Erwin McManus - His Goal is to "Destroy Christianity"

Database on the spirituality of Erwin McManus

"My goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ," McManus, author of a new book called "The Barbarian Way," said in a telephone interview.

"Some people are upset with me because it sounds like I'm anti-Christian. I think they might be right." Erwin McManus

The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus "It is evident from the contents of The Barbarian Way that McManus has a fascination for old Celtic lore. The ways of the Celts in battle, their commitment to cause and their loyalty to their king seem to be a recurring theme. From the beginning, this book emphasizes the "barbarian way" of doing things and walking through life, hence its name, and declares these ways superior by far to traditional Christianity....

"The bottom line is that Jesus Christ doesn't want barbarians. The barbarian heart is the one from which He has delivered us. That "primal," sensual, I've-got-to-be-me attitude that casts off restraint has no place in the Christian congregation. As romantic as that distant era of warfare and wild living might seem, we can't go back, and we don't really want to. There's nothing back there for us anymore. We need to be satisfied with Christ alone, as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures. That is enough, and more than we can possibly live out in this short earthly span. The true barbarian way—brutal, self-serving, violent—needs to remain in the deep past where it belongs, where my own Celtic forbears are buried with their swords and superstitions." —A review of The Barbarian Way By Kevin Reeves

Special Report:
The Barbarian Way

In The Barbarian Way, McManus tells readers that the story of the Crusades "awakens within me a primal longing that I am convinced waits to be unleashed within everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ." But McManus has an unusual definition of "follower of Jesus Christ." He says:

"When asked if they [Barbarians] are Christians, their answer might surprisingly be no, they are passionate followers of Jesus Christ." This might sound OK on the surface, but it is part of the new missiology and the new evangelicalism that Rick Warren and others proclaim, "God doesn't care what religion you are, just add Jesus to what you already have." Thus you can be a Buddhist with Jesus, a Hindu with Jesus - that's OK. McManus clarifies this when he states: "The greatest enemy to the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity." He elaborates more:

They [Barbarians - who he tries to convince readers they should be] see Christianity as a world religion, in many ways no different from any other religious system. Whether Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity, they're not about religion; they're about advancing the revolution Jesus started two thousand years ago (p.6).

While some may think McManus is talking about some kind of true revival, he's not, not a revival towards the Jesus of the Bible anyway. McManus' Jesus is all together different. And using the same lingo that most contemplatives use (and New Agers for that matter), he tells readers that they have been "recreated to live in a raw and primal spirituality" that listens "to the voice of the Spirit... Barbarians are not welcome among the civilized and are feared among the domesticated." The book reads more like a primer to prepare for an anarchist war than instruction and exhortation on how to live the Christian life according to the Bible. Read the rest of this report, click here.

Erwin McManus on Mysticism

For those who may wonder just what is at the basis of McManus' spirituality, this quote by the author says it all:

The Barbarian Way [his book] was, in some sense, trying to create a volatile fuel to get people to step out and act. It's pretty hard to get a whole group of people moving together as individuals who are stepping into a more mystical, faith-oriented, dynamic kind of experience with Christ. So, I think Barbarian Way was my attempt to say, "Look, underneath what looks like invention, innovation and creativity is really a core mysticism that hears from God, and what is fueling this is something really ancient. (emphasis added) Erwin McManus,Interview by Al Sergel with Erwin McManus, “Soul Cravings, Q&A (Relevant Magazine, http://www.relevantmagazine.com/godarticle.php?id=7241). [Relevant Magazine has removed this link-on file at LTRP]

Seizing Your Divine Moment
Endorsed by David Jeremiah

"I wish I could say I couldn't put Seizing Your Divine Moment down. The fact is, I had to put it down many times to think about what I had just read! It motivated me like no book I have read in years. I marked almost every page and found myself saying 'yes' out loud on several occasions. You owe it to yourself to 'seize the moment' and read this book." - David Jeremiah - Shadow Mountain Community Church;Turning Point Radio.(Back cover of Seizing Your Divine)

Others Who Have Endorsed
Erwin McManus' Books

Rick Warren (link no longer available online)
Leonard Sweet
John Ortberg

Awakening an Apostolic Ethos with Erwin McManus, Lead Pastor, Mosaic, Los Angeles—
"McManus offers a vision of the church taking its rightful place as an unstoppable force created to change the world ... a church that is active and engaged with its community An apostolic ethos is the key to a New Testament movement ... To lead a church with movement requires the ability to create and shape ethos ..." Erwin declares, "When we awaken the apostolic ethos, the heart of God begins to pulsate through the church of Jesus Christ." Consider that ethos means culture, they are wanting to change the culture, something Jesus NEVER told us to do. He said his kingdom is not of this world. We are supposed to be preparing people for the kingdom in the next by being separate from the world while we are in it." (This book has a new apostolic and Dominionist view)—From Community Connections, Mike Oppenheimer, Let Us Reason Ministries