Herescope Archives

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)

In his monograph “Framework for Preparation for the Year 2000,” former UN Assistant Secretary-General Robert Muller outlined his “vision” for the “State of the World on Earth Day 2013.” In addition to the points that were made in the three previous Herescope postings on this topic, Muller added:

*"Political office is now considered a saintly, sacred office, endowed with the highest responsibilities toward humanity, the earth, and the success of the cosmic evolution and experiment unfolding on this planet.”

*"Combining their views on the essential needs of life, the world’s religions are advocating simpler, more frugal lives in order not to unduly tax God’s creation. St. Francis has been declared patron saint of the United Nations.

*"Vast numbers of people are turning once more to their religious shepherds for psychological, psychiatric, and social advice.

*"Inter-religious dialogue, consultation, cooperation, concertation, and synergy are taking place from local levels to the world level all around the world, in a flourishing of spiritual gatherings and institutions.

*"All professions, human entities, and associations, have adopted codes of ethics and have acquired the practice of asking themselves whether their activities contribute to peace, to non-violence, to a better world, and fulfillment and responsibility of human life world-wide, thus contributing to the spiritual progress of the human race.” (p. 28-29) [emphases added]

The parallels between Muller’s “visions” and many ideas popular in modern evangelicaldom are disturbing. This is because many of the neo-evangelical doctrines now teach an evolutionary form of Christianity in which the "bride" of Christ is perfecting herself on earth before Christ can come back. Believers are being told that their efforts and their works will fulfill the Great Commission, which in turn will usher in the Kingdom Age and the return of Jesus Christ.

But the Luciferians have similar doctrines, and they are working on the same concepts to usher in the reign of their "christ" -- an Anti-Christ. In his book The New Genesis: Shaping a Global Spirituality, Robert Muller published a chapter on “The Reappearance of Christ.” He did not mean Jesus Christ, but rather he refered to “The Christ,” meaning a false messiah that Theosophists have been preparing the Earth for in their Plan. Muller envisioned,

“I would also like to see published someday a Bible which would show how the United Nations is a modern biblical institution, bent on implementing world-wide the wise precepts and divine commandments of the Bible. I would like to see the same thing done for all great religious or sacred books, such as the Koran, the Grant Sahib, etc.” (p. 127)

Why is it that the neo-evangelical leaders have adopted precisely the same vocabulary -- using words that are laden with deep meaning in New Age Luciferian spirituality -- to describe their kingdom building activities and doctrines? [See chart "New Age Terms in the Church" for a more detailed description at http://www.crossroad.to/glossary/church/na_terms.htm]

Whose Kingdom? Which Bible? Which Christ?

Today many sincere and zealous Christians are building a spiritual kingdom on Earth, which they are calling “Christ’s Kingdom.” Many new doctrines developed in the past half century claim that spiritually and physically building this “kingdom” on Earth is a necessary part of evangelism. The history of these doctrines and their originators, including a solid refutation, can be found in Vengeance Is Ours: The Church In Dominion by Al Dager (Sword Publishers, 1990). [To order this book visit the catalog of resources, and scroll down to the end, at http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Catalog.htm]

To learn more details about the ominous parallels between the spiritual "peace" plan of the Theosophists and that of the neo-evangelicals, read Warren Smith's book Reinventing Jesus Christ: The New Gospel (available at the same website catalog listed above).

The Truth:

Christian leaders have adopted a number of worldly philosophies which can be summed up in the maxim that "the end justifies the means." But the works of the Lord are founded upon truth. Neo-evangelicalism is relying upon human machinations, manipulations, deceptions, social engineering and marketing contrivances for their kingdom building. But, in sharp contrast, God's Word tells us the true nature of His works:

1 Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.
2 The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
5 He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.
6 He hath showed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.
7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.
8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. (Psalm 111)

Check your daily Herescope!

Robert Muller outlined his global PEACE Plan in his novel First Lady of the World. Significant portions of this book are excerpted in the Framework for Preparation for the year 2000 monograph that was published in 1994 by the Albert Schweitzer Institute/Quinnipiac College Press.

Under a section entitled "A World Peace Plan for 2010," Robert Muller lists the changes he would like to see in the state of international affairs on Earth. His Plan, like that of most futurists, is one of total global management over every facet of human life. The last several paragraphs sum up the end-goal of futurism. This is Robert Muller's "vision" for the year 2010:

". . . It is becoming increasingly evident that the cosmos has produced unique, rare phenomena on this planet, especially human life with its constantly transcending consciousness and knowledge of the entire universe, from the infinitely large to the infinitely small. We have become a new species by extending incredibly the power of our senses, physical strength, memory, and mental capacity through science and technology.

"We are a unique cosmic phenomena in the evolution of the universe. Our duty is to help the cosmos succeed in its evolutionary experiment on this planet. Heads of state recognize that they have a duty not only towards their people, towards the planet and towards humanity, but also towards the success of cosmic evolution on Planet Earth.

". . . The next phase of our evolution will therefore be a cosmic, spiritual age in which the Earth becomes a true showcase in the universe, with human beings in perfect physical, mental, moral, affective and spiritual union with the universe and time. Humans at long last recognize that they are living cosmic instruments, part of the universe's evolution on a particular, miraculous, lucky, life-teeming planet circling the fathomless, mysterious universe." (p. 22) [emphases added]

The Truth:

Robert Muller's global PEACE Plan, like that of other global futurists, is founded upon the false doctrine of evolution. The Scriptures warn of the rise of this heresy in the latter days. From 2 Peter, chapter 3 we read:

"This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

"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 of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

"Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."

AMEN!

In a letter from Global Harvest Ministries (Global Link, 11/1/05), C. Peter Wagner, chief architect of the "Second Apostolic Age" and inventor of many new doctrines spreading like leaven throughout evangelicaldom, wrote about his latest book Freedom from the Religious Spirit. In this book he invents yet another doctrine about demon possession by a "religious spirit."

"In my recent book, Freedom from the Religious Spirit, I pointed out that the chief tactic of this clever demon is to use religious devices to preserve the status quo. If it is successful, the spirit of religion can prevent us from moving into God's new times and seasons.

