Rick Warren - Saddleback Church - Purpose Driven Merged threads

[Poppycat]

I have to question RW's christian credentials when he makes statements like the bible being inerrant and then proceeds to trawl through various translations until it says what he wants it to say

Also, God loves diversity?? Only one Almighty God, one Saviour, one way

[acelow]

Bad...very bad.

[SummerSailing81]

Seriously, why does Rick Warren bother getting up on Sundays, going to church, and getting into the pulpit? I'd suggest he read the Scriptures regarding the apostate church of the last days, but I have a feeling it would go right over his head and he'd completely miss that he is a part of that church.

[Wally]

Galatians 1:6-9 New King James Version (NKJV)

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.


1 Corinthians 2:2
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.



islam categorically denies and condemns any who believe this. You are preaching another gospel Mr Warren. islam's god is antichrist as it adamantly denies the Father and Son.

Repent, for God will not contend with you.


Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

[OnceWasLost]

"Building bridges" with no message of repentance means people still go to hell, but with a better understanding of their neighbor. It has long ago been established that rick, and saddlesore in general, are not concerned about salvation, only an ecumenical, interfaith approach. For all their effort they have withheld the only thing that really matters, and the unregenerate "Christian" leaders and denominations love him for his spinelessness refusal to stand for truth.

This is what happens when your core conviction is kingdom building and not individual salvation. rick has unimaginable blood on his hands, and is ashamed of the Gospel, I can see no other explanation.

[billiefan2000]

Seriously, why does Rick Warren bother getting up on Sundays, going to church, and getting into the pulpit? I'd suggest he read the Scriptures regarding the apostate church of the last days, but I have a feeling it would go right over his head and he'd completely miss that he is a part of that church.

I agree. same goes for his followers and enablers like John Piper and James MacDonald and those who pastor willow creek association churches all across the usa

[billiefan2000]

This is what happens when your core conviction is kingdom building and not individual salvation. rick has unimaginable blood on his hands, and is ashamed of the Gospel, I can see no other explanation.

it OWL cause u are so right

[billiefan2000]

Apparently Rick Warren has chosen to ignore how the muslims are "bonding" with Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani.

rick like many christian leaders either dont care or dont know.



speaking of Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani



why hasnt Warren and the other seeker pastors said anything about Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani being put to death?

oh, that's right, seeker pastors only see persecution happening to christians when the seeker driven churches antics are called out

[billiefan2000]

"Building bridges" is also in some circles called being "missional" (a word emergent and seeker churches love to use)

[Prodigal Son]

Rick Warren builds bridge to Muslims

He is building bridges to Hell. The enemy doesn't need your help there, narrow is the path.

CARLOS DELGADO, FOR THE REGISTER
By JIM HINCH / FOR THE REGISTER

The Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest and one of America's most influential Christian leaders, has embarked on an effort to heal divisions between evangelical Christians and Muslims by partnering with Southern California mosques and proposing a set of theological principles that includes acknowledging that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

I do NOT worship the moon god.

The effort, informally dubbed King's Way, caps years of outreach between Warren and Muslims. Warren has broken Ramadan fasts at a Mission Viejo mosque, met Muslim leaders abroad and addressed 8,000 Muslims at a national convention in Washington D.C.




Saddleback worshippers have invited Muslims to Christmas dinner and played interfaith soccer at a picnic in Irvine attended by more than 300 people. (The game pitted pastors and imams against teens from both faiths. The teens won.)

What a wasted opportunity to witness. Oh and of course the teens won. I would collapse half way through the game, at my age.

The effort by a prominent Christian leader to bridge what polls show is a deep rift between Muslims and evangelical Christians culminated in December at a dinner at Saddleback attended by 300 Muslims and members of Saddleback's congregation.




At the dinner, Abraham Meulenberg, a Saddleback pastor in charge of interfaith outreach, and Jihad Turk, director of religious affairs at a mosque in Los Angeles, introduced King's Way as "a path to end the 1,400 years of misunderstanding between Muslims and Christians."


