Membership Covenant, Maturity Covenant, Ministry Covenant, Missions Covenant... They've Got It All!

Read Matthew 23 lately?  The entire chapter?

Jesus made it clear, quite clear actually, that the scribes and Pharisees knew full-well what they were doing and that they were doing it to their own demise.  It would probably be a good idea to make sure one was not following in their footsteps..... for Jesus said not to do what they do.  He said that they "say, and do not." Jesus also noted that:  "they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." 

When it comes to consideration of heavy burdens, laying heavy burdens on people, nothing could be heavier than the Law, reason being that the wages of sin , (breaking of God's Law) is death.  That's a pretty heavy burden..... and it's also the reason one needs Jesus Christ.
But legalistic pastors think nothing of laying the burden of the law on other people, and there are plenty of legalistic people around.... who while rightly insisting upon the importance of God's holy and perfect laws, are happy to invent more laws, rules and commandments even....for others to follow.  These same sometimes evade or neglect God's truth that all have fallen short.... and need the salvation that comes by faith in the one whom God sent... Jesus,   And then there's Rick Warren.

Rick Warren is celebrated as a  "pastor to pastors".  ( That's the greatest title he bears he says, in Religious News June 30, 2016.)  Not only is Rick Warren a voraious reader of all things but he's also a writer, (or are there ghost writers?) of books and materials for churches and Christians to buy.  he is also quite the inventor of "covenant" upon "covenant"  upon "covenant." that he inists you have to make.  Yes, Rick has alll kinds of laws and rules and promises to be kept by you that have been specifically developed by Rick and his ministry.  Perhaps this is because Warren, like many others, maybe even like the Pharisees of yesteryear has discovered and even like the effect that these seemingly binding agreements have upon people....

“People become whatever they’re committed to"..."Covenants are the most important part of 

Saddleback’s CLASSes. They have a 

membership covenant, 

a maturity covenant, 

a ministry covenant, 

and a missions covenant— all of which 

members sign at the end of each CLASS.”  

Create a Purpose Driven Covenant for Your Church  quote of  Rick Warren at PD.Church Website

CLASS is an acroymn for Christian Life and Service Seminars.

He's got it all figured out.  "People become whatever they are committed to."  It could be anything.... just get them to sign on the dotted line... right?  He's got a covenant for each CLASS,

Interesting, isn't it, that this covenant signing is described by Rick as the "most important" part of classes at Saddleback?  It's likely the most important part because it is a binding agreement.  People promise to do everything they are asked to do.  

Classes are a must too.. if you intend too grow in your faith and get a purpose.  No one escapes the process of making a "covenant" with Saddleback church, and learning who and what this church is about.  You will learn about "their" salvation, "their" statements of faith, "their" strategy and "their" structure.  At classes I have taken at my church, I have learned who Jesus is, what he did and the salvation we have by faith in him.  This all seems to only on the fringe with Saddleback. 

.  "Class 101 is a basic introduction to our church family and

 is designed to clearly explain who and what our church is. 

This class covers Our Salvation, Our Statements, 

Our Strategy and Our Structure."

from: https://saddlebackchurch.teachable.com/p/101

Yep.  As you can see, it's all about them.

And Pastor, do you know how awful the members of your church are.... no commitment, no conversion  no giving money, or praying.  Rick is here to tell you, pastor, that he's found the curer.  It is because your are not forcing them, or is it tricking them, to tkae classes and make promises that they will keep   Follow his lead, buy his books, read his articles, do what he does and you'll have it all under control.... just like Rick.

"Why do churches have so many members 

who give little or no evidence of Christian commitment 

or even conversion? Why do many churches find it difficult to motivate members to give, serve, pray, and share their faith?  The answer is simple. 

The members were allowed to join 

with no expectations placed on them. "

One Way to Increase the Commitment Level of Your Members by Rick Warren @pastors.com

"We have four requirements for membership:                         A personal profession of Christ as Lord and Savior,                      baptism by immersion as a public symbol of one’s faith,                   completion of the membership class,                         and a signed commitment to abide by Saddleback’s membership covenant."