"However, as I watch what is happening in Global Harvest, I must say, with some pardonable degree of satisfaction that the religious spirit does not appear to have much of a stronghold around here. It seems that God is constantly moving us into new times and seasons. He is pouring out new wine, and we are trying to keep up by developing as many new wineskins as we can. And every time we taste the new wine, we get more enthustiastic than ever about moving fowards in the next effervescent stream of the Holy Spirit." [emphases added]

Wagner is one of the chief proponents of the "demon-behind-every-bush" theology. His core theology teaches that Satan was not defeated by Jesus' shed blood on the cross, but rather needs to be continually defeated by a believer's activities. (For more information on this point, see the many articles pertaining to Wagner and his new doctrines at http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com.) In his book Wagner describes this "spirit of religion." He says that it is "an agent of Satan assigned to prevent change and to maintain the status quo by using religious devices." (p. 12) [emphasis added]

Because the next move of this Apostolic movement is potentially very controversial, and may have a hard-sell in mainstream America, Wagner is heading off opposition at the pass by declaring in advance that anybody speaking out against this "new thing" that God is supposedly doing has a demonic "religious spirit." So any pastor or godly saint speaking biblical truth in opposition to C. Peter Wagner's new doctrines and activities will simply be dismissed as demon-possessed with this "religious spirit"! Of course, the "status quo" that Wagner is referring to above means traditional biblical theology.

The Truth:

Contrary to Wagner's assertions that God is doing a "new thing," Scripture is clear:

"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us." (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10)

And contrary to the neo-charismatic emphasis on "new wine" (which has been used to justify every wacky and bizarre new doctrine and practice for the past two decades), not every reference to "new wine" in Scripture is positive:

"The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh." (Isaiah 24:7)

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart." (Hosea 4:6-11)

In the New Testament the proper emphasis on "new wine" has to do with the New Covenant, accomplished by Christ's blood shed on the cross. The book of Hebrews, particularly chapters 8 and 9, teach this doctrine, as well as the words of Christ Himself on this topic in the four Gospels.

Stay tuned!

If you still think fulfilling the Great Commission is all about spreading the Gospel to individuals in nations all over the world, you haven't been studying the rhetoric of the neo-evangelicals lately.

C. Peter Wagner, in his 11/01/05 Global Link letter Global Harvest Ministries (referred to in yesterday's Herescope), described the new evangelization:

"Since 2001, the body of Christ has been in the Second Apostolic Age. The apostolic/prophetic government of the church is now in place. This may well be the reason that God has chosen to entrust to us the most challenging assignment that GHM has ever had—the Muslim peoples of the world, starting with the 15 nations of the Arab Middle East. . . .Our sphere also includes the Non-Arab Middle East, the Muslim nations outside the Middle East, and the Muslim Diaspora.

"In previous international prayer initiatives, we began to build our base by locating and identifying with the intercessory prayer movements. This time, however, we feel that God wants us to start governmentally, connecting with the apostles of the region. God has already raised up for us a key apostle in one of the strategic nations of the Middle East, and other apostles are already coming on board. Once we have the apostles in place, we will then bring the intercessors and the prophets into the inner circle, and we will end up with the spiritual core we need to move ahead for retaking the dominion that is rightfully ours.

". . . The old days of missions are over, and we are now in a new day. . . ."

" . . . We need you with us as we launch out into these new territories with the apostolic/prophetic government of the church. We will depend heavily on workplace leaders, not just traditional church people." [emphases added]

C. Peter Wagner's new style of evangelization is rapidly supplanting the old-fashioned preaching of the Word of God to the lost. It has to do with seizing dominion over all "spheres" (health, education, workplace, food supply, etc.) of all nations (ethnic groups and/or regions) of the world, as part of a plan to build the "Kingdom of God" on Earth. Wagner has come up with plenty of new doctrines to justify the new methodology. And these doctrines and methods should be very controversial. This plan literally has to do with changing governments and forms of governance by altering the political and social structure of the nations of the world.

Since the mid-1990s C. Peter Wagner has been developing an ecumenical, apostolic, hierarchical structure which is being put in place right now across the face of the Earth, from cities to nations to regions to global. These apostles claim to be vested with "authority" not unlike the first Apostles of the New Testament, which they say gives them right to exercise dominion and power over people. This scary structure is reliant upon the databanking and monitoring of individuals and groups, and comes complete with "prophets" who declare "new things," including heretical new doctrines, and who believe they are invested with Old Testament authority. [For more information on these points, see http://www.discernment-ministries.com/Catalog.htm #L177 cell church tapes.]

The Old Evangelism vs. the New Evangelization

According to Al Dager, in his book The World Christian Movement (Sword Pub., 2001),

"To the average Christian there is no distinction between evangelism and evangelization. But to the World Christian movement there is a distinction.

"Evangelism, of course, is a legitimate name and a legitimate endeavor. It is the work of believers to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to bring souls into the Kingdom of God. True evangelism follows the spreading of the pure Gospel with the planting of churches and the discipling of believers that will guard the biblical truths and practices vital to sustaining a viable relationship between individual believers and the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Evangelization is the term used by the global, ecumenical World Christian Movement to gain the support of churches throughout the world. It denotes the 'Christianizing' of all the world's 'people groups' by means of a work that combines social and political action as equal elements with the Gospel of Jesus Christ." (p. 25) [Emphases added. This book available from http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Catalog.htm]

Christianizing nations, as has been evident throughout history, does not make individuals Christians. Forced baptisms, or group agreements by psycho-social consensus methods, do nothing to convert the heart. This only creates a church/state with immense power over people's lives. This new global hierarchy, being established in the name of "mission," is openly dominionist both spiritually and politically. For more information on this topic, see the 9/19/05 and 9/15/05 Herescope posts.

The Truth:

Author Paul Shirk has written, in his book Come Out Of Her My People,

"The promise of privilege to rule has extended beyond the apostles to those who overcome and persevere to the end. Revelation 2:26,27 includes a promise to overcomers that they will rule the nations with a rod of iron, even as Christ has received this privilege from His Father. This is a promise that finds fulfillment after the end; that is, the end of time as we presently know it. There is no such promise granted to believers in this age, that if they overcome they shall rule the nations with a rod of iron. It is a promise that finds fulfillment when Christ Himself comes to rule the nations of this world, as recorded in Revelation 19:15. Our reign over the nations of this world is concurrent with Christ's rule and not with man's rule. The rule of Christ over the nations in a literal sense occurs at His physical reappearing, and at this time all those who have suffered with Him shall also reign with Him. This honor is not limited to those who are elected to civil office, as in our times, but rather is extended to all His saints (Psalm 149:6-9) [p. 200-201, emphasis added. See http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Catalog.htm to order this book.]

