An interesting article was written by Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries. She talks about the 2009 leadership conference or summit lead by Bill Hybel’s Willow Creek Association. Two of the guest speakers for this “leadership” conference will be Tony Blair and Rock Star Bono.

Why would any Christian go to a Christian leadership conference to hear from Tony Blair and Bono? They both are all-paths pseudo Christian heretics. Seems to me that Bill Hybels job was to first dumb down Christianity with his seeker friendly program and then steer the pseudo Christians under his influence into the end time one world religion Harlot of Bible prophecy described in Revelation chapter 17.

Notice that Rick Warren is a board member of the Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation. Warren is even more influential than Hybels in the seeker movement. Also be aware that Tony Blair’s recent conversion to Catholicism was not just some coincidence it was for darn good reason. At some point that church will head this world harlot religion.  With Tony Blair and Bono as speakers this Willow Creek leadership conference ought to be named “The making of a Harlot.

If you count all the churches under the influence of Hybels Creeker Network and Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Movement we are talking about half of the so called evangelical churches in America!  So, in just two decades these two people destroyed the meaning of the term “evangelical Christian”.

So go ahead and continue to tell me that God is behind Rick Warren and Bill Hybels but anyone with an ounce of Christian discernment can see that these men are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

The article clearly points out the issues and gives links where you can get additional information. I hope you will read it.

When Evangelicals Dine with the Wicked

Here is a good follow-up article on Hybels and Warren’s agenda to sell religion as the hope of the world.

Seems Rick Warren was not against California’s Proposition 8 and homosexual marriage after all. Quoted below is the exact words Rick Warren made on “Larry King Live”.  Also in the same article that I quote and link to at the bottom of this post is Joseph Farah’s appropriate view of this wishy-washy pastor.

Why is Rick Warren always in the news? If he was actually preaching the gospel of Christ he would not get on the worldly media. He is CFR member for a reason and he has a Global Peace Plan because it conforms with the CFR globalist socialistic agenda. Rick Warren is yoked together with some very powerful globalists unbelievers and their own purpose driven lives wants global governance. What Rich Warren says to the world implies religious pluralism and a form of universalism that includes aspects of religious dominionism. He  is not presenting the gospel of Christ to the world.

Everything Rick Warren says is a compromise with the world instead of presenting the gospel of salvation to the world. I find this to be true ranging across the spectrum from Rick Warren’s purpose driven seeker friendly gospel lite movement to his many media opportunities that never clearly presents the gospel of Christ.

If a Christian pastor cannot stand up for clear teachings of their faith he certainly should not be standing in your church pulpit! The only reason I think Rich Warren is standing at Saddleback Church is that the church membership has been made in his image. By the way, while I am at it, here is an example of how Rick Warren grows his Church.

It is amazing to me that a “Evangelical” Christian leader would actually apologize to homosexual leaders because some of them might think he took the biblical stand against homosexual perversion and marriage perversion.

Also read this article that quotes what Rick Warren actually said to his church on Proposition 8. Apparently Rick Warren was even spining the truth to Larry King about what he actually said.

Need another opinion? Here is Dr. Norman L. Geisler’s postion on Rick Warren and the Gay Marriage issue.

I think America’s spiritual condition is reflected in the choice of leaders that Amercians put into power and that is doubly true in its churches.

America’s wishy-washy pastors

(Rick Warren on Larry King Live)

“You know, Larry, there was a story within a story that never got told,” he said. “In the first place, I am not an anti-gay or anti-gay marriage activist. I never have been, never will be. During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never – never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop 8 was going. The week before the – the vote, somebody in my church said, Pastor Rick, what – what do you think about this? And I sent a note to my own members that said, I actually believe that marriage is – really should be defined, that that definition should be – say between a man and a woman.

“And then all of a sudden out of it, they made me, you know, something that I really wasn’t,” Warren continued. “And I actually – there were a number of things that were put out. I wrote to all my gay friends – the leaders that I knew – and actually apologized to them. That never got out. There were some things said that – you know, everybody should have 10 percent grace when they say public statements. And I was asked a question that made it sound like I equated gay marriage with pedophilia or incest, which I absolutely do not believe. And I actually announced that. All of the criticism came from people that didn’t know me. Not a single criticism came from any gay leader who knows me and knows that for years, we’ve been working together on AIDS issues and all these other things.”

(Joseph Farah)

What are we to make of such mealy-mouthed, wishy-washy, namby-pamby hokum?

It’s a great illustration of America’s most prominent church leader equivocating and backtracking and saying almost nothing coherent so that he will offend no one.

Full article

Seems almost all of the popular Christian books today are still about “me“. But, for a Christian it should not be about me it should be about thee and Thee. It is time Christians departed from me centered churches and teaching in sake of Thee centered Churches and teaching.

The ‘Me’ Centered Church

The church today has gotten away from its purpose and identity as laid out in Scripture. Again, we do well to remember:

A local church is a group of baptized believers organized together to meet for the equipping of the saints for their ministry; for provoking one another to love and good works; for exhortation; for the exercise of spiritual gifts and the observance of the ordinances (Eph. 4:11-12; Heb. 10:24-25; 1 Cor. 11:18)[8]

The church is not for “seekers” or for “Me centered” people. It is for disciples and “He centered” people. The church can and should reach out to a dying world and that means engaging the culture with the truth that Jesus is the only Way, Truth and Life (Jn 14:6). It also means becoming more like Him daily, walking in faith and His strength. Paul sums this up well when he says:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.Galatians 2:20

At the end of the day we are all simply beggars telling other beggars where we found bread. Let us bear witness then to this fact in our Culture so that we can change the “seeker sensitive” church of ‘me,’ back to the Bible based church of He.

