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCKTa0EGEdE&list=UUbhNejtTjSPfsbJEmDDrq4g&index=4, operate out of a Catholic convent in Wheaton, Illinois known as the Loretto Center (see: http://lorettocenter.org/), which has its own pagan labyrinth http://lorettocenter.org/labyrinth.html, and is run by the IBVM nuns. The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, founded in 1609, is an apostolic community of Catholic women present in 26 countries across six continents. We live our Ignatian (Saint Ignatius Loyola of the Jesuit priests) spirituality of "contemplatives in action" cherished by our founder, Mary Ward. Barton led a Catholic Good Friday "Stations of the Cross" at the Loretto Chapel on March 29, 2013. See: http://www.transformingcenter.org/events/good-friday-service-2/. Barton has been trained at the Shalem Institute, http://www.shalem.org/, and contains contemplative articles by other of Shalem's affiliates here http://www.shalem.org/index.php/resources/publications/articles-written-by-shalem-staff. Because Barton is mentioned above in Wilhoit's book, we would like to expand further on this one person's long term Catholic/Buddhist (eastern) contemplative/mystical influence over churches and Christians. This is not to imply that the others Wilhoit quotes in his book are any less dangerous to true Christianity because of their contemplative/mystical positions. Barton has had a long association with Shalem which recently had a "Contemplative Communion Good Friday Service". See: http://www.shalem.org/index.php/shalem-programs/contemplative-communion-service/22-groups/289-contemplative-communion-service?tmpl=component&print=1&page=. Lighthouse reports: "Shalem’s contemplative roots go back to its beginning. And when we say contemplative, we mean contemplative in its “purest” form, meaning interspiritual, universalistic, New Age/New Spirituality, and so forth. But the story from our vantage point (actually a two-fold story) is that first, mainstream Christianity (United Methodist, Episcopal, etc) has stepped over that line onto the New Age playing field, and second, largely because of one key figure who was trained at Shalem, the evangelical church is right behind them. "Barton was trained at the Shalem Institute and later became the Associate Director of Spiritual Formation at Willow Creek. There, she teamed up with John Ortberg to create Willow Creek’s curriculum on Spiritual Formation. While Richard Foster was bringing contemplative prayer into the church through his 1978 classic Celebration of Discipline, Barton and Ortberg were bringing it in through a side door, the highly influential Willow Creek. Today, both Barton and Ortberg are actively doing their part in bringing about this paradigm shift to evangelical Christianity." If one would like to see what the evangelical church is becoming, one only needs to take a look at Ruth Haley Barton today. After she left Willow Creek, she went on to start her own organization, The Transforming Center. There, her program trains thousands of pastors and church leaders how to become contemplative." Barton's biography can be found at: http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a975772/Ruth-Haley-Barton/. In September 2008, Apprising reported in depth on Barton here: http://apprising.org/2008/09/17/who-is-ruth-haley-barton/, in which Ken Silva reports that Shalem was founded by Tilden Edwards, who in his book, "Spiritual Friend: Reclaiming the Gift of Spiritual Direction", Edwards enlightens us that his particular: "mystical stream is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality (and to that of Sufi Moslems and some Hassidic Jews in the West as well). The Zen warning not to confuse the pointing finger…for the moon to which it points is a saying that a Christian mystic easily understands. It is no accident that the most active frontier between Christian and Eastern religions today is between contemplative Christian monks and their Eastern equivalents. Some forms of Eastern meditation informally have been incorporated or adapted into the practice of many Christian monks, and increasingly by other Christians." As Ken Silva reported in this same article, Edwards admires and quotes both Catholic and Buddhist monks, and Barton follows suit. There is abundant evidence of this in their writings. Apprising also reported on Barton here: http://apprising.org/2008/10/22/pastor-ruth-haley-barton-on-her-national-pastors-retreats/, where she calls herself a "pastor" (pastrixes are not Christian), and talks about going into the Catholic "Great Silence" in this video: Power to Stand Ministries has already warned on December 20, 2012 about Barton's influence on Women of Gracehttp://www.wgusa.org/ here: http://powertostand.blogspot.com/2012/12/fgbc-concerns-pt-5-contemplative.html, and is very similar to our serious concerns about Barton. Sometimes Barton denies any "eastern emptying of the mind" as in this video, which contradicts all prior endorsements of both Catholic and Buddhist mystical practices and her own spiritual "practices" taught to others, and which certainly do involve such emptying into a "state of nothingness". In this video and much of her other media sources there is the emphasis on the "unmediated" (i.e., without Jesus Christ) access to God, which is totally un-Christian. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_5ZC8yzlao. Barton will be attending the Assembly of God "Believe" conference event in Orlando, Florida, August 5-9, 2013, along with Franklin Graham, Christine Caine of Hillsong, Australia, Judah Smith, and Joni Eareckson Tada, among many others. See: http://generalcouncil.ag.org/. Barton has studied the Enneagram with Russ Hudson of the Enneagram Institute https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/.  http://www.letusreason.org/Current42.htm. Christian Answers For the New Age (CANA) explains the occult mystical origins of the enneagram, and further links worth exploring: http://www.christiananswersforthenewage.org/Articles_Enneagram.html. Apprising has an article http://apprising.org/2012/01/16/peter-scazzero-introducing-enneagrams-into-mainstream-evangelicalism/, showing the enneagram being used by Peter Scazzero of New Life Fellowship Church, Elmhurst, Queens, New York City http://newlifefellowship.org/, and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality http://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/. The same article shows that Scazzero is importing such into Bill Hybels' Willow Creek Association. This video explains the enneagram which Lighthouse explains as occult ancient Sufi typology of nine personality types or primary roles. See: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=2298: |