The men presented a document they co-authored outlining points of agreement between Islam and Christianity. The document affirms that Christians and Muslims believe in "one God" and share two central commandments: "love of God" and "love of neighbor." The document also commits both faiths to three goals: Making friends with one another, building peace and working on shared social service projects. The document quotes side-by-side verses from the Bible and the Koran to illustrate its claims.

Oh there is no misunderstanding. True christianity has Christ at it's center. Christ is the only path to salvation. He has done it all for us. All we have to do is accept this undeserving gift. Muslims have to prove themselves worthy, by killing all those who will not bow to the moon god. Love thy neighbor for muslims only appies to muslim neighbors. Pretty cut and dry to me.

"We agreed we wouldn't try to evangelize each other," said Turk. "We'd witness to each other but it would be out of 'Love Thy Neighbor,' not focused on conversion."

Again what a wasted opportunity.

Saddleback representatives declined to make Warren available for comment. Tom Holladay, associate senior pastor at Saddleback, said the outreach to Muslims is part of Saddleback's PEACE Plan, a wide-ranging effort to solve major world problems by mobilizing governments, businesses and faith communities.



"This is us serving our own community with Muslims here in Orange County," said Holladay. "We realize we don't agree about everything and we're very open about that. ... You just recognize the differences and recognize the points where you can work together."



Warren has faced criticism from some evangelicals for his outreach to Muslims. Late last year, he issued a statement flatly denying rumors that he promulgates what critics term "Chrislam," a merging of Islam and Christianity.

Well the anti-christ's one world religion is shaping up nicely.

The "rumor is 100 percent false," Warren wrote at Pastors.com, a website he founded that provides practical advice to church leaders. "My life and ministry are built on the truth that Jesus is the only way, and our inerrant Bible is our only true authority."

Well i heard that you said that it was valid for you, but other ways are valid for other people. If that statement is false, i'm sorry. But Rick you are helping the true enemy of humanity.

Polls show that evangelicals are 30 percent more likely than other Christians to hold a negative view of Islam, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Polls also show that evangelicals overwhelmingly favor converting Muslims to Christianity and are more likely to believe that Islam encourages violence.

Gee, i wonder why that is? Mr. Warren, you are no evangelical.

Warren has repeatedly encouraged evangelicals to set aside such views, arguing that Christians are obliged to treat everyone with love and respect, regardless of faith.


"I don't know if you have noticed this, but God likes variety," Warren told an audience of 8,000 Muslims at a Washington, D.C. convention in 2009, according to a transcript published by the religion news website beliefnet. "People of all beliefs (can) be, and discuss, and, yes, even disagree, without demeaning or debasing each other."

God does like variety. Look at all the different species, and colors in creation. But there is only one truth. Man's variety of religions will only lead many to Hell, sadly.

Warren's outreach to Muslims stems directly from his church's location in multiethnic Orange County, home to 170,000 Muslims.


For 12 years Warren has lived next door to Yasser Barakat, a Muslim from Syria who worships at a Mission Viejo mosque four miles down the road from Saddleback. The Trabuco Canyon neighbors were friends for years before Barakat realized he lived next door to a world-famous Christian pastor.


When Barakat discovered who Warren was, he invited his neighbor to learn more about Islam. "I was talking to him over the fence," Barakat said. "I said, 'Rick, why don't you go to Syria with me? He said, 'Sure, let's talk about it. Let's do it.' "



Warren traveled with Barakat to Syria in 2006, and Warren and his wife, Kay, began attending Iftar meals at the Mission Viejo mosque. Iftar is the evening meal Muslims eat after fasting all day during the holy month of Ramadan. Invitations followed to address Muslim conferences in Long Beach, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.


"We understand that to some people in the religious community these events may be difficult to swallow," said Yassir Fazaga, imam at the Mission Viejo mosque.


