In this first installment of a two-part series, we will look at two of Ruth Haley Barton’s books, Invitation to Silence and Solitude (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press Books; 2nd ed, 2010) and Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press Books, 2006). They are two key books in the burgeoning movement of contemplative practices in the church.
The extent of the issues in these two books is substantial, even for a two-part series. As a result, for the sake of time and space, almost as much will be left out as will be covered. The issues are addressed under four categories: Misuse of the Biblical Text, Reliance on Experience, Elitism, and Buddhist Influence. Many examples for the categories necessarily overlap. Quotes will be referenced by page number followed by the initials SR for Sacred Rhythms and SS for Invitation to Silence and Solitude. All Scripture is from the New American Standard 1995 unless otherwise stated.
Misuse of the Biblical Text
Invariably, the slide to false teaching begins with a misuse of the word of God. It also paves the way to introduce new, equally authoritative ways of knowing God.
Throughout Invitation to Silence and Solitude, Barton continuously cites the account of Elijah in First Kings chapter 19 as an illustration to support her points. In the preface, Barton writes that we are starved for quiet, to hear the sound of sheer silence that is the presence of God himself (19, SS).
The sheer silence is a reference to verse 12 in First Kings chapter 19, a phrase rendered in the New American Standard (1995) as a gentle blowing, in the KJV and NKJV as a still small voice, in the ESV a low whisper, while the CSB has a soft whisper.
In most languages, words have a range of meanings, and it is no different in Hebrew. Since there are different uses of this word, it cannot be established that Elijah heard an actual voice. A voice speaks words, and this does not appear to be a use of words. But immediately following this gentle blowing, there is a voice: a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (verse 13b).
This event is the third in a series for Elijah after he flees Jezebel. He first goes to a Juniper tree, where he asks God to let him die (verse 14). But the angel of the Lord brings food and urges him to eat (many believe the angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate Christ). He then travels forty days to Mt. Horeb, where Elijah again laments that Israel has abandoned God, and God directs him to stand on the mountain. That is where Elijah witnesses a wind, earthquake, and fire before the gentle blowing/stirring. When God speaks to Elijah, Elijah repeats that Israel has broken the covenant with God and killed God’s prophets. After this, God instructs Elijah to anoint two kings and a prophet, Elisha, who will be the successor to Elijah.
This is a narrative passage, not a prescriptive text. Although one learns about God in this passage and can draw important principles from it, it has nothing to do with, nor is it prescribing the practices Barton promotes.
Barton bases a number of her teachings on this account of Elijah, including entering a time of solitude (136, SS, and numerous other places) where Elijah acknowledged the truth about himself. Barton discusses Elijah as though he deliberately set out on a personal journey seeking silence and solitude as a way to hear from God, saying that he was hungry for an experience of divine Presence (87, SS), something found nowhere in the text. Elijah was a prophet and did not need to do anything to hear from God. God communicated with him often and directly, as God did with all his prophets. It appears that Barton was reading her own ideas into the text.
Barton has a section, “Moving from Head to Heart,” where she commits the logical fallacy of the false dilemma by making a distinction between head and heart. This distinction is a modern one, not a biblical one. She misuses Luke 10:27, where Jesus tells the lawyer to love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. That Jesus says heart before mind, according to Barton, means that the mind comes a little further down the road in Jesus’ list (52, SR).
There is no evidence that Jesus listed these things in order of priority. In fact, the use of these terms together indicates an emphasis on loving God with one’s whole being, not with separate parts of the self. One cannot divide one’s mind from one’s heart or one’s will. They interact, work together, and overlap. I cannot say now I will love God with my heart, and later, I will love God with my soul and later with my mind. In order to love God, one must know God, and one must use the mind to know and understand who God is. Loving God is not an emotion; it is an act of will and mind resulting from recognition of who God is and knowing God’s love through faith in Jesus Christ.
The mind is not inferior to what Barton calls the heart, nor is the mind the enemy. But in contemplative, New Age, and Eastern spiritual teachings, the mind is a barrier or sometimes an enemy. Nothing in Scripture teaches that the mind needs to be silenced or put aside. Being vain about knowledge and allowing the mind to follow worldly philosophies or false beliefs is condemned, but those are related to pride and truth issues, not with the mind itself.
