From an email to a friend, Earl writes (only point 1 discussed here):

1. Read the classics: dial up amazon.com and search for the works of James McGregor Burns, Henri Nouwen, Warren Bennis, etc. While we can debate “what’s a classic?,” books of this sort will get you into the game in a hurry.

I just don’t get the attraction to Henri Nouwen.

Why would any true Christian want to point others to the writings of a heritic? I know that is a strong claim but it’s the truth.

Henri Nouwen, the now deceased Catholic theologian, hardly seems an appropriate spiritual mentor for bible believing Christians.

Consider the following quote from Nouwen:

Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God’s house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God. — From Sabbatical Journey, Henri Nouwen’s last book page 51, 1998 Hardcover Edition

The above quote from Nouwen is in direct contradiction to the biblical record as to how one must be saved (justified). Ephesians 2:4-9 makes it abundantly clear that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. There is only one path to Christ and any message to the contrary is a false gospel.

Galatians 1:6-9 says that the preacher preaching a false gospel is accursed.

(HT: Developing a Reading Plan)

Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God’s house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God.

What an outrageous statement!

For those Christians out there who question why we do what we do, maybe this quote will help you understand in a new way why we do what we do.

Why is this important?

Many pastors and professors are greatly attracted to Nouwen’s deep thinking. In fact, one of his biographers revealed that in a 1994 survey of 3,400 U.S. Protestant church leaders, Nouwen ranked second only to Billy Graham in influence among them.

The embrace of the Roman Catholic Church and its purveyors of false doctrine continues to grow among ‘Protestant Evangelicals’.

Church, we must pray and ask the Lord to remove the scales from the eyes of those so easily deceived. If there was ever a time we needed to pray and be a herald of truth, it is now.

Now is the time, this is the hour, now is the season to move !

Henri Nouwen quote courtesy of Lighthouse Trails.