Emerging Church Willow Creek Adds Globalist Tony Blair to Leadership Summit Faculty!

by Joanne Panettieri

Editor Kingdom Iconoclast

 

The big news out of emergent church leader Bill Hybels’ Willow Creek is that they have just signed up Tony Blair to be on the faculty of this year’s Leadership Summit.  Along with a faculty that includes business people, entrepreneurs, professors, pastors and the rock star Buno, they have now added a liberal politician and globalist!  And the sad part of it is that they think this is great! 

(you can watch the short video intro on their web site:  http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/2009/ )

The fact that these people think that worldly businessmen or politicians can teach Christian leaders something about leadership comes as no surprise to those of us who see the Church turned into a corporation.  Instead of CEOs we have Apostles and Prophets.   Instead of being led by the Holy Spirit they are led by their board of directors.  The sad part is that the Church leaders are so caught up in the gospel as a business enterprise that they are now being sucked into part of the greatest deception of the ages. 

Jesus himself refused to take part in even the temptation of being part of a “leadership summit”.    When Satan took him up to the summit of a mountain and tempted him, Jesus rebuked him.

Luke 4: 5 The devil led him up to a high place (summit, high and lofty place) and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.

Jesus was tempted with the highest level of worldly authority and leadership, and yet he refused. 

The word summit means:

summit  –noun

1. the highest point or part, as of a hill, a line of travel, or any object; top; apex.

2  the highest point of attainment or aspiration: the summit of one’s ambition.

3. the highest state or degree. 

4.  the highest level of diplomatic or other governmental officials: a meeting at the summit.

And a “summit meeting” is defined as:

1. any meeting or conference of top-level officials, executives, etc.

So, we see just by definition, these Christians already view themselves as the top level of the church.  (professional clergy class and every body else, the laity).  But Jesus himself tells the churches in the book of Revelation, that he hates the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which is a belief system where one takes power OVER the people. 

Nicolaitans  Strongs 3531  = “destruction of people” 

 Instead of following Jesus’ model for leadership,  “Let those who would be the greatest among you be the servant of all” and “Do not lord authority over each other like the gentiles do” they are now charging money (even to view it via satellite it’s $95.00 for an early registration) to learn worldly principals of leadership. 

“Following the example of Christ, and in stark contrast to the modus operandi of the world, we are to do “nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than ourselves”.  We are to “look not to (our) own interests, but to the interests of others” (Phil 2: 3-4)……  All of this involves exercising “power under”.   We are to engage in this behavior not out of duty to an abstract ethic, but because the life of the one who came under all humanity on Calvary is pumping kingdom life through our veins.  We are part of the growing revolutionary kingdom he began and is continuing to grow.  It is a kingdom that looks like him, a kingdom in which the greatest is the one who serves others…… While we might regard this kind of power as weak by kingdom-of-the-world criteria, in truth there is no greater power on the planet than self-sacrificial love.  Coming under others has a power to do what laws and bullets and bombs can never do – namely, bring about transformation in an enemy’s heart.” [1]

What Williow Creek is attempting to do is use people who have developed the leadership standards of this fallen world, the Babylonian “power over” structure, to train Christian leaders.  But, should any of this come as a surprise since it is coming out of Willow Creek?   Bill Hybels himself is on the cutting edge of the emergent church movement.   

Leadership Summit Speakers:

Bill Hybels

Bill Hybels  has strong ties with Dr Robert Schuller who promotes unbiblical links with other faiths and who in turn, was a disciple of Norman Vincent Peale. (positive thinking doctrine)   And he promotes ecumenism and praises the Roman Catholic Church. [2]

He was among a group of Christian leaders who, in 2007, signed a letter urging unity between Christians and Muslims based on the fact that we both worship the same God.  The following is from Lighthouse Trails:

“LTRP Note: The Christian Post article below is regarding a response by a significant number of evangelical leaders who have said that Christians and Muslims need to come together because they worship a common God.  Some of those who signed the Christian response are Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Bill Hybels, Leith Anderson and many others. One thing most of the signers have in common, and that is their propensity towards contemplative and/or emerging spiritualities.

By Ethan Cole  Christian Post Reporter

Christian leaders across denominational lines responded to the unprecedented open letter signed last month by 138 representative Muslim leaders with their own letter, calling on the two Abrahamic faiths to love God and neighbors together.

Christian leaders urged for an interfaith dialogue that moves beyond “polite” ecumenical talks between selected leaders. Instead, leaders of both faiths should hold dialogues to build relations that will “reshape” the two communities to “genuinely reflect our common love for God and for one another,” the Christian letter state.”[3]

Willow Creek has also hosted conferences with contemplative speakers,  teaching and promoting contemplative inter-spirituality.  They have also endorsed and promoted new age / Buddhist sympathizer Ken Blanchard.  And they also promote books by contemplatives Henri Nouwen and Dallas Willard, as well as New Age sympathizers Brian McLaren, and Leonard Sweet and emerging church leader, Erwin McManus.    [4]

According to Wikipedia:

“Willow Creek Community Church has become well-known as the prototypical mega-church , with modern worship, drama and messages focused toward the un-churched. Willow Creek’s four weekend services are “seeker sensitive”, with the mid-week “new community” services providing teaching for believers. The mid-week service was ended in the spring of 2008. In its place there are a wide range of classes to reach all church goers on their level of faith….. In 1992 Hybels launched the Willow Creek Association (WCA) to link like-minded, action-oriented churches with each other and with strategic vision, training, and resources[5]

But is the emergent church movement and why is it dangerous?  Originally it was known as the “seeker sensitive” church movement.  I call this bringing God down to man’s level and making Him socially relevant, instead of bringing fallen man UP to God’s level through repentance and faith.  People attending these “churches” many times don’t even get saved. 

