I spend a few hours this morning reading and thinking more about false teaching and ideas in the visible church today…
I should probably give you only the links and let you look up this stuff on your own..
The one article on Comer I copied the text….
Warning: A lot of this will be controversial……
To be honest I never really recall the name John Mark Comer, being in my reading sphere. Some how I missed him.
But reading this I do see how he is filling gaps that Foster and Willard planted. Even Rob Bell is mentioned. I might add if he really has the influence this pastor/writer mentions, he stands in a vacuum left by the passing of Tim Keller, Eugene Peterson, and others who have retired on been moved out of ministry like Rick Warren or Bill Hybels. Willard also passed away but Foster now in his 80’s still heads Renovaré.
Here is a quote from the article below:
Rule of Life
Comer’s overarching remedy to virtually all the difficulties we face is to develop a “rule of life.” It is important to know that this rule is comprised not of biblical teachings but of anything that works for us.[20] This could include spiritual disciplines, psychological theories, and any number of pragmatic practices that will help one cope. Given the wide range of sources from which he draws, this rule becomes an individualistic, eclectic set of ideals cobbled together and based on experience, numerous theories, and trial and error to form a way forward. In other words, Comer’s “the way” becomes not the way of Scripture, such as Paul’s call to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” (Col. 1:10; Eph. 4:1). Rather, Comer’s rule is to practice the way devised from our own imagination and the extrabiblical musings of other sources. As will be demonstrated in the next paper, Comer’s way is not the way of Jesus, but the way which seems to be working for each individual. His authority is not Christ or Scripture, but self.
Like so many things his ideas sound good, but are subtle twists of what we read in Scripture.
Anyway I encourage you to read these….quite a bit:
I found the Comer article when I was reading one of Michelle Leslie’s posts, (I read the prior one on her site too about false teachers)…thinking would the women of our church’s ever want to hold a real discernment conference….and how would one even suggest that as a possibility. She was at Pastor Gilley’s church running the women’s conference. BTW she is quite strong on:
Biblical complementarianism is a Christian view that men and women are equal in value but designed by God for distinct, complementary roles, especially in marriage and church leadership, with men typically taking the lead (headship) and women fulfilling supportive roles, based on interpretations of Genesis and other scriptures like Ephesians 5. It asserts these differences aren’t a result of sin but part of God’s original, purposeful creation order, promoting spiritual health when embraced.
False Teaching…if your not aware of this perspective you might be a bit surprised…
Just to give you a few more links….I’ve found Mike Ratliff’s current post to be spot on with my own thinking about how confused today’s visible church world is. It’s interesting that it ties nicely into the Bible Reading that Patti and I started for 2026….a slow reading of The Gospel of John, 3-4 verses(more or less) a day for 250 days. Still working on getting that really going and the discussion opportunity it provides. We are on John 1:1-5. Just getting started.
This also ties nicely into a book I’m reading about how modern versions of the Bible have (based on the minority Greek Texts, and other non-Biblical texts, and the Critical or even New Age/Mystic views of the translators and Greek writers) been slowly changing the wording of the Word of God, even diminishing the way the majority Greek texts and the old Protestant translators presented it in English. From the perspective I’m reading this has not been good and creates both textual doubts and misunderstandings and openings for “new” teachings. It’s fascinating the quotes of so many people in the past 100-200 years, I’m reading. But that is a longer discussion.
Also his prior one.
Anyway probably too much reading for you…
I will let you choose what to look at…happy to discuss.
And maybe I leave you alone for a while.
