Jesus had a new mission project for me: I
was to secretly infiltrate a local Christian church.
Several months had passed since the start of my
mall witnessing and beach ministry. At first, I was not even aware I had
started a new mission. Initially, all I was instructed to do was to join the
church congregation and take part in as many church activities as possible.
After a few weeks, I was given additional instruction. My task was to search
for suitable contacts and make friends with them. Then I was to subtly
introduce them to the concept of Christian meditation as a means of communion
with God. The ultimate goal was to start a meditation group within the
congregation.
The new venture began during my mall witnessing
activities when I met a dedicated Christian named Wayne. He asked me which
church I attended.
“Oh, I am not a member of any one church”, I
replied. “I regard myself as a member of the body of Christ, and all
denominations are part of the body”.
“Do you attend a local church?” Wayne asked
politely.
“Yes, I have been to several churches in the
area. I attend whichever church the spirit leads me to at the time”.
Wayne invited me to his own church, Hope
Chapel, in Hermosa Beach. I had heard of it, but had never attended there.
During my meditation that evening, the inner voice told me to visit this church.
I first visited Hope Chapel for a Sunday
evening service attended by about 2000 people. A band, along with several
singers, began the service with contemporary Christian music. The preaching
that followed seemed to be based on conservative biblical theology. Although
the speaker was gifted, I decided that he obviously needed educating in the
more advanced ideas that Jesus was bringing to the planet.
A few days later, the inner voice of meditation
encouraged me to attend Hope Chapel regularly. I subsequently attended a series
of lectures for newcomers to the church, and, after completing it, took a more
advanced course required for church membership. The advanced course was taught
by a likable member of the pastoral staff named Ken. Being British countrymen,
Ken and I became friends.
Up to this time, I had regarded my church
attendance as a form of education intended to expand my knowledge of the
Christian church. This background enhanced my skill in witnessing to people of
various religious persuasions whom I met on the boardwalk at Venice. But now
the inner voice of meditation informed me I had a special mission to perform in
this particular congregation.
Ginger was my first contact at Hope Chapel. An
attractive woman in her early thirties, she played an electric violin in the
church band. Having at one time been enthusiastic about the use of electric
violins in rock and roll bands, I was most interested in her playing
techniques. After the closing song one Sunday evening, I walked up to the stage
and congratulated her on her skill. We talked a little about her violin.
A couple of weeks later, I bumped into Ginger
in one of the hallways after an evening service. After talking about our mutual
appreciation of rock music from the sixties and seventies, our conversation
moved to a discussion of our current spiritual lives.
Suddenly the inner voice interjected, “Tell her
about your meditation practice”.
“Ginger, actually, the main spiritual
discipline I practice is meditation”, I said with a bit of hesitation.
“Oh, so do I”, Ginger replied enthusiastically.
“I would go crazy without it”.
I felt overjoyed on hearing her statement and
didn't even feel the need to elaborate on what I had meant by “meditation”. I
just sensed that she was obviously talking about the practice of Eastern-type,
silent contemplation upon the cosmic. As we talked a little more about our
interest in meditation, I suggested that we should start a Christian meditation
group at the church. Ginger thought it was a great idea.
At this point, Ken, the British staff pastor,
approached and joined us. Even though we were well acquainted, I was hesitant
to continue the conversation about meditation. For an instant, I consciously
focused inward to listen for any possible warning spoken by my higher self.
When there was only silence, I assumed that it must be OK to continue the
conversation.
“Ken, we were just discussing the idea of
starting a Christian meditation group”, I said.
“Hmmm, well, err, err”, Ken muttered as a
response to my statement.
I interjected, “You know, meditation is spoken
of a lot in the Old Testament.
David, according to the Psalms, often practiced
it as a form of communion with God, a process of listening to the voice of the
Holy Spirit. It was also commonly practiced in the monasteries during the
Middle Ages but it has since become a lost art, a victim of the frantic hustle
and bustle of modern living”.
Ken seemed only mildly interested in what I was
saying. He commented casually, “Well, you will have to try to start a group
here. I am sure some people will be interested”.
Ginger spoke right up, “Yes, I do it myself. It
is a wonderful experience to sit still and relax and give yourself time to be
with God.