Of course, if these apostolic folks go so far as to set up a phony "Christ," an antichrist, then they will claim to possess this rod of iron and will wield it against all those who oppose him. Therefore, it is good for true believers to remember this eternal Truth:

"The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all." (Psalm 103:19)

Check your daily Herescope!

Every once in awhile, Herescope will post a good devotional from the archives of Christendom that demonstrates the sharp contrast between the neo-evangelical doctrines that are prevalent in churches today and what used to be taught as solid, orthodox Christian New Testament doctrine. This classic quotation below from A. W. Tozer is priceless in its relevance to today. As you reflect on this devotional, compare it to the current teachings of Rick Warren and other neo-evangelial leaders, who no longer preach about the cross, and repentance, and what Jesus did for us.

The Old Cross and the New

"All unannounced and almostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

"From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique—a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

"The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam’s proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

"The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

"The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, 'Come and assert yourself for Christ.' To the egotist it says, 'Come and do your boasting in the Lord.' To the thrill seeker it says, 'Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship.'" The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

"The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.
The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

"The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

"That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

"We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.
God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God’s just sentence against him. What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God’s stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

"Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

"To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul’s day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God’s approval.

"Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power." (A. W. Tozer)

The Truth:

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor. 5:17)

The Emergent Church and all of the modern manifestations of neo-evangelicaldom preach a new gospel which is not The Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a new generation that is intentionally being lured into emerging theologies which blend mysticism into Christianity to create an entirely new "orthodoxy" of Brian McLaren and others.

Dr. Francis Schaeffer's written works intellectually and theologically stood against the German existential philosophies. He also challenged eastern mysticism during the era of the 1960s and 1970s. His works are even more relevant today as hybrids of these "emerging" orthodoxies are rising mightily to threaten the very foundation of Christianity.

The Word of God, in its true orthodoxy, possesses the potential to demolish every starry speculation and mystical mantra being marketed by the mystical-driven church.

For an excellent critique of Brian McLaren and his book A Generous Orthodoxy visit http://www.twincityfellowship.com/cic/articles/issue87.htm and read Bob DeWaay's article, "Emergent Delusion."

An Example of the Old Orthodoxy

For Herescope readers' edification, here is another morsel of meat, a commentary by Dr. Francis Schaeffer on Romans 6:4a, Romans 6:6a, Galations w:20a and Galations 6:14 (see Scriptures below) from a chapter in True Spirituality entitled "The Centrality of Death."

“Now the death of the Lord Jesus is absolutely unique. It is substitutionary. There is no death like Jesus’ death. There is no parallel death to Jesus’ death – this must stand as absolute in our thinking. His substitutionary death on the cross, in space and time in history, had infinite value because of who He is as God. Thus nothing need be added to the substitutionary value of His death, nor can anything be added. He died once for all. Having said that as forcefully as we can state it, we add that nevertheless in Luke 9, verses 22-24, we find that Christ puts forth a chronological order. In verse 22: ‘The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.’ The order is in three steps: rejected, slain, raised. This speaks of His coming unique and substitutionary death; yet this order – rejected, slain, raised – is immediately related by Jesus Christ Himself in verses 23 and 24 to us, the Christians. ‘And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself (renounce himself), and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.’ Here Jesus takes this order that was so necessary for our redemption in the unique substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and applies it to the Christian’s life. The order – rejected, slain, raised – is also the order of the Christian life of true spirituality: there is no other.

"If we forget the absolute uniqueness of Christ’s death, we are in heresy. As soon as we set aside or minimize, as soon as we cut down in any way (as the liberals of all kinds do in their theology), the uniqueness and substitutionary character of Christ’s death, our teaching is no longer Christian. On the other hand, let us remember the other side of the matter. If we forget the relationship of this order to us as Christians, then we have a sterile orthodoxy, and we have no true Christian life. Spirituality in any true biblical sense will come to an end.

"Jesus is talking here about our death by choice in the present life. He applies it to a specific situation to make it more concrete. ‘For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels’ (verse 26). The Bible is not speaking of some romantic feeling, some idealization, some abstraction. Jesus carries this concept of facing the rejection, being slain, down into a very practical situation: facing an alien world. It is the saying ‘no’ to self when our natural selves would desire acceptance by the alien world – a world in revolt against its Creator and our Lord. As we look at the New Testament as a whole, we find that this command of Christ is not limited to one situation; it is that which is to be the whole mentality and outlook of the Christian’s life. What is being presented to us here is the question of the Christian’s mentality in all of life, and the order stands: rejected, slain, raised. As Christ’s rejection and death are the first steps in the order of redemption, so our rejection and death to things and self are the first steps in the order of true and growing spirituality. As there could be no next step in the order of Christ’s redemption until the step of death was taken, so in the Christian there can be no further step until these first two steps are faced – not in theory only, but at least in some partial practice. Rejected, slain." (Dr. Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality, Crossway Books, p. 221-222)
The Truth:

"Romans 6:4a: We were buried with him by baptism into death

Romans 6:6a: Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him

Galatians 2:20a: I am crucified with Christ

Galatians 6:14: But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom 9or whereby) the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Ibid, p. 215 [italics added])

More on this topic tomorrow. . . .

There are many interconnections between Bob Buford of the Leadership Network, Rick Warren of "purpose-driven" fame, and Brian McLaren of the "Emerging Church." On the website http://www.anewkindofchristian.com/archives/000226.html, "The website for A New Kind of Christian, Brian McLaren answers the question, "How did Emergent start?"

"1. Emergent grew out of the Young Leader Networks, which was launched in the mid-90’s by Leadership Network, a Dallas-based foundation. Doug Pagitt, Chris Seay, Andrew Jones, Brad Smith, and others were involved before I was, and they did a great job of setting a tone and direction for the emergent conversation."