Another misused scripture is Psalm 46:10, which Barton interprets this way:
there is a kind of knowing that comes in silence and not in words — but first we must be still (73, SS)
Barton writes that this means we let go of the grip of our own understanding and that one must be open to a whole new way of knowing (74, SS). This idea is not surprising, given that she believes that contemplative practices involve significant paradigm shifts (17, SS).
None of what Barton says about Psalm 46 is correct. Psalm 46:10 is not about being physically still; it is not about knowing things from silence instead of words; nor is it about letting go of some sort of understanding. Psalm 46 is God reminding his hearers that He is God and is in charge and that He will be exalted among the nations. Barton gives an entirely different meaning to this text by trying to shoehorn it into her contemplative worldview.
For contemplatives like Barton, silence and solitude are thought to be necessary for a deeper and closer relationship with God. Barton even declares that real transformation is produced by the silence of God (134, SS). Yet what one learns about God is through the words in the Bible. How is one to know when God is being silent, and what can one gain from that? Nothing in Scripture supports such a notion.
Contemplative teachers attempt in vain to support these ideas with Scripture, but no biblical text instructs anyone to seek solitude or silence as necessary or as disciplines. All texts used by the contemplatives for this practice are taken out of context.
Barton writes that in Psalm 139, David vomits up his hatred in prayer to God (103, SS). She is apparently referring to verses 19 to 22, where David expresses his agreement with God’s judgment on the wicked who speak against God and take his name in vain. David is not vomiting up anything, nor is he asking God to change those views. He is telling God to search him because he wants to be the opposite of the wicked; he does not want anything to do with the wicked who are against God. Barton presents this as though David is sorry for this view and wants it changed.
In Sacred Rhythms, Barton maintains that God’s words to Israel in Deuteronomy 30 are that wisdom to choose life is not beyond us but near to us and is a visceral in-the-body experience (113-114, SR). However, in this passage, God is speaking of a commandment He has given and that it is not too difficult for his people because the word is very near you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may observe it (verse 14). God follows this up with a stern warning that they should obey his commands and not worship or serve other gods, or they will perish (verses 17-18). Choosing life is, according to this passage, loving and obeying God and not serving pagan gods (verses 17-20).
Nothing about God’s command or warning in the passage is remotely suggesting what Barton writes. Instead, she uses this passage to promote her belief that we need to make choices that bring a sense of life and freedom (she also cites John 10:10 and 1 Corinthians 3:17 as her texts for this; 113, SR).
Not only does Barton misuse Bible passages, but she heavily quotes mystics and those who have embraced Eastern spiritual views, such as Thomas Merton, M. Basil Pennington (one of the three Trappist monks who founded the modern Centering/Contemplative Prayer Movement along with Thomas Keating and William Meninger), Henry Nouwen, Quaker mystic Thomas Kelly, Robert Mulholland, Teilhard de Chardin (one of Richard Rohr’s main inspirations) and, in the heading under chapter 3, even Richard Rohr (43, SS).
Reliance on Experience
Contemplative practices are experience-based and experience-driven. They do not rest on clear Scriptural teaching, but in Contemplative practices, they are given equal weight with the Scriptures.
Barton asks:
Is it too much to expect that God might speak back to us, not only with expressions of love, but with guidance that is trustworthy and wise? (118 SS)
Barton teaches that one should expect this as part of the rhythm of speaking and listening we call communication. But this raises a question: Has God not already spoken in the canon of Scripture? As for expressions of love, did God not already express the highest form of love in giving His Son over to pay the penalty for sins on the cross? Should one expect more than this? Why is that not enough?
