Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, [2 Corinthians 6:14-17. Emphasis Added] ON THIS PAGE
Introduction
So What’s All The Fuss About?
Ken Blanchard and Lead Like Jesus
Jon Gordon
Ken Blanchard and The New Age/Occult
Introduction
The Secret
The 11th Element
What Would Buddha Do At Work?
Mind Like Water
Little Wave and Old Swell
In the Sphere of Silence
The Hoffman Process
The Corporate Mystic
The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success
Death and Letting Go Conclusion
Introduction
What many, if not most, Christians do not seem to realize is that Ken Blanchard, whome both Rick Warren and Bill Hybels of Willow Creek, teamed up with a promoter of the New Age - thus a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Rick Warren initially brought Blanchard on board to help “train” Christians in leadership. On November 2nd 2003, Rick Warren gave a sermon at a Saddleback Church service(I watched the video clip on his site) in which he announced the relationship between his P.E.A.C.E. Plan and Ken Blanchard and his Lead Like Jesus Movement.
“The Bible tells us in Hebrews 2 that God made Jesus a perfect leader. That means we all need to learn to lead like Jesus because there is a leadership shortage in the world. That’s why on November 20, on a Thursday, in a couple weeks, Ken Blanchard and I are gonna teach a national, nationwide, simulcast called, ‘Learning to Lead Like Jesus.’ We’ll be broadcasting it from Birmingham … and I’m hoping you’ll be able to take the day off and come for a full day of leadership training.… Now Ken [Blanchard]has signed on to help with the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, and he is going to be helping train us in leadership and in how to train others to be leaders all around the world.” —Rick Warren
(Although the transcript of the sermon in which Rick Warren introduced Blanchard to Saddleback has long since been taken off his site, Rick Warren has also teamed up with Blanchard in the Lead Like Jesus conferences and audio series). The Thursday, April 29, 2004 Lead Like Jesus Celebration Simulcast designed to “equip you, your church, and your community to experience Jesus in a powerfully different way -- to grow to trust Him as the perfect leader for all time.” was hosted by Ken Blanchard and Bill Hybels with a special video message from Rick Warren. [1] A page on the Willow Creek Association web site (dated October 29, 2004) says that Rick Warren, John Maxwell and Ken Blanchard are among the speakers for The 2005 Leadership Summit [2], of which Christianity Today says [Emphasis Added] Since 1995, The Leadership Summit has convened each year at Willow Creek Community Church and hundreds of satellite sites across North America to help Christ-following leaders like you recalibrate, recommit, and renew their passion to “lead with all diligence.” [3]
As of July 2010, The Leadership Summit on CD featuring, among others, Ken Blanchard and Chuck Colson was available in the Willow Creek online store. [4] So it seems that the Warren/Blanchard/Willow Creek partnership is alive and doing well, with Blanchard speaking to thousands of Christians around the world.
So What’s All The Fuss About?
The Businessman: Blanchard is known as a management expert. His book The One Minute Manager (co-authored with Spencer Johnson) has sold over 13 million copies and has been translated into 37 languages. The website of Premiere Speakers describes him thus..
“A prominent, gregarious, sought-after author, speaker, and business consultant, he is universally characterized by friends, colleagues, and clients as one of the most insightful, powerful, and compassionate men in business today. [5] All emphasis added)
while his own website says “The Ken Blanchard Companies is a global leader in workplace learning, productivity, performance, and leadership effectiveness solutions. We help companies improve their performance, productivity, and bottom-line results… Our comprehensive learning initiatives integrate research-based, proprietary content with processes that are specifically and explicitly connected to the critical business issues that your organization is facing. This allows your people to achieve their full potential and better align individual goals and competencies with organizational objectives. The results are measurable and leads to sustained improvements for your organization”. [6]
Included among the many books he has authored are… The Heart of a Leader and Leadership by the Book (with Bill Hybels and Phil Hodges).
Big Bucks! and High Five! (with Sheldon Bowles and Whale Done).
Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships (with Jim Ballard and top SeaWorld trainers Thad Lacinak and Chuck Tompkins).
The Power of Ethical Management with Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
Raving Fans : Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service (with Sheldon Bowles)
Big Bucks! and High Five! (with Sheldon Bowles, described as “a successful entrepreneur, New York Times and Business Week best selling author, and noted speaker, who turned a small manufacturing plant into a multimillion-dollar business.
It is also interesting to note some of the people Blanchard shared a fairly recent platform with … The Brisbane Graduate School of Business carried the following information in their 2004 Newsletter. (The same information was carried on the University of Ulster site). The conference, to be held on November 12 on the University of Ulster’s Jordanstown campus was carried to the Convention center in Brisbane via simulcast (a contraction of "simultaneous broadcast") and via satellite to 95 cities around the world.. (Emphasis Added). On the event front, QUT and the BGSB have signed on to be the host university for the largest Leadership event of 2004, the worldwide simulcast titled ‘Living Leadership’. Keynote speakers via simulcast include Donald Trump, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jim Collins, Peter Drucker, Russell Simons and Ken Blanchard. This event will be on October 21 at the Convention Centre.
I certainly fail to see how the above credentials (and plenty more along the same lines) have anything at all to do with the church of Jesus Christ. But we will get to that later..