Ron
BTW the article below is just the first of a number on Comer…There is apparently much to cover.
https://tottministries.org/john-mark-comer-and-the-comerism-of-christianity/
John Mark Comer, And The Comerism Of Christianity
Volume 31, Issue 3
In a recent Christianity Today article, entitled “A Splintered Generation,” Skyler Flowers and Michael Graham claim evangelicalism has gone through a fracturing period which began around 2014, as the historic socioeconomic, political, and cultural bonds holding the movement together began to unravel. In 2021, the authors categorized the splintering into six groups that were formed due to suspicion, anxiety, and frustration, sending evangelicals looking for solidarity and like-minded Christian communities. Three new types of churches emerged from this splintering: a combination of neo-fundamentalists and mainstream evangelicals; a combination of mainstream and neo-evangelical; a combination of neo-evangelicals and post-evangelicals. During the last two years, and with the tragic events in Israel on October 7, 2023, there has occurred an even “further distrust of the institutions that have defined the shared life of evangelicalism.” In the wake of such chaos, two notable movements have arisen: New Pietism and New Transformationalism. New Transformationalism is an extreme outward, communal respond to social collapse that can best be exemplified in Christian Nationalism and its emphasis on the task of cultural transformation. This group believes that the institutions which have been foundational to the American way of life are “complicit with the miscarriage of justice” and must be dismantled so that new institutions may arise to resurrect the movement upon a better foundation. New Pietism, on the other hand, “is the extreme inward, individual response to the fracturing, with the hope of rising above it.” It is the school of thought commonly found in a “Rule of Life,” or “Comerism, after the popular writer and pastor John Mark Comer.” “The emphasis of New Pietism largely rests on the individual… With historically reliable institutions under suspicion, the turn inward serves as a great call to take account for oneself.”[1]
Whether Flowers and Graham are accurate in their assessment of evangelical splintering (Graham is one of the authors of The Great Dechurching and is fond of creating categories to wedge Christians into), the point of this article is that a significant portion of evangelicals at the present time is moving into New Pietism, a movement so identified with John Mark Comer that it is being called Comerism. Even though many of my readers might be unfamiliar with Comer as yet, he is emerging as a key leader within evangelicalism—a leader of a revised version of pietism, which has links to past forms but also expands and enlarges pietism in new directions. He has very quickly gained popularity among many Christians, especially young adults who think they have found an anchor in Comer in the midst of a fractured evangelicalism. It is for these reasons that a careful examination of what Comer believes and teaches is important. Is he a reliable guide into a deeper and better form of Christianity, or is he leading his followers into something else?
How popular is Comer? So much so that Brad East, professor of theology at Abilene Christian University, claims his students are reading only Comer and no one else. He writes, “Now it’s Comer’s world and we’re all just living in it.”[2] That may be a bit overstated but apparently not if you are a Gen Z (born between 1995-2005). Noah Senthil, an editorial intern at The Gospel Coalition, writes that for Christians in their 20s, it seems Comer is the most influential figure.[3] Comer’s appeal is to younger evangelicals and before we start critiquing what he teaches, we must first ask why he is so popular. Referring back to the opening sentences in this article, we are living in a fractured world and many are looking for better answers than they have known. While some see the solution in deconstructing the world’s institutions and rebuilding (New Transformationalist), others are turning inward (New Pietist); and John Mark Comer is on the front line leading the way. He has tapped into the unrest, emptiness, confusion, and exhaustion that we all feel at times, and which is escalating in our world, and he is offering seemingly fresh answers in appealing ways. His practical and articulate approach smacks of wisdom that resonates with those seeking something deeper and more profound—something that will unravel the mysteries of life and offer insights for weary souls.
Concerning these mysteries, Comer has much to say; but is it anything fresh and new? Tim Challies doesn’t think so. Early in his review of Comer’s writings, Challies states, “Oh, we’ve been here before!” He is right. 40 years ago Richard Foster and Dallas Willard were claiming evangelicalism had lost its way, and they created the Spiritual Formation Movement to introduce Protestants to ancient mystical practices created by the so-called “spiritual masters” of Catholicism and Orthodoxy that were supposed to lead their followers to deeper spiritual living. Trevin Wax, in his analysis of Comer, agrees with Challies, stating that he is offering a popularized and renewed vision of Dallas Willard’s work combined with evangelical mysticism, Robert Weber’s ancient-future vision, and the Emergent Church of Bell and McLaren.[4]
Twenty years ago, Emergent Church leaders had “discovered” the same emptiness in the souls of many Christians and offered a “new kind of Christian” (the title of one of Brian McLaren’s best-known books). The flavor of the month at that time was Rob Bell who has since apostatized. Is it just a coincidence that Comer’s opening quote in his most popular book, Practicing the Way, “May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi,” is found in Rob Bell’s Nooma film series entitled “Dust” and is the topic of the fifth chapter of his book Velvet Elvis? Not likely! The similarities between Comer and Bell are uncanny. So much so that I thought about titling this article, “Rob Bell 2.0.” Both appeared on the scene virtually out of nowhere; both pastored megachurches, which they left for expanded ministries; both majored on questioning established churches, institutions, and methods; neither had much in the way of solutions; both offered fresh and seemingly profound ideas; both quickly grabbed the imaginations of the twenty-somethings; and both challenged the cardinal doctrines of the Scriptures with clever rhetoric that disguised what they were actually doing. But of course, guilt by association is unfair, so it will be necessary to do a deep-dive into the actual teachings of Comer.
