Showing posts with label who are these people?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label who are these people?. Show all posts

Friday, March 22, 2013

John Morehead's Mission

Before becoming a mainstream evangelical Christian, John Morehead was for many years a member of a Mormon offshoot group called  the Reorganized Latter Day Saints (RLDS), which changed its name to "Community of Christ" in 2001. After leaving RLDS/Community of Christ, Morehead became active in the evangelical "anti-cult ministry" movement, that is, in various efforts by mainstream evangelical groups aimed at converting members of "cults", such as Mormons, Jehovahs Witnesses, and so forth. These "anti-cult" groups also target western Buddhists, Hindus, New Agers and Pagans. Eventually Morehead decided that a new approach was needed by the "anti-cult" missionaries, and he began to advocate for an outwardly more subtle and nuanced style that, for example, ditched the word "cult" in favor of the more politically correct "new religious movement" label. But Morehead has made it unambiguously clear in his own writings that the fundamental nature and end goal of this rebranded "anti-cult" work remains unchanged: the furtherance of the Great Commission, that is, the conversion of humanity to Christianity by way of the eradication of all non-Christian religions.

Below is an updated list of some essential reading for anyone interested in the career mission of John Morehead.

☆ Hidden in Plain Sight: The Mission Challenge of New Religious Movements
International Journal of Frontier Missions, 1998
"In 1993 I was privileged to be able to assist Jim Stephens [for more on John Morehead's good friend and mentor Jim Stevens, see "How to Witness to Buddhists"] as he served to prepare a special IJFM edition dealing with mission to Buddhists (IJFM, Vol. 10:3, July 1993). As a former member of a pseudo-Christian sect, and given my work as a Christian researcher and missionary to new religious movements (NRMs) after becoming a Christian, I was eager to someday explore the possibility of approaching a mission periodical about discussing the challenge of new religious movements to Christian missionary efforts. Thankfully, Dr. Hans Weerstra, the editor of IJFM, has provided us with just suchan opportunity."

☆ The Watchman Fellowship: Morehead's former comrades in the spiritual war against "cults". Morehead joined Watchman in 1999, at which time the "discernment ministry" organization headed by Morehead, the "Truthquest Institute", merged with Watchman.

☆ Why Sacred Tribes Journal? 1999
The lead editorial of the first issue of "Sacred Tribes Journal," coauthored by Morehead and Jon Trott, Philip Johnson. "The purpose of this international online journal is to explore ways in which to bridge the gulf between the disciplines of cult apologetics,contextual missiology and religious studies."

☆ Tired of Treading Water: Rediscovering and Reapplying a Missiological Paradigm for 'Countercult' Ministry
paper presented at the annual meeting of Evangelical Ministries to New Religions, New Orleans, 2000.

☆ Missiological Paradigms (2002)
Presentation to the annual meeting of Evangelical Ministries to New Religions
“Listening to the concerns of our critics [cults] …making changes in our ministries in light of any valid criticisms they may bring.”

☆ Religious and Non-Religious Spirituality in the Western World ("New Age")
Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 45, 2004
"A provocative way of presenting the gospel in New Spirituality festivals is via tarot cards. John Drane, Ross Clifford and Philip Johnson have developed this approach. Understandably, most Christians will baulk at the idea because tarot cards have occult connections. To properly argue why tarot cards could be used as a device for communicating the gospel would require a lengthy paper .... At the Mind-Body-Spirit festival, Clifford and Johnson have created an innovative and incarnational method of sharing the gospel through the use of tarot cards. They note, 'We always indicate that divination from the cards is clearly contrary to Scripture, but that the classic A. E. Waite deck is full of biblical images.' "

☆ Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach
Irving Hexham, Stephen Rost, John Morehead, published in 2004
excerpt from Introduction:
"Toward the end of the twentieth century, a new climate of opinion concerning new religions began to be expressed by Christian authors writing from different reference points in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. Through various books, journals, and periodicals, they began to question the evangelical understanding of many new religious groups and movements, and the effectiveness of the dominant apologetic methodology in reaching their adherents. Many argued that the apologetic refutation of 'cultic' teachings had not translated into effective communication of the gospel to new religionists in understandable terms. They indicated that this impasse might be overcome through an interdisciplinary methodology that would include the integration of contextualized mission principles into the apologist’s task."

☆ Insights from Communications and Missions for New Religions
A 2005 article by John Morehead published at the StandingTogether.Org website.
"The history of missions teaches us that the most effective evangelism takes place within the context of relationships. This may be one of evangelicalism’s greatest challenges as we face our need to move increasingly outside our evangelical subculture in order to develop relationships with our neighbors representing differing religions. We should also remember that these relationships need to be authentic and open, and not merely a means to the end of evangelism. Evangelicals might consider that not only do we have something to offer in relationships with those of other religions, but we can learn things of value from these relationship partners as well."

☆ John Morehead on Ronald Hutton 2005
It turns out that John Morehead is quite a fan of Ronald Hutton. No comment.

☆ John Morehead on Ronald Hutton 2007
Did I mention that Morehead is a Hutton fan?

☆ John Morehead interviews Irving Hexham 2007
"Irving, it is a pleasure to be able to talk with you and to learn a few important lessons about religion in our global culture. Let's start with a little of your background. How did you come to the Christian faith, and where did you pursue your academic studies?"

☆ John Morehead interviews Karla Poewe 2007
"In your book you mention certain forms of Neo-Paganism played a part in the National Socialism of Germany. Of course, National Socialism and racist ideologies are still to be found in Europe and the West today, and there also seems to be an increase of interest in certain expressions of Neo-Paganism with emphases on racial and ethnic emphases. How are some forms of Paganism connected to the New Right today?"

☆ Burning Man Festival as Life-Enhancing, Post-Christendom 'Middle Way'
An interview with John Morehead from 2007
"Perhaps our careful theological and missiological reflection on these aspects of Burning Man might be used by the Spirit to provide the seeds for the church's revitalization and renewed credibility in the post-Christendom West."