Matt Smith
Pastor, Barabbas Road Church

Full article

Its enough to want to make any true missionary of the gospel of Jesus Christ puke. Religious pluralism and world socialism is Rick Warren’s answer for the world not Jesus Christ.

Most “Christians” in this country just do not get it because I am not sure they understand the gospel of Jesus Christ themselves. Christians are told to give the gospel to the whole world so they can die to the bondage of this world and live for Jesus Christ. Instead, people like Rick Warren tell Christians to join with world demonic religions so they can be kept in religious bondage.

This is the number one critical issue in Christianity today. Many who identify themselves as Christians have drank the post-modern pluralistic pragmatic relativism Kool-Aid. They have actually become part of the harlot woman that rides the Beast into power. Notice how subtly the Harlot rides in with human good works but she denies that there is only one Lord. That is why God calls her a Harlot. She played the whore with all the religious of the world to bring in the Beast who will then turn on her and devour her.

Rick Warren=CFR globalism, Religious pluralism=one world harlot religion, Socialism=mans own efforts.

It is time to wake up!

This is not coming from God. That is why those who do not know Jesus Christ so easily embrace Rick Warren.

Spare me, but “Rick Warren says the right things when in Christian company”. So did Jim Jones at first. What is Rick Warren really leading the church into? That should be the real question!
Paul Proctor just wrote an article that goes more into the issues Christians partner with pagans for a better world. I did not known that Richard Land of the SBC was also in the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). What a fine worldly globalist outfit these “Christian” leaders are yoked up with.

Eboo Patel: Rick Warren, Interfaith Activist – On Faith at washingtonpost.com

Rick Warren is our new Billy Graham – at the center of not only his own Christian tradition, but of American civil religion as well. Churches follows his direction (most recently into Rwanda), and political candidates seek his blessing (Exhibit A: The Saddleback Forum).

There has been a lot of talk about the risks that Warren has taken – inviting the pro-choice Obama to address a decidedly pro-life gathering on the topic of AIDS, for example.

Another risk he is taking – more subtle, perhaps, but equally profound – is around religious diversity.

Last week at the Clinton Global Initiative, Warren was asked how “the church” could help to solve poverty. His response was to rattle off the numbers of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians in the world – in that order – and make a plea that the public and private sectors take seriously “the faith sector as the third leg of the stool of successful development”.

Warren consistently used the language of a religious pluralist. He spoke of “mosques, temples and churches” as central to the life of villages in the developing world. He underscored the fact that there are huge numbers of people of faith in the world, and huge numbers of houses of worship in places where clinics, banks and schools don’t exist. Those people of faith can be trained to be the arms and legs of any development plan, and those houses of worship can double as clinics, banks and schools.

Full article

What would you think if you went to a physician and he purposely make things up as he went along in regards to your medical treatment? He called himself a Board Certified Purpose Driven specialist. Whatever he think works is the best treatment.

What if you took a formal English course because it was a required course for your advancement and the professor taught you ghetto slang instead? He said you need to be able to be able to communicate with the underclass.

What if you were blind and the word scanner paraphrased the words out of your calculus text book because the program designer believed that truth is relative?

What if you go to Bible college to learn the Bible and they teach you how to do everything but learn proper biblical exegesis. Guess what, the latter is happening all over this country.

Christian Worldview Network – Brannon Howse – Pastoral Malpractice and the Visible Church

Suppose you were to contract a potentially serious medical condition and went to see a doctor. Upon asking him details about the diagnosis and medical consequences you found out that he does not take medical literature literally. In addition, he has not kept up on the latest medical research and has been out of medical school for several decades. He prefers to make his patients happy and comfortable rather than to force them to confront the truth about their health condition. Would you see such a doctor? Neither would I. Such a doctor eventually could be found guilty of malpractice.

I have assumed in Warren’s case that he indeed has the tools to perform sound exegesis. Some of the other leaders of large congregations—Bill Hybels, Robert Schuller, or Joel Osteen—likely are capable of doing sound Biblical exegesis and correctly applying the Bible to the lives of those who attend their churches. But sadly they often do not use sound exegesis—or even use the Bible as the main source of their messages.

Pastor Warren may be correct that you cannot do both—expound important Biblical topics and appear attractive to seekers at the same time. But I disagree completely with the idea that we must appear attractive to lost sinners. We need to preach Christ to lost sinners so that they can know the terms of the gospel. That is the only valid “diagnosis” that will do them any good. In the book of Acts this was done up front, and not through a back door after presenting an alternative that would seem attractive to people in their lost state.

The Bible does not give pastors the liberty to handle the Bible in a sloppy manner.