Ken Blanchard and Lead Like Jesus
Considering that Blanchard was introduced to the church by two of the best known ‘Christian’ leaders, Rick Warren of Saddleback and Bill Hybels of Willow Creek, and that both of them seem to have an ongoing relationship with him, one would assume that he does have a born again disciple’s relationship with Jesus. Although there is a basic statement of belief on the Lead Like Jesus site [6a], considering Blanchard’s numerous connections with, and endorsement of, the works of well known New Age and occult authors (which we will get to further down on the page), the matter is in serious doubt. The mission statement on the Lead Like Jesus sites says [Emphasis Added]
Our mission is to glorify God by inspiring and equipping people to lead like Jesus... We believe that God is glorified when Jesus is lifted up and when we live lives of holy anticipation of the work that He will do in and through us.... Lead Like Jesus offers a variety of entry points into experiences and learning that will begin the process of transforming every believer into a Lead Like Jesus leader! [6b]
Blanchard considers Jesus “the greatest leadership model of all times” and wishes to teach Jesus’ traits “to help other achieve personal success”. Chalk up four for Jesus in a leadership/business role model and zero for Him as Saviour and Messiah. What these and other self-improvement gurus do not seem to get is that we already have a leader that very few (including them) are following. What all too many so called believers need today is not to be transformed into “leaders”, but transformed into true followers or disciples. After studying both the theory and practice of leadership for more than 35 years, I have found that Jesus is the greatest leadership model of all times.” [7]
And, with this in mind, he and Phil Hodges co-founded Lead Like Jesus, first broadcast by CCN in 1999. “The stated purpose of the conferences is to help people become leaders by following the leadership habits of Jesus Christ. The purpose is not one of evangelism, but rather teaching the traits of Jesus to help others achieve personal success…”
Why is it that I highly doubt that perhaps the most outstanding of Jesus’ traits… that He was completely righteous has ever been mentioned. Also note that the emphasis that the Lead like Jesus conferences are not about evangelism. But how can they be when Jesus’ role as Messiah is not even mentioned. Even this tip of the hat to the savior is offset by the fact that Blanchard, has few qualms about rushing in where angels fear to tread. Ken Blanchard’s Leadership by the Book DVD, a reformatted version of the Hallmark Channel’s programming by the same name, says it “is a non-threatening way to introduce faith at work issues” Among the 12 speakers are listed Bob Buford of Buford Cable and Laurie Beth Jones… business consultant/author. [8]. While I do not know a lot about Bob Buford, except that in 1988 he became founding chairman of what was then called The Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management and ten years later, in 2008, he was asked to serve as the Chairman of the Board of the newly constituted Drucker Institute. [9] However it is entirely another matter when it comes to ...
Laurie Beth Jones:
Described as own site as a Best Selling Author and Motivational Speaker, Laurie Beth Jones says her  personal mission is to [Emphasis Added]
“recognize, promote, and inspire divine connection in myself and others”. [10]
She is not only a speaker on Blanchard’s Leadership by the Book DVD, but is a fairly prolific author… Ken Blanchard having endorsed or written the foreword to at least three of her books over a span of fourteen years Jesus, CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership (1996)
Teach Your Team to Fish: Using Ancient Wisdom for Inspired Teamwork (2002)
JESUS, Career Counselor (2010)
While time and space preclude an in-depth critique of these books, the following comment, made by a reader on Amazon.com about Jones’ 2010 book called Teach Your Team to Fish: Using Ancient Wisdom for Inspired Teamwork, certainly perfectly fits all three of them.. [All Emphasis Added] it seems to me that Jones first made the list of leadership qualities and practices that she wanted to write about and then bent over backwards to find an example from Jesus' life or teaching to fit the items on her list. Many of her examples are such a stretch or taken so far out of context so as to be an insult to the reader's intelligence. The author trivializes Jesus' profound teachings and exploits his servant example in order to write the book she wants, not necessarily to faithfully reflect on the kind of leader Jesus was or would endorse.
The Gospel is the greatest story ever told, about the greatest person who has ever lived, who is making to men and women the greatest offer that has ever been made yet, as said above, the author trivializes and exploits mankind’s only hope, and to what end? Her own skewed ideas of success. To say nothing of the money she has probably made from these books and numerous speaking engagements. For anyone to take the Scriptures and bastardize them to the extent that this woman has done is sad. For a so called “Christian” to endorse this trivia is very distressing. But to know that hundreds of Christians are going to swallow this swill, hook, line and sinker, is a tragedy of epic proportions. All we can do is take a good look at some of the numerous misconceptions, misinterpretation and sheer baloney contained in these books, hopefully more than enough to throw up enough red flags to cause the discerning reader to take a long hard look at both Jones’ and Ken Blanchard’s belief system.
Jon Gordon
is author of the 2007 book The Energy Bus which carries a foreword from Ken Blanchard.
"If you want to fuel your family, your career, your team, and your organization with spirit, read this book. Jon’s energy and advice will leap off the page and help you cultivate positive energy in everything you do—and you will make the world a better place for your having been here. Thanks, Jon, for pumping us up and making sure we get on the right bus." - Ken Blanchard, Co-author of The One Minute Manager® and Leading at a Higher Level.
