Assemblies of God Theological Seminary appears to be heading towards Emerging and Contemplative Spirituality. One example of this is Professor Earl Creps' syllabus, which include materials from Henri Nouwen, Brian McLaren, Ken Blanchard, Dan Kimball, Erwin McManus, Sally Morgenthaler, Leonard Sweet.


*Dr. Creps Blog

*The Leadership Network (the Creators of the Emerging Church) Interview with Earl Creps

Assemblies of God: Committed to Spiritual Formation, Contemplative and Emerging

Earl Creps, director of the Doctor of Ministry program and associate professor at AOGTS, is a heavy proponent of both contemplative and emerging. In his course syllabi over the last five years, Creps has classes with titles such as "Leading the Emerging Church" and "Models of Ministry in the Emerging Church." Syllabus reading materials include those from Henri Nouwen, Brian McLaren, Ken Blanchard, Dan Kimball, Erwin McManus, Sally Morgenthaler, Leonard Sweet. A visit to Creps' "Spiritual Adventures" blog gives a hearty helping of emergent discussion. In one blog, Creps tries to show how there might be a union between Pentecostalism and the emerging church, saying the relationship is "gaining some traction." While Creps ends that discussion with "I am painfully orthodox doctrinally," resources he offers throughout his blogs and websites would paint another picture. Under Apologetics Resources, Creps recommends Leonard Sweet's book, Quantum Spirituality. Listen to Sweet, as he describes the New Light in his book: "I have followed those 'New Light leaders' ... [S]ome of those who led [me] into new light are: ... Matthew Fox, Richard Mouw, Rowan Williams." Others that Leonard Sweet thanks include: Morton Kelsey, M. Scott Peck, Walter Bruggemann, Ken Wilber, Thomas Berry and many other New Age sympathizers. And then:

Assemblies of God Theological Seminary Supports Dr. Earl Creps by Making Available His 1700 Resources on the Emerging Church

Endorsements on the AGTS website for these
resources include:

"Assemblies of God professor Earl Creps, a man for whom many in the emerging church movement give thanks daily."—Marcia Ford

"I have instructed my web people to link to your marvelous resource. There is truly nothing out there like it. I can't thank you enough." —Leonard Sweet

RECOMMENDED AUTHORS BY AGTS and Dr. Earl Creps:

Dallas Willard
Leonard Sweet
Richard Foster
Eugene Peterson and more...

Emerging Leaders Forum
November 18, 2005 - 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
"Earl Creps will share on the subject of "Ministry in a Postmodern Culture" with this group of Emerging Leaders."

"Being on the road and the internet a lot has connected me with ... friends like Len Sweet, and numerous Districts of the Assemblies of God, along with other parachurch organizations like Youth Specialties ..."

Smith, Chuck, Jr. The End of the World As We Know It: Clear Direction for Bold and Innovative Ministry in a Postmodern World. Waterbrook, 2001. (272 pages)

McLaren, Brian. A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey. John Wiley & Sons, 2001. (192 pages)

Sweet, Leonard. Postmodern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 21st Century Church. Broadman & Holman, 2000. (224 pages)

See more required reading by Dr. Earl Creps

Earl Creps Upcoming Book on Spiritual Formation