The following is a letter I have revised and sent again to Dr. John Bowling, President of Olivet Nazarene University, after having learned of Ian Morgan Cron’s scheduled speaking at chapel service on March 13 and also March 14. (The original letter was emailed on Mar. 6). I had been aware of Mr. Cron and his involvement with the blasphemous Wildgoose Festival, and felt I needed to send a warning to the president with the hope that the school would reconsider the invitation to Mr. Cron. I am also sending this letter to General Superintendent JK Warrick as well as to Mark Holcomb, chaplain at Olivet. (I have not had a response yet from the original email).
I assume Mr. Cron will speak as scheduled tomorrow. I fear that the exposure of our students at the Christian colleges to false teachers such as Cron is continuing unabated, and I would strongly advise Bible believing parents to ask some hard questions before sending any of their children to a Nazarene university unless there are dramatic changes for the good.
Dear Dr. Bowling,
As a lifelong Nazarene, I am very concerned about a speaker that is coming to your university to speak in chapel service. The speaker is Ian Morgan Cron, and this came to my attention through a report by Lighthouse Trails Research. I had been previously familiar with Mr. Cron’s work, and the report caused additional concern for me, that he was scheduled to speak at a Nazarene university, which I have always believed stood for traditional Christian beliefs and Nazarene doctrine.
On the Olivet website, the Chapel statement starts with the following: “Teaching the Bible with clarity and passion.”
It also states this: “In this sacred place, the hearts and minds of Olivet students are being stimulated, challenged and inspired…”
How does a Jesuit priest who promotes mindless silence as a form of prayer, and says that “the future of the church is silence”, end up speaking to students at a Christian college?
How does his aberrant mystical philosophy allow him to “teach the Bible with clarity?”
How does a man who promotes Eastern style meditation help ” stimulate and inspire” born-again Christians?
How does a man who is endorsed by such heretics as Richard Rohr, and who himself endorses many proponents of contemplative mysticism, end up speaking to students at a Christian college?
Does this man even have any kind of testimony of salvation (Biblical salvation?)
Has anyone even vetted him, and asked him questions that would shed a light on his true beliefs, such as whether he believes Jesus is the ONLY way to God? Is there even a process involved in making sure someone is fit to speak to a group of Christians without worrying about their true beliefs?
Surely this must be a horrible mistake or oversight. In stark contrast to what we as Nazarenes believe (and most importantly as Christians), Mr. Cron is far from traditional and “normal” in his teachings. I am not talking about minor theological differences here. I first learned of Mr. Cron when I noticed a few years ago that he was on the speaker’s list at a blasphemous “Christian” festival called Wildgoose, which sadly featured two influential Nazarene leaders. You can read about that event, which occurred again last year, in one of my posts (Two Prominent Nazarene Leaders Promote Blasphemous Festival). You will see that Wildgoose is far from coming close to what Nazarenes and Bible believing Christians believe, and that it is simply a love fest of ecumenical heresies and emergent church advocacy, even promoting “homosexual Christianity”, beer and wine parties, and more.
Mr. Cron is a proponent of contemplative mysticism and he aligns himself with a host of emergent and mysticism advocates. In the full article documenting his background, Lighthouse Trails has pointed out the serious errors of his philosophy. In the attached YouTube video, you will see him promoting the falseness of “silence” as the future of the church. With what biblical teaching he justifies this is beyond me, although he does not even seem to justify his belief through anything but his own imagination and wishes!
I speak for many Nazarenes when I ask this: why is Ian Morgan Cron being allowed to speak to the students at Olivet Nazarene University? Is this the kind of person who should be influencing students who are studying at a school that is supposed to reflect the values of the Church of the Nazarene? Now that you are aware of what Mr. Cron teaches and promotes, will you step in and speak out strongly against his visit? If so, will you ask for the removal of Mr. Cron, and any other false teacher, from the list of those who would influence young impressionable minds at a Christian university? I would think that the only reason to invite him that is justified, would be to give someone equal and direct time to rebut Mr. Cron’s beliefs directly in front of the students in chapel.
The following is a quote from an interview:
“I grew up a Roman Catholic and later became an Anglican priest (it was the closest I could get to being a Catholic priest without having to “swim the Tiber”) so there’s definitely a weird brew of influences floating around the community. I’m presently studying spiritual direction and contemplative spirituality at the Shalem Institute and beginning next year in a doctoral program at Fordham University (The Jesuit University of New York) so the voices of Merton, Rahner, Ignatius, St Francis, Teresa of Avila, Evelyn Underhill and other contemplatives find their way into our ministries and preaching as well.”-Ian Morgan Cron
Dr. Bowling, I realize you may not know of me, but I have been speaking out on behalf of hundreds if not thousands of Nazarenes for the last four years. We are concerned that the denomination is going down a path which is leading many astray. I hope that you will be able to give us an answer regarding this speaker, and that Olivet Nazarene University will make a decision to stand strong for biblical principles, and reject such false teachers as Ian Morgan Cron. However, if you believe we are wrong in our assessment, would you at least give an explanation as to why Ian Morgan Cron is a good choice to speak to the students at Olivet.
Sincerely in Christ,
Manny Silva
Stand For Truth Ministries
Concerned Nazarenes
Former Nazarene 