On page 11, after a list of credits and acknowledgments, he says.. Most of all I’d like to thank God. Thank you for the signs that show me the way. Thank you for the gift of Jesus. Your holy spirit flows through me as I wrote this book. You strengthen me and you are the ultimate driver of my Energy Bus. However on page 14, he acknowledges that he was inspired by, and learned from both Jack Canfield and Laurie Beth Jones “The positive energy formula was inspired by the formula E=R=O, which Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles, shared with me”…. I learned about the airplane design study for rule #9 from Laurie Beth Jones and her book, Jesus CEO. [The Energy Bus. Wiley; 1 edition (January 22, 2007)]
But, it gets worse... Jon Gordon’s February 19, 2007 online “Energy Tip” makes it very clear that a large part of The Energy Bus flowed from the occult work.. The Secret. In Gordon’s words... The Secret that “appeared on Oprah twice in the last month and is generating media attention, a huge buzz and discussions around the world”… “explains the law of attraction and how to use it to manifest the things you want in your life.
He goes on to say he is “thankful for The Secret as it delivers a message that has the potential to move so many out of a victim consciousness that keeps us from the joy, happiness, love, success and the life we were born to live”. And the law of attraction “is important to share” and it's a “big part” of his book The Energy Bus. [10a]
Yet, what few seem to realize, and ignore if they do, is that Rhonda Byrne, the author of The Secret, was greatly influenced by a couple named Jerry and Esther Hicks. Not only does she thank them for the teachings of Abraham in the acknowledgments of The Secret, but the major star of the first version of the DVD was Esther Hicks [or Abraham]. The Abraham Hicks website says “This is the fountainhead of the information upon which the hit movie, “The Secret” was based. [10b]. The Secret is quite simply based upon the Law Of Attraction. So who are Esther and Jerry Hicks and more importantly who is Abraham? Esther Hicks is an inspirational speaker and best-selling author. She receives inspiration to translate blocks of thought (in other words, she feels inspired thought) from Abraham, said to be a group of non-physical beings. The material she translates is referred to as The Teachings of Abraham ®. She has co-authored eight books with her husband Jerry Hicks and has presented Law of Attraction workshops for Abraham-Hicks Publications in up to 60 cities a year since 1987. [Wikipedia. Emphasis added]
The Hicks website says: “Abraham, a group of obviously evolved teachers, speak their broader Non-physical perspective through the physical body of Esther” [10c]
While Wayne Dyer says they are "the great Masters of the Universe!", “Abraham has described themselves as "a group consciousness from the non-physical dimension" ... We are that which is at the heart of all religions."” [10d] In other words this is channeling or spirit possession. So let me sum this up... Ken Blanchard endorses Jon Gordon’s book The Energy Bus, which owes much of it’s existence to The Secret, which was greatly influenced by works channeled from spirit entities that call themselves Abraham... otherwise known as demons. How they must laugh at us fools. Jack Canfield: By the way.. the links between The Energy Bus and The Secret are only strengthened by Gordon’s acknowledgment of Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Canfield is mentioned as one of the teachers of The Secret on Esther Hicks’ web site [10c]. Jack Canfield was also featured in The Secret Movie, and says personal coach and mentor was W. Clement Stone [10e].
Meditation as a Means to ‘Open a Pipeline to God”
Often called as America’s Energy Coach, Jon Gordon is also the author of a 2006 book called The 10-Minute Energy Solution. In among many useful (and commonplace) suggestions folded into a 30 day plan, the book is filled with suggestions on how to improve energy levels through meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, and other such techniques. Throughout the book, Gordon quotes favorably from the Dalai Lama, meditator Daniel Goleman, Thich Nhat Hanh, New Agers Marilyn Ferguson and Wayne Dyer, and from A Course in Miracles. [See Thomas Merton and Thich Nhat Hanh, More about Marilyn Ferguson on THIS Page]
Regarding meditation Gordon says… While some people associate meditation with a particular Eastern religion, please understand that meditation can be practiced by people of all religions. I have helped people from all walks of life- including athletes, actors, artists, corporate executives, and moms and dads- learn how to meditate, and they all experience the benefits. [The 10-Minute Energy Solution: Perigee Trade (December 5, 2006) Page 163]
How exactly does the fact that Jon Gordon has taught meditation to people from all walks of life mean that it is acceptable for Christians to practice it? What Jon Gordon doesn’t seem to know (or ignores if he does) is that the issue here is not only that meditation is associated with any particular religion, but that meditation is also associated with a variety of occult practices. In fact New Agers and occultists regard contemplative prayer/meditation as part of their own movement. See Contemplative Prayer
Suspending All Common Sense And Ignoring The Numerous Warnings In Scripture Including Two Very Specific One Made By Our Lord Any differences are superficial at best… with little difference in the methods used to get there, or experiences once they do. Note the following.. Jon Gordon uses what some Christians call “breath prayers”. Not only does the person meditating focus on their breathing but recites what is essentially a Mantra, which is a words or syllable used repeatedly in a religious or ceremonial ritual. The word itself is derived from Sanskrit man (mind) and tra (to deliver). Mantras produce an Altered State of Consciousness because of the repetition, not because of the content. And what Mantra does Jon Gordon advise people to use.. “As you inhale, think of a word “such as “so” or “energy” or “one” or “God” or a specific word that is meaningful to you… When exhaling think of the word “hum” or “energy” or “one” or “God”. [Page 164]
Gordon goes on to say that “The “so hum” technique is one that I practice and learned from author and mind/body pioneer Deepak Chopra.
