Posted on 12/30/2009 8:46:19 PM PST by My Favorite Headache
Pastor Rick Warren urgently asks faithful for $900,000 December 30th, 2009
It’s been a heck of a year for mega-pastor/bestselling author/power broker Rick Warren of the enormous Saddleback Church. It started out with Warren’s invocation at the historic inauguration of one President Barack Obama - and it concludes with Warren asking his flock to cough up nearly $1 million in just two days to keep the church out of the red.
“Dear Saddleback Family,” begins today’s missive from Warren. “THIS IS AN URGENT LETTER unlike any I’ve written in 30 years. Please read all of it and get back to me in the next 48 hours.
“I have thrilling news to share with you below but first some seriously bad news: With 10% of our church family out of work due to the recession, our expenses in caring for our community in 2009 rose dramatically while our income stagnated. Still, with wise management, we’ve stayed close to our budget all year. Then… this last weekend the bottom dropped out.
“On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive - leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year, unless you help make up the difference today and tomorrow.”
The church does not make its financial information public, so it’s impossible to tell just how big of a hole in the boat this $900,000 represents. A spokeswoman for Warren said the church does not release detail on its finances, so it’s hard to put the shortfall in context. (Suffice to say it may not represent a terribly significant portion of Saddleback’s annual budget, and that his personal appeal may well close the hole, and then some.)
In his letter, Warren goes on to detail the church’s accomplishments for the year, and then says:
It’s obvious that your giving through your church family is providing more “bang for the buck” than anything else you could support. It is no wonder that our ministry was named the top religious newsmaker of 2009 as reported by Associated Press.
YOU CAN HELP SAVE THE DAY 3 WAYS BEFORE JAN 1.
1. Click HERE right now to and give as large an end-of-the-year gift as you can to help avert this crisis. If we all do what God leads us to do, we’ll all be a part of a miracle. 2. Mail in your gift today. Gifts must be postmarked in 2009 to be posted as 2009 gifts for tax purposes. Mail to: 1 Saddleback Parkway, Lake Forest, CA 92630. 3. Drop your gift in the box at the front door of the Ministry Center at 1 Saddleback Parkway so you know for certain we get it TODAY or Thursday….
I love you so much. It is a deep privilege to be your pastor….
And, perhaps, a pain to be his accountant.
The church does not make its financial information public, so anyone who gives him money is foolish.
Same here. Our vestry meetings are open to members of the church and a report of what transpired at those meetings is posted every month on the bulletin board in the parish hall. Our financial situation, (we are trying to buy/build a new church) is discussed in great detail at the annual meeting and in between if a parishioner has a question they can contact the priest or the treasurer and receive a financial statement.
Caution ... Rick Warren could pull an “Oral Roberts” and say that if his flock doesn’t cough up $1 million cool ones (or in this case, $900,000 cool ones), God is gonna call him home.
Let Warren pull that money out of his bank account or cut back on HIS purchases, etc.
hahahahahahaha
The Rev. Rick Warren, possibly the most influential current pastor in the USA, has joined progressive pastors in speaking out against the so-called Uganda "gay death bill" and any rumors that he's ever supported it or anyone associated with it.
Besides, anyone familiar with the “Emergent Church” movement, and its biblical name, the apostate church,
wouldn’t send Warren a dime anyway.
Interesting. Do you know if they still attend? If not, do they say much about him?
Any Church that does not fully disclose its finances and how it spends the money it is given does not deserve your or my financial support.
I say that as a member of a large Church that does disclose how much it takes in, what its expenses are, what the salaries of those who work for the church are, the missions and charities supported, and its basic "keep the lights" on expenses.
Any Church that doesn't do the same has something to hide, period. What is Warren doing with the millions of dollars that flow into that Church? Until he discloses, his "congregation" ought to withhold money.
Excerpt:
At a recent event, Warren told a group of Muslims, "You don't have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand." Listen, Rick Warren is a PASTOR. He is supposed to be a messenger of the GOSPEL. He is NOT a politician!!! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not something you water down or compromise. It is not about being politically correct because the eternal souls of men are at stake. There is no "walking hand in hand" with Muslims! They are on the wide road to destruction while born-again Believers are on that narrow road to Glory! Muslims need to understand that they have bought a 1400-year-old lie from hell, and when they die, their souls will burn in the flames of hell for all eternity unless they turn from the lies of Islam and embrace faith in Jesus Christ and the Truth of the Bible!!!
Warren is a case study in the word "compromise." He embraces the damnable ecumenical movement that seeks to unite people of all beliefs, meaning Christians are expected to "compromise" and abandon the Absolute Truth of the Bible! His infamous book, The Purpose Driven Church, was endorsed by Leonard Sweet, a firm New Age Movement advocate. Warren hired Ken Blanchard to come to Saddleback to help train people how to be effective leaders.
I agree with your point on Warren’s forum. Warren pretty much tore Obama apart in a nice way. Got out of him that line where Obama says “abortion is above my pay grade”. That was probably the only public event during the campaign where Obama got hard questions and stammered a lot.
$900,000 is not a huge number compared with their budget. What Warren is trying to do here is avoid having to layoff more church staff. Most churches in the US have laid off employees the past year to deal with the downturn.
Every penny is accounted for and we publish our accounts.
I am bemused by these mega churches not least because I could grow the church significantly if only I went soft on the Gospel.
Currently reading ‘This Little Church Stayed Home’ by Gary Gilley - with a chapter about the Purpose Driven Church and its lightness of touch on the scriptures through ‘the Message’. Sad really, so many led astray.
So I ask only that he see the Gospel light and preach it with all his heart.
The key phrase is “against the knowledge of God.” If it were true it wouldn’t add anything more than an interesting detail, and if it were false nobody has held it up as doctrine.
The Greek word often translated as “speculations” has no exact English equivalent, if you were unaware. An equally plausible rendition is “imaginations.” Stuff that is made up for its own sake.
It might expand our mind a bit to what qualifies as a “ruler,” a “big shot” if you will. Many of the stories told about Jesus’ reactions to things fit patterns in our everyday lives, but not always with a precise dictionary match. The idea of being a ruler is opposite from that of being a servant of all. Paul was certainly in a position to throw his influential weight around before he believed. So he could have been it. Whether he was it doesn’t matter, as nobody preaches that.
Oh, and you beg the question.
Exactly
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.