The issue of motivation to develop the skills and use the tools to perform Biblical exegesis also has reached seminaries. Because of a growing lethargy concerning Biblical interpretation and sound doctrine, many have turned to such sidetracks as “marriage and family therapy” or deceptive mysticism such as “spiritual formation.” Young people from around the country have written us stating that they want to go into the ministry but cannot find a school where they can gain a solid theological education without being subjected to postmodernism, mysticism, the therapeutic gospel, or church growth theory. If many churches are not looking for those who “labor in word and doctrine,” seminaries have little market to train people to do just that. So we find ourselves in the lamentable situation where young people who want to be godly pastors trained with the tools to accurately handle the Bible have difficulty finding a place to be educated, and those who actually do find such an education have difficulty finding churches that want them. As a result, our evangelical movement has grown accustomed to pastoral malpractice as though it were the norm.

The standards are strict and generally well observed for those who treat our bodies and cure our physical ailments. But the standards for those who care for our souls have fallen woefully short.

Full article

According to Julia Duin evangelicals are fleeing their churches and not attending on Sunday. There are probably several things going on here besides Duin not counting some non denominational churches that are growing. Has anyone considered that maybe half of the people in the seeker friendly churches that are now so prominent across America were never Christians in the first place? They were brought in by hype and great expectation for a purpose driven life but they never believed or were given the gospel of Salvation that defines a Christian.

Let me make a few observations. I occasionally attended a large mega church in St Louis and the pastor realized that even through he was having alter calls and scores of people were emotionally coming to the alter each Sunday for salvation or renewal the church was no longer growing. He realized the people were going out the back door as fast as they went in the front door. He soon changed to follow the format of Willow Creek Church and adopted the seeker sensitive church growth model. He no longer gave alter calls and did not present a dynamic gospel message on Sundays but mainly presented an entertainment packed gospel light service that would appeal to young professionals. Now almost two decades later the Church still has about the same attendance numbers as it had before he switched to the Creeker format but the people in attendance today are almost a completely different membership. In others words in 15 or so years there has been a ninety percent turnover in the membership. He replaced a church of fervent believers with all Baby Boomer Evangelicals and seekers.

This has been going on in many seeker sensitive churches across the country. They cater to the unbelievers and lose their core Church membership. They pad their church board with those who will agree with the pastor’s seeker model and drive out the leadership that wish to retain biblical teaching on Sunday. In addition, the seekers are not going to the mid week services to learn the gospel of salvation like the leadership had hoped. So the seekers stick around for a little while and also leave out the back door seldom to be seen again

Even Bill Hybells the father of the Creeker Movement of churches has recently admitted that the seeker sensitive church growth model has been a failure. He said it did not produce mature Christians. He and others are now rethinking everything and probably looking for a new gimmick to bring people in and keep them in attendance. The whole Emergent Church movement is doing likewise.

The problem is that the Body of Christ is not grown through gimmicks and entertainment services. It is grown through conversion to Jesus Christ through hearing and believing the gospel and this does not happen unless the gospel is given and the Holy Spirit draws them (not Elvis impersonators). Gimmicks of the church might get people to attend on Sundays for awhile but that wears off and most soon leave.

Also, the local church spiritual health is not based on numbers. It is based on Spirit indwelt Christians with gifts of the Spirit that are using these gifts for the good of the whole Body. The Body does not even have to be in Sunday attendance for that to happen. The Church needs to work beyond the four walls that many assembly in on Sunday. Much too often those who do attend each Sunday think that have done their Christian service and their calling because they attended the Sunday gathering service. No. They have just attended a Sunday gathering service. If you want to do what Christians were called to do you need to be helping to fulfill the great commission using your gifts to build up the Body of Christ in order for the Body of Christ (the Church) to actually fulfill the great commission. Grow the membership in the Body of Christ and the Church will be attending and it will be doing its job. This does not happen just on Sunday but every day of the week and that job will never primarily be done under the roofs of church building.

The buildings are primarily there for the use of the Church not for the use of unbelievers. I have encountered many Bible believing Christians that will not attend a Church building because of what they feel goes on under these roofs and we all know that their arguments are often valid. So the solution might be for pastors to start looking more at third world models where the Church is actually living out Christianity daily rather than the latest Madison Ave westernized two hour Sunday media event model.

I believe if all the big Church buildings in America disappeared the Church in America would be much more effective and dynamic being a Church that goes out into the streets.

Sunday Morning, Staying Home

According to Julia Duin, a religion reporter for the Washington Times, more and more evangelicals are in fact fleeing their churches. Indeed, Ms. Duin regards church-quitting, at least among evangelicals, as nothing less than an epidemic. The problem, in her view, is not in the souls of the church quitters but in the character of the churches they choose to leave. “Something,” she observes, “is not right with . . . evangelical church life.”

The faults she points to–relying on her own reporting and survey data–are many. They are surprising, too, running counter to the stereotype of evangelicals bonding happily in their churches. She reports, among other things: a lack of a feeling of community among church members, inducing loneliness and boredom; church teaching that fails to go beyond the basics of the faith or to reach members grappling with suffering or unanswered prayer; pastors who are either out of touch with their parishioners or themselves unhappy, or who fail to shepherd their flocks, or who are caught up in scandal, or who try to control the lives of church members in a high-handed way. She claims that many churches have “inefficient leadership models” and that many, preoccupied with the care of families, neglect single people.