What Does He Get Right
Before we pull back the curtain and expose the many concerns regarding Comer, we should first discuss why he is so popular. Several reasons come to mind. First, he has tapped into felt needs of a fractured and exhausted society. The title of his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, virtually guaranteed it would be a best seller because so many are in desperate need of rest and don’t know how to find it. We are overwhelmed, rushing from one commitment to the next, wanting so much to slow down and get off the merry-go-round that too often defines our life. Comer experienced the life of hurry and ambition, and it nearly destroyed him. He eventually pulled himself out of the rat race and calls for his readers to do the same. Never mind that his circumstances were such that he could step away and still be financially stable and find success through his writings, when most cannot. Still, his example inspires as did Henry David Thoreau’s two-year isolation in the woods in the 1800s still intrigues many today.
Secondly, Comer’s pragmatism is right in step with the mindset of his target audience—Gen-Z. The twenty somethings are not interested in objective truth. They believe their own truth is truth for them, even if not for anyone else. They have little interest in the pronouncements of government, the church, or even God. They want to live their truth and their life without interference from any outside authority. When a winsome leader such as Comer suggests that each of us can develop a rule of life, a rule that does not need to be grounded in any objective standard, including Scripture, but one that simply works and makes us happy, they latch on thinking they have found their North Star. And when that person suggests numerous ways to improve their lives, many of which make good sense, they believe they have discovered the perfect life-coach.
Next, in a world thoroughly saturated with the psychological and therapeutic, Comer offers no resistance. Quite the opposite—Comer is a cheerleader for all forms of psychology, especially Jungian. Comer has been in therapy for many years and recommends it to everyone. His writings, podcasts, and speeches are soaked with psychological philosophy and insights that have the appearance of profound wisdom, even when Comer admits these are only theories that are popular for the moment.
Finally, Comer is in lockstep with culture’s fascination with subjectivism and mysticism. He boldly claims that a Christian in the future will be a mystic, or he will be nothing at all.[5] Mystics base their lives on their feelings and personal experience and shun objective truth claims. Mysticism’s dominance can be traced as far back as Romanticism’s overreaction to the Enlightenment. Søren Kierkegaard developed and coined existentialism to elevate feeling and experience over authoritative truth primarily due to his disappointment with the dead formalism of the Lutheran State Church in the 19th century. The founders of Christian liberalism, in turn, shifted the foundation of Christianity from Scripture and its objective truth to experience and subjectivity. Mysticism virtually dominates Christianity today, and Comer’s approach falls right in line. In addition, he is reintroducing the teachings of Dallas Willard and Richard Foster that supposedly will take the Christian deeper into the heart of God. To many hungry for more from the Christian faith than they have experienced, Comer’s contemplative form of Christianity sounds inviting. Noel Senthil, writing for the Gospel Coalition, says younger Christians, “Feel something is missing in their faith, and Comer fills the gaps in a bite-size, aesthetically pleasing, and quickly digestible manner”[6]
Credit Where Credit Is Due
It will be argued in later papers that what Comer uses to “fill the gaps” is something far inferior to a robust biblical Christianity; still it has to be admitted that he is calling for authentic commitment to following Christ. In his flagship book, Practicing the Way, Comer writes: “You can’t just slip your hand up at the end of a sermon. It’s a high bar of entry: It will require you to reorder your entire life around following Jesus as your undisputed top priority, over your job, your money, your reputation—over everything.”[7]
His counsel is also beneficial when he advises that we should find a quiet place to be alone with God and to simplify our lives: to pursue simplicity and eliminate distractions; to confirm that love is the acid test of our spiritual life; to remind us to renew our minds to proclaim the Holy Spirit as the ultimate source of our transformation; to encourage us to try to live like Jesus; to submit that synergy (we doing our part with the aid and power of the Holy Spirit) is needed; and to establish that surrendering to Christ is the foundation of the spiritual life. [8] It is how these things are to be accomplished in Comer’s system that is of concern, as will be documented in the next two papers.
