PERSONAL CONTEMPLATIVE MYSTICISM OF JAMES EMERY WHITE

From Pastor-teacher Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries:

"As pointed out previously in James Emery White Teaching Contemplative Mysticism here at Apprising Ministries a couple of anonymous commenters claiming to be students of White’s whined in the comments section at Watcher’s Lamp that he was mischaracterized and insisted White does not promote Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism.

Really; then they need to seriously consider what will follow from White’s book Serious Times (ST). For those who don’t know:

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; President of Serious Times, a ministry which explores the intersection of faith and culture; and professor of theology and culture on the Charlotte campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which he also served as their fourth president. (Online source)

In his chapter “Deepening Our Souls,” which is already the language of classic so-called “Christian” mysticism, evangelical “Protestant” professor White discusses “Spiritual Direction”:

“Do you seriously wish to travel the road to devotion?” asked [Roman Catholic mystic] Frances de Sales. “If so, look for a good man to guide and lead you. This is the most important of all words of advice.” Many words have been used to describe life-on-life instruction: discipling, mentoring, coaching. The more time-honored description, and the one that points to the most compelling of the relational practices, is spiritual direction. (88,89)

We’ll come back to Francis de Sales, but first let’s fill you in a bit more about the supposed “time-honored” and “compelling” practice of “spiritual direction.” And we’ll let Thomas Merton, who White tells us possessed a “catalog of wisdom” (85), do the honors. After all, Merton was a Roman Catholic trappist monk who devoted his entire life to the practice of Gnostic neo-pagan contemplative mysticism..."

Read the rest here at Apprising Ministries.

See related post: James Emery White's Purpose Driven Mysticism