Customer Reviews

Running Against the Wind: The Transformation of a New Age Medium and His Warning to the Church

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I have heard Brian Flynn speak at various events here in the Twin Cities area. He is a dynamic speaker and his book is just as profound and engaging.

Mr. Flynn gives a first hand account of how he was in the New Age movement, not just experimenting with it, but actively participating in about every kind of occult and eastern mysticism practice that is out there. After becoming a Christian, he was disillusioned when solid evangelical churches began embracing these same new-age practices but disguising them in christian terminology (centering prayer, contemplative prayer and Christian yoga.) Flynn knows the origin of all these practices are non-Christian and contradictory to the bible. (Example: Jesus warned in Matthew 6:7 not to use vain repetitions when praying. What are some Christian churches teaching? Repeat your Christian one-word mantra over and over until you tune out.... just like the Hindus do.)

Mr. Flynn warns Christians that these practices have invaded the church along with the seeker-sensitive movement. Most Seekers don't want to learn about the bible; they demand experiences and feelings, and don't want to hear anything that faith is substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1.) These New Age practices fit right in to this demand and christian pastors are embracing these concepts because they help draw and keep a crowd, and thus, keep the budget going.

I got into trouble with my own pastor after confronting him after he publicly recommended reading the "The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning. My pastor thought there was so much grace and love in that book. I told him I read it and agreed that love and grace were in there, but that the book was also filled with a bunch of contemplative prayer and mysticism that is clearly eastern in origin. My baptist pastor told me to get with the program. I imagine that if I gave him Brian Flynn's book, I will get the boot out of the church.

The book is very readable and practical and from my observations, accurately describes what I have seen in evangelical christianity over the past decade. Thank you Mr. Flynn for your bold stance in contending earnestly for the faith delivered once and for all times. (Jude, verse 3.) We have far too many pastors out there whose main focus is attendance, budget and prestige and truth is somewhere down the totem pole of priorities.

Is there only one-way to God? Is truth something to be objectively perceived or is it found only in subjective experience? Running Against the Wind tells the story of how Brian Flynn lived against Christianity in the world of New Age mysticism. Shortly after becoming a Christian, Flynn found many of the same mystical practices he abandoned being embraced by the contemporary church.

Almost the first half of Running Against the Wind Flynn commits to his autobiography. Learning distaste for Christianity at an early age, Flynn sought meaning elsewhere. While in the Air Force he tried rock, drugs, and women. After those didn't work, he pursued marriage and a variety of meditation forms. He describes all of his experiences from achieving "nirvana" to conferring with "spirit guides" so that he could give people readings. Flynn concludes by describing how God brought him out of the New Age and into personal faith in Jesus by changing his mind and heart.

After tying up a loose end from his biography, Flynn lays out the landscape of New Age beliefs and practices. These include the occult, Hinduism & Buddhism, self-empowerment, and paganism. He goes on to deal with a few of the common objections New Age practitioners raise against Christianity like- that's just your truth, God's impersonal, trust your feelings, and all paths lead to God.

Brian Flynn then turns his criticisms of the New Age toward the Church. He describes how certain mystical/spiritual practices Christians are into today are basically the same as the ones he used to confer with spirits (or as he understands now, demons). His critique is primarily of lectio divina and contemplative prayer, which he considers to be related to transcendental mediation. Though he examines the writings of several Christians who are promoting these practices, he focuses mostly on Thomas Merton and Richard Foster.

Upon finishing the biographical half of the book, I was encouraged by how God had redeemed this man from his sinful life. Of course, it didn't end there. Flynn presents a devastatingly clear picture of many of the spiritual problems ailing the church today. He provides a convincing case showing that New Age practices have crept into the church; mostly without people knowing. If there's one deficiency to the book, I think he could have better articulated the biblical case against these practices and the offense they are to God.

Running Against the Wind is an engaging autobiography and guide to New Age practices within and without the Christian church today. Brian Flynn's writing style is, for the most part, captivating and his insights valuable. His warning to the church is one for every pastor and layperson who seeks the truth about Jesus Christ.

When I first read this book it brought me back through my own journey from New Age spirituality to life in Christ Jesus to even seeing the very same things I once experienced as a New Age Occultist now being openly preached and taught to us in many churches throughout the body of Christ. I admire his honesty in opening up his life for us to see him in his search for something meaningful but in all the wrong ways in all the wrong places.