☆ The Western Institute for Intercultural Studies (WIIS) (founded 2008)
"In the past I worked through an organization called Neighboring Faiths Project, but various circumstances have come together to result in a transformation of this organization into something new ... WIIS represents an expansion and revision of the work begun several years ago under the previous organization that have been transferred over to the new ministry. For some time now it has been my desire to help evangelicals and mainline Protestant Christians come to a new way of understanding the new rehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifligious movements in America and the Western world, one that shifts from viewing many of them as 'cults' to a broader framework that understands them as religious or spiritual cultures or subcultures. Within this context I have been pursuing a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the new religions, and have also been reflecting on the history of Christian missions and cross-cultural missiology as sources that can inform how the story of Jesus might more appropriately be shared with those pursuing alternative spiritual pathways." [from the Morehead's Musings blog]

☆ New Religions, Subjective Life Spiritualities, and the Challenge to Missions in the Post-Christian West
By John Morehead (July 2008)
"One of the greatest challenges the Church faces in the modern Western context is the general turn away from interest in and involvement with institutionalized forms of religion, such as Christianity, and the corresponding move toward an inward and subjective expression of spirituality."

☆ JOHN MOREHEAD and Friends: Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing?
by Carol Guffey February 28, 2008
This is a very interesting attack on Morehead by an evangelical who thinks Morehead is too cozy with teh Pagunz. That, of course, is perfectly predictable, and if that's all there was to it, this kind of attack would only serve to highlight Morehead's role as the "soft-cop" to the more typical evangelical "hard-cop". But what's interesting is the background the piece gives on Morehead's biography, and especially his trajectory from splinter group Mormon (Community of Christ, née RLDS), to ex-Mormon counter-cult activist, to the "more sensitive and holistic approach" of Moreheads current missionary efforts.

☆ John Morehead on Ronald Hutton 2009
Did I mention that I have no comment on the fact that John Morehead is a fan or Ronald Hutton?

☆ John Morehead on Ronald Hutton 2010
ibid.

☆ Lausanne Issue Group on Religious and Non-Religious Spirituality Set to Meet in Hong Kong (May 2012)
"This strategic group continues to address the often-neglected missional challenge of new religious movements, alternative religions and emerging spiritualities in the Western world. After the 2004 gathering the group completed a substantial document on this topic in the form of Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 45 that was published in book form in addition to the electronic file on the Lausanne website. The issue group has also created a website in preparation for a mini-consultation in Hong Kong at the Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre 30 September to 6 October 2006."

☆ Parallelling the Enemy?: A Consideration of the Pagan Countercult   August 08, 2012
In which John Morehead insists "I am not a stealth evangelist."

☆ A Biblical Foundation for Interreligious Engagement
By John W. Morehead, November 11, 2012
"Years ago I was on staff with a major apologetics ministry that provided seminars for churches on various 'cult' groups. They used an approach to Scripture that is commonly found among Evangelicals as they encounter both "cult" groups (or new religious movements) like Mormonism, as well as world religions such as Islam. This involves a confrontational method of citing various biblical passages on important Evangelical doctrines in contrast with the teachings of a competing religious group. There are a select number of Bible verses that are appealed to as a foundation for this approach, and these include Jesus and his stern rebuke of Jewish leaders, New Testament texts warning about false teaching in the church, as well as Old Testament passages warning about false prophets, and the example of Elijah confronting the prophets of Baal.

"As I studied these passages and considered the broader framework of biblical teaching, I came to the conclusion that this understanding was flawed. Later, as part of the 2004 Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization's issue group that explored Evangelical responses to "cults," I became part of an international group of missions practitioners and scholars who had come to the same conclusions as I. It resulted in one of the more significant papers to come out of that Lausanne gathering."


Related posts from this blog: 
[The most recent posts are at the bottom. Most of the latest posts (marked with a "☆") are specifically concerned with Morehead and his immediate circle, while other posts cover a wide range of topics related to Christian missionaries in general.]


Also of possible interest: back in the 90s, Morehead was something of a "specialist" in Anthroposophy:
http://www.google.com/search?q=john%20morehead%20anthroposophy
Posted by Apuleius Platonicus at 3/22/2013 11:00:00 AM 8 comments
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Friday, August 10, 2012

"Are we biblically winsome and persuasive to our apologias?"

"There are, as you know, two kinds of popularity: the one, when we seek favor from motives of ambition and the desire of pleasing; the other, when, by fairness and moderation, we gain their esteem so as to make them teachable by us."
[John Calvin, in a letter to William Farel]

"Finally, live out the virtues of a good ambassador. Represent Christ in a winsome and attractive way. You -- God's own representative -- are the key to making a difference for the kingdom. Show the world that Christianity is worth thinking about."
[Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, by Gregory Koukl and Lee Strobel, Zondervan, 2009]


When the journal Sacred Tribes was launched by John Morehead, Philip Johnson, and Jon Trott back in 1999, Philip Johnson wrote the lead article for issue 1, volume 1, under the title "Apologetics, Mission and New Religious Movements: A Holistic Approach." Johnson went on to expand that article into a book by the same title, published by Sacred Tribes Press in 2010.

Anyone who thinks of John Morehead & Co. as anything other than just another bunch of Christian missionaris with the same goal as all other Christian missionaries (the replacement one way or another of all of humanity's religions with The One True Religion) should read the Introduction to this book by his long-time missiological colleague and close collaborator (scroll down).

Before getting to Johnson's essay itself, I would like to draw the reader's attention to some of its highlights.

In the opening paragraph, Johnson essentially gives the game away. He reveals that in his mental universe there are two ways of looking at adherents of "new religious movements" (a category under which one finds everything from Latter Day Saints and Seventh Day Adventists, to western converts to Buddhism and Hinduism, to Wiccans, Satanists and Scientologists): (1) poor confused souls who are "bedeviled" into following False Doctrines through no particular fault of their own (because, you know, of The Fall), and (2) "heretics and satanic adversaries" who are the willing followers of their Lord in Hell, whom they will join once they leave this earth. Take your pick.