How does one know that what they are hearing is God’s voice and not their own thoughts or imagination? Barton answers this question by stating that one recognizes the voice of God through
…a friendship with God sustained through prayer, silent listening and attentiveness to all that is going on outside us, inside us, and between us and God. Through practice and experience we become familiar with the tone of God’s voice, the content of his communications with us and his unique way of addressing us. (119 SS)
Listening to what is going on within us is a way to be deceived. I am not clear what Barton means about what is outside us, inside us, and between us and God. It is not a logical statement. If one is testing if it is God’s voice, one cannot use listening to what is between us and God as a way to do that because one has already decided there is something from God there. Interestingly, Dallas Willard wrote the Foreword to this book and also taught the same thing about knowing God’s voice by the tone and other ways to test whether it is God’s voice.
Barton suggests that one should pay attention to the body and invite God to speak to you through your body (89, SR). This is a bizarre idea coming from a Christian. The New Age holds that the body possesses a divine intelligence; therefore, one can get information via various methods using the body (such as in Applied Kinesiology or Muscle Testing). Barton’s suggestion is reminiscent of that belief and shows how far afield human thinking can go when relying on personal experiences.
Barton even contends that one can
develop an intuitive sense of God’s heart and purpose at any given moment. (111, SR)
This is a jaw-dropping assertion and contrary to Scripture, which states:
For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2: 11 CSB)
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Barnes comments on the First Corinthians verse:
The essential idea is, that no man can know another; that his thoughts and designs can only be known by himself, or by his own spirit; and that unless he chooses to reveal them to others, they cannot ascertain them. So of God. No man can penetrate his designs; and unless he chooses to make them known by his Spirit, they must forever remain inscrutable to human view. (Barnes’ Notes – Bible Hub Commentaries)
Both passages highlight how far man is from being able to penetrate the mind and thoughts of God other than what the Lord chooses to reveal. Yet Barton declares that not only are we able, through contemplative practices, to have an intuitive sense of God’s heart and purpose, but we can do so at any given moment! Would not this be false as well as a seemingly prideful claim?
Both books, especially Spiritual Rhythms, are full of references to the interior life, inner dynamics, our most authentic self, the Light Within, the True Self, and others. Astonishingly, Barton goes so far as to assert that
Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a Divine Center, a Speaking Voice to which we may continually return. (121-122, SR)
Although the Holy Spirit indwells believers in Christ, nothing in God’s word teaches that within is a Divine Center or a Speaking Voice. The Holy Spirit is not comingled with the believer’s nature but is distinct from it. God’s voice is found in the Bible, a precious source of truth for all who seek guidance from it. Barton’s view is more akin to a Gnostic or New Age outlook, which seeks and values what arises during an inner experience. Does this fan the flames of spiritual elitism? Stayed tuned for Part 2!Ω
Before trusting Christ, Marcia Montenegro was a professional astrologer and was involved in Eastern and New Age practices for many years. Through her ministry, Christian Answers for the New Age, Marcia speaks around the country and on radio and writes on New Age and occult topics. She has a Masters in Religion from Southern Evangelical Seminary, Charlotte, NC, and serves as a missionary with Fellowship International Mission, Allentown, PA. Based in Arlington, VA, she is the mother of an adult son and the author of SpellBound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids (Cook, 2006). She is also co-author of Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret (MCOI Publishing, 2020) with Don and Joy Veinot You can find her online at: CANA or on Facebook at Christian Answers for the New Age
© 2022, Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc. All rights reserved. Excerpts and links may be used if full and clear credit is given with specific direction to the original content.
Good article! “Elijah again laments that Israel (the Church) has abandoned God.” I can’t tell you how many “Christians” I talk to that are involved with various false teachings, and the very issues this article is talking about. It is so overwhelming, and you cannot correct them, they won’t listen, they talk over you. The main problem today is “FEELINGS” instead of THE WORD OF GOD. I spoke with someone just yesterday, and we were talking about politics and the coming election. We live in a very liberal state (Oregon) There are 3 running for governor, but only one is against abortion, and the transsexualization of our children who claims to be a Christian. She a “Christian” plan to vote for the most extreme who is a homosexual based on her “FEELINGS”. I told her the Word of God is our authority in all matters, but for her “free will” and feelings are her guide. All I can say is Lord come quickly!