"But I believe that we have to begin somewhere and just begin to reach out and be accessible to people when they ask about who we are."
Gwynne Guibord, an ordained Episcopal priest and co-founder of a Los Angeles outreach group that fosters relationships between churches and mosques nationwide, said Saddleback's effort is unprecedented.


"I'm not aware of any other evangelical church reaching out to the Muslim community," she said.
Guibord said that when she and Jihad Turk co-founded the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group in 2006, they sent invitations to mosques, the Catholic archdiocese and a variety of mainline Protestant denominations throughout Southern California, but not to evangelical churches.



"I think that many evangelicals feel a mandate to convert people to Christianity," Guibord said. Because the Consultative Group was founded to respond to increasing antagonism between the two faiths, "we would not have made headway" if one side was trying to convert the other, she said. Now, she said, it might be possible to include evangelicals in her group's work.



Turk said the relationship between Saddleback and Muslims, though still in its infancy, has already produced results. "People (at the December dinner) were talking about the bonds they've formed and they were crying," he said. Both sides realized they shared misconceptions about each other's faith.
"We did a quiz at the Christmas dinner," Turk said, "asking basic questions about Islam or Christianity with the scriptures, the Koran or the Bible. And both sides were missing it.... It's an education for everyone."


Barakat said he continues to know Warren as a man who literally loves his neighbor. Barakat said his children could always count on Warren to buy the candy or magazine subscriptions they sold door-to-door for school fundraisers. The Warrens have hosted Barakat's family at a Christmas dinner, he said.
"He calls me his Muslim brother," Barakat said. "It all started with a friendship."



http://www.ocregister.com/articles/m...addleback.html

Rick Warren is a fool, and is very dangerous.

[billiefan2000]

A Messianic Jewish leader says it's a tragedy that mega-church pastor Rick Warren is ignoring the Great Commission as he reaches out to Muslims in southern California.





The Orange County Register reports that Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, is part of an effort called "King's Way" that is attempting to build a bridge between evangelical Christians and Muslims.

Warren says he wants to heal divisions by partnering with area mosques through a proposed set of principles that includes acknowledging that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

King's Way is also committed to building friendships with members of the other faith, without either group proselytizing the other, as the focus is not on conversion but on loving thy neighbor (Matthew 22:39).






But Jan Markell, founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, wonders how the Christian leader can overlook the Great Commission, which calls on Christians to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:16-20).

"Why and when did we get a pass on sharing our faith, on witnessing?" she wonders. "You can be a friend to a Muslim all the way into hell -- and that's where these Muslims are going, for Pete's sake. They're headed straight for hell, and Rick Warren could do something about that by sharing the gospel with them."



Markell says King's Way is part of the Church of Laodicea in Revelation 3.

"This is just more of the church that has lost its direction, that is not tending to the sheep properly," she decides.


The Olive Tree Ministries founder concludes that it is a tragedy that at this late hour, Warren is not telling lost Muslims that Christ is the only bridge to eternal life.



Late last year, Warren flatly denied rumors he said were "100-percent false" that he promotes a Christian-Islam mixture identified as "Chrislam." He stated at that time: "My life and ministry are built on the truth that Jesus is the only way, and our inerrant Bible is our only true authority."




http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Def...spx?id=1545418

[sunshine2777]

Somebody is not reading their Bible..... and to use the excuse to outreach... he obviously has not read theirs either. But then, most of them haven't read it either. or maybe they have!

[Spud]

All,
I have a close friend who is on warren's staff at saddleback and this was provided as an email to the staff and anyone who would be interested. I post it here for your consideration that Rick may not be the boogie man he's being made out to be by the media.


Dear staff,

A few days ago, an article appeared in the Orange County Register that included some outrageous statements about Saddleback that were incorrect. Of course, the media rarely gets everything right, and there’s no way we could respond to every false statement made about us. But I felt this article created so many misperceptions that I agreed to do an interview in response. Here is it below. Please read it all, then forward it to everyone you know would be interested.

Thanks!