According to Ms. Duin, churches dedicated to making disciples will “do well in this era of dumbed-down, purpose-driven, seeker-friendly Christianity.” But is that really true? From a theological perspective, there is no guarantee that churches will prosper as they attempt to make disciples–if we judge prosperity by church membership alone. A church might conscientiously carry out its biblical tasks and yet, by measures of popularity, do poorly in this world. Such a church would not be doing right if it adjusted its mission for the sake of higher attendance records.

Full article

Star Parker makes some excellent points on Rick Warren’s current political events at Saddleback Church that few have criticized.

While the political system is actively warring against Christianity in our culture some churches like Saddleback are enabling a political platform for the very same politicians that are warring against core moral beliefs of Christianity.

Thanks to the relativism of people like Rick Warren the church is getting its role all mixed up. Many now think they can join with the world and shape the political world system. The Bible indicates that the political system is under the administration of Satan and anyone who loves the world the love the father is not in him. Rick Warren is so concerned with world politics, world religion and world economics that he wants to give it a platform? What do you suppose the below passage is talking about if not the political, economic and religious system of the world?

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever

I would disagree with Star Parker that Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life” flicks on the lights for people that life is more than just about themselves. It does quite the opposite. Rick Warren book might state that this is his intent but the contents of the book really makes their purpose in life all about what they do. I did my own critique of The Purpose Driven movement that has spread through the teachings in this book, so I will not repeat that here. Let me just say here, “The Purpose Driven Life” book is not proper Christian teaching for many reasons.

Does anyone really think that Rick Warren got to be a member of the CFR by presenting a gospel that the world system hates?

Having said all that, I have heard from others that Rick Warren’s political forum was excellent (I have not yet see it) and so I congratulate him on the excellent job that he apparently did. Hopefully the secular media will learn from his example on how political candidates really should be interviewed.

Pastor Warren: Stop politicizing religion

For whatever good intentions Pastor Warren may have, by posturing as a neutral broker between different points of view, many of which have profound moral and religious implications, he contributes to the moral ambiguity we’d expect a pastor to be combating.

We have institutions for civic and political forums. The press, universities, town halls, etc. If they’re not delivering well, let the marketplace work to improve what we’re getting. But this is not the job of pastors or churches. If it is, where do we go to learn about good and evil?

What exactly is going on in America when our obsession is to cleanse every inch of public space from religion, yet somehow we think it is appropriate to bring a presidential political forum into church?

Our kids can’t pray in public school, or read the Bible or learn to apply traditional values in managing their lives. The Ten Commandments cannot appear in our courthouses. A crèche cannot be displayed in a public space during Christmas.

Yet somehow we think a church is an appropriate forum for hosting candidates for president?

Our world is turning upside down. Rather than raising our public and private lives to a higher moral standard, we’re politicizing religion.

It’s actually worse, I think.

The pretense of neutrality is really a left-wing illusion. It’s a sleight of hand to buy into relativism, and somehow Pastor Warren seems to have fallen into the trap.

When a pastor hosts a political candidate that has a 100 percent rating by NARAL Pro-Choice America and a 0 percent rating by the National Right to Life Committee, he gives legitimacy to that candidate. When legitimacy is given to a line of reasoning that says that poverty and AIDS are symptoms of anything other than moral breakdown, the relativist views of the left are justified.

To a disproportionate measure, when we are talking about poverty and AIDS in America, we are talking about black communities. These communities are in disarray because of moral ambiguity. They not only need moral clarity and leadership, they crave it.

Partisanship is not our problem today. Healthy partisanship is vital to freedom.

Our problem is moral ambiguity. Anyone that thinks this ambiguity is helpful in addressing poverty, crime and disease is misinformed.

We need political leaders that are more moral. Not church leaders that are more political.

I gave Rick Warren a pass on his short OneNewsNow.com statement. However, I knew I should have said something. Paul Proctor did take the time to address what Rick Warren said and I am glad that he brought up the Matthew chapter 10 issue. Rick Warren quoted Matthew chapter 10 as his justification for his interfaith efforts. Proctor makes it quite clear that Warren is taking Matthew 10 out of proper context in order to accomplish a pluralistic interfaith social agenda that any true understanding of the Bible does not allow.

Rick Warren will never get it because his worldview is all wrong. He has a worldly globalist agenda and that is why he is a member of CFR. He does not get the role of the Church in the world and he does not get it that Christians cannot make joint interfaith efforts with unbelievers on social issues without those efforts coming with world strings attached. Not to even mention that some of the social efforts the world pushes and Warren agrees with are actually harmful to man.

The strings that come attached with interfaith efforts is that salvation through Jesus Christ alone, cannot be preached. So they unite on social temporal issues of the flesh but spiritual eternal issues of the soul never get out to the world. This is a compromise the Church is forbidden to make and those making it show complete lack of Christian discernment. I don’t know why any biblical group of people would consider following such worldly leadership. Read Paul Proctor’s complete article by clicking on the link below and make your own judgment. As you see I have already made mine.

Paul Proctor — Rick Warren Still Doesn’t Get It

They are distinctly different agendas given to distinctly different groups of participants at distinctly different times in history for distinctly different purposes.

Pastor Warren is reportedly gathering bodies – any willing bodies – to help him “cure societal problems” for the “common good.”

Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is gathering saved souls to a Kingdom not of this world for God’s Glory.