In order to understand the significance of this answer, a bit of background information might be helpful. This is a movement that is bringing in new doctrines and new church structures, particularly targeted at a younger generation of Christians. Berit Kjos, writing about Brian McLaren, notes the connection between McLaren and Rick Warren and comments on the methods of changing doctrine:

"While many pastors and church leaders have written books that describe this spiritual transformation, the message of Pastor Brian McLaren carries more weight since he is an acknowledged leader in this movement. Some of his articles are posted at http://www.pastors.com/, a website founded by Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life. McLaren's book, A New Kind of Christian, is written as a semi-fictional dialogue, so that readers can experience the thrill of questioning old truths and discovering new truth through the dialectic process. . . . [T]he introduction touts the postmodern worldview while raising doubts about Biblical faith . . . . " [http://www.crossroad.to/News/Church/Klenck2.html]

Robert Klenck, in an excellent and comprehensive article at http://www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/church/new-kind-christian.htm entitled "What's Wrong With the 21st Century Church?" writes about the purpose of the Emerging Church:

"The Mission of the Leadership Network is to 'Accelerate the emergence of the 21st-century church,' and that the (emerging) 'paradigm (of the 21st century church) is not centered in theology, but rather it is focused on structure, organization, and the transition from an institutionally based church to a mission-driven church.' [emphasis added]

"The Young Leader Networks, affiliated with the Leadership Network, under the heading 'People We Connect' state that they connect 'Theologians who construct new theologies that emerge out of practice.' and that 'We need your help to move to this “new age” of ministry built upon various experiences and expressions (emphasis added).' 'Our vision is to contextualize our message…by narrative preaching opposed to propositional. … within the framework of relationship. We prefer the mediums of art, expression, and experience opposed to a 95-point sermon used by generations before us to communicate truth.'" [emphasis added]

[A more comprehensive history and explanation of Bob Buford and the Leadership Network is found in Robert Klenck's report, "How Diaprax Manifests Itself in the Church (Growth Movement)," available in a booklet published by the Institution for Authority Research's "Readings in the Dialectic" (e-mail iardeangotcher@yahoo.com for information on how to purchase this excellent report). For more information on the Leadership Network and Rick Warren, see "The Shepherding Movement Comes of Age," at http://www.discernment-ministries.org/NLjanfeb_2003.htm and "The Pied Pipers of Purpose," http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Purpose_Driven.pdf.]

"What Is Emerging?"

In an article with this title, Chuck Smith, Jr. wrote in April 28, 2005, under a section entitled "Rewind to the 1970s" that Leadership Network had a direct role in setting up the Emergent Church:

"As far back as 1970, Larry Richards was calling for A New Face for the Church and in 1975 Howard Snyder pointed out The Problem with Wineskins. The student revolution of the 1960s marked the beginning of change in western society, and prescient believers were already discovering that the church would have to alter some of its structures in order to recast biblical community in the new world, still forming. The recommended changes of the ‘60s, however, had more to do with tweaking existing structures rather than calling the entire structure, right down to its foundation, into question.

"In the last decade of the 20th century, a small group of Christian leaders were drawn together by their mutual conviction that evangelicalism had produced a subculture that was no longer the best possible representation of Christianity. The world that had given birth to North American evangelical institutions (established basically through the 1940s to the 1960s) had disappeared by 1990. These believers realized that pushing the same methodologies (perhaps even the idea of methodology) and striving to salvage the old worldview would increasingly alienate popular culture and future generations of Christian youth.

"The group that met together to discuss these issues was fortunately blessed with astute and theologically informed thinkers like Brian McLaren and Tony Jones; ecclesiastical innovators like Todd Hunter, Chris Seay, and Brad Cecil; advocates of worship renewal like Sally Morgenthaler; and world-Christians like Andrew Jones. Scholars who had been discerning the times—Len Sweet, Stanley Grenz, N. T. Wright, Robert Webber, and Dallas Willard, to name a few—forged a biblical vocabulary that enabled the early team to converse intelligently on issues that were their passion. All of them shared two basic beliefs: western culture had radically changed since the 1950s, and the church desperately needed renovation to respond to cultural changes.

"The more the original crew talked among themselves, the more their numbers grew. In the early 1990s, Leadership Network provided the initial platform for them to generate more discussions and host conferences. Later they adopted the name The TerraNova Project, and when Leadership Network withdrew its support, they became Emergent, which Brian McLaren insists is a conversation rather than a movement." [New link
http://www.forministry.com/vsItemDisplay.dsp&objectID=A670797B-0CBE-43D1-A877B4F9EA43CC4F&method=display&templateID=C3435351-D45C-4B52-867A3F794D1CD85C, emphasis added]

Brian McLaren confirms this history in an interview at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week846/interview.html, July 15, 2005, in answer to the question "How did all of this get started?"

"Well, back in the early 1990s there was an organization called Leadership Network funded by an individual in Texas, and Leadership Network was bringing together the leaders of megachurches around the country. By the early and mid-'90s, they noticed, though, that the kinds of people that were coming to their events were getting a year older every year, and there wasn't a [group of] younger people filling in. They were one of the first major organizations to notice this.

"They started realizing that there was a sentence that was being said by church leaders of all denominations across the country, and that was, "You know, we don't have anybody between 18 and 35." When they started paying attention to this increased dropout rate among young adults in church attendance, that opened up a discussion in the mid-'90s about Gen X. And so they starting bringing together young leaders in the Gen X category to talk about what was working in the church, what wasn't working, what was going on.

"After a couple of years some of these young Gen X guys said, 'You know, it's not really about a generation. It's really about philosophy; it's really about a cultural shift. It's not just about a style of dress, a style of music, but that there's something going on in our culture. And those of us who are younger have to grapple with this and live with this." The term that they were using was the shift from modern to a postmodern culture. And so what began to happen -- and as this thing had a life of its own, they said, 'If it's not just about Gen X, then we have to make sure that we get some older people who aren't just in that age frame to talk about this.'

"I had just written a book on the subject. That's how I got involved, and it turned out that there were a number of us, all simultaneously thinking we were the only one talking about it and thinking and writing about it, who all around the same time were noticing the same phenomenon. So it was a very exciting coming together of these younger leaders and some of us a little bit older, saying, 'This is our world, and this is the future. And the Christian faith and our individual churches, we've got to engage with and deal with it.'"