In the second paragraph, Johnson begins to lay out the broad outlines of his case for a shift in the "vocabulary" and "tone" that should be employed by missionaries when "dealing with cults and new religions." In the following paragraphs Johnson contrasts one group of Bible stories which depict "direct and hostile confrontations", such as Matthew 12:30 in which Jesus declares "He who is not with me is against me," with kinder, gentler Bible stories in which Jesus and Paul are portrayed as "winsome and attractive" toward those they seek to convert, such as Paul's appeal to the Hellenes of Athens found in Acts 17:16-34.

It is worth taking a closer look at the little vignette in Acts that is so often presented as an exemplary tale of Christian open-mindedness. In the first place, Paul "was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols." (Hey, Paul, this is, you know, like, Athens. The Parthenon? Ever heard of it?) Then a little later on Paul is making a nuisance of himself obnoxiously haranguing Athenian Pagan passers-by on some street corner, when "a group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him." One thing leads to another, and eventually Paul finds himself being invited to present his case for this new foreign God of his before a large gathering of Pagans (both Athenians and out-of-towners). Paul tells them that while they might be very religious after a fashion, they do not understand what it is they worship. In the past, Paul warns them, the One True God of the Christians overlooked this "ignorant" behavior of the Pagans, but now everyone must worship only The One True God of the Christians or face eternal damnation. This is the "winsome and attractive" version!

But now it is time to let Philip Johnson speak for himself:

Apologetics, Mission and New Religious Movements:
A Holistic Approach
Sacred Tribes Press, 2010
Philip Johnson

Introduction

New religious movements form part of the mosaic that makes religious pluralism quite a challenge for Christian missions in the twenty-first century. Of course mentioning missions and new religions in the same breath might raise a few eyebrows: is the apologist primarily a gate-keeper who fends off false doctrine, or can an apologist also actively seek to make disciples from the ranks of new religions? Our answer to that question will partly depend on where we place the most emphasis: (a) Do we regard adherents [of "new religious movements"] primarily as persons made in God's image bedeviled by the Fall and who have been misdirected? Or (b) Do we regard them primarily as heretics and satanic adversaries who are destined for divine wrath?

Now, some apologists might take exception to this initial gambit of mine and feel this is simply pettifogging about words. It might be felt that this is an artificial dichotomy that deliberately polarizes the issue because an apologist can both fend off false doctrine and engage in evangelism. I certainly do not intend to imply that these twin functions are mutually exclusive. However, what I am seriously inviting readers to reflect on concerns our motives, methods and messages in dealing with cults and new religions. In particular, it is about our choice of vocabulary, the tone in which we write and speak, and our efforts to disciple people who are currently devotees in new religions.

If we are genuinely interested in communicating Jesus' call to discipleship to those who participate in new religions, then we must look at the shape and content of our messages to them. What parts of Scripture are we emulating when presenting the gospel and commending the faith? Do we consciously or unconsciously adopt a stance similar to these passages:


(a) Elijah versus the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18: 21-40)?

(b) John the Baptist versus the Pharisees (Matthew 3: 7-10)?

(c) Jesus versus the Pharisees (Matthew 12: 22-39, Luke 11:42-54)?

(d) Paul versus the Judaizers (2 Cor. 11, Galatians)?


From the "Men On A Mission" Calendar, 2009
In the above examples we have direct and hostile confrontations occurring between a particular religious group inside the nation of Israel and God’s prophet, or with Jesus, or with Paul and a congregation. Are these sorts of encounters intended in Scripture to be used as a guide to apologetics, evangelism and discipleship? That is one of the issues I hope we can reflect on once this discussion is concluded.

By way of contrast, to what extent do we approach devotees in the style of Jesus in his encounter with the Samaritan woman (John 4: 1-42) and Paul’s apologetic speech in Athens (Acts 17:16-34)? Are we following Paul’s mission’s principle to become all things to all people (1 Cor. 9: 20-23) when approaching the non-Christian devotee? Are we biblically winsome and persuasive in our apologias? Do we show courtesy and respect towards devotees or are we scornful, scathing and sarcastic in what we say and write? These too are issues I hope we will reflect on at the conclusion of this discussion.

On another tack, some countercult apologists might argue that apologetics is synonymous with evangelism. It might be argued that as adherents of new religions embrace false doctrine the tried and true method of apologetic refutation, coupled with an appeal to repent, is the only way to evangelize. This is what we have always done. So it might be genuinely felt that we are already engaged in mission and there is no further point to this discussion.

From the "Hot Mormon Moms" Calender, 2012
The temptation to cease reading here should be forestalled. It is almost a cliché to say that we are living in a time of rapid change. Yet it is precisely the ebb and flow of the tides of history that carry us along, and it can be very helpful for us when navigating those currents to take some bearings. By taking bearings I mean that we should from time to time pause in our journey and reflect on the cultural and historical contexts in which we find ourselves. We should also be willing to look at what our apologetic forebears have done and consider their strengths and limitations. By looking at what others have done or are doing, we can put our own labors into critical perspective and test the mettle of what we do.

Now there are things implied in what has just been said. One is that countercult apologetic methods need to be evaluated, and the very suggestion that our apologetic toolkit could stand some upgrading probably sounds shocking. Yet to paraphrase Socrates’ aphorism, “the unexamined apologetic method is not worth using.” If we evangelicals do indeed believe that in everything we say or do, we do it for Jesus Christ (cf. Col. 3:17), then we surely will want to do our utmost in service for him in the field of new religions.

A different way of looking at ourselves in the mirror is through Ralph Neighbour’s cheeky point about the church’s famous last words: "we never tried it that way before." He made those remarks about resistant attitudes to change in the church. For my purposes Neighbour’s remarks provoke a pertinent question for us to consider - how resistant are we to examining our methods and learning about other approaches? Are we so habituated to primarily using negative apologetics as the remedy for cults that we might be too rigid to be challenged by fresh ideas? Has our apologetic toolkit become a sacred cow that we tenaciously refuse to subject it to scrutiny? I am not suggesting here, by the by, that apologetics is misguided or useless at all, particularly since I have taught the subject of apologetics at a Bible college level for several years, am on the board of the recently established School of Apologetics at the Centre for Evangelism and Global Mission in Sydney, Australia and been a practitioner in the field of personal evangelism and apologetics since 1978.

