Interview with John Ortberg
An interview that originally appeared in the Woman Alive book club, where I talk all things books with prominent Christian authors.
Soul Keeping was very moving to me to write, particularly because it gave me a chance to reflect on Dallas Willard during the final days of his life. I hope that through reading it, people will realize the wonder and mystery of what it means to have a soul and learn how to care for it well.
The book of Dallas Willard that impacted me most was The Spirit of the Disciplines, and I’d recommend that for folks to read. But my quick warning would always be that Dallas’ material is very dense. And, at least for me, I often have to read it through several times to be able to absorb it—kind of like osmosis.
There’s no particular story behind the long titles of my books [If You Want to Walk on Water You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat or Everyone’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them] other than I have a mind that tends to think in thoughts that can only be expressed in long titles. And, there’s something that I like about combining the thoughtfulness and substance of deep thinkers like Dallas Willard with a spirit of fun, joy and delight that can make it accessible to people. So I try to aim for that.
Another Christian classic that is great for our soul in a hurried world is Richard Foster’s book, The Celebration of Discipline. If someone’s looking for a work that’s shorter and more easily applied, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence remains an absolute classic.
Nancy and I read together separately. We actually tried reading together back when we were dating and first married, but both of us are teachers and we would tend to start teaching each other, and that’s not great for a marriage. But we do love to read the same books and then talk about them on our own, and we do that for spiritual books from folks like Henri Nouwen to fiction and biography, and Nancy’s favorite adventure sagas.
I am always reading a book about Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is one of my favorite characters. I like history and biography immensely. I also loved the most recent third volume about the life of Winston Churchill, which was begun by William Manchester before he died. I also read The Fault in our Stars, and even though I’m not a young teen, I thought it was quite well written.
John Ortberg is the senior pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California. He has written books on spiritual formation including The Life You’ve Always Wanted, Know Doubt, The Me I Want to Be and Who Is This Man?. He is married to Nancy, and they have three grown children.
Hello! 
Reading Ortberg’s unabashed promotion of dangerous false teachers I am reminded once again that we are truly seeing I and II Timothy 4 played out. Through the false teachings of Spiritual Formation, the Church is turning to ROME. And, Radio Bible Class and Daily Bread have promoted Catholic mystics, (Brother Lawrence) New Agers, (M. Scott Peck) Marxists (Timothy Keller) and contemplative prayer (“unforced rhythms of grace) since 1995. They have joined with false teachers in promoting Community (Ecumenicalism), and Silence (Mysticism). Ortberg and his wife are also engaged in unbiblical mysticism –
“Teaching videos are sold by the Ortbergs on spiritual formation. Note Nancy’s New Age term “centering” and John’s terminology “Rule for Life” which was written by St. Benedict in the early years of monasticism and is still used in monasteries and convents; also used in the discipleship of a New Age by occultic Alice Bailey.”
But first it is imperative to understand that the apostate teachings beguiling the Church come from the unholy trinity of Spiritual Formation adherents New Age Quaker Richard Foster, the late Catholic mystic Henri Nouwen, and the late Emergent Dallas Willard. And unbelievably, the apostate theology of these men has not caused the current Church to recoil in horror. Rather, they continue to be favorably quoted and strongly embraced by popular fundamental theologians, pastors, teachers and seminaries.
Richard Foster – 1) Discernment editor Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries, states, “Richard Foster is arguably the leading proponent of…contemplative spirituality rooted in Rome. Brian McLaren, the prominent theologian in the Emerging church network…points to “Dallas Willard and Richard Foster, with their emphasis on spiritual disciplines, as key mentors for the Emerging church.”
2) Foster is author of the very popular but apostate “Celebration of Disciplines” now in the Church, which promotes pantheism, mystical journeys, visions, revelations, Charismatic gifts, Catholic rituals and out of body communication with the spirit world. (Lighthouse Trails)
3) Foster is head of Renovare’: the mystical / ecumenical organization that rejects the inerrancy of the Bible and is saturated with false teachers. According to http://www.With-Christ.org: “Being a mystical movement, Renovare’s constituency consists of the Charismatic, the Catholic, and the Quaker. All are anti-dispensational, pseudo-doctrinal, and comfortable in subjective mysticism. It will try to “renew” the Church, from objective biblical truth to subjective mystical error. “Renovare’s unspiritual disciplines involve Buddhist meditation and Catholic traditions..what Foster calls ‘wholeness’.” It also is a part of…the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation which trains leaders in “disciplines” of paganism.”
4) Foster is co-editor of the “Spiritual Formation Renovare Bible” which denies the absolute truth of Scripture and does not lead the reader to the cross but to the mountain of mystical experiences. It was edited and compiled by universalists, Catholics and contemplatives.
5) Foster calls for “unity” in the body of Christ through the five ‘streams’ of Christianity: The contemplative, the holiness, the Charismatic, social justice and Evangelical.