Jan Markel explains:

“Some say the “Emergent Church” (EC) is the next step beyond the “seeker movement.” Leaders of the EC say they have answers for our generation even though it focuses on experience much more than the Bible….. Defining the EC is a little bit like nailing jello to the wall, but here goes anyway. It relies heavily on mysticism, a great danger to believers of all denominations. Some leaders will tell you that you cannot know truth. An EC service will often meet in homes, and will rely on extra-biblical paraphernalia, extra-sensory images, sounds, smells of candles and incense, silence, mystical meditation, making the sign of the cross, touching icons, statues of saints, rosary beads for Protestants, liturgy, yoga-like deep breathing, contemplative prayer, and sacraments–all for a full sensory immersion with the divine. In other words, they are looking for an encounter with the Lord using all their senses. Worship is stressed, but some would say more than the Word.

They borrow liturgical practices from the Orthodox, Lutheran, and Catholic Church and heavily from the traditions and views of Catholic Church Fathers.”[6]

The contemplative movement was birthed out of the ancient Catholic mystics traditions of meditation and is basically a form of Transcendental meditation using the Bible as your mantra.  

Tony Blair

Tony Blair: a proponent of the globalist one world anti-christ system :

“Both President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair speak boldly and often of their intentions to globalize the political and commercial affairs of the world’s nations.

Just this week, Tony Blair gave a major speech on internationalism and the reason for Britain’s (and America’s) involvement in Iraq. In his speech Blair said, “This is not a clash between civilizations, it is a clash about civilization. ‘We’ is not the West. ‘We’ are as much Muslim as Christian or Jew or Hindu. ‘We’ are those who believe in religious tolerance, openness to others, to democracy.”[7]

And according to the UK’s Independent Tony Blair is now making a bid to become the first permanent president of the EU:

“His return to the global stage would be a shock to his critics over the Iraq war and dismay many in Europe.

But The Independent on Sunday has learnt that Mr. Brown has accepted that his old rival should be in pole position for the appointment, on the basis that Britain needs to have a key figure in the architecture of the “new world order”.[8]

Tony Blair also recently converted to Catholicism and is now under the control of the Pope and the Vatican.  [9]

Blair and his wife, a well known new age practitioner participated in a Mayan rebirthing ceremony in 2001:

“In Mel Gibson’s blood-soaked film Apocalypto, the ancient Mayans are obsessed by human sacrifice.

The Blairs, however, preferred a gentler, A-mock-alypto Mayan vibe. Holidaying on the Mexican Riviera in August 2001, they underwent a “rebirthing ritual” in a temazcal – a Mayan steam bath which represents the womb. Herb-infused water was thrown over heated lava rocks to create a cleansing sweat and balance the Blairs’ “energy flow”, while their therapist, Nancy Aguilar, told the credulous couple to imagine animal-shapes in the steam and explained what such visions meant.

The Prime Minister of Great Britain and his wife, a Crown Court judge, wished for peace on earth, then screamed to signify the pain of rebirth before venturing outside again.

They were offered watermelon and papaya, then told to smear any uneaten fruit over each other’s bodies, along with mud from the jungle outside. They then walked hand in hand down the beach to swim in the sea.

Did it work? The 9/11 catastrophe came a month later, followed by six years of global conflict. So not much peace, but plenty of Apocalypto.” [10]

Tony Blair is also the head of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation which brings together leaders from the 6 major faiths as a religious advisory council:

“ The Foundation has an International Religious Advisory Council to give advice and help to Tony Blair on the Foundation’s work and plans.

The Council is composed of individuals from each of the six faiths with which the Foundation initially intends to work. The members are either religious leaders or significant scholars. They will often be nationally or internationally known but the most important thing is the expertise and wisdom each can bring to bear from his or her individual experience.” [11]

Is this really someone we want to train Christian leaders??

 

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[1] Myth of a Christian Nation by Gregory Boyd, Pgs 31 – 32

 

 [2] http://www.truthwatch.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=104

 [3] Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Brian McLaren and other Contemplative/Emerging Leaders Invite Muslims to Love God, Neighbors Together  http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=891&more=1&c=1

 [4] http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/willowcreek.htm

 [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hybels

 [6] “Emergent Church” is Satan’s deception  http://www.therefinersfire.org/emergent_church.htm

[7] http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=2167

 [8] Blair steps up fight to be crowned first ‘President of EU’  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/blair-steps-up-fight-to-be-crowned-first-president-of–eu-1662928.html

 [9] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7157409.stm

 [10] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-465798/Is-Cherie-Blair-misunderstood-bonkers.html

 [11] ttp://moriel.org/MorielArchive/index.php/discernment/church-issues/purpose-driven/religious-advisory-council

Tags: bill hybels, emergent christianity, Emergent Church, emerging church, tony blair leadership summit, willow creek, willow creek leadership summit, willow creek tony blair