Pastor Rick

RICK WARREN ON MUSLIMS, EVANGELISM & MISSIONS
with Brandon A. Cox & Christian Post

QUESTION: Do people of other religions worship the same God as Christians?

WARREN: Of course not. Christians have a view of God that is unique. We believe Jesus is God! We believe God is a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not 3 separate gods but one God. No other faith believes Jesus is God. My God is Jesus. The belief in God as a Trinity is the foundational difference between Christians and everyone else. There are 2.1 billion people who call themselves Christians… whether Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Pentecostal, or Evangelical…and they all have the doctrine of the Trinity in common.

QUESTION: A recent newspaper article claimed you believe Christians and Muslims worship the same God, that you are “in partnership” with a mosque, and that you both agreed to “not evangelize each other.” You immediately posted a brief refutation online. Can you expand on that?
WARREN: Sure. All three of those statements are flat out wrong. Those statements were made by a reporter, not by me. I did not say them ... I do not believe them... I completely disagree with them ... and no one even talked to me about that article! So let me address each one individually: First, as I’ve already said, Christians have a fundamentally different view of God than Muslims. We worship Jesus as God. Muslims don’t. Our God is Jesus, not Allah. Colossians 2:9 “For in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Second, while we urge our members to build friendships with everyone in our community, including Muslims and other faiths, (“Love your neighbor as yourself”), our church has never had any partnership with a mosque. Friendship and partnership are two very different levels of commitment. Some of our members have hosted a Bible study with Muslim friends, which I applaud, but I’ve never been to it, and a Bible study certainly isn’t any kind of partnership or merger! It’s just crazy that a simple Bible Study where people explore Scripture with non-Christians would be reported as a partnership and others would interpret that as a plan for a new compromised religion. Just crazy! Third, as both an Evangelical and as an evangelist, anyone who knows me and my 40 year track record of ministry knows that I would never agree to “not evangelizing” anyone! I am commanded by my Savior to share the Good News with all people everywhere, all the time, in every way possible! Anyone who’s heard me teach knows that my heart beats for bringing others to Jesus.

QUESTION: That same article mentioned that you ate an Iftar dinner with Orange County Muslims. What is that all about?

WARREN: It’s called being polite and a good neighbor. For years, we have invited Muslim friends to attend our Easter and Christmas services and they have graciously attended year after year. Some have even celebrated our family’s personal Christmas service in our home. So when they have a potluck when their month of fasting ends, we go to their party. It’s a Jesus thing. The Pharisees criticized him as “the friend of sinners” because Jesus ate dinner with people they disapproved of. By the way, one of my dear friends is a Jewish Rabbi and my family has celebrated Passover at his home, and he attends our Christmas and Easter services. I wish more Christians would reach out in love like Jesus.

QUESTION: Why do you think people who call themselves Christians sometimes say the most hateful things about Muslims?

WARREN: Well, some of those folks probably aren’t really Christians. 1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” And 1 John 2:9 says “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” I am not allowed by Jesus to hate anyone. Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.

QUESTION: Let's talk about evangelism. In the past 10 years, Saddleback Church has baptized over 24,000 new believers. No other church comes close to that record. You are likely the most evangelistic church in America. What's the key?

WARREN: We are willing to do what many other churches are unwilling to do. We are willing to go beyond our comfort zone.

QUESTION: For instance?

WARREN: Because Jesus commanded us to take the Gospel to everyone, I spend much of my time with groups of people who completely disagree with what I believe. I’m constantly trying to build a bridge of love to nonbelievers, to atheists, to gays, to those I disagree with politically, and to those of other faiths. We don't wait for these people to come to church; we go to them and share with them on their turf, not ours. Every member is a minister and a missionary. Saddleback was a missional church 30 years before the term became popular. We just called it being “purpose driven”.

QUESTION: “Building a bridge” sounds like compromise to many people.