Theologically, Comer rightly teaches that we can only know God (Yahweh) as He has revealed Himself in Scripture and through Jesus.[9] Comer does a good job explaining Old Testament words such as “lovingkindness” and “faithfulness,”[10] and he believes in the wrath of God.[11] Comer rightly states that we do not pay for our sins, only Christ can do that, but he is uncomfortable with penal substitutionary atonement, preferring the Christus Victor theory.[12]
On a practical basis, Comer gets high marks for recognizing that modern Americans are more distracted than ever,[13] largely due to the rise of technology which tends to enslave them. These distractions are robbing us of the ability to be present and, even worse, they produce “hurry sickness.” The symptoms of hurry sickness include restlessness, workaholism, and disconnection from God, others, and our own souls.[14] Some of Comer’s solutions to hurry sickness ring true, such as returning to what evangelicals have long called a quiet time, starting each day with prayer supposedly and in the Word.[15] Unfortunately, he adds a mystical element to his quiet time, in which God supposedly speaks to him in his silence.[16]He also recommends simplicity,[17] challenges the materialism of the Western world, and offers a dozen principles for making purchases.[18] And he makes an argument for the need to slow our lives down.[19]
Rule of Life
Comer’s overarching remedy to virtually all the difficulties we face is to develop a “rule of life.” It is important to know that this rule is comprised not of biblical teachings but of anything that works for us.[20] This could include spiritual disciplines, psychological theories, and any number of pragmatic practices that will help one cope. Given the wide range of sources from which he draws, this rule becomes an individualistic, eclectic set of ideals cobbled together and based on experience, numerous theories, and trial and error to form a way forward. In other words, Comer’s “the way” becomes not the way of Scripture, such as Paul’s call to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” (Col. 1:10; Eph. 4:1). Rather, Comer’s rule is to practice the way devised from our own imagination and the extrabiblical musings of other sources. As will be demonstrated in the next paper, Comer’s way is not the way of Jesus, but the way which seems to be working for each individual. His authority is not Christ or Scripture, but self.
[1] Skyler R. Flowers and Michael Graham, “A Splintered Generation” (Christianity Today, May/June 2025), pp. 37-45.
[2] Brad East, Christianity Today, February 14, 2024.
[3] Noah Senthil, www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/practing-way-church-comer/
[4] Trevin Wax, “three waves that have shared evangelical churches and a 4th on the way” June 4, 2024, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/waves-shaped-evangelical-churches/).
[5] John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus Become Like Him Do as He Did (Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook, 2024), p. 51.
[6] Trevin Wax, p. 1.
[7] John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus Become Like Him Do as He Did, p. 31.
[8] Ibid., pp. 56, 60, 76-77, 103-104, 122-123, 179, 211.
[9] James Mark Comer, God Has a Name: What You Believe About God Will Shape Who You Become (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2017, 2024), pp. 25-26.
[10] Ibid., pp. 189-190.
[11] Ibid., p. 155.
[12] Ibid., pp. 96-98.
[13] John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (Colorado Springs, CO: Watermark, 2019), p. 43.
[14] Ibid., pp. 48-51.
[15] Ibid., pp. 141-142.
[16] Ibid., p. 139.
[17] Ibid., pp. 177-217.
[18] Ibid., pp. 204-213.
[19] Ibid., pp. 219-244.
[20] Ibid., pp. 167, 175.
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