Posted on 12/31/2006 8:41:18 AM PST by Gamecock
The facade is beginning to peel back from the so-called ministry of Southern California Pastor Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life." Unfortunately, many among his ample flock have far too much invested in him, both emotionally and otherwise, to admit their mistakes and cut their losses.
Moreover, he certainly faces no possibility of in-depth scrutiny from the "mainstream media," as his brand of "Christianity" poses little or no threat to their liberal social agenda. Yet to the degree that anyone at all questions Warren as anything less than authentic, his response is thoroughly telling as to his true character, as well as the nature of his "ministry."
Joseph Farah, editor-in-chief of the Internet news site, "World Net Daily," opened a can of worms by calling Warren to account over his fawning praise of the terrorist stronghold of Syria. While there, Warren lauded the brutish dictatorship as "peaceful," claiming that the Islamist government does not officially sanction "extremism of any kind."
When confronted by Farah, an American of Middle Eastern decent who knows too well the history of horror and tragedy faced by persecuted Christians in that region of the world, Warren immediately denied ever making such statements.
Subsequently, Farah offered as evidence a "YouTube" video from Saddleback Church, where Warren is pastor, inarguably proving Farah's statement. So Warren's church simply pulled the video from circulation and continued the denial, being unaware that a copy of the video file had been downloaded and is still in circulation. Warren's follow-up to this inconvenient circumstance is perhaps most telling of all.
In a concurrent set of moves, Warren sent a seemingly conciliatory e-mail to Farah while distributing another to his "flock," in which he characterized Farah's pursuit of the incident as nothing less than "doing Satan's job for him." Throughout this sorry episode, Farah's only error has been to suggest that Warren's disturbing behavior represents some new departure from consistency.
In fact, Warren is actually being entirely consistent. Whether his audience might be Farah himself, Syrian despot Bashar Assad or the Saddleback congregation, Warren tells each exactly what he believes they want to hear.
This pattern is the essence of what Warren is and what has made him so "successful" from a worldly perspective.
For those among his congregation who sincerely want to know the truth, the evidence is ample. Unfortunately, it always has been available, and any present "confusion" merely results from past decisions to ignore that evidence.
For example, his letter to the congregation decrying the "attack" and making his defense by invoking Scripture is barely four paragraphs long. Yet in those four paragraphs, he employs three different "translations" of the Bible. Why, it must be asked, does he not trust any single translation to convey God's message to humanity?
Could it be that he has his own message and agenda to advance, and that he has found it very convenient to utilize different wordings of different passages, not because they better convey God's purpose, but rather his own?
It would be better to ask, could his motivation possibly be anything else?
As Farah has refused to let this indefensible situation simply drop, Warren has responded by taking it to another realm, making personal attacks against Farah in an interview with the magazine, "Christianity Today." But once again, by so doing, Warren succeeds in revealing much more about himself than about his adversary.
Warren, who has not to date been known as any sort of standard bearer for Christian principle in the political arena, decries Farah (whose societal and moral views fall unambiguously on the right) and his ideological allies as part of a wrongful "political" encroachment on the faith.
In contrast, Warren's forays into the political realm prove, not surprisingly, to be decidedly leftist. At a recent conference on the African AIDS epidemic, Warren invited the very liberal Senator Barak Obama (D-Ill.) as a keynote speaker. He justified the inclusion of Obama, who avidly supports abortion and same-sex "marriage," on the grounds that Obama offered a worldly solution to ostensibly curb the spread of the disease through condom usage.
The morally ambiguous message conveyed by the advocacy of condoms, along with their inherent unreliability, make them nothing less than iconic to the abortion industry, which fully understands how much new business they generate. In the face of such pragmatism, one has to wonder what will be next. Perhaps Warren's church will sponsor a "designated driver's ministry" at every bar in its locale.
Appalling though Obama's inclusion in the conference may be, it is nonetheless entirely consistent with Warren's behavior from the beginning.