You may also be interested in “Culture Transforming the Church“
Thank you this is timely for me! I emailed it to her, maybe she will read it, since I can’t talk ‘over her’. Quote from the Link you posted, “a culture that is increasingly hostile to all of Christianity’s core beliefs.” This is so true, but more to the fact that “Christians” are hostile to other Christians for pointing this out and that they have fallen from Grace! There are many Christians who will not talk to me because the Bible is my Authority and if I say something against their preconditioned beliefs which are unbiblical using what the Bible says, such as the Seventh Day Adventist lies that they are evangelical just like us they get angry! Another example: “God came to fix the broken”. They remove sin from 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and replace it with the word “broken”. I just heard that last week at a funeral from a pastor that was told to give the gospel out by the widow, he failed! Thank you for your website. I love it!
Working on the same up here in WA. The wide path is opening wider and many will fall away…Matthew 24:11-13. Keep praying!! We never know what God has in mind and He may surprise us yet. Keep on keeping on in His truth!
God bless! So thankful for resources, like this article, to help us navigate through the murky waters of church culture & New Age infiltration. Fantastic point by point rebuttal. Thank you for untwisting Scripture here! Very well written.
Thanks so much for reading this and for your comment. Tune in next week for part 2!
I cannot thank you enough for writing this! So today I was punched twice by the false teaching of Ruth Haley Barton.
This morning I went to church, a local Calvary Chapel that I’ve already been having some trepidation regarding, as I have felt some false teaching creeping in. The pastor was away and so they had a guest pastor, Evan Wickham, the brother of popular contemporary Christian music artist, Phil Wickham (who, by the way, I believe fellowships at his brother’s church).
From pretty much the moment Evan opened his mouth, I was on high alert. Before he even began preaching, he was talking about the fact that it was communion sunday, and already some of his comments seemed to allude that he was excited because he believed in transubstantiation. He didn’t actually say those specific words, but it was very strongly sounding like that.
The rest of his entire message was the typical new age of the spiritual formation movement, in applying extreme eisegesis rather than exegesis. He was in John Chapter 13 and literally got his entire message out of one word in one verse. Where it says that the Beloved disciple, referring to John, was “leaning” against Jesus.
Literally the entire rest of the bizarre, esoteric message was using not other scripture to support his emphasis that we all need to be contemplative and quiet to hear the voice of God, and lean against the chest of God to hear his heartbeat, but he used quotes from somebody named Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, which heightened my red alert even further, and then he inserted a quote by Ruth Haley barton, which in context of his message, seemed like he often followed her whoever she was. At that point I had not ever heard of her.
I got home, and a dear friend in North Carolina had sent me an email, excited about a podcast she had just listened to. Now this dear friend is from the Baptist tradition, and I we often excitedly share messages from Pastor Jim cymbala from Brooklyn Tabernacle or the Lake Charles Stanley, so I was expecting something with good solid Biblical truth about waiting upon God.
I click on the link my friend emailed to me, and who should introduce the podcast as her very own, but this Ruth Haley Barton!
From the moment I first heard her voice, I just had a very awful feeling that something was off. But I didn’t know anything about this woman at all. I honestly had never heard of her until the weird substitute “pastor” at church this morning.
After looking up more about her, and also by the way looking more deeply into the church website, Park Hill Church in San Diego, for Evan Wickham, I am just sick to my stomach.
What are the odds that this false teacher, Ruth Haley Barton, would be mentioned not once but twice today. I feel like I have been sandwiched between heresies on what was supposed to be the Lord’s day! Yuck!
I’m so grateful that I found your website!
I have been feeling so lonely and lacking Fellowship because of finding more and more friends being seduced either by one end of the spectrum with the spiritual formation crowd which is very liberal, left-leaning, and also replacement theology, or friends being seduced by the hardcore charismatic crowd, which while being a little more Biblical in terms of general eschatology, still also has so many new age doctrines slipped in. Yikes!
Help, Jesus! I need new friends!
Hello, Nina, Thanks so much for writing. I am glad you found this because at the very least, it confirms your trepidations about this contemplative stuff and your concerns with Barton. It is odd you would hear Barton’s name twice in one day but I guess the Lord is getting your attention so you can know why Barton bothered you.
