RENOVARÉ
Mystical and Occult Spirituality
NAVIGATORS SANS COMPASS
Miles J. Stanford
The NAVIGATIORS' Glen Eyrie Christian Conference Center is sponsoring, in its 1992-1993 conference schedule, weekend retreats by the church renewal movement known as RENOVARÉ (ren-o-var-ay). DR. RICHARD J. FOSTER, psychologist*, and Quaker, is founder and president of the organization, along with co-director REV. WILLIAM L. VASWIG, former Lutheran pastor. [* - See Editor's update at the end of this paper.]
Being a mystical movement, Renovaré's constituency consists of the Charismatic, the Catholic, and the Quaker. All are anti-dispensational, pseudo-doctrinal, and comfortably at home in subjective mysticism. Just the listings below review the sad and unacceptable story of Renovaré. It will try to "renew" the Church, all right--from objective biblical truth to subjective mystical error.
Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them who cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own body, and by good works and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the innocent" (Romans 16:17, 18).
- RENOVARÉ'S SPEAKING PLATFORM
- ( October 1991 Los Angeles Conference )
Don Moomaw Senior Pastor, Bel Air Presbyterian Church Robert Munger Longtime Presbyterian pastor and leader Chuck Mylander General Superintendent, Friends Church Southwest Lloyd John Ogilvie Senior Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood John Ortberg, Jr. Senior Pastor, Horizons Community Church John Perkins Director, John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation and Development C. W. Perry Senior Pastor, Rose Drive Friends Church Pat Rexroat Director, Extended Education in Southern California, Fuller Theological Seminary (FTS) Lydia Sarandan Minister of Adult Education, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church Bob Selple President, World Vision, Inc. Jim Smith Renovaré Team Member Slang-Yang Tan Director, Dr. of Psychology Program, FTS Janine Tartaglia Pastor with Senior Adults, First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena Donn Thomas Renovaré Team Member William Vaswig Renovaré Team Member Dallas Willard Renovaré Team Member Jane Willard Professional therapist (offered for prayer and counseling during seminar) Sister Thomas Bernard Director, The Spirituality Center, Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles Isaac Canales Assistant Director, Hispanic Ministries, FTS Sister Dolores Cazares Coordinator, School of Spiritual Direction Eugene Coffin Quaker, Counseler for Memorial Gardens, Crystal Cathedral Murray Dempster Professor of Social Ethics, Southern California College Gary Dennis Senior Pastor, La Canada Presbyterian Church Edward England Renovaré Team Member Marty Ensign Renovaré Team Member Richard Foster President, Renovaré Roger Fredrikson Renovaré Team Member Jack Hayford Senior Pastor, The Church on the Way, Van Nuys, California David Hubbard President, Fuller Theological Seminary Jerry Johnson Executive Pastor, Lake Avenue Congregational Church Carolyn Koons Director, Institute for Outreach Ministries, Azusa Pacific University H.B. London Senior Pastor, First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena
RENOVARÉ'S BOARD OF REFERENCE
- Anthony "Tony" Campolo
- G. Raymond Carlson
- Ted W. Engstrom
- Gary Fawver
- Richard Felix
- Faith Forster
- Roger Forster
- William C. Frey
- Millard Fuller
- Henry Gariepy
- Michael Harper
- Roberta Hestenes
- Jerry R. Kirk
- Clarence A. Kopp, Sr.