David Wilkinson of St Johns College, University of Durham, in addressing the wider dimensions of apologetics observes:

"Apologetics, like preaching, is an art to be developed rather than a science to be understood. In developing apologetics for our time, we need to rediscover its biblical roots. Often our western theological tradition has narrowed the practice of apologetics making it largely irrelevant to contemporary mission. A broader biblical view allows us to reformulate apologetics as an essential part of Christian ministry and evangelism in the new millennium."

What Wilkinson intimates about reformulating apologetics to suit our cultural circumstances has some bearing on the sub-discipline of countercult apologetic ministry. We need to consider what our cultural circumstances now comprise in view of religious pluralism being a street-life reality in most parts of the world. For some western Christians it probably comes as a great jolt to realize that the privileged societal position of Church dominance has been undermined or in many cases has ceased to be a living reality. One thing we might find helpful to rediscover is how the children of Israel and then the apostolic church functioned in cultural contexts where they were in the minority rubbing shoulders with many competing religious options. As Wilkinson calls for a rediscovery of the biblical roots of apologetics, so too we should learn from our biblical forebears in the ways they lived, ministered and engaged in mission with rival religious movements.

Another implication to my earlier remarks is the distinct possibility that we might not be properly engaged in mission as it is classically understood and practiced. That probably sounds absurd. Yet we must surely wonder why is it then that westerners who participate in cults and new religions are not being discipled by us en masse? Why do some evangelical missiologists look askance at our activities and cringe? Why do some sociologists and phenomenologists dare to observe that we are so caught up in preaching to the choir? Why is it that few cult devotees ever end up in our churches as servants of Christ? Are we construing boundary-maintenance against heresy as being coterminous with evangelism? Maybe we could learn some fresh tricks of the trade from our colleagues in world missions that will become a blessing to the church at large and for ourselves. For the issue at hand is not about jettisoning the analysis of heresy in the light of orthodoxy. Rather the basic question is whether evangelism and discipleship of devotees in new religious movements is taking place on any serious and sustained level.

For some readers this call for reflection about our methods and strategies may seem odd or even provoke some impatience. Most of us as apologists for the faith have happily applied methods and forms of argument that have been formulated by others. We have probably been content to follow those who have pioneered countercult ministry without much need to call our methods into question. However it would do us no harm to consider how and why these methods were formulated, particularly when in recent years various apologists have expressed disquiet about existing models through their essays or in public conventions. When debates about method emerge in a discipline they may arise because there are new circumstances that highlight inadequacies with existing approaches. Although methodological debates can sometimes polarize the participants, they can also be the catalyst for new and productive enterprises.

The purpose of this critical discussion is to evaluate some of our existing methods, and propose some improvements by gleaning insights from cross-cultural missiology, so that we can be more effective in our engagement with today’s world. To achieve that goal this rather long paper is divided into four separate documents. The first involves a description and positive appraisal of the pre-eminent apologetic method used in ministry to new religions, the heresy-rationalist apologia. The second illustrates limitations and weakness with the heresy-rationalist approach. The third carries on with a brief description and analysis of five other models used: end-times prophecy & conspiracy, spiritual warfare, apostate testimonies, cultural apologetics and behavioralist apologetics. The fourth and final installment provides a skeletal outline of the directions we need to take to create a holistic, integrated approach that can have maximum effectiveness in the proclamation of the gospel and the task of discipleship.
Related posts from this blog:


Posted by Apuleius Platonicus at 8/10/2012 01:18:00 PM 1 comments
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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Even More On Stealth Evangelism

Below is just a sampling of the material that can be unearthed by anyone who digs into the creepy subculture of stealth evangelism. The material below focuses on only one aspect of this very broad and pervasive phenomenon: the training and deployment of undercover missionaries to parts of the world where Christian missionaries are forbidden.

Undercover missionaries of this sort are very much a "post-colonial" phenomenon, since prior to WWII the European "Great Powers" had seen to it that the peoples of Africa and Asia had no choice but to accept Christian missionaries, or else. Another important factor is that the advent of undercover missionaries also coincided with widespread collusion between missionaries and the intelligence community, something hinted at here and there in the stories below.

After listing these six stories, I then reproduce one of them in full. I intentionally chose an "insider" account written by a good Christian reporter employed by the Associated Baptist Press.

The Stealth Crusade
By Barry Yeoman, Originally published in Mother Jones, May/June 2002

Use of undercover missionaries getting new scrutiny
By John Pierce, Baptists Today, May 5, 2003

Religion: Missionaries Under Cover
By DAVID VAN BIEMA;Perry Bacon Jr. and James Carney/Washington, Amanda Bower and Manya Brachear/New York, Jeff Chu/London and Matthew Kalman/Jerusalem Monday
Time Magazine, June 30, 2003

Undercover missions can't justify breaking laws
Baylor University "The Lariot", Liz Foreman, Jan. 28, 2009

Heart And Soul: Undercover Missionaries
BBC World Service , 21 Jun 2009

Universities no place for undercover missionaries
Eric Fish, Global Times, January 18 2010



Use of undercover missionaries getting new scrutiny
by John Pierce, Associated Baptist Press

ATLANTA (ABP)--Is it ethical to send missionaries into a closed country under cover of some other employment?

Some mission strategists are having second thoughts about the practice, common among evangelical groups. Since at least the 1980s, some Christian organizations have sent mission workers into countries that don't accept missionaries.

Some go with other "platforms"--skills, trades or services that are acceptable to the host country. These missionaries, who live in the target country, are often called "tentmakers," after the Apostle Paul's adopted occupation. Others, called non-resident missionaries, live outside the target country and enter on short-term visas.

In both cases, their work of evangelism or church starting is kept secret from authorities. And back home, their identities and assignments are not revealed by the mission organizations to protect their safety.

Anonymous missionaries are used by both the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship but not by the American Baptist Churches USA.

Recent missionary murders and the war in Iraq have heightened concern about the presence and safety of missionaries, particularly in Islamic countries. Three Southern Baptist hospital workers--missionaries but not secretive--were killed in December in Muslim-dominated Yemen. In April, word that Time magazine is considering an in-depth article revealing the work of anonymous missionaries sparked protests from some Christians.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is one organization rethinking the strategy. Gary Baldridge, co-coordinator of CBF global missions with his wife, Barbara, said recent concerns about the ethical and missiological implications justify a second look.