WARREN: Building a bridge has nothing to do with compromising your beliefs. It's all about your behavior and your attitude toward them. It's about genuinely loving people. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Before people ask, “Is Jesus credible?” they want to know if you are credible. Before people trust Jesus they must trust you. You cannot win your enemies to Christ, only your friends. It's part of what Paul calls “the ministry of reconciliation.” It is Christ-like to treat people with dignity and listen to them with respect.

QUESTION: Why are most Christians so ineffective at sharing their faith?

WARREN: I have a whole seminar on that! First, they don't really have any unbelieving friends. They spend all their time with other Christians. As a result, they are afraid to share their faith because it feels unnatural to them. For most people to come to Christ, you must build a relationship with them first. You must love them. The truth is, most Christians love everything else more than the people around them that Jesus died for. Second, many don't really believe that people are lost without Christ. Third, many Christians are afraid of the criticism they will receive from other Christians if they hang out with unbelievers. It was the religious people who hated Jesus the most. They criticized him for associating with tax collectors and lepers and prostitutes and politicians and going to parties. Lost people loved Jesus but the religious folks saw his associations as dangerous compromise. The same is true today. Modern Pharisees still use guilt by association as a weapon. Just read the blogs. They'd rather hunker in a bunker and attack those courageous enough to reach out to non-Christians. I do not fear the disapproval of others. I fear the disapproval of God on my disobedience to what he has clearly commanded us to do.

QUESTION: What is the P.E.A.C.E. plan?

WARREN: It is a biblical strategy of ministry based on five activities Jesus modeled in his ministry. Saddleback members have been beta testing it for the past nine years all around the world. Each letter of P.E.A.C.E. represents one of five things Jesus taught his disciples to do: P stands for Plant churches. E stands for Equip leaders. A stands for Assist the poor. C stands for Care for the sick. E stands for Educate the next generation. The PEACE plan is accomplished by local churches through local churches. It is based on three passages of Scripture and the specific instructions Jesus gave to his teams that he sent out. There are at least a dozen major differences between the PEACE Plan and the traditional, typical mission program of NGOs and parachurch organizations of the past 100 years. It is a return to the missional strategy.

QUESTION: What is the PEACE Center?

WARREN: Based on Jesus’ instructions in Acts 1:8, we practice the PEACE Plan in three dimensions: PERSONAL PEACE – my ministry to those closest to me; LOCAL PEACE -our congregation’s ministry to our community; and GLOBAL PEACE - serving other local churches around the world as those congregations do their own local PEACE. The PEACE Center is the building on our church campus that houses about three dozen of our 300 ministries to the community. It offers our food bank, job training, family counseling, legal aid, car repair, tutoring, English as a second language, legal immigration assistance, and many other ministries.

QUESTION: I read an article that claimed you were building a PEACE Center to bring Muslims and Christians together in peace.

WARREN: It was the writer’s mistake. He got two different stories confused. Our recently opened PEACE Center, on the Saddleback Church campus has NOTHING ...zero... to do with our Muslim friends.

This is an example of why I always doubt what I read in newspapers and blogs about ministries. Secular reporters trying to cover churches and theological issues often get it wrong. But then Christian bloggers, instead of contacting the ministry, blindly believe, quote and repost the errors made by secular reporters. Then those errors become permanent, searchable, and global on the Internet. I couldn’t count the number of times a secular reporter has gotten a story about Saddleback wrong but then it is perpetuated by Christians who never fact-check. And the three factors I mentioned about the Internet make it impossible to correct all the misperceptions, and outright lies that get repeated over and over.

QUESTION: You mentioned legal immigration services. How many languages do Saddleback members speak?

WARREN: At last count, I heard we speak 76 languages in our church family. One of our 10 values, the “A” in our S.A.D.D.L.E.B.A.C.K. strategy, is that we are an ALL-nation congregation. We are a multi-ethnic church. We want our congregation to look like heaven will look – with every age, race, tribe, and economic background represented.

QUESTION: What is the goal of your ministry?