Big difference…

Furthermore, in Matthew 10, Jesus empowered and commanded his disciples to go specifically to the “lost sheep of Israel” to cast out demons, raise the dead, miraculously heal sickness and disease and preach to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand – meaning salvation had come – not go and “cure societal problems.”

It was to supernaturally demonstrate that prophecy had been fulfilled before the eyes of those who knew and understood it – that their long-awaited Savior had finally arrived. Jesus was sending His disciples out at that particular time, not to the Gentiles, nor to the Samaritans, but to Jews only who knew and understood the scriptures of old and were looking for His coming.

Jesus did not send out just anyone who was willing to tag along to help “cure societal problems.”

So all the healing, casting out of demons and raising of the dead was to reveal God’s miraculous power and presence. All Warren will be demonstrating with his ragtag roundup is man’s power and presence – meaning his global shindig is just another brotherhood of man campaign designed to bring everyone together under the big tent of tolerance, diversity and unity where certain absolutes and convictions from scripture will be left at the door in order to keep the P.E.A.C.E.

And just how does that glorify Almighty God or His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Who said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”?

It doesn’t.

“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” – 2nd John 1: 9-11

That means we don’t go into ministry with them either.

When the Christian church partners with Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists and atheists for a so-called “ministry,” God is not glorified in the least because He will not share His glory with other gods.

Did Jesus attempt to send out representatives from other religions and philosophies with His disciples in the 10th chapter of Matthew to help them with demonic spirits, miraculous healing, raising the dead and preaching?

Of course not!

Then why is Rick Warren trying to “unequally yoke” various world religions and even atheists into a social gospel “ministry” of good works?

Or, is he expecting them to help Christians proclaim Jesus Christ as the only way to eternal life?

If Pastor Warren is looking for some scripture reference to validate his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan and upcoming sheep and goat gala, he’d better look somewhere other than Matthew Chapter 10.

What Rick Warren, the New Evangelicals and friends are doing is thinking that if religious people of the world come together they can solve the social problems of the world. There is no such concept in the scriptures. In fact scripture warns against uniting in common purpose with unbelievers.

There would be no issue at all if along with the aid Warren was actually giving the gospel of salvation to the world. However, he cannot do that and be part of an interfaith effort. They will not let him. By joining with all these antichirst religious he in effect gives them validity and is saying that it does not matter what you believe as long as we all do “good” social works. These people are under the delusion that they will make a better world together through the good works of man’s religions. No you will not!

The problem is sin. We are in a dead world alienated from God and until you deal with that issue and give the remedy for world sin, the best P.E.A.C.E. effort of man will just prop up the living dead. Meanwhile, you may have done a great social effort in the eyes of the fallen world but you did nothing to fulfill the great commission that the Lord gave you. In fact you just confused the issue and presented a false gospel by validating other religions that have no solution to the sin problem. It is amazing how anti christian concepts can now be subtly packaged in popular socialism so that few Christian’s will dare oppose it.

Is Rick Warren ignoring sin in search for ‘peace’? (OneNewsNow.com)

Pastor Warren will be hosting an interfaith meeting next month with 30 Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders “to discuss cooperation for the common good of all Americans.” Warren’s P.E.A.C.E. plan mobilizes churches to address global problems. But McMahon, president of The Berean Call ministry, says the popular Christian author is introducing evangelical Christianity to the social gospel that he learned from his mentor, social scientist Peter Drucker.

he’s working on the symptoms and avoiding the root cause, which is the sin nature of humanity. So how can you work with all kinds of people [who are] called ‘people of faith,’ but it’s not biblical faith?”

McMahon contends that only the biblical gospel can change the heart of man, and that Warren is compromising that by working with people who reject the gospel of Christ.

Rev Ken Silva is a former Catholic as I was. The means of Salvation in Roman Catholicism is twisted to say the least and the Protestant Reformation was the end result of their many heresies. So the question becomes how can Rick Warren embrace the Protestant Reformation and Roman Catholicism at the same time? Many saints gave up their lives to proclaim the true gospel but now Warren thinks we should get over creeds and have a reformation with Catholics on deeds?

Rick Warren is an expert at doublespeak, all in the discernment ministries are well aware of that. People need to hold him accountable for what he says and people like Ken Silva, Bob DeWaay, Roger Oakland and others do that. There may even be some cracks starting to appear in Warren’s own beliefs. There may be signs that he may be questioning himself on some of what he taught. You may understand this a bit better if you read my previous post today.

So I say to Ken, Bob and Roger keep his feet to the fire. You are making an impact and pray for Rick Warren because if his heart is right, God can still reach him and turn him around. Just think of the force Rick Warren could become for getting out the true gospel of Jesus Christ if this happened.

Rick Warren Reversing the Reformation – CWN

I have previously pointed out that in addition to being a Southern Baptist pastor I also happen to be a former Roman Catholic whom God graciously delivered from apostate Roman Catholicism into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. And that’s why, as one of the critics invited to a recent meeting with Rick Warren, my main concern remains his woefully wrong position regarding the Roman Catholic Church.

here’s the question that we need to ask: How is it that one of the most powerful and prominent pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention—the largest Protestant denomination in America—flatly contradicts the doctrine of the Reformation he says he believes in and no SBC leader has stepped forward to call him to account for his sin?