"We're in the middle of reflecting on the deployment of field personnel to restrictive-access countries," Baldridge said. "We're really struggling with it administratively."

Baldridge had hoped to invite a group of ethicists and missiologists to discuss the issue in a forum prior to the CBF general assembly in June, but that may not be logistically possible, he said.

The issues, he explained, are more about the long-term effectiveness of the "non-resident missionary" than about public relations. He acknowledged, however, that why some missionaries remain anonymous requires ongoing explanation. Baldridge said CBF repeatedly tells those who support its mission efforts, "Please be aware that this (missionary) directory is incomplete."

"Many CBF missionaries live in areas of the world that are openly hostile to the gospel," he added. "Their identities are kept confidential in order to protect their lives and ministries and the lives and livelihoods of new Christians in these highly sensitive areas."

The Southern Baptist International Mission Board declined to comment for this story.

Keith Parks, now retired in Richardson, served both as president of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board (now IMB) and as the first CBF global missions coordinator. Under his leadership, Southern Baptists began the efforts that developed into the non-resident missionary approach.

"It really started in the '80s when we were talking with people from China," Parks recalled. "They said: 'We can't receive missionaries, but we need help.'"

As a result, Parks said, the FMB created Cooperative Services International as a non-profit organization separate from the FMB. Parks served as CSI president as well, and the organization used the same address and phone number as the FMB.

"It wasn't some James Bond approach," Parks said. "Governments know what you're doing. If you play according to their rules, they'll let you do it."

Through hiring arrangements with universities and other institutions, Parks said, personnel could gain access where otherwise missionaries would be rejected.

However, the original CSI effort evolved into a non-resident missions program that allowed access to other countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa that were hostile to the Christian gospel.

"You can't live in a country, but you're assigned to find ways to serve," Parks explained. "At the FMB, we would set up (non-profit service organizations) and then the funding for the individual and their work would go through that organization."

"They could literally say their support came from Organization XYZ, but that support came to the organization from the FMB," he added.

Parks said he understands how some could pose ethical questions about a strategy that does not use full disclosure of one's identity or intent. However, he asked: "Is it ethical to leave millions of people to suffer?"

Parks said he welcomes the discussion about this and other approaches to missions in difficult settings. However, he sees some increased risks as well. "I think it needs to be more fully aired, but you're alerting people all over the world to what you are doing."

"I don't agree with breaking the law or smuggling," Parks said. Yet he recognizes that "some of the greatest needs are in the poorest countries" where governments are hostile toward a Christian witness.

In those settings, he said, non-resident missionaries have been able to assist with water purification, agriculture, medical and educational needs--and they were public about that assistance. These workers, Parks added, "did what they said they were doing--just more. I don't have an ethical problem with that.

"Most American Christians are so insulated from the world and don't realize that day-to-day people are being slaughtered because they are Christians," he continued. "You can lay that alongside, 'Gee, I can't call them missionaries,' and you see the concept."

Parks said he doesn't fault either the IMB or CBF for what they've done to try to serve people groups not reached with the gospel. But the "ideal got blurred along the way," he said.

Parks recommends focusing more heavily on "tentmakers"--or "envoys" as CBF calls them--who hold legitimate employment in mission settings that give opportunity for witness. "The greater need is to have business organizations set up to find ways for local Christians to make a living and present the gospel."

Bill O'Brien of Birmingham, Ala., is a former FMB vice president who worked closely with Parks in developing mission strategies like the non-resident approach.

"You can live in a neutral city where it was legal to live and travel in and out (of a restricted access setting) as you try to find out if there are other Christians there and to share the gospel any way you can," O'Brien said. "The term used is 'find a platform.'"

However, O'Brien said he has "an opinion that borders on a conviction" now about what has evolved from this mission strategy.

O'Brien, who also served as founding director of the Global Center at Samford University's Beeson Divinity School, said he began to "have real questions about this" when trying to establish a mission partnership for Samford in an undisclosed country. A Southern Baptist missionary there told O'Brien that when the missionary publicly identified himself as an "agricultural and humanitarian specialist," locals would often ask: "What do you really do?"

"Local people are not dumb," O'Brien said. "And we are kidding ourselves if we think governments don't know what we're doing."

O'Brien said he is especially concerned for the risk placed on local Christians. Missionaries can leave quickly if persecution arises, he said, "but I'm worried about locals who can't leave quickly."

The IMB missionary O'Brien visited returned to the United States and became an employee of a multi-national company. In doing so, he was able to "put people in difficult parts of the world, but in legitimate businesses."

"You are unashamedly creating a Christian witness, but you don't have to remember what you told the last person," he said.

O'Brien described the "marketplace" as a great mission field and urged strategists to focus on planting legitimate businesses that provide opportunities for witness.

O'Brien admits he is "still struggling" with the issue. He said he gets "a little turned off to coded language" used by mission personnel to conceal their identities and purposes, "but I'm sensitive to security."

Baldridge said he and other CBF leaders struggle as well. In China, however, CBF is completely "above board" by registering missionaries with the China Christian Council, he added. In other parts of world where that is not an option, CBF's focus might shift more to the tentmaker approach where workers can actually reside in the areas they serve, he said.


With additional reporting by Greg Warner of Associated Baptist Press

Posted by Apuleius Platonicus at 5/30/2012 02:31:00 PM 6 comments
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Friday, May 18, 2012

"How to witness to Buddhists" (Meet Jim Stephens, Evangelist to the Buddhists)

When I first started looking more closely at the creepy stealth evangelism of John Morehead (as discussed here, here and here), I had no idea that there existed such an extensive rats' nest of evangelizing efforts aimed at modern western adherents of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Paganism. But every time I found the name of yet another missionary that John Morehead has collaborated with over the last 25 years, yet another network of missiological schemes aimed at "alternative" religions came into view.

This post focuses on James C. ("Jim") Stephens, who wandered in the wilderness of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism around the same time that John Morehead was involved in an LDS splinter group (Community of Christ, aka RLDS). Both men eventually (around the same time) discovered The One And Only True Way, and have ever since been laboring in the fields of the Lord in order to return the West to Christianity and return Christianity to theological homogeneity.