- David LeShana
- Peter Lord
- Carl H. Lundquist
- David & Karen Mains
- Martin Marty
- Calvin Miller
- Henri J. M. Nouwen
- Lloyd John Ogilvie
- J. I. Packer
- William Pannell
- Eugene H. Peterson
- Fr. Michael Scanlan
- Ronald J. Sider
- Arthur Simon
- Lewis B. Smedes
- Howard A. Snyder
- Russell P. Spittler
- Ingrid Trobisch
- Tommy Tyson
- C. Peter Wagner
- Thomas Wang
- Robert Webber
- Richard B. Wilke
- John Wimber
RENOVARÉ'S STEERING COMMITTEE
Sister Thomas Bernard Director, The Spirituality Center, Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles Isaac Canales Assistant Director, Hispanic Ministries, Fuller Theological Seminary (FTS) T. Eugene Coffin Counselor, Memorial Gardens, Crystal Cathedral Richard Felix President, Azusa Pacific University David Allan Hubbard President, Fuller Theological Seminary Anne Huffman Marriage & Family Intern, Harbor Community Psychological Services Jerry Johnson Executive Pastor, Lake Avenue Congregational Church H. B. London Senior Pastor, First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena, California Robert Munger Professor Emeritus Evangelism & Church Strategy, FTS Charles Mylander General Superintendent, Friends Church Southwest, Yearly Meeting Lloyd John Ogllvie Senior Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, California William E. Pannell Director, Black Ministries, FTS Patricia Rexroat Director, Southern California Extended Education, FTS Robert A. Seiple President, World Vision, Inc. Slang-Yang-Tan Director, Dr. of Psychology Program, FTS Janine Tartaglia Pastor with Senior Adults, First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena, CA Rev. Msgr. Royale M. Vadakin Director, Commission on Ecumenical & Intereligious Affairs, Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The current brochure for the Navigator's Glen Eyrie Christian Conference center contains the following Renovaré statement:
Renovaré (a Latin word meaning "to make new spiritually") is a new movement working for the renewal of the church of Jesus Christ in all her multifaceted expressions. We are Christian in commitment, international in scope, and ecumenical in breadth. We seek nurture and strength from several great streams of life in Christian faith and witness: the Prayer-filled life, the Virtuous life, the Spirit-empowered life, the Compassionate life, the Word-centered life.
DR. RICHARD J. FOSTER, founder and president of Renovaré, is best known for his book, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth - Harper & Row, 1978. This is the textbook for the Renovaré movement, in which the author calls for a deeper spirituality to mark the lifestyle of the Christian.
Dr. Foster maintains that this deeper spirituality can only be attained through the practice of spiritual "disciplines," which he claims marked the truly spiritual giants of Christianity.
These disciplines consist of the "Inward Disciplines": Prayer, Meditation, Fasting, and Study; the "Outward Disciplines": Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, and Service; and the "Corporate Disciplines": Confession, Worship, Guidance, and Celebration.
Borrowing the pattern of spiritual retreat centers, Renovaré has developed a strategy for "church renewal" by bringing the meditative and contemplative life into as many churches as possible through the development of spiritual formation groups. These gatherings are scheduled weekly, held in churches and private homes, being similar to group therapy sessions. Para-church, in church renewal! A problem problem-solver.
REV. WILLIAM L. VASWIG is co-director of Renovaré. A former Lutheran pastor, he first learned meditative techniques from Agnes Sanford, who was pantheistic, and an adherent of Eastern mystical concepts.
Rev. Vaswig was trained in religious disciplines at Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, in Washington, D.C. (Shalem--sha-lame, is a Hebrew word that, in the Institute's words, "speaks of wholeness: to be complete, full, sound").
Among the courses offered by Shalem Institute in its Winter 1991 catalog is one titled "Pure Contemplative Presence," taught by one of Rev. Vaswig's professors, Gerald May. The course description states:
Insight and support for our presence together will be drawn from Christian contemplative and Tibetan Buddist Dzogs-chen (Mahamudra) traditions.
Another facet of Shalem's curriculum is known as "body-prayer," taught by Isabella Bates, in a course titled "Incarnate Presence for God: Body Prayer." Its purpose:
To provide a way to release the limits and tensions of our mental constructs and physical holding patterns so that the loving and aligning presence of God can unfold within us. Allowing the breath to release and expand, we become deeply nurtured and empowered. Each class will have a rhythm of chant, body prayer practice, meditation, reflection, and journaling.
Isabella Bates' teaching credentials are stated as follows: "Quaker, professional voice teacher, Reiki practitioner, graduate of Shalem Spiritual Guidance Program." The New Age publication, Common Ground, describes the practice of Reiki:
Reiki (ray-key) is the Japanese word for "Universal Life Energy." Reiki is an ancient healing art re-discovered by Dr. Mickae Usui when studying sacred Tibetan sutras in the late 1880s.