The Truth:

Pastor Enrique Ivaldi, at www.freewebs.com/luteranos/ in a recent sermon entitled "Ye are Clean, But Not All," observed:

"There is much truth in what the devil teaches. Remember, the devil is called the master deceiver in Scripture and to deceive people, you have to use truth. You cannot use all error. Nobody would be deceived if it were all error. You have to mix truth and error together and that is what the devil is a master at doing. There is much truth in what the devil teaches. In fact, there is so much truth in it that you may not be able to find anything wrong with it. In these last days that truth will be so combined with error that unless the Holy Ghost is working on your mind, you will not be able to tell the difference."

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:3)

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

There is currently a rapid explosion of alliances between ministries, missions, and corporate ventures. Big business has entered the Church with partnerships for "advancing the Kindgom" and with promises of winning new souls along with profits. These marketplace "ministries" are popping up all over, particularly in Rick Warren's activities on the continent of Africa [see http://www.discernment-ministries.org/NLJulyAugust_2005.htm for more details on this point].

The postmodern, neoevangelical, emergent, etc. (fill in the blank) church has opened its arms to embrace a new"ministry" of saving souls by conducting business. In fact, marketing has entered the church as a "kingdom-building strategy." Cell church and church planting structures (by whatever name) are based on the Amway system of network marketing.

Name brand positioning to market one's one unique style of evangelism, church growth methodology or theology is now commonplace. For example, "purpose-driven" is inextricably linked to the man Rick Warren and his particular folksy style. The same is true of the term "Emergent" or "emerging" and Brian McLaren. An article from Publishers Weekly that ran earlier this year gives some interesting history of how "Emergent" is now a marketing bonanza for the publishing industry. An article entitled "Pomos Toward Paradise: A new subcategory points Christians to an emerging faith for a postmodern world," by Marcia Ford from 1/17/2005, discloses:

" . . . in the 1990s several existing groups and companies began to converge after recognizing their shared vision for ministry in a postmodern world: Youth Specialties and Zondervan, which had already enjoyed a 30-year partnership—with Zondervan publishing a line of ministry resources for youth workers for the organization—and the Young Leaders Network, affiliated with Leadership Network. 'The Young Leaders Network started doing some exploration in this area [of postmodernism],' said Youth Specialties president Mark Ostreicher. 'About that same time, some friends of mine started using the phrase 'emerging church' and formed a group called Emergent. We formed a partnership with them on day two of their existence, which is why our imprint is called emergentYS.'

"Not surprisingly, emergentYS has become the imprint most closely associated with the movement, with its author roster composed largely of members of the Emergent network. . . . "

The Publishers Weekly article explains the careful market positioning with the new name-brand of "Emergent."

"Partly because of the amorphous nature of the emerging church movement—unlike a denomination with a clearly defined and easily reached demographic—titles in the subcategory tend to stay in print and continue to sell long after their initial release dates. An example is McLaren's A New Kind of Christian. 'Sales have doubled every year, which is not the backlist pattern we normally see,' said Sheryl Fullerton, executive editor of the Jossey-Bass religion line. 'In that book, Brian crystallized a lot of the questions people had. It became one of the seminal texts of the movement, and I think that's why it's continuing to do really well.'

"'The longevity of pomo ["postmodern," ed.] titles can also be attributed to steady sales resulting from word-of-mouth marketing. "The emerging church is a community. They're bloggers, they have independent Web sites, and there's all this conversation going on,' Fullerton told PW. . . ."

"That kind of viral networking keeps books by some of the movement's most popular authors—Leonard Sweet, Robert E. Webber, Dan Kimball, Stan Grenz, John Franke, Spencer Burke, Mike Yaconelli—in print for years, including some titles that released in the mid 1990s." [emphasis added]

The secular Publishers Weekly aptly describes the Emergent niche in the overall evangelical market:

"As the Emerging Church name implies, the movement is one that has not fully arrived. Those taking part in the movement wouldn't have it any other way. A resistance to anything final and formulaic sets pomos apart from the modernist's emphasis on science, reason and propositional truth. Pomos see faith as a journey that integrates core values such as community, relevance, relationship, transformation, mission, story and interaction with a post-Christian culture." [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA496162.html?pubdate=1%2F17%2F2005&display=archive]

The Truth:

For several articles critiquing the Emergent church, see "Emergent Church: Where Is The Truth?" http://www.apprising.org/archives/2005/11/emergent_church.html and "Emerging With A Christian View Of Scripture" http://www.apprising.org/archives/2005/09/emerging_with_a_1.html.

"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all of them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." (Matthew 21:12-13)

In an article entitled "Cool Kids Church" by Eric Landry posted at http://tinyurl.com/a975a there is a quasi-critique of McLaren's Emergent Church. The critique itself is illustrative of the neo-evangelical gospel of accommodation to culture. The Modern Reformation magazine folks (in post-modern fashion) suggest that everyone go out for a beer.

"Most of us here at Modern Reformation like the Emergent Church folks. . . .

"But the appreciation is a nervous one. As much as we are warmed by their insightful criticism of Evangelicalism, we just can’t shake the sense that these children of the megachurch are taking their postmodern angst and marketing it to the urban jungles just like their chino-wearing, cool hair dads did in middle America. That, of course, leads us to wonder if Emergent will really offer anything substantially different than what they are critiquing.

"After reading their books and blogs, conversing with them, and attending their conferences most of us just want to grab a beer and talk with these men and women. I think we would find that we have much in common and I would hope that our own like-minded efforts might serve to keep the Emergent folks from swinging the pendulum too far in an unhealthy direction. . . . [emphasis added]

"Will the Emergent Church be anything other than another passing evangelical fad? We hope so. But in order to be such the movement will have to acknowledge how their history as an evangelical institution (as the Young leaders Network and Terra Nova Project, arms of the Leadership Network) continues to shape their present course. In order to be a real force for good within Evangelicalism the movement will have to go beyond Evangelicalism and appropriate a churchly tradition that gives it real depth, not just an ecclesiological field guide. Otherwise, their efforts at reform will be truncated, for Evangelicalism can’t be reformed. By its very nature the movement is shaped not by confession or doctrine but by personality, culture, and circumstance. And thus far, that seems to be what is shaping the efforts of the Emergent Church as well." (Modern Reformation, July/August 2005, volume 14 issue 4).