This article is a very intresting and new perspective by Cris Rosebrough on Rick Warren’s purpose driven message. It explains why all you hear from Warren is a works message of steps of “how to”. There is never any message of forgivenss of sin coming from Warren. Therefore, what Rick Warren preaches is only half true and it is only true for those who already heard the gospel of forgiveness for sin. You also see this carried out in Warren’s outreaches. They are all about how we can make our life or our world better if we do what God says but it offers little suggestion on how that is even possible for the unforgiven unbeliever. In the final analysis, Rick Warren’s half gospel without forgiveness of sin is a works theology and it is all about keeping the law.

Rosebrough talked to Rick Warren directly and challenged him to preach the forgiveness of sin in all his sermons. Hopefully Rick Warren will take heed and get back on track instead of further splitting the church on his works theology. I also hope all leaders will read this article and take what Rosebrough said to heart in their own teachings.

Rick Warren Purpose Driven Critique – Is Repentance the Central Message of the New Testament? – CWN

One of the statements that surprised me the most at the Purpose Driven Community Gathering was when Rick Warren said that he believed that “Repentance was the central message of the New Testament”. Even more shocking was hearing Warren claim that the primary goal of all of his sermons was ‘repentance’.

Up until I heard Warren say these words I believed that Warren’s sermons were completely devoid of repentance. The reason why I believed that is because in all the sermons I have heard Warren preach (I listen to them all), I couldn’t recall as single time where I had heard him say the word ‘repent’ or ‘repentance’. Warren’ sermons always seem chock full of practical advice and simple applications but I can’t recall the last time I heard Warren rail against sin and call people to repent of their sins and believe the gospel for the forgiveness of sins.

Well, it turns out that there is a reason why I never heard Warren say those words. At the conference Warren clearly stated that he always preaches for repentance but that he does so in a way whereby he doesn’t actually say the word “repentance”.

This revelation tweeked my view of Warren and his preaching philosophy. Where I once thought Warren’s sermons were all practical self-help feel good sermons, I now believe that Warren primarily preaches the law and only on the rarest of rare occasions does he preach the gospel.

The ahah moment came for me when Warren emphatically claimed “THE central message of the New Testament is repentance.” It was at that moment that I fully understood that Rick Warren is a pietist and that the preaching philosophy employed by Warren is nothing less than the 21st Century incarnation of Wesleyan Methodism. (I mean that in the nicest way possible). In other words, with the goal of PD preaching being ‘obedience’ the only thing you could count on hearing Sunday after Sunday is God’s Law, do this, or don’t do that, along with practical information (methods) on how to do this or don’t do that. The underlying assumption is that by applying the information or methods given in any particular sermon a person will become ‘more obedient’ to God.

Armed with this insight I was able to discuss this directly with Warren.

In my face to face meeting with Pastor Rick I directly challenged him on his claim that repentance is the central message of the New Testament. I told Warren that his claim was inaccurate because it was only HALF TRUE.

he problem with Purpose-Driven Preaching is that it emphasizes ‘naked obedience’ but the message of ‘Christ crucified for sins’ is almost always omitted.

This approach blurs law and gospel and makes it appear that we are made right before God by our own efforts.

So as I told Warren to his face, I will now say again. Pastor Warren you are wrong about repentance being the central message of the New Testament because you are only half right. Repent and preach BOTH repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus name as our Lord has instructed

Here is the take from the Lighthouse on Brian Mclaren’s newest book “Finding Our Way Again” Brian Mclaren is obviously a blind soul who could not even find his way with his seeing eye dog. What Mclaren teaches is not Christianity and I wish that Bible colleges and book stores would quit peddling his pagan delusions as something the church needs to learn about. We do not need to know these things any more then we need to know what was in the books that the early Church burned.

There is a common thread in all these emerging teachers. These are nothing but wolves dressed in old gnostic wolves sheep’s clothing. These religious perverts want us to believe that religion will unite on some higher plain where all paths lead to God through everyone looking inside themselves for some self deception. They think satanic illumination will bring peace and brotherhood to the planet. Oh brother! How demented can these people get and why is the church contemplating their teachings? Has the Christian church also gone nuts?

They believe the world is going to become united on mystical religion and they are right. Who do you think the Women that rides the Beast is? She is Mystery Babylon the harlot religion. So please understand that their purpose driven life is to merge Oprahitis with Mclarenstupiditis and come up with the Bell Tolled for all those that Foster this mother of all harlots.

From the Lighthouse

Brian McLaren’s newest book, Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices, is the first in a series of eight books by Thomas Nelson publishers. The General Editor of the series, which is titled The Ancient Practices Series, is emerging church proponent Phyllis Tickle. Other authors in the series include Dan Allender, Scot McKnight, Diana Butler Bass and Joan Chittister.

In Finding Our Way Again, McLaren thanks several contemplatives like Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, and Joan Chittister. He also says he is “indebted” to Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis and recognizes Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones for teaching him contemplative practices. It is not surprising that McLaren thanks these listed teachers – McLaren has been in the emergent camp from the beginning of its inception, and where there is emerging, there is contemplative.

The interfaith theme is threaded through Finding Our Way Again. In one section, McLaren says that even Christian communion is something to be shared with people of all faiths (in particularly with the Jewish faith and Islam); he states that this “sacred meal” is a celebration of “inclusion” and “reconciliation” (p. 26). This makes a mockery of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who told believers to do this in remembrance of Him, acknowledging His atonement for sin – a mockery because the beliefs of other religions reject Christ as being God and the slain Lamb who could take away sin.