WARREN: To know Christ and make Him known! To live out Jesus’ Great Commandment and Great Commission! In fact, this has been the motto of Saddleback Church since we started it in 1980: “A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will grow a great church.” Everything we do comes out of these two great texts. God's five eternal purposes for both our lives and the church proceed from these verses. The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life explain this in detail.

QUESTION: Through the PEACE Plan, Saddleback became the first local congregation in 2000 years of Christian history to send its members to literally “every nation” as Jesus commanded.

WARREN: That's correct.

QUESTION: How did you accomplish that?

WARREN: By taking Jesus’ command seriously. When Jesus said, “Go to EVERY nation” we asked ourselves as a church family, “Has any local church in 2000 years ever actually done that? If not, why don't we be the first!” So we set a goal to send our members to every nation of the world to do the five tasks of the P.E.A.C.E. Plan by the end of 2010. Of course I know that the Greek ta ethne refers to people groups or tribes not political nations, but you have to start somewhere! So we decided that we would send our members on mission to all 197 nations in the world. (There are 195 nations in the United Nations. The only two nations not in the United Nations are Taiwan and Serbia.) On November 18, 2010, a Saddleback team went to the last nation, #197, a small island in the Caribbean called, St. Kitts. Now, our goal for the next decade, which we call our Decade of Destiny is to mobilize a network of churches who will commit to planting new churches in the final 3,600 unengaged people groups that still do not have a Christian church.

QUESTION: How many members did you send out to complete your church’s goal of taking the gospel to every nation?

WARREN: 15,867 members were sent out. Of course, we’ve gone way past that in the last year.

QUESTION: What is your mission goal this year?

WARREN: Within a year from this Easter, we intend to plant new churches in 12 strategic cities around the world as resource centers and base camps for the greater goal of planting churches in the 3600 unengaged people groups.

QUESTION: What are those 12 cities?

WARREN: Tokyo, Berlin, Johannesburg, Bangalore, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, London, Freetown, Moscow, Mexico City, Amman, and Manila. Anyone who’d like to be a part of the team should contact me at PastorRick@saddleback.com or on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

QUESTION: Are you promoting Chrislam?

WARREN: Of course not. It's the lie that won't die. No matter how many times we refute it and correct that lie, people keep passing it on as truth. Jesus is the only way to salvation. Period. If I didn’t believe that, I’d get into a much easier line of work! But I do believe that everybody needs Jesus and I am willing to put up with false statements and misunderstandings in order to get the Gospel out.

QUESTION: What are your greatest frustrations about evangelism?

WARREN: That Christians would rather argue than evangelize. That people are more interested in winning arguments that in winning people. That people are more interested in making a point than in making a difference. That people put politics above the souls of people. That people are more afraid of guilt by association than allowing others to go to hell.

QUESTION: If anyone wants to learn or teach their church how to be more effective in evangelism and missions what should they do?

WARREN: Write to me at PastorRick@saddleback.com and ask me for an invitation to the group of leaders I train each week through a private webcast.

QUESTION: Any last word?

WARREN: Reach one more for Jesus! Anyone who’s read Purpose Driven Life knows those were my father’s last words and deathbed instructions to me. It is the theme of my life and I invite you to make it yours. Nothing is more important than the eternal destiny of those around us.

[AmazingGrace]

Rick Warren is oilier than a jar of catfish bait.


Rick Warren invoked the name of islamic Jesus at Obama's Inauguration saying, "I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray, "Our father who art in Heaven..."

'Isa' was not Jewish, but Palestinian.
'Isa" did not die on the cross for our sins.
Arab Christians don't refer to 'Isa,' but to 'Yesua.'
Isa' is a Muslim prophet.
'Isa' is only found in the Koran.
'Isa' does not have any Biblical support.
'Isa' is NOT Jesus.

Yet, Rick Warren who claims to be a Christian pastor prayed in the name of 'Isa.'"



Could this be a photo of Rick Warren NOT building a bridge to Muslims? I don't think so!



Warren wearing a traditional Muslim kufi.