More relevant history of the Emergent movement, particularly documenting its links to Bob Buford and Leadership Network, can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/5lfd8;
http://tinyurl.com/9aaxc;
http://tinyurl.com/awxdz;
http://tinyurl.com/bzkbd;

But Buford, who birthed Emergent (see yesterday's post), wasn't just influenced by evangelicalism. It is important to examine the larger picture. Buford was a project of Peter Drucker, who needed a vehicle to reinvent the private sector of society to fit his communitarian designs. Bob Buford recently wrote in his "musings" of his indebtedness to Peter Drucker, business guru:

"And thank You for Peter Drucker’s life, which he invested in my own life and the lives of so many others. He has enlightened the path before me for 25 years or more. He is irreplaceable. Help me to extend his legacy to others like me." http://tinyurl.com/cl5s7

The Truth:

The late Dr. Francis Schaeffer, writing in The Great Evangelical Disaster, warned of the consequences of this new gospel of accommodation to culture.

"Accommodation, accommodation. How the mindset of accommodation grows and expands. The last sixty years have given birth to a moral disaster, and what have we done? Sadly we must say that the evangelical world has been part of the disaster. More than this, the evangelical response itself has been a disaster. Where is the clear voice speaking to the crucial issues of the day with distinctively biblical, Christian answers? With tears we must say it is not there and that a large segment of the evangelical world has become seduced by the world spirit of this present age. And more than this, we can expect the future to be a further disaster if the evangelical world does not take a stand for biblical truth and morality in the full spectrum of life. For the evangelical accommodation to the world of our age represents the removal of the last barrier against the breakdown of our culture. And with the final removal of this barrier will come social chaos and the rise of authoritarianism in some form to restore social order." (Crossway Books, p. 401)

1 John 5: 1-3
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."

After Brian McLaren of the "Emergent" brand of neo-evangelicalism was named one of the top 25 most influential Evangelicals in America today by TIME magazine (Feb. 7, 2005), Homiletics Online published an interview with him entitled "A Generous, not Suspicious, Orthodoxy" [http://www.tinyurl.com/c4n99]. In this interview McLaren discusses a new term that he has invented: post-colonial.

"HOMILETICS: So a new kind of Christian is one who transcends these labels?

"McLAREN: I don’t want to use the word “transcend,” as it sounds superior. But a new kind of Christian is someone who doesn’t feel like he or she fits anymore, and feels he or she is moving into something beyond these polarizations. Another word for post modern is post-colonial. Part of what goes along with a colonial approach to Christianity is a very control-oriented approach to things. One way to describe colonialism is that the people of Europe or people of European descent know how things are and the rest of the world needs to conform to their way of thinking." [emphasis added]

[Note: the invention of new terminologies by post-modern evangelical leaders is often employed in a dialectic manner: 1) A traditional Christian practice or doctrine is described as bad because of any number of reasons, including a good dose of revisionist history; and 2) Therefore, we need to replace this bad practice or orthodoxy with a better method, formula, doctrine, or practice. Out with the big, bad OLD. In with the seductive, generous, broad-way NEW.]

The case was recently made by McLaren, at a Fuller Theological Seminary "book signing" and "conversation" (11/8/05) that there is something wrong with colonial. Colonial, according to McLaren, represents all of the worst aspects of exporting American religion abroad. Therefore, evangelicals need to become post-colonial, whereby Americans stop imposing their westernized Christianity on the Third World. This means American Churches need to sit down in “conversation” with churches and believers in other parts of the world, accept their experiences and versions of Christianity as valid, accept them as equals and learn from them. This means embracing things that on the surface may seem New Age or pagan as valid expressions of the faith. McLaren mentioned examples -- some cultures’ view of God include viewing God as “Chief,” “Brother,” “Ancestor,” and a number of others. This type of contextualization (syncretism of Christianity with paganism) is apparently acceptable to McLaren.

So, colonial now refers to American Christianity, which is lumped in with all of the bad aspects of western culture. In fairness, it must be noted that there is much to criticize about American Christianity, and many of its worst aspects are currently being exported overseas via the evangelical media. But McLaren's inference is that colonial also means anything pertaining to the traditional Gospel of the Bible. McLaren's solution -- post-colonial -- represents a syncretism of new gospel theologies and pagan practices.

Commentary

McLaren's use of the term post-colonial is disengenuous. The Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan that Rick Warren is implementing in Africa is colonialism. This plan for Africa is all about building an empire, a network -- a partnership of church, state (UN and nations) and corporations. As such, it represents a horrible new form of western "colonialism." In fact, it could be termed "Christian imperialism" because it is being done in the name of "advancing" (in a military sense of the word) the Kingdom of God on Earth.

McLaren's interconnections with Rick Warren are multitudinous. They were both "projects" of Bob Buford, and were fed the same diet of Peter Druckerisms. Like two sides to a coin, they are both implementing the same global Plan. McLaren is filling the theological niche in his attempts to reach the younger generation with a neo-paganized gospel. Rick Warren is filling the methodological niche by setting up a global church-state-corporate partnership structure.

Rick Warren is exporting (marketing) his purpose-driven brand of American Christianity to the Third World -- particularly targeting Africa. He is creating "toolkits" (methodologies) which rely upon the system of accountability (monitoring, databanking and assessing results) promulgated by Peter Drucker. Some of Warren's global partners have plans to implement a systemic methodology invented by humanist psychologist B. F. Skinner (rewarding the compliant, penalizing the noncompliant). The plan is based on the 3-legged stool concept of Drucker -- Corporate (businesses, markeplaces), Church (private sector, charities, foundations) and State (international and national governments, who set the standards for accountability). This Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan is the most massive exportation of western colonialism in history -- and it is all being done in the name of building the Kingdom of God on Earth!

How deceptive, then, for McLaren to create the term "post-colonial." Post-colonial ominously appears to represent a brave new world of "Christian imperialism" that "advances the Kingdom" with a syncretized pagan-gospel in partnership with multi-national corporations and global governance entities.

[For background reading on this commentary, see www.discernment-ministries.org newsletter reports on the Global Day of Prayer, The Second Reformation, and "The Pied Pipers of Purpose."]