So not only has Jon Gordon learned the technique and the words from a Hindu mystic/New Ager [More about Chopra below], but according to the So-Hum Foundation… [Emphasis Added] “So-Hum is an ancient Sanskrit mantra that means “That am I,” recognizing the divinity and oneness of all beings”. [10f]
The web site of Anmol Mehta, a certified Kundalini Yoga teacher, a child’s Yoga Teacher a certified hypnotherapist, says that one of the primary benefits of “So Hum Mantra Meditation” is “Realization of your Divine Nature”. [10g] In other words.. the methods are the same. But even worse, the results are the same although the terminology differs. The experience brought about by meditation is interpreted according to the beliefs and practices of the practitioner… every mystic describes his experience in line with his belief system. Hindus believe they have union with the Hindu deities, the American Indian thinks he has contacted the Great Spirit, and the Christian mystic believes he is receiving revelation from God. Buddhist call this state Nirvana or Satori... New Age people call it at-one-ness, etc... Christian and Muslim mystics perceive they have experienced some kind of union with God or encounters with saints or angels. That a connection with God is one of the reasons for meditation in Jon Gordon’s book is seen in his prayer.. “I ask that you allow me to use meditation to connect with you, for when I am silent I feel your presence and for a brief time I am tuned onto the energy that powers everything… Flow through me and let my practice of meditation be the tool that opens my pipeline to you” [Page 165]
For More Information See Contemplative Prayer The following statement on his web site smacks of panentheism (God in all) “When it comes to love we can't not talk about spiritual energy because love and God are one in the same. When you are sharing love you are expressing the spiritual energy of love that is all around you. When you become a source of love you become an expression of the greater and greatest source of love. Remember that you are an expression of this source. You came from this source and you are this source”. [11]
Ken Blanchard and The New Age/Occult
There is countless evidence to show that Blanchard sits on the New Age/mystical/contemplative bandwagon. While this in no way proves that Rick Warren supports or endorses either New Age beliefs or any form of Eastern Religion or Philosophy, the question still has to be asked... What are so called Christian leaders doing in any kind of alliance with a man who has no trouble associating himself with Napoleon Hill’s “unseen watchers” and few, if any, qualms about borrowing from Buddhism and New Age “spirituality”.
The Secret: On January 19, 2008, Blanchard was one of the speakers at a one day seminar in San  Diego called The Secret to Having Your Best Year Ever. The seminar was based on the New Age movie The Secret, and, among other goals, was touted as prospectively causing the attendee to “get healthy & stay healthy forever... Double or triple your income ...Infuse your life with positive spirituality”. And all this was supposed to take place “in a single afternoon”.
Among the speakers were John Assaraf, Lisa Nichols and Michael Bernard Beckwith all three of whom were featured teachers in The Secret movie. Additionally Beckwith is cofounder of the Association for Global New Thought, and founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center devoted to the study and practice New Thought–Ancient Wisdom. He also teaches meditation and “scientific prayer”, has appeared in Dalai Lama Renaissance, a feature length documentary about the Dalai Lama and (of course) appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. [See Section on Oprah] But, perhaps for some readers, we may be getting ahead of ourselves here.. So what is The Secret? While it is true that ... “The Secret is nothing more than so-called Name It-Claim It, Positive-Confession, Prosperity Theology (minus God and the Bible), built on a foundation of New Age self-deification. In other words, the book is just a secular version of what some TV preachers have taught for decades: Namely, if you will sustain the right thoughts, words and feelings, you will receive whatever you want. But The Secret adds this important twist: your thoughts can bring anything into your life because you are god””. [12]
There is a little more to the story than meets the eye.. Rhonda Byrne, the author of The Secret, is a disciple of a couple named Jerry and Esther Hicks. In the acknowledgement section of The Secret, Byrne thanked Jerry and Esther Hicks and the teachings of Abraham... a group of spirit guides that Esther Hicks channels for guidance on spiritual issues. On the Hicks website, they state: "Abraham, a group of obviously evolved teachers, speak their broader Non-physical perspective through the physical body of Esther [Hicks]. Speaking to our level of comprehension, from their present moment to our now, through a series of loving, allowing, brilliant yet comprehensively simple, recordings in print, in video, and in sound -- they guide us to a clear connection with our Inner Being -- they guide us to self-upliftment from our total self." [12b] . [Read More About The Secret]
The 11th Element: Robert Scheinfeld is the author of a 2003 book called The 11th Element. the inside flap of the books says [Emphasis Added]
“Your success is shaped by a powerful set of unseen forces that are rarely discussed. The 11th Element shows you how to tap into those forces–commonly mistaken for luck–to open an avalanche of new potential and prosperity in your life.
Yet, Ken Blanchard, who claims to be a follower of Jesus, makes no secret of his admiration for in Scheinfeld's theory. On the back cover of Scheinfeld's book, Blanchard says [Emphasis Added] "The 11th Element teaches you the valuable skill of asking for assistance from your ‘Inner CEO’ to improve your decision making. Napoleon Hill explored this principle in Think and Grow Rich, and Scheinfeld takes it to a new level."
So what Scheinfeld calls “a powerful set of unseen forces”, Blanchard calls your “Inner CEO” and says it is based on the same principles as Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. (Note that Robert Schuller calls Napoleon Hill’s Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude one of the ten books that has most impacted his faith and his philosophy, adding that “no person’s education is complete without the concepts Napoleon Hill articulated in it so wisely and so well”. [Details])  At this point it pays to examine the claims Hill made about the source of his books. 