Brian deals with his past as we all have to do if we are Christians, honestly and thoroughly, even if it brings out the things which we are now ashamed of. Only through a relationship with Jesus Christ and being cleansed by His blood can we be free of the shame and guilt of sin and of the snares of the Occult.

This man goes out on a limb in presenting to us the current conditions of body of Christ being deeply influenced by the New Age movement. I have read many, many books on this subject and have to strongly agree with Brian's accessment. I have visited many churches as a result of ministry and have sadly witnessed most churches being ensnared by the subtle and sweet seductions of this new spirituality.

I commend the efforts of Brian Flynn to warn the churches through this book. The New Age has arrived in its fulness and we have been asleep at the watch. This is an important wake-up call for all.

Brian Flynn is the founder and director of One Truth Ministries and leads "Now Age" seminars before churches and groups around the United States. But long before he felt such love and concern for the church, he was a psychic medium who hated Christianity with every fiber of his being. Running Against The Wind is the story of his radical transformation.

The book begins as an autobiography. Through the first five chapters Flynn traces his life. He was born into a Roman Catholic family, but one which soon gave up on the Church. When he was a child he developed a fascination with Tarot cards and experimented with Ouija boards - his introduction to the occult. As he grew up, he became increasingly disillusioned with Christianity, soon identifying himself as an agnostic Catholic. He joined the Air Force and his life began to spiral out of control as he dabbled in drugs, Transcendental Meditation and the rock and roll lifestyle. After leaving the Air Force he decided to become a psychic medium and enrolled in a year-long program under the tutelage of a spiritual advisor. He writes about meeting and communing with the spirit guides who helped provide him the information he needed to make accurate assessments during his psychic readings. At this point in his life he was sinking deeper and deeper into the occult.

But God saw fit to save Brian from the midst of this occult world. Through a series of events in his life, Brian was radically saved.

The day after professing faith in Christ, Flynn did something he had never done before in his life - he rented some pornographic videos. He spent that evening in his apartment getting drunk and watching pornography. The next day he was so hung-over that he called in sick for work, but then rented more pornography and spent another day drinking. All the while his spirit guides were taunting him, telling him how this proved that he was not a Christian. He writes, "And then I saw it! The answer came to me in an instant. As if a veil was lifted from my eyes, I saw something I had never seen before. The reason they were resisting me was because they were opposed to Him. They hated Jesus...I realized my guides were opposed to Jesus because they were demonic. They did not want me to become a Christian, because they were not of God. Satan, in his attempt to keep me where I was, revealed who he was! In order to stop me, he had revealed himself to me. He was now exposed." He emerged from this crisis of faith with knowledge of who the lord of the occult and New Age really is.

Having been saved from such a lifestyle, imagine the betrayal Flynn felt when he learned that many practices with roots in the occult and New Age had made their way into the church. One particularly foundational moment is when he was teaching a class in his church, warning against the inroads of mysticism, only to learn that across the hall another leader was helping people explore contemplative prayer practices through the teachings of Richard Foster. Flynn was eventually forced by the leadership to leave that church.

At this point the biographical portion of the book ceases and the author turns instead to a description and evaluation of various occult and New Age practices. He writes about astrology, yoga, reiki, labyrinths and more. Many of these practices are increasingly accepted in Christian circles. He introduces many of the men and women who have introduced these practices to Christians, focusing particularly on Thomas Merton, Brennan Manning and Richard Foster. He also warns about spiritual directors such as Ruth Haley Barton (until recently a staff member with Willow Creek Community Church) and Tilden Edwards. The book concludes with a chapter entitled "New Church on the Horizon" where the author expresses concern with Bill Hybels and Willow Creek Church, Rick Warren and Saddleback, and the Emergent Church, each of which is promoting various aspects of Christian mysticism.

Running Against The Wind is a valuable contribution to the church's understanding of the inroads of New Age teachings into Christianity. Who better to warn Christians about this than a man who was once committed to these very teachings? Flynn, along with others (A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen, available from the same publisher is an excellent companion volume) have sounded the alarm and shown the very real dangers in allowing occultic, New Age practices to infiltrate Christianity. I pray that the church will heed these warnings.

