Rick Warren's Biggest Critics: Other Evangelicals

Christian Post ^ | Dec. 22, 2008 | Rachel Zoll

[Between the Lines]

Rick Warren is in a place he never expected to be: at the center of a culture war.

The pastor chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to give the inaugural invocation backed Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in his home state of California. But he did so belatedly, with none of the enthusiasm he brings to fighting AIDS and illiteracy.

When other conservative Christians held stadium rallies and raised tens of millions of dollars for the ballot effort, there was no sign of Warren. Neither he nor his wife, Kay, donated any of their considerable fortune to the campaign, according to public records and the Warrens' spokesman.

In fact, his endorsement seemed calculated for minimal impact. It was announced late on a Friday, just 10 days before Election Day, on a Web site geared for members of his Saddleback Community Church, not the general public.

For gay rights advocates, that strategy was nothing more than an attempt to mask Warren's prejudice. They were outraged that Obama decided last week to give a place of honor to a pastor they consider a general for the Christian right.

Lost in the uproar was the irony of Warren's plight. Ever since he began his climb to prominence in the 1980s, he has battled complaints from fellow evangelicals that he isn't nearly conservative enough.

"The comments from many of the evangelicals further to the right of him are often critical for his lax stance on their passionate issues," said Scott Thumma, a professor at Connecticut's Hartford Seminary who researches megachurches and writes about the challenges for gay and lesbian Christians.

On paper, Warren might look like any other religious traditionalist. He is the son of a Southern Baptist pastor, graduate of a Southern Baptist seminary, and his megachurch in Orange County is part of the conservative denomination.

But Warren holds a different worldview than his roots suggest.

He has spoken out against the use of torture to combat terrorism. He has joined the fight against global warming and, encouraged by his wife, has put his prestige and money behind helping people with AIDS. The Warrens have done so at a time when a notable number of conservative Christians still consider the virus a punishment from God.

"If you want to save a life, I don't care what your background is and I don't care what your political party is," Warren said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "I think some of these humanitarian issues transcend politics, or ethnic or religious beliefs."

While many religious conservatives openly condemn Islam as inherently evil, Warren reaches out to the American Muslim community. This past Saturday, he gave the keynote address at the convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, based in Los Angeles.

"His social consciousness is somewhat left of center, but his theological, ethical stance is right of center," said the Rev. William Leonard, a critic of the Southern Baptist Convention and dean of Wake Forest Divinity School in North Carolina. "That's the thing that makes him potentially a bridge person."

Warren's outlook has come at a price. Many from the Christian right don't trust him.

A registered independent who does not endorse candidates, he has called old guard evangelical activists too partisan and overly focused on gay marriage and abortion.

In the run-up to the Saddleback forum he led last August with Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain, those giving Warren the most grief were conservatives. They were convinced he wouldn't be tough enough on Obama. (Obama wound up stumbling in his appeal to religious voters while answering Warren's question about when a baby gets human rights. Obama said it was "above his pay grade" to respond "with specificity.")

"For probably the last 25 years, evangelicalism became co-opted, and for most people it became a political term," Warren said. "And it got identified with a certain style of political leanings."

The attacks on Warren stretch to how he presents the Gospel — watered-down and soft, according to his theologically traditional critics.

Warren's phenomenal best-seller, "The Purpose Driven Life," which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, partly reflects the self-help ethos of baby boomers, although he insists it isn't an advice book and he defends its religious content.

Still, the tone of his writing is deliberate. Warren, 54, is among a generation of pastor-CEOs who use marketing studies, polling and census data to create congregations that will attract people who never go to church. One of Warren's most important mentors was the late Peter Drucker, considered the father of modern management.

Warren started Saddleback with one other family in 1980 in California, a state with one of the lowest percentages of churchgoers in the country. Saddleback now draws more than 22,000 worshippers each week.

As the church grew, so did the critiques. "The pioneers get the arrows," he says.

Warren survives the pounding partly because of his personal integrity. He donates 90 percent of his many millions in book royalties back to the church. He says he stopped taking a salary from Saddleback six years ago. No scandals have tainted his ministry.

He is also one of the savviest leaders among his peers.

His speaking invitations range from church groups to the Davos World Economic Forum and the United Nations. Saddleback's reach is now so broad, it's nearly its own denomination.

Warren provides sermons, study materials and guidance to hundreds of thousands of clergy worldwide through pastors.com and his other Web sites. Warren's "40 Days of Purpose" spiritual campaigns have been conducted in more than 20,000 churches, and he recently joined forces with Reader's Digest to launch a multimedia global juggernaut based on his "Purpose Driven" writing.

Now he is trying to revolutionize faith-based humanitarian work through his P.E.A.C.E. program. It unites local churches, businesses and governments to fight poverty and disease, promote peace, and combat what he calls spiritual emptiness. The pilot project for this effort began in 2005 in Rwanda, which has been dubbed the first "purpose-driven nation."

It is no surprise that he and Obama have become friendly. Each tries to operate outside a strict liberal-conservative divide, and has risked angering his supporters to do so.

"You can't have a reformation without somebody opposing it," Warren says. "If I wasn't making a difference, nobody would be paying attention."