A highly revealing theme in Stephens' oeuvre is his obsessive hostility for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the way in which this contrasts so glaringly with his tenderhearted affection for the late Watergate burglar and jailhouse convert Charles Colson.


Buddhist Studies Center Expands
from a 1990 article in the journal of the U.S. Center for World Missions
"The Institute of Buddhist Studies has recently been renamed The Sonrise Center for Buddhist Studies, according to director Jim Stephens. Jim filed the following profile on this growing research center:

"Sonrise Center for Buddhist Studies' mission focuses on conducting research to impact the evangelization of the unreached Buddhist world.

"Our first objective is to provide accurate information about unreached Buddhist people groups. Second, we provide research and training for mission strategy and evangelism to Buddhists. For example, recently Soviet Christians working to reach the Buddhist Buriat people in Siberia requested additional information about how best to work among Tibetan Buddhists. So we sent off a 300-page report. (Incidentally, there are at least four Buddhist unreached peoples in the Soviet Union: the Buriats, the Kal-myks, Tuvinians and Evenks.)"


NEWS: America Becoming Fertile Mission Field for Buddhism
Christianity Today article from 1994 by Stan Guthrie
"In an attempt to discover the religion's appeal to growing numbers of Americans, Terry Muck [a board member of Morehead's Foundation for Religious Diplomacy], associate professor of comparative religion at Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas, interviewed Americans who had converted. 'The most common response I got was that it offered them a peace and contentment through the meditative technique," says Muck, author of Those Other Religions in Your Neighborhood. 'The idea seemed to be that American culture is so hectic and busy and stressful, and the various kinds of Buddhist meditation techniques [are] an antidote they hadn't found in … the Christianity that they had grown up with.'

"James Stephens, a former Buddhist who launched the evangelical Sonrise Center for Buddhist Studies in Sierra Madre, California, six years ago to develop information and training to evangelize Buddhists, estimates there are 2 million in this country. Other research says there are only 558,000 active Buddhists in North America.


Sharing the Way with the Middle Way: How to witness to Buddhists
by Darlene Franklin
"So, how do we share our faith with people who don't acknowledge needing anything outside themselves to find true salvation from their sin, spiritual suffering and decay? First of all, we must pray. Pray for opportunities to share and minister, for God to shine His light into the darkness created by Buddhism and offer to pray for your Buddhist friends and acquaintances. Your prayers mean a lot to that person, since he doesnt have a connection with God, says Jim Stephens, director of the Sonrise Center for Buddhist Studies."


I Was a Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist For 14 Years
by Jim Stephens
"Convicted of my sin against a holy God, I laid down my burden at the Savior’s feet and gave my life to Him. That night, my wife — a Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist for 16 years — also believed. What grace! Nichiren, the self-proclaimed Japanese True Buddha that we had followed for so many years, said that if he found a teacher greater than himself he would follow him. In our case, we were found by a greater Teacher — the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal God, before whom 'every knee shall bow.' Hallelujah!"


The Dalai Lama and 9/11
Jim Stephens interviews fellow Buddhaphobes Victor and Victoria Trimondi in 2003.
"What primarily concerns us about the interreligious ceremony in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. is the level of naivety in the West. For the past 25 years, the Dalai Lama has quietly performed the Kalachakra Tantra ('The Wheel of Time'), the highest of all ancient Tantric initiations for tens of thousands of spiritual novices in the West; introducing Tantric ideology, secret sexual practices, and magic rituals integrated into the context of his religious-political worldview. Critical voices have been raised, while he continues to secretly transmit the Kalachakra’s prophetic vision of the establishment of a universal Buddhocracy (Shambhala) in which spiritual and worldly power are united in one person, the 'world emperor' (Chakravartin), wherein other religions will no longer exist."


The Buddhist Next Door
an article by James Stephens published in Ministry Today magazine in 2005
"The primary struggle for every generation that is dedicated to missions and evangelism is coming to terms with how does the true gospel get translated into mainstream culture without compromise? How do we keep our faith and maintain our moral and theological standards while still living in the midst of an increasingly pluralistic society?"


The Dalai Lama and the Anatomy of Politically Correct Buddhism
A 2008 video by the Sonrise Center for Buddhist Center, headed by Jim Stephens
"I will always treasure the precious memory of witnessing for our Lord with James [Stephens] (who is reading the media piece linked above on the Dalai Lama). We witnessed to the kids against the lies of Buddhism and the Dalai Lama together in Irvine, CA, when America’s public school kids lined up under the demonic prayer flags hanging overhead [waiting to enter the auditorium where the Dalai Lama would be speaking] and were required to address the Dalai Lama as “His Holiness” in 2004 ..." [Quote from the website of Dwayna Litz, friend and proud collaborator of Jim Stephens in the battle against demonic Buddhism, from her post: Who is the "Man of Peace"?]


RED ALERT COUNTDOWN:
4 days until the Kalachakra Ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Stephens became positively unhinged in the Summer of 2011 because of Kalachakra Initiation offered by His Holiness in Washington DC in July. Here's an example.
"Is it any coincidence that US President Barack H. Obama is supporting a war in Egypt? That he’s called 'The Western Lama' by the Dalai Lama? By others in the Middle East, a King? That in 'Batman Begins' a 'supernatural secret society' out of the Himalayas is out to establish a new order of things by destroying the unredeemable Gotham City? That we presently are fighting a war in Afghanistan, where Greek magic came into contact with the teachings of tantric Buddhism. That out of the region of Swat, in Pakistan, Al Quaeda’s stronghold, Padmasambhava, the Tantric Tibetan Shaman launches out to Tibet where he conquers Tibet’s indigenous gods and converts it to Vajrayana Buddhism? That the hosts of the upcoming visit of the Dalai Lama to Chicago following the Kalachakra ceremony in Washington DC is the Theosophical Society , the White Buddhists?"


July 6 Brutal Earth Ritual Being Conducted by Time god,
the Dalai Lama in Washington, DC
And here's another example.
"Before providing an explanation of the Earth Ritual from a Tibetan Buddhist viewpoint, it is imperative to set the record straight from the beginning. What those on the ground in Washington, DC are witnessing is a physical religious rite of possession to establish the Shambhala Empire."