 - Rick Warren

"I urge you to prayerfully prepare and adopt a membership covenant in your congregation if you don’t have one. It can revolutionize your church. You may worry, “If we adopt a membership covenant, there will be some who leave our church over it.” You’re right. There will be some. But here is the reality: People are going to leave your church no matter what you do. Don’t be afraid of people leaving. People even walked away from Jesus.  When your congregation adopts a membership covenant, at least you’re choosing the kind of people that stay."   - Rick Warren

. 
Saddleback's Membership Covenant?  More on that: Click Here.

Aren't you glad we are under the New Covenant that Jesus made?  And you, dear recipient were amazingly not even required to read a book, pay a penny or sign a thing.

On "Rick Warren: What I Learned From Billy"

A recent Billy Graham focused Special Edition of Christianity Today offers to readers an article by Rick Warren whereby Rick Warren the opportunity to tell the world what he learned from Billy Graham, a famous U.S. preacher.  Rick Warren, said to be a preacher too, tells how he learned a lot from Mr. Graham and how it as that since he was just a little child, he has learned from Billy Graham and emulated Graham in his own life. Never shy about what he wants readers to think of himself, Warren says in the title that he learned "Focus, Integrity and a God directed Heart."  

Billy Graham was well known for being a preacher in his day..  Nowadays, so is "Pastor Rick."  both men have been, over the years highlighted in the media, held up as examples for Christians to follow and listen to.  With the death of Billy Graham it makes sense to look at the man's life and legacy and so that is what Rick is doing here in the magazine founded by Billy Graham in 1956..  At the end of this article Rick tells you that no one will ever be able to replace Billy Graham, but he's gonna show you that if anyone could, it would be him.  In fact, after reading this article the reader might even be lead to believe that Rick is even greater!

Just like Graham, Rick Warren can draw a crowd and just like Graham he gets lots of media attention.  Graham quoted scripture and Rick quotes scripture too, even though, unlike Graham who only used one Bible, Rick  uses them all. (Note: Rick also quotes paraphrases of the bible instead of actual translations and rarely uses the same book referenced twice.)  In this article we learn that in 1948, Billy Graham and his team formulated what Rick reports to us  is called, the Modesto Manifesto; and.... wouldn't you know,.... just like Billy Graham, Rick has, he tells us,  one of those too! 

 Well, sort of.  

Quora.com says that the Modesto Manifesto was not a real document.  Seems it was really and simply a mutually agreed upon concept that the men in Grahams ministry had with one another in regards to protecting their ministry work from accusations.  Based upon biblical principals that they all knew to be true, it was a verbal agreement...( you might think of it as a "let your yes be yes and no be no,"  Matthew 5:37  kinda thing.)  There were four main topics covered by the "Manifesto" and the issues were money, purity, integrity and humility    
Graham's Modesto Manifesto was apparently a model to Rick at his church. He tells readers that he had Saddleback staff routinely make what he called "similar covenants" and cited the Saddleback Staff Ten Commandments—  as example.  He says this was "based on the same idea."

Same idea?  Hardly.

Graham's Manifesto wasn't written down... just verbally agreed upon, it was a public declaration..  Rick out-did that though and took it to a whole new level.  Thinking ever so highly of himself.,...Rick clesarly outdid " Billy Grahams's Manifesto.  His is in writing and signed.  But i's not just a manifesto.  No, Rick Warren braggingly informs us that he created his own "Ten Commandments" for his staff. 

 Here is the Commandments he was talking about:


 " 1.  Thou shalt not go to lunch alone with the opposite sex. *
   2.  Thou shalt not have the opposite sex pick you up or drive you places when it is just the            two of you. *
   3.  Thou shalt not kiss any attendee of the opposite sex or show affection that could be  
          questioned. *
   4.  Thou shalt not visit the opposite sex alone at home.
   5.  Thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex alone at the office, and thou shalt not counsel              the opposite sex more than once without that person’s mate. Refer them.
   6.  Thou shalt not discuss detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex in counseling.  
            Refer them.
   7.  Thou shalt not discuss your marriage problems with an attendee of the opposite sex.
   8.  Thou shalt be careful in answering emails, instant messages, chatrooms, cards, or                 letters from the opposite sex. 
    9. Thou shalt make your secretary your protective ally.
  10. Thou shalt pray for the integrity of other staff members.
* The first three do not apply to unmarried staff.

Grahams Manifesto covered four distinct areas of conduct...  1) money, 2) purity, 3) integrity and 4) humility.  Rick's  "commandments" are focused on one thing...sex. 