Leading a megachurch in the culturally disintegrating landscape of Southern California, Warren certainly knows that his prospects of maximizing the "flock" will be greatly enhanced as long as he shows proper deference to the real religion of the area, "political correctness."
In this, his Christian populism movement has proven to be far more palatable to the God-hating secularists of the surrounding communities than such stodgy, old-fashioned and "intolerant" notions as "Thou Shalt Not." And the Warren influence has been predictable wherever it can be found.
If other churches that abide in the Warren philosophy, such as Chicago's gargantuan "Willow Creek," were to truly uphold Christian values among their enormous congregations, they would certainly be a constant "thorn in the side" of their surrounding populace, acculturated into the modernism as those communities certainly are. Yet an amazing degree of compatibility and congeniality exists between the Warren Church model and the social structures of Chicago and Southern California.
The tradeoff between true Christian principle and acceptability to the locals is apparently worth the spiritual sacrifice it entails, with expanding parking lots, increasingly lavish facilities and, of course, fuller collection plates bearing witness. Meanwhile, such churches offer ever less of a worthwhile and much-needed alternative to the ailing world around them.
Ultimately, Warren gives conformist Christians, wearied from their ongoing battle with a world that is increasingly hostile to true Christian faith, an apparent "out" by offering a version that the modern world can find more acceptable while remaining in its present spiritual darkness.
Many among Warren's vast following have made the mistake, in light of his "purpose driven" ministering, of presuming, at the heart of the movement, a Christ-driven purpose. Yet as Warren's real character continues to be revealed, it is becoming apparent that members of that following are presuming too much.
(Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer and staff writer for the New Media Alliance. He lives in southeastern Wyoming and has been active in local and state politics for many years.)
Looks like he will be one more "evangelist" to go the way of all flesh.
Pride goeth before a fall...always.
You said -- "But if God CAN use RW, then God WILL use RW. God ALWAYS has His way. I only wish I could be so used by God."
Well, let's think about this a bit. From what I understand about the "Word of God" and how God uses His word -- I see that a drunk, a prostitute, a drug dealer, an atheist can all be used by God, even as they deny God in their hearts -- by them saying something about God's word (perhaps a quote, or a phrase) which will then be heard by someone else and then take seed in that other person's heart -- because it's God's word that does the work and not the person saying it.
So, in that sense, I'm sure God can use Rick Warren. I understand God also used the enemy nations of Israel to do "His work", in punishing Israel. So, even enemies of Christianity and God and Jesus Christ can do His work, exactly the way He wants them too.
But, that doesn't say very much for those particular kinds of individuals who are doing God's work. They will still find themselves in Hell for their rejection of His Son.
As far as Rick Warren is concerned, I'm sure that he understands who Christ is and is saved. However, what he is doing is questionable in regards to whether he's really bringing others to Christ or not. He sounds like he's pointing everyone to himself, rather than to Christ (even if he personally does know Christ). And for all those who are "coming in" from the outside world and don't know Christ -- that is no service to them, at all. If they ever do manage to find Christ, somewhere behind all the Rick Warren paraphernalia, it will only be because someone else made clear who Christ is, versus, who Rick Warren is.
One might say that all that Rick Warren built up in his so-called "success" will be the straw, hay and stubble that will be "burned up" at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Rick Warren may the one of those who barely gets into heaven -- smelling of smoke, for all his burned up "works" that he did for himself, as opposed to what he could have done for Christ.
Regards,
Star Traveler
Welllllllllllll let's just hold up a tad here with our claws, shall we?
I see a major flaw in this author's 'thesis'. He asserts that any church worth its salt, any church truly teaching God's word, would be a "thorn in the side of the surrounding community"........and that is utter bovine feces.
I attend an evangelical church of over 1000 members that is growing rapidly and is VERY....and I mean VERY......grounded in God's word. The surrounding community, including everyone from local politicians to law enforcement to the local media, have tremendous respect for this church and its pastor. I suspect the same everywhere. The author of this piece has a serious misunderstanding of evangelical churches.