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/hybels/insider.htm
Dallas Willard – 1) In discernment editor Bob Deeway’s article “The Dangers of Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Disciplines and a Critique of Dallas Willard…” we read, “Practices called “Spiritual disciplines” that are deemed necessary for spiritual formation have entered evangelicalism. They are strange teachings and practices entering evangelical Bible Colleges and seminaries. They have been borrowed from medieval Rome and dressed up for evangelical consumption.” Apprising Ministries: “The ideas of total depravity, the wrath of God against sin, the blood atonement, and the cross are either absent or distorted in Willard’s theology. What replaces these truths is the hope that we will realize our potential through tapping into the spiritual kingdom of God. This is to be done by the use of spiritual disciplines to obtain the power to transform the world. “
Emergent pastor Willard believed that by practicing ‘disciplines’ men could become more like Christ: “Practices such as solitude, silence, fasting…” Willard: “The more advanced you are in the process of spiritual formation, the greater and more pervasive will be your spirituality. Spiritual formation is not all by the Holy Spirit. None without the Holy Spirit. But there is always something more involved. We have to recognize that the spiritual formation in us, is something that is done to us, by those around us, BY OURSELVES, and by activities which we undertake …There has to be method.” from “Spiritual Formation: What is it and How is it Done?” by Dallas Willard. (No mention of Scripture which declares that God, Jesus and the (true) Holy Spirit sanctify the believer. NOT one’s works.) Jude 1, Hebrews 10, I Thessalonians 5)
3) Willard uses muddled and non-Biblical rhetoric regarding redemption. Jesus said that men need to be born again. (Romans 3:23 / John 3:3) Willard says: “God will allow anyone into heaven who in His opinion, can stand it! Get heaven into yourself and others, and eternity will take care of itself.”
http://www.soulshepherding.org/2013/05/dallas-willards-definitions/
4.) Lighthouse Trails, (one of the most highly recommended and last few remaining discernment ministries today) published their article “Dallas Willard is going down the contemplative road and taking others with him.” Revealed is his sinister Satanic alliances such as the New Age Shalem Institute founder Gerald May who denies Christ is the only way to heaven. Willard also promoted books by Catholic mystic Avila, and Sue Monk Kidd, who believes the Holy Spirit is a goddess. Willard was co-editor of the apostate Spiritual Formation’ Bible. At the doctrinally polluted Fuller Seminary, Willard taught a Spirituality course where the recommended reading included Catholic-mystic priests. On his website he listed names of numerous contemplative mystics, one of which was the dangerous Madame Guyon!
5) LighthouseTrails: “In 1998, Willard stated: “Solitude and silence are powerful means to grace. [But] Bible study, prayer and church attendance… generally have little effect for soul transformation… If all the people doing them were transformed to health and righteousness by it, the world would be vastly changed. Solitude and silence…can make them very powerful.” Dallas Willard:(“Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation and the Restoration of the Soul,”) Journal of Psychology and Theology
6) Occultic Sue Monk-Kidd wrote a forward in Willard’s “The Spirit of the Disciplines.”
7) Willard also uses the charismatic / occultic jargon that says the Church will corporately incarnate itself into the body of Christ. (Spirit of the Disciplines,) – (Bob Dewaay – A Critique of Dallas Willard) Though some say it is strictly symbolic, the rhetoric is identical.
Henri Nouwen – A pantheist, universalist Catholic priest whose dangerous mystical influence and apostate ‘theological stance’ has unbelievably and completely mesmerized, beguiled and immersed the current Church, and his status has risen co-equal with (if not above) Christ. His works have completely saturated Christian seminaries and hypnotized Christian pastors, teachers, theologians and congregations.
1) In his book, “In the Name of Jesus” Nouwen says: “For Christian leadership to be truly fruitful in the future, a movement from the moral to the mystical is required.” He rejected God’s Way of redemption: He did not believe men needed to be born again by faith in Christ, and praised eastern religions. He said: “I personally believe that Jesus came to open the door to God’s house, and all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not.” (Sabbatical Journey, p. 51)
2) He believed that “divinity” dwelt in all things, in all people, and that God’s voice could be heard through mantras. “Hearing God in the silence” was Nouwen’s passion for the Church. Nouwen’s philosophy steers followers away from the absolute Truth of Scripture. And though John Piper (and Dallas Seminary) would argue that Catholic contemplative prayer is different from “fundamental contemplative prayer,” (?) it cannot be ignored that Nouwen, Foster or Willard’s name, philosophy and anti-Biblical practices are always directly or indirectly connected to both.”
3) Strong words from Apprising Ministries: [Nouwen] is another example of a so-called “Christian” mystic, teaching that man can be saved apart from Christ. Nouwen became a Buddhist. How many more pathetic examples like this, do discernment ministries have to present before evangelical leaders awaken from their love affair with deceiving spirits? Nouwen negates the need for being born again when he teaches that God already dwells in all of mankind. And this is what evangelical leaders like Chuck Swindoll and David Jeremiah open their readers up to, by quoting this foolish man in an approving manner.”
http://apprising.org/2008/08/12/who-is-henri-nouwen-2/
“And in the last days, men shall no longer endure sound doctrine, but…embrace doctrines of demons.” I and II Timothy 4