At the end of his Purpose-driven book (pg. 309), Warren wrote, "In this book I have passed on to you what others taught me about the purpose of life; now it's your duty to pass that on to others". Warren proudly admitted his book contains "what others taught him about the purpose of life" and then he urges the readers to spread his discoveries.



And don't even get me started on his Daniel Plan...

[OnceWasLost]

QUESTION: What are your greatest frustrations about evangelism?

WARREN: That Christians would rather argue than evangelize. That people are more interested in winning arguments that in winning people. That people are more interested in making a point than in making a difference. That people put politics above the souls of people. That people are more afraid of guilt by association than allowing others to go to hell.

Now that's rich, I never hear him publicly insist on the necessity of saving faith in the blood of Jesus. Instead, he makes those who call him out on it the focus, cowardly diversion at it's pathetic worst. The rest of the above quote is so messed up I don't even know where to start. Politics over souls, really, we can't walk and chew gum, rick? Guilt by association? Really rick? How about guilt by promotion? You want to talk to us about "evangelizing"? In other words making disciples of purpose driven, not of the The Lord Jesus, whom you refuse to promote. In the real world the only "difference" you are making is to muddy the waters while those who oppose you make it a "point" to call you out and because you refuse to proclaim a Gospel leading to saving faith.

QUESTION: If anyone wants to learn or teach their church how to be more effective in evangelism and missions what should they do?

WARREN: Write to me at PastorRick@saddleback.com and ask me for an invitation to the group of leaders I train each week through a private webcast.

Great! just what we need, a "learn how to be purpose driven evangelist" weekend. How utterly useless and sad.

QUESTION: Any last word?

WARREN: Reach one more for Jesus! Anyone who’s read Purpose Driven Life knows those were my father’s last words and deathbed instructions to me. It is the theme of my life and I invite you to make it yours. Nothing is more important than the eternal destiny of those around us.

Then proclaim the Gospel, and lose the silliness you are currently peddling. People in your own congregation are being systematically starved on "purpose" no less. Those who refuse to proclaim the Gospel from their pulpit every time their flock is assembled is a disgrace and a stain on the church. Worse yet, your "missions" fail the same standard. How pathetic to take direction from a guy who refuses to do the most basic elements of pastoring.

[billiefan2000]

Rick Warren Takes Swipe at Cross-Centered Hermeneutics


http://www.alittleleaven.com/2012/06...rmeneutic.html

Apparently Rick Warren hasn't learned that the scarlet thread of redemption that runs through all of scripture is about Jesus Christ, oh and it was Jesus that taught us this.

“And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25–27)

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39–40)




We also find it very telling that Rick Warren has publicly critiqued those faithful pastors who preach Christ and the Cross from every passage of scripture


but he hasn't said ONE WORD in criticism of his disciples like Steven Furtick, Perry Noble and others who, Sunday after Sunday, read THEMSELVES into every passage of scripture,

including the Gospels.

Click Here to hear an egregious example of this from the Code Orange Revival.


http://www.fightingforthefaith.com/2...ed-to-see.html



http://www.alittleleaven.com/2012/06...rmeneutic.html

[billiefan2000]

RICK WARREN TWEETS HIS FOOT INTO HIS MOUTH…AGAIN
By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Jun 14, 2012 in Current Issues, Features, Rick Warren



Apprising Ministries has long believed that sinfully ecumenical Southern Baptist megapastor Rick Warren benefits greatly from living in this postmodern time.

The reason being, his “file card orthodoxy,” as Christian apologist Bob DeWaay once put it, would never survive a generation where more people were able to use critical reasoning skills.

Especially when one starts considering just how often Rick Warren uses social media like Twitter to tweet and exchange feet in his mouth. Today we have yet another example:



(source)

Typical of Seeker Driven and Emergent pastors, Warren will first set up his straw man, which he then knocks down in order to appear impressive to his multitude of deceived followers.

No one credible is involved in any “well-intentioned fad” of finding the Cross in every verse of the Bible; we look for our blessed Savior Christ Jesus, Who finished His work on that Cross.

