Just checked in on children’s ministry at my former church. The curriculum I helped teach just a few years ago is either getting progressively worse, or it was edited by the church and they aren’t doing it exactly as published on the web site…or I was blind to the weirdness. The last Sunday’s lesson included having the children relax, they could even recline on the floor and take off their shoes. The “shepherd” was to light candles and play a CD of “God So Loved the World” by Jackie Velasquez. We never did this. I recall playing the song and helping the children memorize the verse, but did not light candles and encourage the kids to lie on the floor. I am disturbed by the suggestion that “there is no right answer” to questions. Below is a cut and paste of the questions from the curriculum:
◆ How How much does God love you?
◆ Can you think of someone you love enough to sacrifice something for them?
◆ What is eternal life?
◆ What does Jesus tell us to do so we can live with him in heaven forever after
we die?
◆ What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
There is no right answer to “what does it mean to believe in Jesus?” Okay, so why spend the time talking about this? “What is eternal life” doesn’t have a right answer? Come on people. This is just downright foolish talk.
The suggestion for “large group worship” is to use wind chimes for a call to worship. When has this been a practice in church? I do not have a problem with candles and bells being used as I don’t think this is a sin. I do, however, think it’s not just for getting attention or for making the room pretty. There is a specific agenda, and it involves a specific mindset in teaching. The children are being prepped for meditation. They are being preened for contemplative prayer. I do know that bells are often used in eastern religious experiences. Not sure if it’s been so in Catholic churches. I just find it unfair that the parents are told this is “spiritual formation” and are not given an honest picture of what that means and where it’s going.
The curriculum comes with this at the bottom:
Copyright © Vickie Bare. Printed
Workshop Zone® Rotation Sunday School Curriculum by Cook Communications
I hope you know that I KNOW what you have gone through. It’s very surreal. You scratch your head wondering why others don’t connect the dots and become concerned as well?
Who would have guessed that the new age would so completely envelope the church??
I guess I am fortunate enough to have studied Eastern Art and Religion in college so I was able to spot it for what it was and is, and the evil behind it.
Brenda
Brenda,
I happened to read “The Dangers of the Rainbow” (I think that’s the title) which I borrowed from the brother in law and sister of a boyfriend when I was in college. I saw all these terms then, and some stuck. I recall also spending time with a group of young Christians who discovered a hall director was into the New Age. The poems we came across by this director were very much more than New Age fluff, they were demonic. That time I learned things I never thought I would need IN the church. Praying for you Brenda. It’s tough…
satan has really stepped up his attacks, AND delusions…I can see nw why Jesus said that HE would spew Laodicea out of HIS Mouth.
It IS a sickening blend of ancient paganism, “The Two Babylons” shows the history of so much(you can find it online since it is out of print. And the footnotes are excellent.)
It’s by Alexander Hislop, you will be amazed at how much nimrodism is in the new age movement.
And I agree that getting your children out was imperative! They are a precious heritage of the Lord and need to be cherished…not led down the primrose path to destructio!
G*D bless and MARANATHA!
tmw
Well, it’s maybe a coincidence that I got on this today, but I just finished printing out a Lighthouse Trails article that I will pass out to the board tonight (pray for me, tonight will not be easy).
It’s called “Message Bible for Little Kids on Contemplative Meditation”. The link is here:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=753&more=1&c=1
I guess indoctrination of the kids early has been added to the strategy to get the whole world on the contemplative bandwagon.
I “followed” you from Pyro because our experiences are so very similar. You expressed clearly here something I caught the scent of but didn’t properly identify… the way the children are being groomed for new practices.
Scary.
We got out, too.
Julie
I disagree with a couple of your concerns. First- there is a right answer to what does it mean to believe in Jesus. We find that answer in Scripture. However, it is much better for children to discover that answer through guided discussion rather than be told a dogmatic answer that doesn’t require them to think.
Secondly, what is eternal life also has a right answer. The fact that God created us as eternal beings holds great importance in our understanding of our life purpose and hope for the future. There is not point in the resurrection of Jesus without an understanding of eternal life.
Third, contemplative prayer and use of music (even chimes) have had a place in CHRISTIAN worship for centuries. Also, Jesus calls us to meditate on him. The difference between Christian meditation and eastern meditation is that eastern meditation has a focus on emptying oneself in order to separate from this life–this physical body. Christian meditation also encourages us to empty ourselves- so that we may be FILLED with God. It is about being still before God so that we can hear what he has to say to us. God still speaks-we have to learn how to listen. We believe in a God that reveals himslef to us. We believe in a God that is separate from His creation and therefore is unknowable UNLESS he reveals himself to us. This requires us to know him through His methods of revelation- the Bible, the life of Jesus Christ, Creation, and the work of the Holy Spirit within us.
Perhaps some of the methods are scary, but if they help your child think and act on Christian principles–it may not be as Eastern as you think.
You know, just because a child acts and thinks on Christian principles doesn’t mean they are truly Christian and truly saved. The exercises and methods were never called for in the bible. Meditation is thinking on Jesus, not silence…not breathing exercises…not visualizing a new story or putting yourself into the story.
The church I hope my children enjoy is one like that in Acts. Although finding people to sell and communally share all their goods isn’t common and may not happen outright because of how our society is set up, other things done in the early church are important to me. Silence, contemplative prayer (and I’ve read it written by many different authors who have explained how it’s done…and I would say it is not just thinking about Jesus. First of all, thinking is not prayer…prayer is a petition/praise/adoration/confession and not sitting still and visualizing or repeating the same words over and over again. We do NOT need to empty ourselves in order to be filled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit just fills us, and we are humbled but we are not emptying ourselves. Since when are we to be works based in reguard to being filled with the Holy Spirit? Who changes us? God does.
Stumbled across your blog this morning, and just wanted to add. That especially where children are involved, I believe it is important to first establish a concrete idea that this is what we believe is true. This must be done without apology. There is a time and place for questioning, but for many of us this happens when we become more mature. To tell children, there is no right or wrong, just many paths is expecting them to see the world through your experience, which they lack by mere virtue of their age.
However, in my own experience, the basic difference between Eastern meditation and any Christian spiritual discipline starts with the empty/fill idea. Jesus does not ask us to make a perfect spot in our heart or mind first, so that He might live there and fill us up. He promises to come in and stay if we open the door. The work of clearing out the junk to make room for the good stuff is His. I have to be willing, not empty.
Thanks for your words and inspiration to think more deeply about how we raise our children spiritually.
Did God abandon the East? Is there nothing of God there? And all Western ideas are God saturated?! Sure, we don’t accept everything we come across that is new, but how often are we taking a detailed look at what we have been taught from childhood. Familiarity does not equal God.