Still a perennial bestseller even after 60 years, Hill’s best-known book, Think and Grow Rich, has been credited with changing the lives and influencing the careers of a large percentage of America’s top business executives. However although he spoke and wrote a great deal about “mind power” and “positive mental attitude”, Hill was convinced that behind these forces were “unseen watchers” guiding the destiny of those who were willing to submit to their leadership. There was no limit to the success and wealth which these allegedly higher beings would give in exchange for following their principles. Hill claims to have gotten these secrets from contact with “The Great School of Masters,” of which he wrote: A voice spoke. I saw nobody. I cannot tell whence the voice came. … “I have come”, said the voice, “to give you one more section to include in your book. IN writing this section you ay cause some readers to disbelieve you, yet you will write honestly and many will believe and be benefited. The world has been given many philosophies by which men are prepared for death, but you have been chosen to give mankind a philosophy by which men are prepared for happy living. I whispered; “Who are you?” In a softened voice, which sounded like chimes of great music, the unseen speaker replied; “I come from The Great School of the Masters. I am one of the Council of Thirty Three who serve the Great School and its initiates on the physical plane.
The Great School of the Masters! That is the school of wisdom which has persisted secretly in the Himalayas for ten thousand years. Sometimes known as the Venerable Brotherhood of Ancient India, it is the central reservoir of religious, philosophical, moral, physical, spiritual and psychical knowledge. Patiently this school strives to lift mankind from spiritual infancy and darkness to maturity of soul and final illumination. The School has Masters who can disembody themselves and travel instantly to any place they choose in order to acquire essential knowledge, or to give knowledge directly, by voice to anyone else. Now I knew that one of these Masters had come across thousands of miles, through the night, into my study. [13].
So, why do I have no doubt that Scheinfeld's “powerful set of unseen forces”, and Blanchard’s “Inner CEO” are the same as Hill’s “Great School of the Masters”. This “school of wisdom” that is supposed to have existed in the Himalayas for thousands of years is known to many as Shambhala (also spelled Shambala or Shamballa) a Sanskrit term meaning place of peace/tranquility/happiness. It was part of the inspiration for the tale of Shangri-La in the popular book Lost Horizon, a 1933 novel by James Hilton.. However in Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala is said to exist simultaneously in the material, psychic and spiritual dimensions and therefore has three meanings. Externally, Shambhala was a geographic location, hidden somewhere beyond the snow peaks of the Himalayas, a seat of inspiration where the Buddha taught the Kalachakra Tantra … the Tantra of the Wheel of Time. However Shambhala is also a spiritual empire, “invisible to ordinary mortal eyes and whose borders can only be crossed by those who have been initiated into the secret teachings of the Kalachakra Tantra” [14]
And who are these masters? The Maitreya who has been a central feature of Buddhist life throughout Asian history, and whom the Dalai Lama believes will emerge as a world leader and teacher Sanat Kumara: Another spawn of hell, said to live in Shambhala, is Sanat Kumara, which means "eternal youth" in Sanskrit. While the most common title attributed to Sanat Kumara in the Theosophical religious tradition is "Lord of the World", “Sanat” is hard to mistake other than an anagram for Satan. He appears as a rishi in the Hindu religious text the Chandogya Upanishad, is also a deity in Jainism and is generally regarded as the great guru, saviour of Earth. Djwhal Khul: ("The Tibetan"), who guided Alice Bailey to write some 24 books and found the Lucis Trust (formerly Lucifer Publishing Co.) which enjoys "Consultative Status" with the United Nations and has not only spawned several other organization… the Arcane School, Triangles, World Goodwill, Lucis Publishing, Lucis Productions, Lucis Trust Libraries, the New Group of World Servers, but also maintain the UN meditation room. And the purpose of these groups? At their core ALL of them exist for one purpose ..in their words “the helping of the Great Ones and the rendering to Them of that intelligent assistance which will make their plans for humanity materialize”. A plan that is centered around making conditions suitable (By occult meditation and reciting of the Great Invocation) for what they call “The Reappearance of The Christ. Except that this Christ has nothing to do with Jesus Christ of the Bible. [See Alice Bailey and The Lucis Trust]
This ‘christ’ will be none other that the antichrist… which is the ultimate aim of all their carefully planned maneuvering. [See The Antichrist ] In other words these ectoplasmic apparitions from hell have for many many years, thoroughly pulled the wool over the eyes of most of humanity, doing everything in their power to ensure that men expend all their efforts in the pursuit of “happy living”. Take their minds off God, take their minds off the coming judgment, give them success and wealth in exchange for following their principles. All of which will ensure that when their final goal is achieved, the vast majority of mankind will once more fall into line.
What Would Buddha Do At Work?
Blanchard Wrote the Foreword to Franz Metcalf's 2001 book … What Would Buddha Do At Work? which features “sacred texts” at the top of each page.