I was very pleased to read and to see that a book on this subject had been written, especially by someone who had actually been involved in the New Age movement and was able to identify how it was beginning to come into the church. The inclusion of definition of terms and their description is extremely helpful in identifying what it is and how we can be aware.
Using a form of mysticism such as contemplative prayer (as defined in Brian's book)as a way to communicate with God is both unbiblical and dangerous. I am thankful for this warning to the church!

I was first introduced to Brian Flynn, while attending his seminar on the New Age. His personal story, as well as an understanding of New Age, was the foundation needed while my husband and I were researching related topics.

In more recent years we were reunited with Brian, establishing a friendship which opened an opportunity to interact with he and his publisher. We had recognized a common goal and desired to support Brian as he wrote his book.

We have yet to read or know of any other individual who has been able to use personal involvement in NA, parralleling it with those practices witnessed in the church. As Brian's friend, we can testify that his heart is purely devoted to warn, care for and encourage all within the church community. He has been willing to forsake friendship, in order to deliver his message. He is most definetely, a voice for many!

Since I have been watching the evolution of worldwide education trends for the past six years and noticing the close ties these reforms have with New Age "theology," I found Brian's story a refreshingly frank and accurate appraisal of conditions in American culture. In general, the current trend in American thought is away from fact-based knowledge to feelings-based experience. This alone is consistent with the New Age teachings Brian describes. Dr. Shirley McCune, a New Age author and education reformer, summarized the education movement well with these words: "We are no longer teaching facts to children. . . . What is happening to America today . . . is not simply a chance situation and the usual winds of change. What it amounts to is the total transformation of our society." Whoa! That's a mouthful, but Dr. McCune was not exaggerating. Neither is Mr. Flynn.

Having closely watched these radical transformations in the area of education, I was dismayed to see the same transformation - the same language, philosophy, methods, etc. - overtaking non-profit organizations, including the Christian church. I had hoped that the church would be more discerning than the educational establishment had been. Based on my personal research, I had voiced my opinions to my church leadership without much success; most considered my concerns either inflated or irrelevant to the church's mission. When I heard about Brian Flynn's efforts to expose even more blatant transformational teachings in the church, I knew his story was one I had to check out. Brian did not disappoint me. His whit, his research, and his personal experience combine to make "Running Against the Wind" one of those hard-to-put-down paperbacks you want to share with all your friends!

This book is a wake up call to Christians. The emergent church and purpose-driven movements are more dangerous than people realize. Like a disease, they are infecting Christendom with pagan rituals and preaching another gospel that varies drastically from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By telling his personal spiritual journey, Brian Flynn describes his encounters with the New Age and critical degrees of the paranormal, ultimately leading to his being born again in Jesus Christ. The emergent church has already infiltrated countless churches around the world; Flynn sounds the trumpet call to arms.

I have read Brian's testimony in his book, listen to him in person at a conference, heard him on the radio, and read countless emails from his ministry. The real "red flags" are within the church that Brian raises in his book! The church today seems so ready to accept any new approach or teaching that claims will bring you closer to God. The problem is, as Brian explains from first hand experience, they are not new and actually draw you away from God.

Brian's core message is that Christ's work on the cross is sufficient, the Word of God is sufficient, and His Grace is sufficient! When we take our eyes off Jesus, we (the church) begin to follow unbiblical and even dangerous practices for getting "closer to `god'". Brian brings a much needed breath of discernment to church. He is dedicated to exposing the teachings coming into the church today that seem to fit perfectly God's description of a time that will come when people "do not put up with sound doctrine...but instead gather around them teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear". This stuff is coming into the church right now! Christians, read this book.

This former New Age leader found God as a witness and renounced his pagan ways. Now, in earnest, he is preaching what the New Age does not tell you ... and why Churches must do a "call to arms" and defend from within from pagans in the pews. This is a testimony to read and heed. The New Age is now mainsteam and the danger is real of spiritual tampering from the very people who claim to help lost souls.

Please read and use your own counsel but remember .... not all things of light are good for you.

Learn why some of the most popular writers on New Age, despite their seeming sweetness, will confuse you if you are not careful: such as Doreen Virtue, Carolyn Myss, Sylvia Browne, and many others who portray themselves as guides for the weary.