April 2012 Remembering Chuck Colson
"Colson’s speech was without a doubt one of the most memorable moments in our history as he clearly, nobly and unashamedly shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was as if we were on a modern day Mars Hill hearing the Apostle Paul reasoning with the crowd gathered at Areopagus. His life is a reminder for us to earnestly contend for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. Thank Yeshua for giving us men like Chuck who fought the good fight of faith."


Why is the Dalai Lama Coming to San Diego?
by Jim Stephens, April 2012
"So since he’s in our neighborhood and works for the US government anyway, why not include a few gigs along the way? No seriously. His swing began three days ago in Hawaii where he and his entourage right about now should be preparing to catch a jet this afternoon to his engagements in San Diego which will be partially funded by Pam and Pierre Omidyar the founder of EBay. As winners of the 2011 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recognizing the impact of their extensive giving of over $1Billion, they also contributed over $50million dollars to the Hawaii Community Foundation funding initiatives such as the Pillars of Peace which co-hosted the Dalai Lama at two talks at the University of Hawaii. Deep pockets."


The Dalai Lama 101
A 12 part class series trashing and lying about Buddhism in general and His Holiness the Dalai Lama in particular "from a Christian perspective" by James C. Stephens. Here is overview of the first unit:
Choose Wisely: Jesus or the Dalai Lama
Synopsis: After the passage of the Immigration Reform Act in 1965, the religious demographic in the United States began to change radically as doors were opened to immigrants from nations professing a faith different than the traditional Judaeo-Christian European matrix. Discernment is a rare commodity in any age, but especially in a pluralistic society. Buddhism’s rapid growth is mapped out in this lesson introducing one of its chief spokesman, the XIV Dalai Lama, the god king of Tibet.

Posted by Apuleius Platonicus at 5/18/2012 07:22:00 AM 4 comments
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

"Hidden In Plain Sight": More on John Morehead, Evangelist to the Pagans

This post is just a bibliography (with a few notes) of essential reading for anyone interested in the career of John Morehead, Missiologist Extraordinaire and Self-Appointed Evangelist to the Pagans. I'll probably add more to the list later, but this is a good start.

Hidden in Plain Sight: The Mission Challenge of New Religious Movements
International Journal of Frontier Missions, 1998
"In 1993 I was privileged to be able to assist Jim Stephens as he served to prepare a special IJFM edition dealing with mission to Buddhists (IJFM, Vol. 10:3, July 1993). As a former member of a pseudo-Christian sect, and given my work as a Christian researcher and missionary to new religious movements (NRMs) after becoming a Christian, I was eager to someday explore the possibility of approaching a mission periodical about discussing the challenge of new religious movements to Christian missionary efforts. Thankfully, Dr. Hans Weerstra, the editor of IJFM, has provided us with just suchan opportunity."

The Watchman Fellowship: Morehead's former comrades in the spiritual war against "cults". Morehead joined Watchman in 1999, at which time the "discernment ministry" organization headed by Morehead, the "Truthquest Institute", merged with Watchman.


Tired of Treading Water: Rediscovering and Reapplying a Missiological Paradigm for 'Countercult' Ministry
paper presented at the annual meeting of Evangelical Ministries to New Religions, New Orleans, 2000.


Missiological Paradigms (2002)
Presentation to the annual meeting of Evangelical Ministries to New Religions
“Listening to the concerns of our critics [cults] …making changes in our ministries in light of any valid criticisms they may bring.”


Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach
Irving Hexham, Stephen Rost, John Morehead, published in 2004
excerpt from Introduction:
"Toward the end of the twentieth century, a new climate of opinion concerning new religions began to be expressed by Christian authors writing from different reference points in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. Through various books, journals, and periodicals, they began to question the evangelical understanding of many new religious groups and movements, and the effectiveness of the dominant apologetic methodology in reaching their adherents. Many argued that the apologetic refutation of 'cultic' teachings had not translated into effective communication of the gospel to new religionists in understandable terms. They indicated that this impasse might be overcome through an interdisciplinary methodology that would include the integration of contextualized mission principles into the apologist’s task."

Insights from Communications and Missions for New Religions
A 2005 article by John Morehead published at the StandingTogether.Org website.
"The history of missions teaches us that the most effective evangelism takes place within the context of relationships. This may be one of evangelicalism’s greatest challenges as we face our need to move increasingly outside our evangelical subculture in order to develop relationships with our neighbors representing differing religions. We should also remember that these relationships need to be authentic and open, and not merely a means to the end of evangelism. Evangelicals might consider that not only do we have something to offer in relationships with those of other religions, but we can learn things of value from these relationship partners as well."


John Morehead on Ronald Hutton 2005


John Morehead on Ronald Hutton 2007


John Morehead interviews Irving Hexham 2007
"Irving, it is a pleasure to be able to talk with you and to learn a few important lessons about religion in our global culture. Let's start with a little of your background. How did you come to the Christian faith, and where did you pursue your academic studies?"


John Morehead interviews Karla Poewe 2007
"In your book you mention certain forms of Neo-Paganism played a part in the National Socialism of Germany. Of course, National Socialism and racist ideologies are still to be found in Europe and the West today, and there also seems to be an increase of interest in certain expressions of Neo-Paganism with emphases on racial and ethnic emphases. How are some forms of Paganism connected to the New Right today?"


Burning Man Festival as Life-Enhancing, Post-Christendom 'Middle Way'
An interview with John Morehead from 2007
"Perhaps our careful theological and missiological reflection on these aspects of Burning Man might be used by the Spirit to provide the seeds for the church's revitalization and renewed credibility in the post-Christendom West."