"Throughout this book, 'Buddha's insights and words help us create a kinder and gentler workplace. Jesus would approve. ... "Buddha points to the path and invites us to begin our journey to enlightenment.... K.B." [See Section on Buddhism]
According to Blanchard "As a follower of Jesus I believe He is the truth and the way. So I look for my inspiration from Him as documented in the Bible. And yet, in our company we have people of all faiths as well as people who center their faith in the goodness of human beings. As a result, many of our people would delete my morning messages if they thought I was only coming from a Christian perspective. So I look for inspirational messages from a variety of sources besides Jesus. Our folk get to hear words of wisdom from great prophets and spiritual leaders like Buddha, Mohammed, Moses, Mahatma Gandhi, Yogananda, and the Dalai Lama.... In other words, tailor the message to the desires of the people. If they want to hear “inspirational and ‘uplifting’ messages from a variety of so called spiritual leaders, then give them exactly what they want. It does not matter that that these men are false teachers that have led much of the world astray from the path of salvation. It does not matter that most Muslims are peace loving in spite of Islam not because of it and that the Dalai Lama teaches a very dangerous message based on ancient texts called …The Kalachakra-Tantra, in which Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mani, Mohammed and the Mahdi” are characterised as the “family of the demonic snakes” and are attributed with characteristics of darkness and deceit. (Shri Kalachakra I. 154) The Kalachakra-Tantra prophecies and glorifies a “holy war” (Shambhala war) by Buddhists against non-Buddhists and teaches that “the 25th Kalki king will emerge from Shambhala with a huge army to vanquish "Dark Forces" and usher in a worldwide thousand-year Golden Age. [Read Article on the Dalai Lama]
The problem is that “25th Kalki king” emerging from Shambhala, Alice Bailey’s Reappearance of the Christ’ (eagerly anticipated by millions around the world (See The Global Alliance) and promoted by organization within the United Nations), The appearance of the Ascended Masters, the re-appearance of the Imam Mahdi or The Maitreya are all exactly the same event.. One which the Bible has spoken about for a very long time now… This is no king or messiah, but The Antichrist.
Mind Like Water:
 by Jim Ballard (2002). In the foreword Ken Blanchard writes that he and Jim Ballard have been friends for almost thirty years and their shared concern with helping people relate better to themselves have led them to collaborate on a number of writing projects…. Blanchard adds…
“We begin all our writing sessions with prayer asking the Great Writer to help us get our egos out of the way”.
Yet, in the acknowledgment section Ballard says [Emphasis Added] For their guidance and inspiration, I wish to acknowledge the great line of masters; Jesus Christ, Bhagavan Krishna, Mahavatar Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Sri Yukteswas and Paramahansa Yogananda. Jai gurus! [15]
Incidentally the word “Bhagavan” in bold above means god, while the closest English equivalent to Jai (also in bold) is probably something like “Hail!” The fact that Jesus Christ has just been reduced to the status of a bunch of Hindu idol worshippers means absolutely nothing to the “Christian” Ken Blanchard. Nor does the fact that Ken Blanchard whole heartedly endorses this mean anything to the Christian leadership of Willow Creek and Saddleback churches. [See The Spirits Behind Pagan Gods and Goddesses] Certainly Ballard quotes extensively from the writings of Paramahansa Yogananda — who is often referred to as the Father of Yoga in the West. By the way… Yogananda also had the audacity to write a book called “The Yoga of Jesus: Understanding the Hidden Teachings of the Gospels” of which the editorial review and Product Description respectively say [Emphasis Added] The Yoga of Jesus attempts to blend what is known about the path of Christ, in union with the principles found in the Bhagavad Gita. In this remarkable book, Paramahansa Yogananda reveals the hidden yoga of the Gospels and confirms that Jesus, like the ancient sages and masters of the East, not only knew yoga but taught this universal science of God-realization to his closest disciples. Compiled from the author's highly praised two-volume work, The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You, this insightful and compact book transcends the centuries of dogma and misunderstanding that have obscured the original teachings of Jesus, showing that he taught a unifying path by which seekers of all faiths can enter the kingdom of God. [16]
But it gets worse. In the book
Little Wave and Old Swell
was also written by Jim Ballard, endorsed by Deepak Chopra, with the foreword written by Ken Blanchard, who says that over the more than thirty years of their friendship, Jim Ballard and he have “been inspired and enriched” from their separate spiritual journeys. Blanchard says that while he has been “drawn to the feet of the Master of Galilee, Jim has followed the meditation path taught by Paramahansa Yogananda, the great Indian teacher”.
He adds that “in a simple folktale-type allegory, he (Ballard) uses Yogananda’s metaphor of human life as a wave that rises and falls on the Ocean of God as a means of addressing the most basic questions all of us ask”. Blanchard continues..[Emphasis Added] "Some people might ask why a follower of Jesus is writing the foreword for a book inspired by an Indian guru. The fact is, Yogananda loved Jesus, and Jesus would have loved Yogananda. Every year, the Self-Realization Fellowship headquarters in Los Angeles--as well as all its temples and meditation groups throughout the world--hold a full-day Christmas event. It is a time of reverent reflection, with periodic interruptions to listen to taped messages of Yogananda's love for Jesus and his teachings. The way I see it, love is love. [17]
What is truly sad is that in encouraging the reader to "Enjoy this story. Read it many times. Let it speak to your heart and reintroduce you to the wonder that breathes from everything in the world" [Back Cover], Ken Blanchard seems not to have grasped the New Age essence of the book, which is that we are all part of God, and that we all go back to our “Source”, or the Great Deep. Little Wave learns from Old Swell that "You are a moving wrinkle on the seamless fabric of the Great Deep...You thought that you were separate, but no. You can never be apart from your Source. Know that you and I and all of our brother and sister waves are One with the Great Deep. We have always been One. We shall always be One." [Pg. 37]
In the Sphere of Silence: 
by Vijay Eswaran, Executive Chairman of the QI Group of Companies, about which Ken Blanchard’ says
“Effective leadership is more than what we do; it starts on the inside. Great leaders are able to tap inner wisdom and strength by cultivating the habit of solitude. This book is a wonderful guide on how to enter the realm of silence and draw closer to God.”