As do other emerging/contemplative teachers, McLaren believes in a literal global kingdom of God on earth before Christ returns that will incorporate all the world’s religions and all creation, a “world yet to be born” that “desperately” needs “these spiritual practices.” He also relates: “[T]hese practices” have “enlivened the three Abrahamic faiths” (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) and should not be “allowed to go extinct” (p. 29).

Finding Our Way Again emulates McLaren’s previous writings on atonement, on Jesus being the only way to God and salvation, on the return of Christ and on the last days. The difference with this book is that the emphasis is on how we can attain to this awakened state – through mystical practices. One chapter is devoted primarily to these contemplative exercises, but the entire book is seeping with its core message – “reconciliation with God, one another, and all creation in a global community” (p. 42).

In the last chapter of McLaren’s book, “Theosis (via Unitiva),” he sums up his calling by stating that “The purpose of the via purgativa [the practices] is to prepare us for the via illuminativa [the awakening], and the purpose of the via illuminativa is to prepare us for the via unitiva [all is one], the union of our nature with the nature of God” (pp. 171-172). He calls God “fire” and says, “We join God in being fire … Before the beginning … God was All, and All was God” (p. 175). This is the exact same message that Eckhart Tolle and Oprah are propagating. But while many Christians are now condemning Tolle’s message, they don’t realize that the very same message is permeating their very own churches. For those readers who care about the spiritual future of their children and grandchildren, it is vital they understand the meaning of McLaren’s spirituality in particular and the emerging/contemplative movement in general. We believe this is an extremely compelling motivation and should prompt us as believers to defend the faith and the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

This article give some interesting insights. Rich Warren is apparently inviting certain critics to visit his purpose driven conferences probably in an attempt to tone down the criticism of him. He may also be genuinely trying to understand why he has critics in the Church (let’s hope so).

Bob DeWaay was invited and he challenged Rick Warren to preach Christ. By that, he meant that Warren should preach specific scriptural Revelation about Jesus Christ in public rather than just General revelation about God. I hope Rick Warren takes Bob’s advise and uses his huge platform to preach the gospel of salvation.

One of the perplexing things is that Warren’s Church really does have orthodox theology but that does not help those who listen to Warren and do not attend the biblical programs at Saddleback. When Warren has been before a world audience in the past his message has been too wishing washy. His public messages and his interviews are generally absent of the gospel.

I think one thing that Warren needs to understand is that millions read his works and follow his words. They do not go to Saddleback Church classes to find the Orthodoxy they retain. So Warren with his huge world exposure needs to put more salt and light in His message to those outside of his Church no matter the cost to his worldly popularity.

Of course there are other problems in his programs but clearly preaching the absolute truths of the gospel to the world would be a huge step forward for Rick Warren. If he really wants to unite the Church and not further divide it he will preach the gospel clearly and not cloak it behind subjective self improvement philosophies

When Billy Graham preached to the world their was no doubt that he was preaching the gospel of salvation. People with ears to hear listened and many found Christ. Rick Warren has much the same potential to reach millions in this world. If he continues with has mainly social gospel message he might even make the world a better place for awhile but if it offers no salvation message what does it profit people if they gain a better world for a season but still lose their own soul?

My Visit to Ask Rick Warren to Preach Christ – CWN

My Visit to Ask Rick Warren to Preach Christ

By Bob DeWaay

In May, one of the pastors at Saddleback Church invited me to attend a Purpose Driven conference—at Saddleback’s expense. Their only caveat was that I say nothing until the end, at which time I would be able to comment about why I disagree with the Purpose Driven movement. I declined on the grounds that I had already studied the movement and had no need to hear more from its proponents. When I saw the lineup of speakers I realized that it would have been exasperating to listen for hours to what I have already rejected. Rick Warren’s chief of staff e-mailed back and offered to have me come only on Thursday in order to talk to Warren in person. Since the Bible says that we should be ready to give a reason for our hope in the gospel (1Peter 3:15) I decided to go.

Rev. Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries has written a really good article about Richard Foster and how he is connected with the Emergent Church movement and the Contemplative/Centering Prayer that is now being taught to future pastors in many seminars and Bible colleges. Below are a few excerpts from this article but read the entire article there is much good information here. But while your at it don’t stop at this article on Richard Foster. Apprising Ministries www.apprising.org has many well documented articles on the emergent/emerging church heresies which are leading institutional “Christianity” into latter day apostasy. It is this emerging harlot woman that will ride the Beast Antichrist into power in these last days.

All leaders in Christianity need to be able to discuss these issues because people in your congregations are buying their popular books and they are being heavily influenced by these emerging Gnostic teachers. In the final analysis, these doctrines are repackaged “New Age” thinking. They all dance around a pluralist all-ways to God paganism even if they happen to mention the name of Jesus.

2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

WHO IS RICHARD FOSTER?

WHO IS RICHARD FOSTER?

Due to the importance of this topic of Contemplative/Centering Prayer, which is the primary source for a reemergence of Gnostic neo-pagan “Christian” mysticism in new evangelicalism, I began this series as quickly as I could. I am asking the interested reader to please keep an eye out for this work to be ongoing to cover various mystics who are influential in the new spirituality that is now infecting the evangelical community of our Lord’s Church. Let me also point out that each of these pieces will continue to be expanded as well when new information is forthcoming.

