The progressive Adventist fascination with mysticism reached it’s high water mark with the spiritual experimentations of the One Project and the Ohio-sponsored Innovation Conference. And if you thought it was over, it isn’t.
The Crosswalk Church in Chattanooga is hosting a retreat “with Richard Rohr”, a well-known Roman Catholic spiritualist priest and social justice proponent who refers to himself as a Christian Buddhist. Rohr personally met with Pope Francis in 2022, who told him to keep teaching his conscious-changing contemplative prayer. This is entry level occult mysticism, friends.
According to the above screenshot, among the things that Richard Rohr will be ‘teaching’ at the Chattanooga Seventh-day Adventist Crosswalk church is how to connect with contemplative archetypal magic and the “dark side” of mystical spirituality. Apparently it takes some time to lead vulnerable young Adventists into the dark side of mystical spirituality—the course will last twelve weeks (that’s three months, for those in La Sierra).
According to their website, Crosswalk Village is a network of 6-8 churches founded by Tim Gillespie, who was also one of the founders of the One Project. The One Project began in 2010 and held their first conference in 2011. The original five founders were Japhat De Oliveira, Sam Leonor, Alex Bryan, pastor of Walla Walla University Church, Tim Gillespie, young adult pastor at Loma Linda Church, and Terry Swenson, senior chaplain at Loma Linda University.
It is worth noting that the General Conference Executive Committee has expressed significant reservations about the One Project, and spiritual formation in general.
The One Project is also having a meeting in Orlando on February 16. They’re back.
Conclusion
The Crosswalk church is importing ‘dark’ mysticism from a Roman Catholic priest into the Georgia Cumberland Conference where Adventists could be harmed by it. Gary Rustad, Chester Clark, and Kurt Allen, are you ok with this?
Much fanfare was made over a rebellious Conference trying to cancel Pastor Stephen Bohr in 2023. Their excuse was that a weird Church Manual change gave conferences the right to oppose speakers that they don’t like.
We are told that spiritualism will be one of the factors that unite the forces of evil in the last days,
“By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation [the United States] will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When [apostate] Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.” 1 Testimonies for the Church 5:451.
“As the Sabbath has become the special point of controversy throughout Christendom, and religious and secular authorities have combined to enforce the observance of the Sunday, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration. It will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and a law of the state ought not to be tolerated; that it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. The same argument many centuries ago was brought against Christ by the “rulers of the people.” “It is expedient for us,” said the wily Caiaphas, “that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” John 11:50. This argument will appear conclusive; and a decree will finally be issued against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to death. Romanism in the Old World and apostate Protestantism in the New will pursue a similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts” GC 615.2.
How Spiritual Formation Almost Destroyed my Life.
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“Have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).