Vijay Eswaren also says this on his site [Emphasis Added] “The Sphere of Silence is a modern-day tool for achieving success and is the secret behind his own enduring success. Vijay has synthesized the tool from ancient wisdom, stemming from the Vedic concept of practicing silence. It is not oriented to any one religion. Silence is accepted universally and practiced by almost all faiths on the planet. [18]
The Hoffman Process: Ken Blanchard endorsed a 2003 book named, The Hoffman Process written by Tim Laurence, the present director of The Hoffman Institute. He says [Emphasis Added]
The Hoffman Process brings forth spiritual leadership in a person. It made my spirituality come alive. Through the Hoffman Process I actually brought my faith into my daily actions." Ken Blanchard
However the list of other endorsers is very revealing...Blanchard is neatly tucked in with …  Sonia Choquette “an internationally acclaimed spiritual teacher, intuitive guide and masterful catalyst whose special gift is to energetically activate the highest vibration and free the authentic Spirit in everyone she meets…. a personal Intuitive advisor to such New Age Leaders as Louise Hay, Julia Cameron, Caroline Myss, Dr. Wayne Dyer” . [19]
 Margot Anand (a tantric/mystic sex teacher), who teaches “SkyDancing Tantra”, of which her site says “ The path of the SkyDancer is a path of spiritual partnership between men and women as equal spiritual partners integrating ecstatic states into their daily lives.” She advertises 3-disk DVD set called Margot Anand's Secret Keys to the Ultimate Love Life. [20]
 Joan Borysenko wrote the foreword to The Hoffman Process. She is a staunch New Ager, co-founder of the Harvard Mind-Body Clinic, author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind, and is described as a “noted lecturer who has managed to bring spirit, science, medicine and psychology together in the service of healing”..
A glance at a few quotes from Tim Laurence's book tells one much about the spirituality of the Hoffman Process and why the above people endorsed it. [All Emphasis Added] Tim Laurence, speaking about the time that the Hoffman Process founder, Bob Hoffman, offered him a job teaching. Hoffman told Laurence not to thank him as “someone has already decided” and that he (Hoffman) had already checked him out. Tim Laurence, thought Hoffman was taking about a background check, but goes on to say that years later, when he knew Hoffman better, he learned what he had really meant. He relates Hoffman’s words 'I asked my friends up above. They always have the right answer," he replied, referring to his spirit guides that, as a psychic healer, he often consulted." [Pg.15].
When talking about breathing and the imagination, the author says… "Many traditions around the world focus on the breath as a link to the divine… Being more conscious of it calms and centers you. Indeed, it is used as the focus of the Buddhist practice called Vipassana, or 'insight meditation.'… At various times throughout the day, see yourself as a spirit being in human form. (Page 202-203.) "You can use a short meditation to remind yourself of this connection to all others in this world of ours. - As you breathe, feel that breath coming from your core essence." [Pg. 207]. "When you are open to life, you start noticing the divine in everything." [Pg. 209]. 
The Corporate Mystic:
by Gay Hendricks, of which Ken Blanchard says (on the front cover)
“If you want to lead your enterprise into the twenty-first century, read this powerful book”.
Gay Hendricks was the executive producer of the feature film, Conversations with God [21] , while the June 1995 Yoga Journal carried a very favorable article on him.
 The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success: by New Age leader Deepak Chopra. According to Wikipedia, Deepak Chopra worked with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi before launching his own career. The Maharishi was leader or "guru" of the Transcendental Meditation movement. However his immense success was largely doe to the fact that h e became a fad among the celebrities of the day. in early 1968, the Beatles, traveled to Rishikesh, India, to "devote themselves fully to his instruction. Other celebrities that followed the ‘guru’ who travelled in a Rolls Royce were Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, the Beach Boys, etc.
Chopra has been called the TM movement's "poster boy" and "its leading Ayurvedic physician" [22] and in 1989, the Maharishi awarded him with the title "Dhanvantari [Lord of Immortality], the keeper of perfect health for the world". [23]
Death and Letting Go:
was co-authored by Ken Blanchard and clairvoyant Ellen Tadd. On her web  site Tadd says [Emphasis Added]
Shortly after completing my freshman year of college I had a remarkable experience in which I was able to contact my deceased mother. Her presence and message healed my childhood trauma of denying my clairvoyant and clairaudient gifts and transformed my view of the world. Very soon after this awakening I began to have contact with guides from spiritual realms and discovered that I could serve as an intermediary between the material and spiritual worlds. This was the education I had been seeking. My guides have provided me with an extraordinary education. [24]
I guess he never read Leviticus 19:31 or 1 Chronicles 10:13 Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it,
Conclusion: I have heard the excuses made that Ken Blanchard 1) Was a very ‘young Christian’ at when he endorsed all of the above, or 2) Didn’t know better. Neither one of which holds any water.