The Western Institute for Intercultural Studies (WIIS) (founded 2008)
"In the past I worked through an organization called Neighboring Faiths Project, but various circumstances have come together to result in a transformation of this organization into something new ... WIIS represents an expansion and revision of the work begun several years ago under the previous organization that have been transferred over to the new ministry. For some time now it has been my desire to help evangelicals and mainline Protestant Christians come to a new way of understanding the new rehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifligious movements in America and the Western world, one that shifts from viewing many of them as 'cults' to a broader framework that understands them as religious or spiritual cultures or subcultures. Within this context I have been pursuing a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the new religions, and have also been reflecting on the history of Christian missions and cross-cultural missiology as sources that can inform how the story of Jesus might more appropriately be shared with those pursuing alternative spiritual pathways." [from the Morehead's Musings blog]


New Religions, Subjective Life Spiritualities, and the Challenge to Missions in the Post-Christian West
By John Morehead (July 2008)
"One of the greatest challenges the Church faces in the modern Western context is the general turn away from interest in and involvement with institutionalized forms of religion, such as Christianity, and the corresponding move toward an inward and subjective expression of spirituality."


JOHN MOREHEAD and Friends: Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing?
by Carol Guffey February 28, 2008
This is a very interesting attack on Morehead by an evangelical who thinks Morehead is too cozy with teh Pagunz. That, of course, is perfectly predictable, and if that's all there was to it, this kind of attack would only serve to highlight Morehead's role as the "soft-cop" to the more typical evangelical "hard-cop". But what's interesting is the background the piece gives on Morehead's biography, and especially his trajectory from splinter group Mormon (Community of Christ, née RLDS), to ex-Mormon counter-cult activist, to the "more sensitive and holistic approach" of Moreheads current missionary efforts.


John Morehead on Ronald Hutton 2009


John Morehead on Ronald Hutton 2010


Lausanne Issue Group on Religious and Non-Religious Spirituality Set to Meet in Hong Kong (May 2012)
"This strategic group continues to address the often-neglected missional challenge of new religious movements, alternative religions and emerging spiritualities in the Western world. After the 2004 gathering the group completed a substantial document on this topic in the form of Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 45 that was published in book form in addition to the electronic file on the Lausanne website. The issue group has also created a website in preparation for a mini-consultation in Hong Kong at the Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre 30 September to 6 October 2006."


Also of interest: back in the 90s, Morehead was something of a "specialist" in Anthroposophy:
http://www.google.com/search?q=john%20morehead%20anthroposophy
Posted by Apuleius Platonicus at 5/15/2012 06:09:00 PM 3 comments
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Friday, May 11, 2012

"In obedience to the Great Commission": On the creepy stealth evangelism of John Morehead

This post mostly consists of excerpts from:
Ministry to Alternative Spiritualities in Religiously Plural America: Moving Beyond Confronting "Cults"
by John W. Morehead
First published in the Fall 2003 edition of Occasional Bulletin, published by Evangelical Missiological Society
(direct link to full text as reprinted at the Primum-Mobile. Net website):
In obedience to the Great Commission, missionaries and missiologists have devised effective evangelistic strategies in order to reach thousands of people groups within the world religions of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and folk and tribal religionists in their home countries. This is as it should be. Our Lord commanded the church to make disciples of the nations (Mat. 28:19), referring not to individuals defined by geopolitical boundaries so much as distinct people groups defined more by a social structure that incorporates not only the obvious elements such as language and cuisine, but also worldview and religious considerations as well.

But while the missions community has recognized the people groups of the world religions, it has not always recognized the importance of reaching the millions of unreached peoples involved in new religious movements, new age, and neo-Pagan groups and other religious traditions that have taken root in Western society. Estimates vary as to the number of new religions in North America, with a conservative estimate at somewhere between 700 and 1,000.2 Examples of growing new religions include not only the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses), but also the Brotherhood of the Cross and the Star, Iglesia ni Cristo, Mahikari, Rastafarianism, Santeria, Siddha Yoga, Umbanda, Western esotericism, the New Spirituality (or new age), as well as emerging Do-It-Yourself Spiritualities, Western Hinduism, Islam, and revitalized forms of missionary Judaism. The continuing forces of modernization, secularization, and globalization may provide the social context for the continued growth and spread of religious groups and movements such as these and others around the globe. The new religions and world religions in the West are no longer fringe cultural phenomena, but represent serious cultural and religious movements worthy of attention by missionary strategists, career missionaries, and evangelical academics.

In the article Morehead makes five specific proposals for future missionary work along the lines he is suggesting. The fifth of these five proposals is to develop new and innovative ways to train missionaries in how to effectively target Pagans, etc:

5. Provide seminary students with field experience. To raise awareness among a future generation of missionaries and missiologists, we might explore ways in which students pursuing missions studies can be given practical field experience in sharing the gospel with adherents of new religions. Such programs would include practical assignments such as an interview with a Mormon or a Wiccan high priestess, for example. This interview would then result in an essay prepared by the student where they would explore the theological, missiological, and apologetic issues that arise from such encounters.

Here is revealed, in all its glory, the true, unvarnished thinking of an unreconstructed Evangelical Christian, who views Mormons and Wiccans as equally "lost" and in need of having the gospel of jebus "shared" with them.

And here is how Morehead finishes up his article:

The challenge and opportunity posed by the new religions is monumental. If we do not respond in obedience to our evangelistic mandate, surely we must respond in order to perpetuate the Christian faith in our postmodern climate of religious diversity, where evangelicalism hovers on the cultural fringe. As David Hesselgrave has stated, "During the era of modern missions, evangelical missionaries have focused on adherents of the major religions and, especially, on folk religionists. As we enter a new century and new millennium it is becoming increasingly apparent that we must also focus on millions who are being caught up in new religious movements emanating from both East and West. They constitute not only a new 'mission field,' but also one of our most aggressive competitors for the allegiance of multiplied millions who are turning away from the faiths of their fathers." As international mission leaders prepare for Lausanne 2004 in Thailand, it is my hope that the often-neglected mission fields of the new religions and world religions receive the attention of the missions community in fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Sadly, John Morehead has met with more than a little success in his efforts at evangelizing Pagans and others who have turned "away from the faiths of their fathers". And what makes it truly sad is the eager assistance he has received from some prominent Pagans who now, wittingly or wittingly, are actively participating in Morehead's ongoing project to retool and rebrand the Great Commission.

Posted by Apuleius Platonicus at 5/11/2012 12:51:00 PM 5 comments
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