I did an article on a sermon Barton gave several years ago on Jesus healing the 2 blind men in Matthew 9, I think. Her message had nothing to do with the text – she read some very strange things into it that supported her contemplative views. Barton is somewhat of a silent influence as many do not know who she is but are being influenced by her via others.
I am glad you are now able to warn others. It is difficult to see so many bad teachings. I hope you talk to your pastor about your concerns since he was not there. It would be a good thing to do even if he does not see the problems because we should go to church leaders if we hear a disturbing message.
PS sorry for all of the spellings I was using voice typing, but also to clarify when I was frustrated and saying I need new friends, not the one who sent me the email.
She is a very mature believer and has deep discernment, and probably is not very familiar with Ruth Haley Barton, but I did prayerfully email her a link to this site.
I do pray for new friends in terms of local fellowship, though.
So many here just complacent, even if they would disagree with something, they don’t care enough to pray about change or to leave.
I definitely do prayerfully plan to talk to my pastor, and I would hope that others have done so or are in the midst of doing so. But again maybe just the lazy Southern California culture of getting used to something and not wanting to leave even when it gets bad.
For example, when the current pastor’s father, who was formerly the pastor, was out of town and at the advice of one of his friends, without checking anything out about her, had so-called “Dr.” Caroline Leaf speak, it just showed so little discernment amongst the sheep who liked having their ears tickled, but a few people did go to leadership and talk about it and I don’t know that leadership really did anything or ever issued a formal statement, and most of the people are still there, even though they were bothered by the false teachers being allowed in.
I feel like having Evan Wickham speak today may have been the final nail in the coffin for me in terms of staying at this church.
I appreciate your comments and concerns. Unfortunately, too many churches are unaware of the heresy infiltrating the church, and often well-meaning pastors act on recommendations by those they trust who may have unwittingly been deceived and bring false teachers into their pulpits. Perhaps it would help him if you printed off Marcia’s article. It might be easier to explain you came across this on the Midwest Outreach, Inc webpage, and two of our Advisory Board members are Calvary Chapel Pastors. Gino Geracci from Calvary Chapel South Denver (retired) and Phil Ballmeier from Calvary Chapel Elk Grove Village. In addition, Marcia is a former New Ager and Professional astrologer. She is a graduate of Southern Evangelical Seminary, and the New Age is her mission field. If there is any way we can help, he can certainly contact us.
Anne,
I appreciate what you wrote, but must disagree that Israel is the church. ‘grandma’ Jeanne
Jeanne, thanks for reading. I do not believe Israel is the church and did not say that in the article. I am not sure why you think I think that.
Grandma Jeanne. The New Testament teaches that Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus Christ, who accepted the gospel, [How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. 1 Cor. 15:3b-4] are the Church’, ONE BODY in Christ. You said, “I must disagree that Israel is the church.” I never said anything like this, please explain what you are saying? “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentils with His people.” Romans 1:9. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For THE BODY is not one member, but many.” 1 Corinthians 12:13-14. “And he (Jesus) is the head of THE BODY, the CHURCH: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18.
Anne, there are different views on the church and Israel. Many believe the church started at Pentecost in Acts 2 (I believe this). Yes, those who had faith in the God in the OT are included as recipients of eternal life through their faith in God because of the atonement of Christ. But it is quite a common view that Israel and church are not one and the same. It is a complex topic that includes eschatology as well, and is a topic for another venue, not here, but I did want to point out that Jeanne’s view is not unusual at all.
#WhatGrandmaJeanWrote
#WhatGrandmaJeanneWrote
Thanks for reading, Steven Mark. I do not believe at all that Israel is the church and do not understand why you think I think that.
Thanks for reading, Steven Mark. I do not believe at all that Israel is the church and do not understand why you think I think that.
Jeanne, just realized you were addressing Anne, not me. Sorry about that!
Good article! “Elijah again laments that Israel (the Church) has abandoned God.”
Just for a point of clarification, nowhere in the article does Marcia state or imply that Israel is the church. As I read Anne’s comment, I noticed she added the church in parenthesis. My guess was that she was noting that the church, like Israel, has abandoned God. That is a good and I think true comparison.