By doing so, He made way for God’s Gospel of repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name; salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in that finished work of Jesus Christ alone.

The truth here is that faithful Christians always delight in looking for our glorious andy majestic, great and mighty Master in the texts of the Bible because, after-all, it is His Story:

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

Incidentally, Jesus is speaking of the Old Testament. Christ said Scripture is about Him, yet oddly enough, Rick Warren and his army of Seeker Driven people-pleasers seem to have no trouble making it about themselves.

As I see it, all such as these—seemingly with a disdain for the Cross of Christ—would do well to meditate upon something else Jesus said in Holy Scripture as well:

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
(Luke 6:45)



http://apprising.org/2012/06/14/rick...s-mouth-again/

[HeIsEnough]

"The well-intentioned fad of finding the Cross in every verse is eisegesis. Even Jesus didn't do that! Never force a theology."

Rick Warren, man

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

Jesus Christ, God

Well Rick, just another reason why no one should listen to you.

[billiefan2000]

if Rick is, his quest has been going on for at least 7 or 8 years now

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IS RICK WARREN ON A QUEST TO APPEAR FOOLISH?
By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Jun 15, 2012 in Current Issues, Features, Rick Warren, Southern Baptist Convention



I’m almost beginning to wonder if maybe it’s time for someone at Saddleback Church to take away the Twitter account from sinfully ecumenical Southern Baptist megapastor Rick Warren.

For example, consider Rick Warren Tweets His Foot Into His Mouth…Again from Apprising Ministries yesterday where he takes a swipe at Christians who look for Jesus in the text of Scripture.

After-all, as the curator of the Museum of Idolatry over at A Little Leaven pointed out in Rick Warren Takes Swipe at Cross-Centered Hermeneutic:

We also find it very telling that Rick Warren has publicly critiqued those faithful pastors who preach Christ and the Cross from every passage of scripture but he hasn’t said ONE WORD in criticism of his disciples like Steven Furtick, Perry Noble and others who, Sunday after Sunday, read THEMSELVES into every passage of scripture, including the Gospels.

Click Here to hear an egregious example of this from the Code Orange Revival.

After listening to that “revival sermon” read this: “we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5) (source)

Well, today Rick Warren was at it again on Twitter as he would tweet in succession:


(source

(source)

At the risk of ushering in the Apocalypse, I must tell you—in spite of the wishy-washy translation he uses—I actually agree with the point Warren is making. Ok, let me show you what I mean by this.

Let’s take the first verse — I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. (Romans 16:17)

We should watch out for, and avoid, those like Rick Warren who will try and tell you that the apostate Roman Catholic Church—which has condemned the Gospel of Jesus Christ—is part of the Body of Christ:

“I see absolutely zero reason in separating my fellowship from anybody.”[1]

“Now I don’t agree with everything in everybody’s denomination, including my own. I don’t agree with everything that Catholics do or Pentecostals do, but what binds us together is so much stronger than what divides us,” he said.

“I really do feel that these people are brothers and sisters in God’s family. I am looking to build bridges with the Orthodox Church, looking to build bridges with the Catholic Church,…. (source)


(Online source)

In closing this, for now, we come to the second verse — For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive (Romans 16:18).

Like I said before, in my opinion Rick Warren is fortunate he lives in this time of postmodernism where people are too confused and naive to see through his centered on the self smooth talk and flattery such as the following:




http://apprising.org/2012/06/15/is-r...ppear-foolish/

[billiefan2000]

June 14, 2012
Hunger Games "Sermon"

Program Segments
• Rick Warren Takes a Swipe at Cross-Centered Hermeneutic
• Emergents Call for Polydoxy Rather Than Orthodoxy
• 7 Reasons Movie Illustrations Are Lame
• Sermon Review: Hunger Games from Quest Community Church in Lexington Kentucky



http://www.fightingforthefaith.com/2...he-sermon.html