DANGEROUS SENSUAL BREAK DANCING

A recent check of the church’s internet site reveals that the church is now being advertised as "The Gathering Place" rather than its formal name. The church radio and TV programs are also now known as "The Gathering Place." The youth ministry at this church features way-out activities as "Rock the Universe," "Chubby Bunny," "WWE wrestling" "Samuri Swords, "Paintball," "Break Dancing" and other ridiculous activities.

According to Wikpedia, the "free" internet encyclopedia and "Google," break dancing "is a street dance style" that evolved as part of the "hip-hop movement" from the street-fighting gangs on the streets of New York in the 1970’s. It is based on "rhythmic breakdown"…of dance records that are strung "together without any elements of the melody." It also evolved from dancers in the "New York disco scene." The morally infamous rock stars Michael Jackson and M. C. Hammer helped popularize it in the 1980’s with their "pumped-up" dance styles.

Break dancing can aptly described as a "dangerous form of recreation" that features all types of contorted body motions, wild movements and gestures that emphasize the private sexual portions of the human body.

When this writer checked "The Gathering Place’s" internet site, he discovered that the introductory video featured a rock group called "Relient K," a punk/rock group. In examining the "Relient K’s website, the F.D. editor discovered that this group had recorded such ignominious songs as "Bite My Tongue," "Plead the Fifth," and "Crayons Can Melt on Us for All I Care!" This band also has appeared on MTV’s "Summer on the Strip from Las Vegas," and the morally questionable Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel late night TV shows.

THE "GATHERING PLACE" YOUTH MINISTRY’S "RECOMMENDED LINKS"

"The Gathering Place" youth ministry had several "recommended links" on its website including "Youth Specialties," a religious commercial youth leadership company that sponsors "CORE" conferences for youth leaders and students. The "CORE Training Team" includes personnel from Saddleback Church, apostate Eastern University, ecumenical Fuller Theological Seminary, and other New-Evangelical entities.

"Youth Specialties" also sponsors the yearly "National Youth Workers Convention" [NYWC]. A quick survey of the NYWC site revealed that the NYWC 2007 promoted the heretical emerging church with emerging church leader Brian McLaren as a major speaker.

THE NEW-AGE "LABYRINTH" PRAYER CIRCLE

The NYWC 2007 convention included a "labyrinth" prayer circle. "Labyrinth" is a new-age meditative prayer technique which teaches that all human beings are on "a sacred journey" to the "god" inside their souls and back outwards on the same path reversely to the world again. It involves a circular walk that supposedly is "a path of grace" for individuals, but it is really another one of Satan’s false plans of salvation! (check "Labyrinth" on various internet sites)

THE R. C. MYSTICAL BASED "CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY"

The NYWC 2007 also included also a heretical "Contemplative Youth Ministry," where the supposed "presence of Jesus is practiced." "Contemplative Spirituality" is in reality a form of so-called prayer based on Roman Catholic mysticism, whereby the seeker has a "mystical experience with God."

CONCLUSION AND STRONG ADMONITION!

The unscriptural heretical doctrines and methodologies cited above were all promoted on the recommended sites of "The Gathering Place’s" youth pages! By further internet pursuit, this writer quickly procured the unscriptural nature of these false gospels. The great travesty in all the above documentation is that "The Gathering Place" is supposedly an independent N. T. Baptist Church. This documented article is a vivid demonstration of the downward trend that occurs when a pastor/church decides to take the worldly-accommodating compromising route.

The sad facts are that "The Gathering Place" church [New Testament Baptist Church,] is just one heartbeat away from apostasy. When a perceptive man of God stated that every church is just one generation away from apostasy, he was not exaggerating the truth! The "Gathering Place" debacle reveals the intense need to continuously "contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).

Good shepherds of local N. T. church flocks must be (a) expositors—II Tim. 4:2, (b) evangelizers—II Tim. 4:5 and (c) exposers—II Tim. 4:10 D.J.

June/July 2008 The Fundamentalist Digest; Permission granted for reprint, so long as proper credit is given. The above item is a sample of the numerous timely articles that are contained in the bi-monthly issues of The Fundamentalist Digest.