Many people have experienced the Reiki energies as an assist to their personal inner clearing and transformational process. During the First Degree workshop, a series of four attainments are given by a Traditional Reiki Master, which will align and tune in the energy centers of the student. After this process is completed, the Universal Life Force becomes amplified when drawn through the hands.
Another Shalem course is led by one Carol Cumley, titled "Presence Through Sacred Image: Icon Prayer Group." This class centers on prayer and meditation around sacred icons of the Eastern Orthodox Church. These icons are looked upon not as art, but as windows into the spiritual realm.
MEDITATION -- From Renovaré textbook, Celebration of Discipline, we shall see that among their many "disciplines," meditation is their mainstay. (For the most part we will refrain from commenting on Dr. Foster's italicized statements, trusting that your discernment will not be too horrified to function properly).
"CENTER DOWN" --
This term is for learning to "center down," or what the contemplatives of the Middle Ages called "recollection." It is a time to become still, to enter into the recreating silence, to allow the fragmentation of the mind to become centered (p. 24).
The term "center down" is a New Age reference to remaining absolutely still in mind and body, focusing on the silence of the universe--what Dr. Foster calls "the re-creating silence"--more New Age terminology.
NEW AGE MYSTICISM (Pantheism) --
After you have gained some proficiency in centering down, add a five-to-ten minute meditation on some aspect of the creation. Choose something in the created order: tree, plant, bird, leaf, cloud, and each day ponder it carefully and prayerfully. The simplest and oldest way in which God manifests Himself is through and in the earth itself.
As Evelyn Underhill warns, "To elude nature, to refuse her friendship, to attempt to leap the river of life in the hope of finding God on the other side, is the common error of a perverted mysticism. So you are to begin with that first form of contemplation which the old mystics sometimes called 'the discovery of God in His creatures"' (p. 25).
IMAGINATIVE MEDITATION --
The inner world of meditation is most easily gained through the door of imagination. We fail to appreciate its tremendous power. The imagination is stronger than the conceptual thought and stronger than the will. In the West, our tendency to deify the merits of rationalism--and it does have merit--has caused us to ignore the value of imagination (p. 22).
IMAGINATIONAL PRAYER ("Religious child abuse"?) --
Imagination often opens the door of faith. I was once called to a home to pray for a seriously ill baby girl. Her four-year old brother was in the room, so I told him I needed his help to pray for his baby sister. He was delighted, and so was I since I know that children can often pray with unusual effectiveness. He climbed up onto the chair beside me.
"Let's play a little game," I said. "Since we know that Jesus is always with us, let's imagine that he is sitting over in that chair across from us. He is waiting patiently for us to center our attention on him. When we see him, we start thinking more about his love than how sick Julie is. He smiles, gets up, and comes over to us.
"Then, let's both put our hands on Julie, and when we do, Jesus will put his hands on top of ours. We'll watch the light from Jesus flow into your sister and make her well. Let's watch the healing power of Jesus fight with the bad germs until they are all gone. Okay?"
Seriously, the little one nodded. Together, we prayed in this childlike way and then thanked the Lord that what we had prayed was the way it was going to be. Now, I do not know exactly what happened, nor how it was accomplished, but I do know that the next morning Julie was perfectly well (pp. 41,42).
BEYOND IMAGINATION --
As you enter the story, not as a passive observer but as an active participant, remember that since Jesus lives in the Eternal Now and is not bound by time, this even in the past is a living present-time experience for him.
Hence you can actually encounter the living Christ in the event, be addressed by his voice and be touched by his healing power. It can be more than an exercise of the imagination; it can be a genuine confrontation. Jesus Christ will actually come to you (p. 25).
NEW AGE "ASTRAL PROJECTION" --
Another form of meditation has as its object to bring you into a deep inner communion with the Father where you look at him and he looks at you. In your imagination picture yourself walking along a lovely forest path. After awhile there is a deep yearning within to go into the upper region beyond the clouds.
