This May 18-21, hundreds of teens from youth groups and Christian highschools will be loaded into vans and buses and taken to a 4 day youth conference called *Avalanche 2007- The Genesis, at New Life Church in Kelowna B.C.(Canada). On the itinerary for these kids from ages 12-22 will be lots of fun, worship and music, as well as workshops on drama, art, dream interepretations, and more. There will also be sessions for youth leaders only.It all sounds like good solid fun...kids going to a church conference to worship and be taught about God. Who wouldn't want their teen attending something wholesome like this? But what exactly are these kids going to be learning, and who will be teaching them?
As usual, there will be lots of speakers and sessions at Avalanche to choose from, one of which is Jason Upton, who is on the Elijah List of modern day 'prophets'. (You can read his interviews at Relevant Magazine Part 1 and Part 2). Other speakers will not only be teaching the youth, but will also be having teaching sessions for just the youth leaders. These speakers will be Peter and Anne Marie Helms, of Faith Builders, and Brad Jersak, author of Can You Hear Me? (a book that is being studied in many churches that I know of).
Peter and Anne Helms, who just finished teaching a Fire Night School in Kelowna, will also be speaking at an Encounter weekend next month with Patricia King of Extreme Prophetic. (Read some of Patricia King's prophecies on the Extreme Prophetic website here). By the way, she is also on the Elijah List of false prophets(here).
Brad Jersak has just co-authored a brand new book on listening prayer called Shades: Nuancing Listening Prayer. He is part of the listening prayer community, which provides his resources on their website.
In an article called "The New Prophets" at Canadian Christianity (here), Jersak says there are four streams of the present day prophetic. One is the charismatic stream (he lists George Fox, Pentecostalism, and Vineyard founder John Wimber), and another is the "contemplative aspect of prophecy"...
Jersak cites several exemplars of this tradition, all of whom wrote extensively on the subject - including Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Evelyn Underhill and Thomas Merton...
The idea of 'listening prayer' - a "contemplative approach to inner healing" that focuses on what God is saying to the individual - which Jersak actively practices in his church, would fall into this category.
Brad Jersak also has a blog called The God Who Speaks.
Read more about Brad Jersak and what he is actually teaching here.
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Should parents be concerned that their kids and their youth leaders will be taught to 'experience God' by these "new prophets"? You bet! Could Avalanche be a spiritually dangerous environment for youth? You bet! But then, avalanches always have had a reputation for being very dangerous.
*You can visit Avalanche on-line here:
http://avalancheministries.com/
http://myspace.com/avalancheministries
Related:
Brad Jersak's Argument for Listening Prayer...
thearmchairtheologian.blogspot.com
5 comments:
HI Carla, I am Pastor Tom Schulz From Calvary Chapel in Colville Wa. I am glad to see you speaking out about the false teachings going on. I went to an Avalanche several years ago. 1998 and it was so off base I never went back, I am glad you are standing up for the truth of Gods Word. I pray that God will bless you and keep Jesus' light shining in you.
Yours in Christ ,Pastor Tom Schul
Thank you SO MUCH Pastor Tom! If you only knew how much I LOVE Calvary Chapel! God bless you!
By the way, my daughter attended Avalanche too (a couple years after you were there) and there were definitely some very strange things going on.
I found your blog as I was researching Todd Bentley's ministry. I have been concerned with exactly what his theology and background were and your site helped provide information that I found helpful. As a Holy-Spirit filled believer, I do believe that God still does wonderous things and still performs miracles. When Jesus is exalted and people are led to repent of their sins and ask Him to save their souls I believe that many times healings will follow. However, I also believ that there will be false signs and wonders that will happen in these last days, as well. My concern is that the church is not as discerning as she needs to be. So I do pray that God would give us discernement. To that end, I also believe that in our zeal to keep doctrinal purity, we should be very careful of jumping the gun and pointing fingers at Godly people who may happen to have a different worship style than we do.
I am specifically addressing your mention of Jason Upton's ministry in this article. By mentioning his name, there seemed to be an insinuation that he was a false prophet. Nothing could be farther from the truth. He is just a guy who loves Jesus with all of his heart and worships Him and Him alone. Just as Keith Green sang with a sold out heart for Jesus and repentance, that is the same heart Jason has in his ministry. So, please be careful where you point fingers...
I agree with you that God is very capable of doing miracles, and that we need to be careful because his enemy is capable of the same.
I don't know much about Jason Upton, but I do know that the Elijah list is filled with questionable so called prophets, many of them false. We need to test all things and measure everything we are taught with the Word of God. You are right, we shouldn't point fingers at people, but rather at what they are teaching and pointing people to. The true prophet who the Holy Spirit speaks through will always point to Jesus and will have a balanced worship of God, not one sided (i.e. Holy Spirit worship only).
Thank you for your comment.
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