The prospect of starting a Christian meditation
group at Hope Chapel excited me. My desire was to make friends among the church
members and to help bring them into a closer relationship with Jesus. I
regarded myself as part of an effort planned by Christ to bring his children into direct communion with himself.
Believing that I was a born-again Christian who had a special, direct
relationship with Jesus, I wanted my Christian “family” to come into that same
relationship. I believed that if all Christians would listen to the voice of Jesus as I did, then the gospel would be
spread quickly, and the Lord would
soon return permanently as ruler over his kingdom on the planet.
As part of my effort to learn all about
Christian doctrines, I frequently visited the local Christian bookstore in my
town. Often I amused myself by browsing through the books that attempted to
discredit the New Age. Digesting them with interest, I even found them quite
entertaining. Even though I considered myself a born-again Christian, I still
identified myself as part of the New Age. I believed I possessed the “full
gospel”, a fusion between Christianity and New Age ideas.
As I read the anti-New Age books written by my
Christian “brothers”, I wished I could persuade the authors that no real
conflict existed. I wanted them to understand that the New Age and Christianity
were just separate arms of God's
great plan to reconcile himself with mankind.
Even though I regarded myself as a New Ager,
the inner voice prohibited me from confiding this to anyone. During my ministry
activities at Venice Beach, I often passed peddlers selling New Age jewelry and
music. I wanted to stop and share with them the fact that I was New Ager.
However, each time I tried to approach them, my higher self immediately
interjected, “No. Don't do it”. It was as if I were allowed to present only a Christian image to all the people I met.
Jeff was another friend I met at Hope Chapel. A
bright young man in his late teens, he loved to tell people he met about the
Lord. My accounts of mystical experiences resulting from practicing Christian meditation fascinated him.
Wayne, the man who first told me about Hope
Chapel, was another totally devoted Christian whom I tried to influence. He
constantly carried his Bible and loved to share the Word of God with people he
met. We, too, became good friends.
I told Wayne that his studying of the Word was
an excellent activity, but I stressed that something far greater than the
Scriptures was available.
He became excited when I told him that he could
actually practice the presence of God and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. I backed my claim by
reminding him that Jesus told his disciples that the kingdom was within them.
Marantz.
The word was on my mind as soon as I woke up in
the morning. Marantz? What is Marantz? I had never heard the word before.
During breakfast, the word kept popping into my
mind. I thought, “Perhaps it is the name of a new car model I heard advertised
on the radio”.
Racking my brain as to what Marantz was, I
finally concluded it must be a new model of Japanese car. I began to wonder if
it was an omen from God that I would soon need to purchase a new car.
Later that day I went to Hope Chapel for the
evening service. As I glanced at the church bulletin's advertisement page, an
ominous shiver ran down my spine as I read the first line.
Marantz!
Marantz stereo for sale...
“Wow, the Holy
Spirit has been at work again”, I exclaimed, knowing that the name Marantz
had been planted in my mind the previous night. I regarded the occurrence as an
indication from the Holy Spirit that
I needed to contact the person advertising the stereo.
I called up the guy and asked him about the
stereo. Telling me his name was Greg, he asked me to come over to his place to
inspect the Marantz system.
As I entered his apartment, I scanned the room
for any clues as to why I had been sent there, clues such as New Age books. I
focused on a large book on the table - a book about India. Hmmm, I thought,
interesting.
The inner voice told me not to purchase the
stereo, but rather to just become acquainted with Greg. During our long and
friendly conversation, I began to speculate whether he was destined to be part
of the meditation group I aspired to start in the church.
Shortly after the visit with Greg, my
clandestine mission to infiltrate Hope Chapel with New Age teachings came to a
sudden and abrupt halt. My parents - long suspecting that I was involved in a
questionable religion - had been praying for me for a long time. A stranger in
a gospel meeting also prayed for me at a very critical time. These prayers
promoted a strange move of the (real) Holy Spirit, which resulted in my
experiencing a dramatic and unexpected “illumination”. The result was
incredible: My twelve-year relationship with the New Age fell apart in one
gigantic crash as the Mastermind's ugly web of deception was torn asunder.
----------------------
Chapter 14
----------------------
Chapter 14
