Ed Smith, the inventor of Theophostic Prayer[1], thinks that everybody, in every ‘church’ in the world, needs his invention[2]. Never mind what kind of prayer it is, can any invention of man warrant such a claim?
Ignoring the fact that the Bible gives us what we should do in order to grow and honour our Lord, Ed wants TPM added to the spiritual disciplines described in the Word. And not as something that can be chosen by a ‘church’ member if they feel like it, but as something much more invasive: first, he says that TPM should be so ingrained in the nature and way of operating of their ‘church’ that it will be impossible for them to avoid; second, he says that TPM should be the default way for all of us believers to interpret our ‘daily life experiences’.
And all of this is from something that didn’t exist until 1995.
Here it is in the words of Ed and his son:
Our long term vision for TPM is to equip churches worldwide to incorporate the basic concepts and principles of Transformation Prayer Ministry into the “DNA” and culture of the Church, so that members may learn to naturally and spontaneously apply TPM to their lives as a spiritual discipline. By knowing and embracing TPM they will be able to willfully and intentionally cooperate with what God is doing in refining their faith/belief, as they submit themselves under “the mighty hand of God” (1 Pet. 5:6) and thereby “be trained” by His discipline that will produce the “peaceful fruits of righteousness” (Heb. 12:11)[3]
You can read more of their ‘…Vision for the Worldwide Church’ in their training manual, The Essentials of TPM.
Now this wouldn’t matter if they were the aspirations of somebody unknown, for a product that is unknown, but this is not the case with Ed Smith and Theophostic. A quick look on the internet shows that its being used all over the place. [Edit: link added 8,03.2021]. For instance, it’s been in the assembly I attend for many a year, and I have every reason to believe that it is still available[4]. And when it is spoken of around me, it is only to tell of its good results, and to recommend it as a solution to things in the past causing present troubles.
I don’t know what you think, but for me, let’s get…Back to The Gospel.
- Recently it rebadged itself and freshened up the approach, but the basic tenets remain. It’s now called ‘Transformation Prayer Ministry’ or ‘TPM’. ↑
- The Essentials of TPM, Ed M. Smith and Joshua A. Smith Second Edition 2019, page 313, downloaded 5 March 2021 from https://www.transformationprayer.org/tpmstudyguide/.
- The Essentials of TPM, page 313. ↑
- From the Safe Ministries Policy and Procedures document on the website 5 March 2021.
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