New Age Terms in the Church
Compiled by Sarah Leslie
BUZZ WORD |
TRADITIONAL MEANING |
MISLEADING MEANING |
REAL MEANING |
New Age |
Eph. 2:7 That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Jesus Christ. |
Anything cutting-edge modern in the late 20th or early 21st century. |
A time period marked by massive changes in human spiritual evolution, particularly when mankind reaches the point where he can facilitate his own evolution to the next level. |
Holistic |
The whole of something is greater than the sum of its parts. |
A unity of various entities that creates a synergy greater than its separate parts. |
Cooperative unity from different spheres of human activity that leads to creating a cosmic consciousness. |
Working together in cooperation. |
The power of working together that creates a more effective accomplishment. |
Combining the psychic energy of two systems into a potent new fusion of forces to facilitate the evolution of mankind. |
|
Transfor- |
To change the form or outward appearance. |
To change the way of doing something from the old-fashioned way to a new-fangled way. |
A plan to change the entire spiritual, cultural, educational, economic, social and political structure of man’s life on Earth. |
Paradigm |
A pattern, example or model. |
A transformative model or worldview that brings in abundant new material and practices. |
A pattern for the unfolding of events in the New Spirituality, particularly the evolutionary leap of mankind. |
Paradigm Shift (Tipping Point, Critical Mass) |
A shift from one worldview or belief system to another. |
A shift from the traditional Judeo-Christian mindset to eastern mysticism. In the church, a shift to a higher level of spiritual understanding and practice. |
A spiritual shift where man becomes a co-creator in his own destiny; an evolution in the consciousness of mankind. |
Alignment |
An arrangement in a straight line. |
Spiritually, in the church growth model, bringing your will into conformity with the vision and goals of your local church. |
The metaphysical belief that one must coordinate their bodily, mental, emotional and spiritual functions with the forces in the Universe for maximum benefit and effect. |
Resistance |
BAD: Resisting the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51). GOOD: Resist the devil (James 4:7) |
Resistance to change, due to an improper clinging to old worn-out theology, which if left unchecked could cause disunity and delay progress. |
Resistance to change threatens the entire evolutionary process. Resistors/laggards possess remnants of a reptilian brain and will not evolve. They must be eradicated. |
Change Agent |
Recent term meaning one in charge of making changes. |
A person designated to be in charge of the transformation of an organization. |
A highly-trained leader in psycho-social group manipulation techniques who forces transformation through a series of set stages. |
Leadership |
The first shall be last and the last first. (Mark 10:31) |
A leader is a servant who is willing to sacrifice himself in order to transform the church. |
Transformational leaders ensure followers embrace the vision and goals, rewarding the compliant and penalizing laggards. |
Team |
Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labour. (Eccl. 4:9) |
Small number of people with complementary skills committed to a common purpose. |
Indoctrinated sheep who are controlled by peer pressure, rewards and sanctions, and who see themselves as part of a greater transformative plan. |
Collaboration |
Working together in a literary, artistic or scientific undertaking. |
Working together, especially through networking various organizations, in order to achieve a common purpose. |
Merging delivery services at all levels, fully networking so that independence and individual identity are lost. |
Networking |
A system of interconnected groups or individuals. |
New Age slang for linking people up who have common vision on a global scale. In the church, linking ministries globally for a common purpose. |
A system of interconnected organizations, including churches and political entities, cooperating to build the New World Order and New Age on Earth. |
Mentor |
A wise advisor, teacher or coach. |
Replacing the Biblical term “disciple,” a term that means coaching or facilitating changes in someone’s worldview, lifestyle and/or behavior. |
A person who imparts their vital force (demonic) to another through spiritual means. Mentor was a professor of theology in Baghdad 1100 A.D. who was able to manage phenomena during seances. |
Disciple |
Noun: a pupil or learner. Verb: Teach and train someone. |
“Go and teach all nations,” a Great Commission mandate to reach the lost. |
Rigorous adherence to a prescribed program or set of teachings in order to convert whole groups of people to the New Spirituality. |
Learning |
Acquiring new knowledge, wisdom or skills. |
Processing new information via affective and cognitive domains and applying it to common goals, visions, plans and purposes. |
Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Tim. 3:7) |
Spiritual Gifts |
Special gifts that come from God and are bestowed upon individual believers for the edification of the body of Christ. |
Talents and skills that show up on psychological-style assessments and inventories that plug a believer into a program at church. |
Possessing superior spiritual knowledge and abilities through external manifestations (signs & wonders) and/or behavioral demonstration (being “with the program” and achieving results). |