Having guidelines and expectations of proper conduct is one thing, but having "Commandments" is another.... "Commandments" even to the point of "thou shall" and "thou shall not."   Apparently, unmarried staff is more trustworthy than married, for some of the "commands" do not apply to unmarried people.  Additionally, Rick  Warren, at his 2017 pastors.com article titled 10 Commandments to Help Church Staff Maintain Moral Integrity, jokes:

(Or is he serious?)

"I have told my staff that if any of them even

 flirt with temptation, I will come after them with

 a baseball bat, and I’ve told them

 to do the same with me."

                                                   - Rick Warren

Ten Commandments to Help Church Staff Keep Moral Integrity by Rick Warren, April, 25, 2017

That is a little scary.  What would he do with the bat? 

Is this the way Christian pastors behave with staff?
It is even funny?

Apparently, neither God's original Ten Commandments nor Ephesians 5:3 from the Bible which says, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people” is sufficient for Christians.... No. Rick has a better way and a way to make you obey him....and typical of Rick, he would gladly be perceived by Christianity Today readers as one able to outdo everything in his path.  He's not only laid down the law with his own Ten commandments.for his staff.... and the staff of pastors everywhere who follow in Rick's footsteps, but he'll enforce it... with a bat

Rick as he demonstrates here, was destined to be just like Billy Graham right from the "get-go."  And if you are impressionable, you might even percieve this all to be a "God- thing" too, after all, his very religious grandmother prayed for two people every day....little Rick and Billy Graham.  She wanted Rick to be a preacher, just like billy Graham....and God surely must have answered her prayers, because look everyone, Rick grew up to be a pastor....just like Billy Graham, maybe even more impressive.  And not only that, who are we told, by Rick, who mentored Rick?  Billy Graham!

Everything Graham did, Rick aspired to and exceeded.....  

Graham preached to millions and his evangelism was appreciated by both Roman Catholics and Protestants.  Graham, it has been said, "built bridges" between these faiths.   Rick, like graham, claims to cross denominational boundaries and  builds bridges between faiths. 

While the famed Crusades were actual wars  Billy Graham revived the word in regards to evangelism and held "crusades" in 185 counties and levered his religious and political influence in the world, rubbing shoulders with world dignitaries and U.S. presidents. 

Rick has held his own crusades in faraway lands.  Rick has worked to use his influence, all over the world taking opportunities near and far to reach the world with his message via various "campaigns."...(and subsequently sell product.)  Rick even got Grahams approval as he cleverly found "new ways" to share the "gospel."

 "In the early 1980s, Saddleback 

was the first church to use a fax machine 

for evangelism. I came up with a 

thing called "the fax of life." 

I wrote a weekly devotional, 

and we faxed it out to business leaders."-Rick Warren

Bigger, better, first and foremost, is always Rick (and Saddleback church.) 

"Saddleback was the first church on 

the internet. That was in 1992, before 

Internet Explorer, Netscape, 

or Safari. We used Gopher, 

FTP, and Mosaic, and we put up a

 little website." -Rick Warren

"Whenever anybody says, "Who's going to replace Graham?" the answer is that he's irreplaceable. There will never be another Billy Graham." -Rick Warren

 No, there will never be another Billy Graham but you dear reader are supposed to connect the dots left  undone.  Billy, is dead and gone.... or as Rick would say, 

"Acts 13:36, my life verse, is an appropriate passage to describe him. (Billy Graham) It says, "Now when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep." I can't think of a finer epitaph to have on your tombstone than that you served God's purpose in your generation. That says you did the timeless in a timely way. You contended for that which never changes in a society, in a world, in a culture that's constantly changing. Graham served 

God's purpose in his generation, and now that he has fulfilled that purpose, he is gone."

Yep.  Just "gone."  

In the end, it's quite a miserable existence for us, if we believe only for this life  ( 1 Corinthians 15:19,) don't you think?

Sad to say, but Rick Warren assured his readers that there is no finer epitaph than to say what he has to say about Billy Graham.... That he "served God's purpose" and how like David, Graham served God's purpose too,  Like David, apparently, Graham "fell asleep."  
Rick did not say Graham was "gone to meet his maker" or "gone to heaven." He did not say he's "now in the wonderful presence of Almighty God."  In his own tooting of his own Purpose Driven horn Warren tells us simply, that Graham served his purpose and now, "he is gone."