You said -- "Some of his stuff is good warning and caution but he went way too far, imho."
That sounds more like someone's ox is getting gored... (and I have no idea which ox it is).
Regards,
Star Traveler
LOL.Just ignore them. I do. I don't even open the ones from PDL defenders. Sin IS sin. Period. Keep on keeping on.
Those who lead are held to a higher standard. Those who lead and guide their flocks to the acceptance of low standards, will be held accountable for that. Especially when those lower standards result in big time money.
Maybe, but his politics suck.
The Republicans may not be God's party, but the Democrats are certainly on the other side.
I never read PDL or "The Prayer of Jabez". Having been a
Christian for many years, This same stuff keeps coming
back in different packaging to attract the tickling ears.
When someone recommends a Scriptureal book, I want to hear
the name of Jesus and His nature, God's love for me, Grace,
Mercy, Justice. These book describers used words like
wealth, me, I, power, prosperity, success, money, my comfort,
me, me, me and so on.
Jabez ignored the context of Scripture and lead people to
go begging to God for wealth and prosperity.
My purpose in life? "I am determined not to know any
thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified"
(1 Corinthians 2:2).
My philosophy? Always safer to go to the original, rather
than the knock offs. Works for me.
Not really.
Been a long time since I read Dave' stuff.
Though he's very hostile to Holy Spirit operating a la Acts 2; I Cor 12-14 in our era.
As I recall, he took over from Dr Walter Martin. Walter Martin knew better than to pooh pooh Holy Spirit's actions in our era as his throat Doc was commissioned via a message in tongues and interpretation to become a missionary to Muslim lands--he was Armenian, I think. So, Dr Martin ended up with a much more balanced, charatible and Biblical attitude toward all such.
Dave Hunt was narrow, rigid, hostile, parochial, prissy, arrogant, etc., in his attacks on many good men of GOD who mainly just didn't happen to see peripheral things as he did.
I think that's horrible.
You said -- "I just got a Freepmail saying that because i would want SIN called SIN, I was abrasive and uncaring, and delighted in pissing people off."
I'm sure that Jesus was considered abrasive, uncaring and that he delighted in pissing people off, too. Consider what the Pharisees were probably saying about him.
And many people consider God, the Father, the same -- uncaring and abrasive, delighted in pissing people off.
That usually comes from those who have pet sins that they don't want pointed out. Or rather, they think if they don't criticize someone else's sin, then they'll get a free-ride on theirs, too (a sort of religious "I'm okay, you're okay... thing).
Regards,
Star Traveler
Not even sure you needed that sarc tag. It's quickly becoming the truth.
Rick Wybel was a High School friend of mine. LOL!
Thanks for the correction. BILL HYBLE it is.
Rick, if you're out there... phone home!
-- Jo --
"The Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life"? No thanks, Rev'rin Warren! I'll stick with "The Christ-Driven Church" and "The Christ-Driven Life".
I agree with you wholesale.
HOwever, RW threads are designed to be CLAW EXHIBITIONS.
Save your typing fingers trying to get them drawn in.
Sin IS sin. Period
= = =
As are the sins of causing unnecessary, unBiblical division and strife in the Body of Christ.
As it should be.
I don't know what his politics are.
A few incidents and isolated sentences here and there with ambiguious words doesn't define it for me. Context also gets tossed in the trash in such tirades.
Regardless, he's sound on the basics of the faith.
He is powerfully productive in facilitating folks finding and maturing in Christ.
That's a lot, to me.
Yeah, I would agree. He'll see his rewards lessened because of that and much of what he's done burned up in the refiner's fire.
Regards,
Star Traveler
[...I see that a drunk, a prostitute, a drug dealer, an atheist can all be used by God...]
Agree with you. King Solomon said, "all is vanity".
The Christ-Driven Church" and "The Christ-Driven Life".
= = =
His stuff IS THAT.
Just spelled out more in kindergarten terms for young and potentially young believers.
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