In your imagination allow your spiritual body, shining with light, to rise out of your physical body. Look back so that you can see yourself lying in the grass and reassure your body that you will return momentarily. Imagine your spiritual self, alive and vibrant, rising up through the clouds and into the stratosphere.
Observe your physical body, and the forest shrink as you leave the earth. Go deeper and deeper into outer space until there is nothing except the warm presence of the eternal Creator. Do not be disappointed if no words come; like good friends, you are silently enjoying the company of each other.
When it is time for you to leave, audibly thank the Lord for his goodness and return to the earth. Walk joyfully back along the path until you return home full of new life and energy (p. 27).
The editors have deleted this portion from later editions of the book, and well they might. But it remains a part of Dr. Foster's belief and teaching.
"HIGH" DISCIPLINES --
The purpose of the Disciplines is liberation from the stifling slavery of self-interest and fear. When the inner spirit is liberated from all that weighs it down, it can hardly be described as dull drudgery. Singing, dancing, even shouting, characterize the Disciplines of the spiritual life.
In one important sense, the Spiritual Disciplines are not hard. We need not be well advanced in matters of theology to practice the Disciplines. Recent converts--for that matter, people who have yet to turn their lives over to Jesus--can and should practice them (p. 2).
HABITUATION --
The purpose of the Spiritual Disciplines is the total transfiguration of the person. They aim to replace old destructive habits of thought with new life-giving habits (p. 62).
We must realize that sheer repetition without even understanding what is being repeated does affect the inner mind. Ingrained habits of thought can be formed by repetition alone, thus changing behavior. This is one reason why so many forms of spirituality emphasize the regular rehearsal of the deeds of God. This is also the rationale behind psychocybernetics, which trains the individual to repeat certain affirmations regularly (for example, I love myself unconditionally).
It is not even important that the person believe what he or she is repeating, only that it be repeated. The inner mind is thus trained and will eventually respond by modifying behavior to conform to the affirmation. This principle has, of course, been known for centuries but only recently has it received scientific confirmation (pp. 64,65).
HUMANISTIC SOVEREIGNTY --
Many people who emphasize acquiescence and resignation to the way things are as "the will of God" are actually closer to Epictetus than to Christ. In fact, the Bible stresses so forcefully the openness of our universe that, in an anthropomorphism hard for modern ears, it speaks of God constantly changing his mind in accord with his unchanging love.
This comes as a genuine liberation to many of us, but it also sets tremendous responsibility before us. We are working with God to determine the future! Certain things will happen in history if we pray rightly. We are to change the world by prayer (p. 35).
UNAUTHORIZED AUTHORITY --
The followers of Jesus have been given the authority to receive confession of sin and to forgive it in his name (John 20:23). What a wonderful privilege! Why do we shy away from such a life-giving ministry? If we, not out of merit but sheer grace, have been given the authority to set others free, how dare we withhold this great gift! Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "When I go to my brother in Christ to confess and be forgiven, I am going to God" (p. 146).
Organizations such as Renovaré are usurping the place of the local church. Certain para-church groups may have their place--provided they are doctrinally sound--but the local church is the scriptural place for fellowship, indoctrination, and worship. Para-church ministries that interfere with the learning of sound doctrine on the basis of the rightly-divided Word of truth are bringing confusion and outright error into the churches.
Renovaré incorporates unbiblical methodologies and philosophies in its "spiritual" exercises and disciplines. Actually, these amount to a form of "Christian" Zen--Buddhist meditation techniques mixed with Roman Catholic traditions--in an attempt to bring about in the lives of gullible believers what Dr. Foster calls "wholeness."
No matter to what extent the Word of God may be included in a teaching, merging Eastern, or any other type of error with Scripture, only causes the truth to be made of none effect. "Thus have ye made the commandments of God of none effect by your traditions" (Matt. 15:6).
It is the same tired old charismatic-type story all over again. The undiscerning Navigators have bought the "Renovarian" package of error, and are in turn selling it to hundreds of Christians who can ill afford to be taken down the slippery path of subjectivity.