[444Flyer]

Unfortunately there is such a shortage of true scholarly respect and diligence for the scriptures that anyone can pastor a church and be called a “leader”. Further evidence of a breakdown in the culture.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord
GOD,
That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
they shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of
the Lord,
But shall not find it.”-Amos 8:11-12

Unfortunately, the Purpose Driven and Seeker Sensitive movement has led to psychological man-centered teaching rather than Scripture-based and centered teaching, which has helped lead our nation into a spiritual drought.

[Matchett-PI]

“i am a solid pro lifer. but to blame warren for the sins of obama cuz he prays with him i think is a little crazy in my humble opinion” ~ remaxagnt

I agree.

Anyhow, if the majority of “religious leaders” are a mile-wide and an inch-deep theologically, they are merely a reflection of the popular culture to which they “minister”.

A spiritually immature, emotionally immature, “unchurched” population is only able to assimilate milk and are not ready for strong meat.

Those who are ready for it will take responsibility for their own spiritual growth, since those resources are available to them.

Since there are so many shallow church congregations out there, one can only assume that they are content to remain as “dependents” right where they are.

[remaxagnt]

i see your point and respect it

[Rightly Biased]

I wonder if Platte River Rick realizes he is a tool of the left.

[xzins]

Regarding trouble-maker attenders, I agree that they should be invited to leave. To the extent that they are wolves or diseased sheep is the extent to which they should be asked to depart. The shepherd protects the sheep from wolves and from diseases/parasites.

Besides that, the issue is biblical Christianity. If someone grows a large church while teaching biblical Christianity, I don’t care if they grow so large that they take in 3,000 a day.

[ConservativeMind]

The quote I offered from the WSJ told only of ministers within the church. I don’t know of a church in which the minister is the equivalent of the elder(s).

So, you believe the minister should turn the tables on, as the article calls them, “critical members,” and force them out, then the minister should harass that person when they’ve left the minister’s Inquisition?

I don’t think anyone has a problem with “trouble-makers” in a church environment being asked to go, but who said the minister is the only one who can’t be that “trouble-maker”?

[Zechariah11]

I just can’t figure out why he would compromise his principles to do this gig for Obama.

Why would you say that he is compromising his principles? I think just the opposite-- that he is following Biblical precedent and advice. He is right to support the newly elected President in public prayer as both a Christian and a citizen.

As for the rest of Warren's activities, well, . . .

[annalex]

It depends what Warren says in his prayer. If he includes a prayer for the conversion of the proaborts, from the new President down the line, he will be doing a good thing. Otherwise, he is legitimizing mass murder.

[tioga]

all warren has to do is pray that Obama will do God’s will while in office......OOPs........that is NOT allowed now is it?

[Zechariah11]

Your comments apply to more than the "Warren movement" but to movements like the "emergent church," the charismatics, contemporary church services, etc. The relatively few conservative churches that remain "fellowship" for a couple of hours on Sunday. . .

Overall, I agree with your broader point -- that there is a famine for the Word. but your particular quotation applies specifically to ancient Israel and should be viewed in that context.

With the internet there is more Bible exposition available than ever for the hungry Christian. The problem is that most Christians seem to want to have an emotional experience with God than an edifying one.

[Salvation]

You eveidently are not aware of Catholic beliefs that supporting someone who supports abortion is just as grave a sin as abortion. That's why Catholics were told to vote for the pro-life candidate.

1:

CCC Search Result - Paragraph # 2271  (618 bytes )  preview document matches 1 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, URL: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2271.htm

97%

2:

CCC Search Result - Paragraph # 2272  (580 bytes )  preview document matches 2 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A URL: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2272.htm

96%

3:

CCC Search Result - Paragraph # 2322  (290 bytes )  preview document matches 2 From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (GS 27 § 3), URL: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2322.htm

96%

4:	CCC Search Result - Paragraph # 2274  (554 bytes )  preview document matches gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent URL: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2274.htm

[xzins]

I don’t know of a church in which the minister is the equivalent of the elder(s).

I'm not sure what you mean by the above comment. Can you explain it in more detail? Thanks.

[ConservativeMind]

Yes. In other words, by what authority does a minister change his church, rather than the elder(s) doing so, yet, the training to pervert the churches (via Rick) comes through the minister, only.

The minister is easily the most visible person in the congregation, but the authority is with the elder(s). If ministers are perverting the church without the elder(s) permission, there’s a problem.

[Colonel_Flagg]

I hope Warren makes some very bold decrees in the name of Christ over this President and nation.

Don't hold your breath while you wait.

[free_life]

We’ll see!

[Originalist]

And God will honor Rick Warren for preaching Jesus Christ, even when a huge proportion of “fellow Christians” ripped him to shreds for taking the Gospel to unbelievers.

We should be praying for and lifting up Pastor Warren instead of tearing him down because we don't like Obama. But I seem to remember the Jews killing the prophets...

[annalex]

all warren has to do is pray that Obama will do God’s will while in office

I disagree that this would be enough, because that would leave open the possibility that what Obama and the Left think is God's will really is. It is a duty of the pastor to positively teach what God's will is, when the pastor is aware of it, anbd Rick Warren says he is aware that god's will is to protect the unborn.

It is precisely the equivocation over the pro-life issues that is wrong with Warren. If he is pro-life he should say so on this important occasion. That could be the most important speech of his life.