Results (Outcomes) |
Anything that comes about through an action or process. |
A narrowly defined performance objective, usually defined in terms of behavior. A goal to be attained. |
An outcome that is pre-determined, which must be met behaviorally or attitudinally, and is either rewarded or sanctioned based upon performance. |
Effective |
Producing an efficient result. |
Pre-set criteria for judging a result (see above). |
A standard, based on uniform criteria, that must be met consistently without failure. |
Accoun- |
Accounting for one’s actions; being responsible. |
Meeting the obligations and requirements of an organization by demonstrating compliance. |
Fulfilling the rigid, precise and exacting demands of a higher authority according to pre-set criteria. |
Responsible Citizenship |
Obeying the law and voting. |
Getting involved in community-based organizations that assist the poor and needy or care for the environment. |
Fulfilling State mandated requirements to engage in community service, volunteerism, and government funded (faith-based) charities. |
Healthy |
Possessing good health, well, sound. |
Physical, spiritual, emotional and psychological well-being. |
Demonstrating the proper opinions, beliefs, attitudes, values, behavior and physical attributes according to pre-set criteria of wellness. |
Vision |
Something seen in a sleeping dream; an extraordinary, God-given event. |
A mental image formed in the mind by the imaginations and desires of the heart. |
A metaphysical practice in which a mental image becomes reality, either through spiritual or physical endeavors. |
Visualization |
Forming a mental image of something. |
Forming a mental image of something for the purpose of producing external effects. |
A metaphysical practice in which spirits are called up, healing is achieved, a goal is attained, or the demonic world is explored. |
Strategic Planning |
Planning in a way that requires some strategy. |
A method of making plans that requires facilitating the outcomes so there is group consensus. |
A method of planning which requires the use of psycho-social group manipulation techniques to achieve the desired outcome. |
Consensus |
Agreement through open discussion. |
Seeking mutual understanding on any given topic, especially by giving up one’s own preferences. |
Forcing agreement by using psycho-social group manipulation techniques to reach the desired outcome. Requires that one give up their convictions. |
Common Ground |
Any ground held in common by the people; an area in which people mutually find agreement. |
Using the dialectic process, an agreement among people reflecting a synthesis of the lowest common denominator. |
Using the dialectic process, an agreement among people that “ameliorates the extremes,” thus effectually dispensing with tolerance for diversity. |
Purpose-Driven |
Setting a goal and seeking to attain it. |
Setting an individual or organizational goal and taking comprehensive steps to achieve systemic change. |
Outcome-based, peer-driven, performance, demands for accountability, and pre-determined results, based on pre-set global standards. |
Standards |
Ethical conduct derived from Biblical criteria. |
A level of excellence to be attained by organizations or individuals, defined by new theologies. |
A new level of mastery attained through radical transformation in structure and conduct. |
Mastery |
Attaining a high degree of skill, ability or knowledge. |
Demonstrating that one has learned pre-determined attitudes, values, opinions, beliefs and behaviors. |
Metaphysically pertaining to a spiritual master who has been trained to transmit knowledge, and exhibits a state of “self-actualization,” “God-consciousness” or enlightenment. |
Systems |
An arrangement of things that form a whole. |
A theory that the world is a system and that everything is interconnected and interdependent to form a whole. |
A esoteric belief that the Earth (Gaia) is a living, breathing organism, and that all systems on Earth must be brought into compliance and submission to the global governance system. |
Revival |
Stirring up religious faith among those who have been indifferent. |
An experience-based event in which people profess change, make decisions, encounter phenomena, or undergo catharsis. |
A global transformation of the church in which people are subject to experience-based events through occult influences and/or smoke and mirrors. |
Seeker |
Someone searching for the Truth. |
Someone who seeks a path to truth, engaged in a course of self-discovery and self-actualization. |
Someone who is on a quest to becoming an initiate into the occult through spiritual experiences. |
Self-Actualization |
Term not found in the Bible |
In humanistic psychology, a term coined by Abraham Maslow which means living up to your full potential. |
In the New Age, a term defining a spiritually evolved individual who has attained a higher level of consciousness. |
Atonement |
What Jesus did for us on the cross for our sins. |
A restoration to wholeness from a fallen or injured state. |
At-one-ment, making what appears to be divided into a whole; achieving perfection. |
Path |
“Blessed is the man that... standeth not in the way of sinners. (Ps. 1:1) |
Any method of self-discovery leading to higher potential. |
Spiritual progress towards a deeper encounter with the occult involving various experiences where one comes to a sense of purpose or enlightenment. |