He has supposedly been a Christian for a very long time. In the 2003 Lead Like Jesus conference, Blanchard talks about his book The One Minute Manager, which came out in 1982. In a conversation he had with Rick Warren during that conference he says The One Minute Manager “was so ridiculously successful that even I had trouble taking credit for it”. RICK: You knew it wasn't you. KEN: I mean it was absolutely ridiculous. My friend, Phil Hodges, who helped me start this whole movement came to see me, ran with me down the beach, while we were running in those days, and said, "Ken, why is this thing so successful? Do you think you're a better writer?" Do you think you're smarter than anybody?" I said, "No, Hodge, I think God's involved." And he said "Oh, thank God." And God started sending me this team, Bob Buford, Norman Vincent Peale, and Hybels, All kinds of people started coming after me. I finally joined up in 1987-88 and turned my life over to the Lord. I didn't anticipate all this stuff. I found out this is a really good deal. Who else has grace and all that kind of thing? What happened is when I started to read the Bible, I found out that everything I ever wrote about or taught Jesus did and He did it perfectly. I used to think it was me, you know, and yet I knew the average length of a leadership theory in concept in the marketplace is 5 to 7 years. [25]
However, he participated in a seminar on The Secret in January 2008 and Laurie Beth Jones’ latest book JESUS, Career Counselor, which Blanchard glowingly endorses came out in 2010. In any case only a fool or hypocrite of the first order would claim to embrace Christianity and then publicly endorse a book that claims Buddha has something to teach us. Teachers are the shepherds of the church, charged with the care of their people and are therefore held to a higher standard. They are supposed to be bring right doctrine to the church but the Biblical warning is clear… when they lead their flock astray, they will be judged more strictly than other Christians. Yet, all too many of our so called church leaders, in spite of their high profiles, many books, dozens of conferences/speaking assignments and thousands of followers, have never grown from the status of bottle fed babies, cheerfully blazing their own unbiblical paths and rushing in where angels fear to tread. They apparently are spiritually blind and know nothing of (or ignore) the dark side of the people they rub shoulders with. Their association with, and endorsement of, men like Ken Blanchard sends the message to hundreds of thousands of Christians that these men are just regular guys... in fact regular Christians. They are not. They are highly dangerous men with links to dark forces that the average Christian does not seem to be even dimly aware of. By introducing these people into the church they inadvertently introduce hundreds of thousands of Christians to the New Age (or very Old Age) menace. Which begs the question.. why would a well known church leader share a platform with this man (and others) who has close connections with the occult and who’s knowledge of Jesus seems to be pretty paltry? The answer is simple.. Blanchard was hired to ‘grow’ the church. His occult/New Age connections and leaning have taken a back seat to making the church more ‘successful’. Today’s church knows nothing of separation from the world, but seeks the approval of the world by integrating and ingratiating itself wherever possible. Market-driven churches are built upon the foundation of polls, surveys, and the latest marketing techniques, instead of upon the Word of God. We have forgotten the words of the Lord God. See Seeker Friendly/ Church Growth Failures in the Scriptures ."Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!" Isaiah 31:1.
And that is the abysmal level that churches, church ‘leaders’ and Christians have fallen to.
End Notes
[1] http://www.ccn.tv/programming/event/evt_29apr04.htm
[2] http://www.willowcreek.com/news/story.asp?id=NF01102004 [3] http://www.christiantoday.com/article/global.leadership.summit.2006./6501.htm [4] http://www.willowcreek.com/wca_prod.asp?invtid=PR29119 [5] http://premierespeakers.com/ken_blanchard [6] http://www.kenblanchard.com/About_Ken_Blanchard_Companies/ [6a] http://www.leadlikejesus.com/index.php/about/our-beliefs/ [6b] http://www.leadlikejesus.com/index.php/about/our-mission/ [7] http://www.ccnonline.net/programming/event/evt_29apr04.htm [8] http://www.leadlikejesus.com/about/our-mission/ [9] About Bob Buford. http://www.activeenergy.net/templates/cusactiveenergy/details.asp?id=29646&PID=207602 [10] http://www.lauriebethjones.com/site-content/about-us/about-laurie-beth-jones.html [10a] http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-070219-thesecret.htm [10b] http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/index.php [10c] http://www.estherhickssecret.com/ [10d] http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/about_abraham.php [10e] http://www.jackcanfield.com/page/?PageID=5 [10f] http://www.so-humfoundation.org/. [10g] http://www.anmolmehta.com/blog/2007/05/16/so-hum-mantra-meditation-technique-free-guided-meditation-book-for-daily-practice/ [11] 5 Ways to Become a Love Magnet. http://www.jongordon.com/021306-lovemagnet.htm [12] Don Whitney. The Secret promotes 'name it-claim it' theology. http://www.gofbw.com/news.asp?ID=7106 [12b] http://www.abraham-hicks.com/about_us.php [13] Napoleon Hill. Grow Rich with Peace of Mind. Plume; 1 edition (June 13, 2007). Pgs 170-171 [14] Victor & Victoria Trimondi. The Aggressive Myth of Shambhala. http://www.iivs.de/~iivs01311/SDLE/Part-1-10.htm [15] Wiley; 1 edition (September 5, 2002) [16] http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Jesus-Understanding-Teachings-Gospels/dp/0876125569 [17] Atria Books/Beyond Words. June 2007. Hardcover [18] http://www.vijayeswaran.com/books/ [19] http://www.soniachoquette.com/biography.php [20] http://www.margotanand.com/skydancing_about.html [21] http://www.liberation2010.com/speakers/gay.html# [22] Bronte Baxter. Where Have All the Flower Children Gone? http://www.trudeausociety.com/home/Frontpage/2008/05/12/02212.html [23] Donal O'Mathuna and Walt Larimore MD. Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook. Zondervan. January 1, 2007 Pg. 96. [24] Ellen Tadd's Bio. http://www.ellentadd.com/bio.shtml [25] http://web.archive.org/web/20060208072218/www.bibleoncassette.com/lead_like_Jesus.html | 