The Truth:

The Emergent, syncretized, neo-pagan gospel soup is best described by the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer:

"While I was in Finland some years ago, A Bible-believing university professor there used the following illustration. A new liberal, he says, is like a shopkeeper who keeps many things under the counter. When the old-fashioned liberal comes in and asks for old-fashioned liberalism, the new liberal reaches under the counter and says, 'That is just what we have here.' When the Bible-beliving Christian comes in, the new liberal reaches under the counter and says, 'That is just what we have here.' The new theology is able to do this because of its both-and mentality. Opposites can still be mutually true." (The Church Before the Watching World, p. 125)

For good reading, see Apprising Ministries article "EMERGENT CHURCH: Is There Absolute Truth?" at http://tinyurl.com/avbne

I John 2: 18-26

"Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you."

Peter Drucker, the management guru who had a profound effect on modern evangelicalism, passed away on Friday, November 11th. Shortly before his passing, Bob Buford of Leadership Network and HalfTime fame, wrote a special ActiveEnergy.net "prayer about aging" which included a tribute to Drucker:

" And thank You for Peter Drucker’s life, which he invested in my own life and the lives of so many others. He has enlightened the path before me for 25 years or more. He is irreplaceable. Help me to extend his legacy to others like me." [ http://tinyurl.com/928nf]

In an interview in the Spring of 2003, Bob Buford explained some of the interconnections.

"When I was young, I became the head of Buford Television. I didn't think I knew how to manage, and the person who made the most sense to me was Peter Drucker. In practical things -- such as how to manage -- Peter is the smartest and most profound human being alive on the planet today. I apprenticed myself to his thinking, and it worked.

"Later, I began to think, 'I wonder what that body of management knowledge would do if applied to nonprofits and churches.' . . . I simply joined two strands of my life: my desire to expand God's Kingdom on Earth and the need for management.

"I found Peter's two greatest fans, Frances Hesselbein and Dick Schubert, and we conspired to create a foundation for nonprofit management with Peter Drucker at the center that would attract other 'planets' in the management universe. Today, we have 300 thought leaders who under the umbrella of the Drucker Foundation -- now the Leader to Leader Institute -- have lent their best thoughts to the non-profit world." [http://tinyurl.com/cke92] [emphases added]

In 1984 Bob Buford founded Leadership Network to be a resource broker to supply information to evangelical leaders and pastors, particularly targeting those who wanted to develop innovative churches. This organization has served as the main conduit for Drucker's philosophies and practices to enter evangelicaldom. Four years later in 1988 Bob Buford founded the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management (now the Leader to Leader Institute).

Peter Drucker served as one of Rick Warren's mentors. To read a fascinating published conversation between Drucker and Warren, visit: http://tinyurl.com/cmxup. For some additional history on Buford's early Leadership Network, visit: http://tinyurl.com/8daag. For more information about how Bob Buford set up Young Leaders (now Emergent) , see the November 11th Herescope. For a firsthand account of the story, visit http://tinyurl.com/5lfd8 . It becomes obvious, after reading these pages, that there was a particular agenda that was derived from Drucker, and these organizations and individuals were set up to accomplish it.

The Truth:

For further understanding about the profound influence of Peter Drucker, see the monograph, The Pied Pipers of Purpose: Human Capital Systems and Church Performance [http://tinyurl.com/8d5xv]. Prior to delving into an extended history of Drucker's influence, the authors write:

"Peter Drucker is now 94 years old. Should this paper end up in his hands, we sincerely urge him to repent and renounce the deeds he has committed during the long lifetime that the Lord has given him on this earth. It is not too late for you to repent, sir, and we urgently plead with you for the sake of your soul. May God have mercy on you for the influence your ideas have had upon the past three generations of mankind, and will have on the future generations yet to come. Although you say you are a believer, your testimony is incomplete and conflicting. Your writings and works reflect the esoteric philosophies that you grew up with and have embraced during your lifetime, not the humble, simple, pure Word of God." (p. 12)

"As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them." (Psalm 103: 15-18)

Peter Drucker was the "mentor" of Bob Buford of Leadership Network. Leadership Network has played a key role in building and training a generation of pastoral "leaders" immersed in the business philosophies of Drucker. Like leaven, the thoughts and ideas of Drucker have permeated throughout the evangelical world. Buford's role has been to add sugar to the starter, making sure that the leaven could rapidly fill the whole lump.

Below are some current Internet postings, pertaining to Drucker's recent passing, which demonstrate the pervasiveness of Drucker's influence, particularly through the conduit of Bob Buford. From Dallas News, November 15, 2005:

"Dallas author Bob Buford, a co-founder and the first chairman of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, has lost a beloved mentor.

"'Like Shakespeare, Einstein and Lincoln, there's only one of him,' says Mr. Buford, who attended Mr. Drucker's funeral in California on Monday. 'Drucker came at a unique moment in history when he was most needed.'

"Mr. Buford credits his mentor with transforming management into the 'alternative to tyranny.' He says that's largely responsible for "the peace and prosperity of the second half of the 20th century.'

"No small feat there. "

"'I've long since ceased trying to determine what thoughts are mine and which come from Peter,' says Mr. Buford, author of Finishing Well, a management book." [http://tinyurl.com/984s8]

At the ActiveEnergy.net website, Bob Buford posted "a list of articles, musings and other bits about Peter." [http://tinyurl.com/b6t83] Also posted at ActiveEnergy.net is a tribute to Peter Drucker, in which Buford proclaims:

"Peter lived in the bloodiest, most murderous century on record. He observed both its awful carnage and its colossal growth clear eyed. He did his best to point out its flaws. He provided us, those of us who remain, with an 'Alternative to Tyranny,' the main theme of his sixty years of hard work. He was responsible. He did not despair. He worked ceaselessly almost to the last to provide us with signposts and a path out of this dark night." [ http://tinyurl.com/c6wta]

The Truth:

Peter Drucker was highly influenced by the esoteric German philosophies swirling around during the 1800s. He took many of these philosophies, which were antithetical to orthodox Christianity. Rather than taking the human race out of a "dark night," these philosophies are the same ones that gave rise to the totalitarian governments of the 20th century.

The most insidious of Drucker's ideas is the concept of "knowledge workers" based on a model of "human capital." This idea assigns each human being an economic worth. It places demands upon humans for performance to achieve results under an onerous "system" of accountability. This is not a biblical model, nor is it compatible with orthodox Christianity. But rather it is a utilitarian model for managing people on Earth.