"Give attendance to reading ... to doctrine ... take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine" (1 Tim. 4:13,16), but surely give no heed to the mystical devotional writings recommended by Renovaré:
RENOVARÉ'S DEVOTIONAL READING LIST
- Thomas à Kempis
- Lancelot Andrews
- John Braille
- Benedict of Nursia
- Bernard of Clairvaux
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- John Bunyan
- George A. Buttrick
- John Calvin
- Catherine of Genoa
- Catherine of Siena
- John Chrysostom
- Jean-Pierre de Caussade
- Francis de Sales
- John Donne
- Jonathan Edwards
- Francois Fenelon
- George Fox
- Francis of Assisi
- Gregory of Nyssa
- Jean Nicholas Grou
- Madame Guyon
- Ignatius of Loyola
- John of the Cross
- E. Stanley Jones
- Julian of Norwich
- Toyohiko Kagawa
- Thomas Kelly
- Søren Kierkegaard
- Frank Laubach
- William Law
- Brother Lawrence
- C. S. Lewis
- Martin Luther
- Thomas Merton
- Henri Nouwen
- Blaise Pascal
- Isaac Penington
- Richard Rolle
- St. Augustine
- Sadhu Sundar Singh
- Charles Spurgeon
- Douglas V. Steere
- Jeremy Taylor
- William Temple
- Teresa of Avila
- Theologia Gennanica
- Friedrich von Hugel
- Evelyn Underhill
- John Wesley
- Dallas Willard
- John Woolman
"The Church of God needs to remember that fellowship with the Father necessitates separation from those who fail to fulfill the responsibility of fellowship in light. We are not only to yield to love; we are to guard holiness. It is possible to be led astray from the activity of true love by yielding to a false charity. At the very center of love is light. That is not true love which sacrifices doctrine and principle. God has never acted in love at the expense of light." --William Graham Scroggie.
* - Editor's Notes: Ms. Lynda L. Graybeal, who claims to have signed (as witness) the incorporation papers for Renovaré, and who is listed as one of five General Editors for the organization's Spiritual Formation Bible, states that Richard Foster holds a doctorate of pastoral theology (Fuller?) and should not be deemed a "psychologist."
Over the past years, withChrist.org has received unsolicited email from friends and followers of Richard Foster. The arrogance and evil contained in some of these communiqués are on par with those received from Urantia cultists. Believer--"Beware!" Prior to the Risen Lord Jesus graciously saving me from certain ruin (see testimony), I wandered and dabbled for a few years in the various realms of mystical, occult, and Eastern spirituality. I have to say that the only dimension missing with Renovaré is the aspect and role of hallucinogenic and mind-altering substances (drugs), often used in conjunction with these realms. Biblical Christians should further be aware that ever since the drug explosion of the '50s & '60s, small fringe groups of so-called "Christians" have covertly used hallucinogens claiming freedom pursuant to Paul's statements in verses: Col. 2:16,20-22; 1 Tim.6:17, Rom. 14:2, etc., together with twisted logic.
"Many tender-minded Christians fear to sin against love by daring to inquire into anything that comes wearing the cloak of Christianity and breathing the name of Jesus. They dare not examine the credentials of the latest prophet to hit their town lest they be guilty of rejecting something which may be of God. They timidly remember how the Pharisees refused to accept Christ when He came, and they do not want to be caught in the same snare, so they either reserve judgment or shut their eyes and accept everything without question. This is supposed to indicate a high degree of spirituality. But in sober fact it indicates no such thing. It may indeed be evidence of the absence of the Holy Spirit. Gullibility is not synonymous with spirituality. Faith is not a mental habit leading its possessor to open his mouth and swallow everything that has about it the color of the supernatural. Faith keeps its heart open to whatever is of God, and rejects everything that is not of God, however wonderful it may be. Try the spirits is a command of the Holy Spirit to the Church. We may sin as certainly by approving the spurious as by rejecting the genuine. And the current habit of refusing to take sides is not the way to avoid the question. To appraise things with a heart of love and then to act on the results is an obligation resting upon every Christian in the world. And the more as we see the day approaching." A. W. Tozer