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.)
This is also what Rick Warren teaches. All fluff, no sin or blood. No repentance, just a light apology occasionally. No lifestyle changes, just proclamations.
= = =
No. Not true.
Their small groups AS WELL AS HIS PRINTED MATERIALS hold folks to the mark of the high calling who is Christ Jesus and HIS EXAMPLE in all matters of faith and practice.
The PURPOSE is Christ Crucified, Glorfied, Adored, REigning King of Kings and Lord of Lords over each individual and group.
You too.
I have found AWANA groups strengthen youth in Christ. That's enough wonderful, for me.
Blessings to you and yours in the new year.
Have a very safe trip and Happy New Year.
[...Billy Graham is a man of integrity, nothing to pin on him...]
Thank you for including this about Billy Graham. He is notorious for conducting his life "above reproach". He will never allow a female to enter his office without leaving the door open. Billy has walked the talk and will soon be in the presence of God. His book "Holy Spirit" spoke about when his Mother died, she heard the angel's singing. Soon, Billy will hear the angels singing and I'm sure he will hear the Lord say, "well done, good and faithful servant".
Wow, a real church doing the work of Christ. There's nothing as exciting as seeing the transforming work of Christ in a person's life. God Bless you.
notorious = famous
I knew what you meant.
If Billy was going in an elevator from 1 to 10th floor and alone and a woman got in on the 2-9th floors, he would get off.
BTW, folks HAVE heaped tons of garbage on Billy G on FR. Thankfully, not often.
I was thinking "note worthy" but it came out "notorious".
Unless you are the enemy, there is nothing notorious about Billy Graham.
What are you doing FReeping on NYE? I have an excuse.
Stuck in an apartment with the dogs, in a new city waiting for our home to be built.
Yes. Billy knew how to avoid even the appearance
of evil. He is a role model for accountability.
Now about FReepers bashing Billy... Think "wolves".
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour: (1 Peter 5:8)
Happy New Year!!
Bless you for your great company and fellowship.
Most worthwhile.
LUB
Post #332 was meant for you as well.
Every church has its own beliefs, I know. We have to be faithful to what we are taught and what we believe. I disagree with infant baptism but that's what I believe. I am not going to argue with those who believe otherwise. My grandchildren were baptized in the Lutheran Church so I'm sure not going to argue with my daughter-in-law about that.
I don't think that will ever happen, jacki. My husband was Catholic and so was my best friend, who was pastor of our church for 25 years. But, thanks for the invitation. Love, Mxxx
Rick Wyble--I don't think that's the right name. But, for the life of me I can't remember it. He came to a leadership conference in Syracuse a few years ago. I thought he was pretty good. Hyble, I think is the last name.
I loved the Prayer of Jabez and even have a pictorial copy of it on my wall from my daughter in law. I bought the little book for all my Christmas giftees and they loved it, too. Purpose Driven Life wasn't a bad book and our church did the 40 days of purpose series. It was okay but I didn't see a lot of lives being changed. People did open up during the home group we had and were able to talk freely about their pasts. That was a good thing.
Exactly. God in Hebrews tells us NOT to criticize or speak out against a brother. Yes, if a brother that we know is in sin, you need to speak directly to him, but to sit around and judge this man or any other Christian is a real no-no in God's eyes and the persons doing it may end up being judged by God. Thanks but no thanks. I've done enough of that in my life and since reading that scripture, I am trying very hard NOT to do that. We need to be careful about such matters.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.