Don,
That may be the case. If it is, two additional words (such as, “ike many”
in the Church), would
have needed no clarification.
However, what does need clarification is the fact that God told Elijah that He had reserved seven-thousand faithful Jews in Israel; a point that Paul emphasized in Romans 11:1-5, using himself as an example.
Unfortunately, ✡ï¸Remnant Theologyâœ¡ï¸ is rarely taught in the Church — even though it’s a common theme throughout the pages of Scripture.
And without a faithful remnant, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Hello, Steven, Yes, I adhere to remnant theology and agree it should be taught more widely in the church. The point of this article, however, was not the story of Elijah but rather how the account of Elijah was misused by Barton to promote a contemplative technique. This was already going to be a long, involved article (I had to leave many other things Barton misused out!) and I had to be very selective. So going into the full account of Elijah would have taken more space and would have imo detracted from the article’s focus. But thanks for pointing that out so some who may not remember that see it in your comment.
Marcia,
First and foremost, I thought your article was excellent, and I’m looking forward to reading part 2.
My initial comment (#) was to simply acknowledge and agree with Grandma Jeanne’s comment.
But the content of your article should be the focus of our attention, and you certainly had mine.
Good job!
Yes, that is what I was implying. The church like Israel is abandoning God. The church is not Israel like many believe, if only they would read the Bible and see that it is very clear. I could blame this teaching the “elect” on many Reformed preachers, replacing Israel with the church is called Replacement Theology, among other cults to teach the same. SDA, Roman Catholicism, Jehovah Witnesses and many others…so much false teaching on the internet!
The Reformed position doesn’t “replace” Israel with the church. Like the apostle Paul, the Reformed position is that believing Jews and believing Gentiles are in the same body, not “separate but equal.” Paul points out that Abraham is the spiritual father of “many nations”–all who are in Christ–and not just the Jews (Rom. 4:16-17). Reformed theology is not a cult, and it cannot be equated with SDA, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or Roman Catholics.
Cheryl M. Yes, Reformed Theology is a cult. I have spoken to many, and they all say the exact same thing. They are the “elect”. They have a different gospel than that taught in the Bible. Why is it a cult? Because like the SDA’s, and Jehovah’s Witnesses the adherents in cult like fashion are unwilling to see their error. They follow their leaders, repeat what they say, and they say things like this, “you just don’t understand Calvinism, it’s complicated.” It is not complicated; it is easy to see that TULIP is not in the Bible. “God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son that WHOSOVER BEIEVETH in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. To a Calvinist there is no FREE WILL but “election” only. God chooses who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. This is a fact that they teach. Dave Hunt wrote a wonderful book called “What love is this?” Maybe you should check it out. Read Galatians chapter 1.
Excellent article. Thankyou for your work!
Steven, thank you so much for that encouraging comment!
Hi, Sue, thanks for reading and commenting. Hope you find part 2 interesting as well.
An excellent article Marcia. Your clarity on this issue is the result of years of study and dedicated research – backed up by your own past experience in the New Age and as a meditator. I hope Christians will listen and take note.
Hi, Ruth! Thanks so much for reading this and for your encouraging comment.
I’ve just come across your articles and am very thankful for your clear exposé on the problem with contemplative prayer and it’s proponents. It seems to be seeping into the evangelical church without warning or hesitation!
Hello, Deborah, thank you so much for reading this and for your comment. Yes, this has been seeping into the church since around 2006 or so and has in the past few years accelarated. I hope you get a chance to read Part 2 of this.
Hi, Nina, It sounds like they do not check speakers out all the time. Having Leaf was a huge mistake! I have done some Facebook posts on her and how she twists Scripture, not to mention she is not a neuroscientist and only relays pseudoscience.
I can understand your desire to leave. I am glad you will prayerfully consider speaking to the pastor.
Apathy is around along with lack of discernment which leads to these teachings spreading in churches. I am encouraged despite all this by the fact that Christ is the head of the church and will preserve it. And we are to expose unbiblical teachings even if no one listens or cares.
C Carter, thanks for your comment and encouragement! The truth I like to remember is that God will work all out for his purposes and ultimately will be glorified, even with all this going on!