Last week I promised I would be back with more about Dr. Ed Young's series on "The Secret" (as portrayed in his 3-part weekly sermon at Second Baptist Church of Houston). When last we met I had pointed out that though I agree and believe in what was said during the first part (which was actually taught by Dr. Young's son, Ben) I was severely disappointed in two facts:

1. The first words out of Ben's mouth (practically) were that he had only listened to half of the audio book.
2. The entire sermon was based on telling us about the Holy Spirit and in no way related back to "The Secret."

Sunday, April 22nd, I was hoping things would get back on track.

Once again my wife and I came to the "contemporary service." The music is upbeat, modern sounding, and sung by a guy with a guitar slung over his shoulder. And then the lights dim and the two giant screens overhanging the stage light up with a well-produced short clip about a boy mounting a set of mysterious looking steps and finding an even more mysterious ornate wooden box sitting on a window sill at the top. What this has to do with "The Secret" is anyone's guess, but it is (as I said) well produced.

Today we have a pitch hitter. I didn't catch his name... Dave "Something" was written in unreadable script font that flashed for a brief second on the large projector screens. But he informed us of the title of the day's message, which was "The Secret of HIdden Power."

I knew instantly we were in brand new territory.

Using a broom and a leaf blower, Dave Something proceeded to demonstrate what I felt was an apt and interesting metaphor of the Holy Spirit. The broom symbolized our tendency to try to do things under our own power and the leaf blower was the power of God manifest in the Holy Spirit (who, he insisted, is "a person, not a thing. The third embodiment of God." I agree).

The sermon went on for some time before he even MENTIONED the book and film, and that in a cursory and dismissive way.

Once again, I found myself in full agreement with everything Dave Something said. The Holy Spirit is, apparently, the source of Hidden Power. Knowing Him, through accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior, means you have God's power in your life.

I say again... what does this have to do with "The Secret?" Is this supposed to negate it in some way? Or, as my wife Kara believes, are they simply playing on the celebrity and "infamy" of the book and the film in order to draw interest and swell the crowds a bit, all in the name of getting God's message to more souls?

At one point Dave Something said something that made me pause. I don't remember the exact phrasing, but it summed up like this...

"God is the power in the Universe, and it's His will that will be done, not yours."

This is important because it's actually the only thing about "The Secret" that doesn't jive completely with Christian principles. In the book and film the idea is that YOU are in control. You let the universe know what your wish is and the universe moves people and events to make it happen.

I think what's happening here is that they have the right idea and the foundation for an argument, but they're forgetting that not everyone is "in." Not everyone will immediately realize there's a point of contention here.

So far, though, that's the only point I can grant to their side of the "debate" (which isn't actually a debate at all). But it's a pretty big one.

I would reconcile the idea like this: If you have accepted Christ and invited the Holy Spirit into your life (two tenants of the Christian Faith), then your desires would be in line with the desires of the Holy Spirit. And therefore anything you asked for would be something the Holy Spirit would want for you.

I point out that numerous times in the New Testament Christ tells his followers that Faith can move mountains (even a Faith so miniscule as to be compared to a mustard seed) and that whatever you ask for you will receive if you have Faith and believe. That is the concept upon which "The Secret" is founded and it's at the very heart of the entire idea. So despite side-and-snide comments from Dr. Young and his young cohorts I'm going to have to say that I've still seen nothing that would out-and-out contradict "The Secret."

One more week to go.

J. Kevin Tumlinson is the Editor for ViewOnline Magazine and a Producer for Hat Digital Media. His Hidden Power is the ability to calm jittery squirrels.