We will begin now with Richard Foster who is arguably the leading proponent of this so-called contemplative spirituality rooted in Rome. Undoubtedly however, he is certainly its most recognized teacher. Foster is also very highly respected in the marred and mystical Emergent Church as evidenced in an article in Christianity Today called “The Emergent Mystique.” None other than Brian McLaren, the prominent theologian in “Emergent, the emerging church network that he and several other church planters and pastors lead,” points to “Dallas Willard and Richard Foster, with their emphasis on spiritual disciplines, as key mentors for the emerging church.”

I cover Teresa of Avila in more depth elsewhere, but here you can clearly see that her mystic musings have undoubtedly impacted Foster. In fact in COD he includes this troubled Roman Catholic nun among “the great writers of the devotional life,” which he says goes “from St. Augustine to St. Francis, from John Calvin to John Wesley, from Teresa of Avila to Juliana of Norwich” (5, emphasis mine). You might make note here that the highly ecumenical Foster is undoubtedly influenced in his own aberrant mystic views by the apostate Church of Rome and in opposition to the theology of the Reformers the Guru of Contemplation obviously considers the Roman Catholic Church a part of the true Body of Christ.

This now brings us to another critical issue that has not been thoroughly explored in the study of this invasion of contemplative spirituality into the evangelical camp. The fact is that Guru Foster is himself a Quaker, or a member of The Religious Society of Friends, as they are also known. Therefore if someone wants to better understand how Foster’s own teachings about this supposed “inward life” were themselves shaped then it becomes necessary to have a working background of the theology inherent in this group he has been raised within. As a matter of fact Quakerinfo.com enlightens us that Richard Foster is “[p]erhaps the best known Quaker in the world today.”

This idea in Quaker theology that every man has this alleged “Inner Light” is further corroborated in GREAT RELIGIONS of the World which tells us that Fox “insisted that the ‘light of Christ’ glimmered in all men” (375, emphasis mine) We’ll be coming back to this “inner light” that is supposed to glimmer “in every human heart,” but first, in his classic two volume set A History Of Christianity (AHOC) the great historian Kenneth Scott Latourette adds a bit more background information about the person through whom the Quakers originated:

And here we have uncovered the reason why so many professing Christians today can believe that all religions should be friends now and seek our common ground as we work together to usher in “the kingdom” of God’s Global Peace. Take an honest look at the warped and toxic theology of men like Richard Foster, Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Alan Jones, Steve Chalke and even the Pied Piper of Purpose Driven Rick Warren–all men involved to one degree or another in the practice of contemplative spirituality. You see no bold stance on their part that the only way any human being anywhere upon God’s planet can ever be saved from an eternity of conscious torment in a literal place our Creator called Hell is personal faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth and His vicarious penal substitutionary atonement on the Cross. In fact, you will see quite the contrary.

The main problem with the Southern Baptists (I have been a member) is that most members no longer read their Bibles they read Lifeway articles about the Bible. They do not do Bible studies they do Lifeway magazine studies or studies based on the latest book of some popular Christian self help Guru. They do not have Bible teachers they have facilitators of Lifeway products. Don’t believe me? Take a show of hands at your Southern Baptist Church, Bible study or group and ask how many have ever read through the Bible even once in their lives. You might be surprised. Better yet, since “Christians lie through their teeth give your membership a quiz on the Bible and make them hand it in. I dare you! See if your congregation can even be called quasi biblically literate.

So is it any wonder why they buy fluff at Christian book stores and love self help books and the gnosticism written by postmodern heretics. How would they know any better? The owners of the book stores are just selling what people want in a very difficult business to survive in.

Half of the Southern Baptist membership are now given a watered down seeker sensitive sermon on Sunday so they do not even hear any biblical truth from their pastors. In churches with younger pastors many are now hearing a postmodern emergent church message that questions all biblical truth and replaces truth with post modern relativism and universalism. Why are Southern Baptist’s not questioning their teachers? Mainly because they never read or at least never understood their Bible.

The decline of the Southern Baptists is now inevitable. The question is, who will be taking their place? The answer in the South right now is probably no one. Less and less people are showing up regularly, the South is becoming full of cultural Christians.

I think the South is ripe for a major invasion of Calvary chapels. They should consider the south a major mission field. I just read a report that said the FBI reports that crime is higher in the Bible Belt then in most other areas in the nation” Is it any wonder?

Paul Proctor — Southern Baptists now in decline

And what about the books LifeWay offers on Contemplative Spirituality, aka, Spiritual Formation, from Emerging Church authors and leaders, many of whom reject absolute truth, downplay doctrine and encourage their readers to incorporate mantras and mysticism into their Christian walk?

One of the foremost authors and leaders of the Emergent movement, Brian McLaren, recently spoke at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois at the annual Shift student ministries conference. Here’s what the SBC’s own Baptist Press had to say about him:

McLaren’s views break harshly from traditional Christian theology that Jesus died on the cross as substitute for sinful humanity, taking the punishment that men and women deserved for their sin.

Yet, at this writing, his books are available for purchase at LifeWay Christian Stores.

I’m just scratching the surface here folks