The effects of Drucker's thought upon the modern evangelical church have been to create a results-oriented, purpose-driven, works-based theological structure. For more information on this topic, read "The Pied Pipers of Purpose" at http://www.tinyurl.com/8d5xv .

"LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him! Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away." (Psalm 144:3-4)

In August 2000, "From Success to Significance: Faithworks," Barbara Elliott wrote about Bob Buford's investments -- time and talent, as well as monetary -- in the nonprofit sector. [http://tinyurl.com/7eklr]

"Since 1987, Bob Buford has poured most of his time, talent and financial resources into a series of overlapping and complementary nonprofit ventures."

Another official history of Bob Buford on-line at http://tinyurl.com/cnlo9 records more information about his investments. Mentioned below is Ken Blanchard, a controversial consultant popular in neo-evangelical circles who has close connections with the higher echelons of New Age leadership:

"After Selling Buford Television, Inc. in 1999, Bob officially entered into his halftime on a full-time basis. The mission of The Buford Foundation is to identify and resource people, ideas and organizations that have the potential to produce 100X results for the Kingdom. Buford Foundation is the "incubator" - the place where good ideas get tested to see of they are 100X ideas. Some of the ideas in which Buford Foundation has invested itself are:

". . . The Center for FaithWalk Leadership - an initiative started by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges to encourage business leaders to use Jesus as their coach for developing leadership skills. You can find more information at www.leadlikejesus.com."

The previously cited Barbara Elliott article, takes note of Peter Drucker's involvement in all of this activity by Bob Buford.

"One of Bob Buford’s mentors and best friends is Peter Drucker, the renowned business management guru. Drucker has devoted a great deal of time and energy to nonprofit management as well and is committed to revitalizing what he calls the 'social sector.' Drucker’s wisdom in management has been directed to training the leaders of nonprofits to bring forth a renaissance in the private, social sector. . . .

"The result of that brainstorming between Peter Drucker and Bob Buford was the birth of FaithWorks in 1998. FaithWorks set out to build a bridge linking business leaders in 'halftime' to leaders of faith-based organizations in the social sector. FaithWorks seminars and workshops, which have been held in eleven cities throughout the U.S., were launched to inspire business leaders and help them identify their abilities using sophisticated tools. They also make use of inspiring messages from "half-timers" like Ken Blanchard, author of the One Minute Manager."

The Truth:

For more information about Ken Blanchard see Christian Research Service's reports at http://tinyurl.com/dq9x9.

"Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death." (Prov. 11:4)

The post-mortem accolades are pouring in for the managemant giant, Peter Drucker, who passed away a week ago at age 95. His influence spanned nearly a century and reached far beyond big corporations into the private sector. Previous Herescope posts have examined some of his influence over key individuals and movements in neo-evangelicaldom. Today's post covers just a few more examples of his far-reaching influence:

"Some of Mr Drucker's most innovative work was with voluntary and religious institutions . . . . Mr Drucker told his clients, who included the American Red Cross and the Girl Scouts of America, that they needed to think more like businesses—albeit businesses that dealt in 'changed lives' rather than in maximising profits. Their donors, he warned, would increasingly judge them not on the goodness of their intentions, but on the basis of their results.

"One perhaps unexpected example of Druckerism is the modern mega-church movement. He suggested to evangelical pastors that they create a more customer-friendly environment (hold back on the overt religious symbolism and provide plenty of facilities). Bill Hybels, the pastor of the 17,000-strong Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, has a quotation from Mr Drucker hanging outside his office: 'What is our business? Who is our customer? What does the customer consider value?'" ("Trusting the teacher in the grey-flannel suit" The Economist, Nov 17th 2005 [http://tinyurl.com/8ntzb]) [emphases added]

Business Week's cover story for November 28, 2005 is entitled "The Man Who Invented Management: Why Peter Drucker's ideas still matter" [http://tinyurl.com/a5avy]. These ideas have become commonplace in the modern mega-churches:

"Whether it's recognized or not, the organization and practice of management today is derived largely from the thinking of Peter Drucker. His teachings form a blueprint for every thinking leader. . . . In a world of quick fixes and glib explanations, a world of fads and simplistic PowerPoint lessons, he understood that the job of leading people and institutions is filled with complexity. He taught generations of managers the importance of picking the best people, of focusing on opportunities and not problems, of getting on the same side of the desk as your customer, of the need to understand your competitive advantages, and to continue to refine them. He believed that talented people were the essential ingredient of every successful enterprise. . . .

"In his later years, as his health weakened, so did Drucker's magnetic pull. Although he maintained a coterie of corporate followers, he increasingly turned his attention to nonprofit leaders, from Frances Hesselbein of the Girl Scouts of the USA to Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life, considered Drucker a mentor. 'Drucker told me: "The function of management in a church is to make the church more churchlike, not more businesslike. It's to allow you to do what your mission is,"' Warren said. 'Business was just a starting point from which he had this platform to influence leaders of all different kinds." [emphases added]

Despite Warren's claims that Drucker's ideas helped his church become more "churchlike," Drucker believed that non-profits needed to act more like business. The Economist article, cited previously, continued:

"Mr Drucker went further than just applying business techniques to managing voluntary organisations. He believed that such entities have many lessons to teach business corporations. They are often much better at engaging the enthusiasm of their volunteers—and they are also better at turning their “customers” into “marketers” for their organisation. These days, business organisations have as much to learn from churches as churches have to learn from them." [emphasis added]

The Market-Driven Church

Drucker was not only influential in training evangelical leaders in his social management philosophy, but he also was the man behind the modern marketing extravaganza going on in evangelicaldom. For example, Rick Warren's brand name "purpose-driven" reflects the "results-driven" philosophy of Peter Drucker. "Master of Marketing" is the title given to Peter Drucker by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in a recent tribute posted at http://tinyurl.com/9rjmc:

"Wide-ranging as Drucker's contributions were to the field of management, his writings about marketing are as important, say Wharton professors. Stephen J. Hoch, chairperson of the marketing department, describes Drucker as 'the Warren Buffett of management gurus. His analysis of management and marketing issues always was pithy and to the point. No pandering to buzzwords and fads, but a constancy of message, with straightforward reasoning and clearly articulated ideas. The following statement attributed to Drucker is today still the essence of marketing: "The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. (It) ... is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing