Meet Rick...

Rick sure has gotten a lot of publicity, and people are reading his words, getting to know him and thinking about what he has to say.  He has a message for the church and for the world.  , as According to Rick, this message is greater than any message he has ever taught in 23 years of being a pastor.  Why is this the greatest message ever?  Because, he believes, God has given this message to him. 

Rick says that his message is a message that the whole world is waking up to, and he calls it a message of reformation, of new beginnings, of PEACE and purpose.

But for Christians, Rick main target of speaking, it is important to remember that the Bible says:

“Dear friends, 

do not believe every spirit,

but test the spirits…”

                                              1 John 4:1

It is essential, therefore, to determine, if such an "important" message of reformation and "new beginnings" this "spiritual awakening" is something to believe.  Is this message of peace and purpose from the true source of peace and purpose? (.... God?)

Meet Rick:

“This weekend, I will begin teaching the most important series of messages we've ever taught in 23 years…We believe it is part of the beginning of a Spiritual Awakening, a Global Movement, a New Reformation.”

Rick Warren, Nov. 2003  Peace Plan Letter to Saddleback Church

“A couple weeks ago I did 6 TV interviews including Fox News Live, ABC, NBC, and CBN, so this spiritual awakening is starting to get the attention of the media.”

Rick Warren, Nov. 2003 Peace Plan Letter to Saddleback Church

“You may have already heard about the PEACE Plan we're developing...It is a local church-based paradigm for missions in the 21st century, and we believe God will use it to bring worldwide revival.”

The task before us is enormous, but God is equipping us by Rick Warren

Apparently, Rick, who believes that

 a major worldwide and Earth encompassing move of God,  

(a New Reformation... a Spiritual Awakening)

is coming upon the earth through his endeavor. 

Rick emphasizes that it's time to change the traditional and "unhealthy" church into a "healthy" one, and he will happily, brazenly and ultimately define 3what is "healthy" and unhealthy for you too, hoping you will believe his definition in your mind.  Additionally, he will show you how to CHANGE... how to change,  not only your beliefs, but how to change the church and replace all the wrong thinking with right and “healthy” thinking he shows you.  His goal is to build this new church of the new reformation.... on a new  "foundation,"(not the old one, "faith in Jesus Christ.") The new foundation is "purpose" and it is trademarked "Purpose Driven,") ...of course!

“Healthy churches are built on purpose!”

A healthy church balances the Five Purposes by Rick Warren

“Successful ministry is: building the church on the purposes of God”

Secrets to serving your generation in your time by Rick Warren

Every church is driven by something: tradition, programs, finances, events, seekers, and even buildings. But to be healthy, it must become purpose driven.”

Becoming a Purpose Driven Church, Part One  Rick Warren

 “Today, the sharpest guys I know are starting churches,"

Rick Warren quoted in Christianity Today Nov. 18, 2002

“Clearly, God’s five purposes for his church are non-negotiable.  If a church fails to balance the five purposes… then it’s no longer a healthy church”

Evangelizing the 21st Century Culture  by Rick Warren

“I think a healthy pastor nurtures a healthy church by creating an intentional, well planned system.”

”Drawing More Members Into Ministry by Rick Warren”

So, now that you know what Rick says a healthy church is... do you want to be "healthy" or unhealthy?  

According to Rick, what is an unsucessful ministry?  What must a church be "driven" by to be healthy?


The smartest guys do what?  (Start churches, but certainly not unhealthy ones!) 

Rick has created a concept of five purposes for a church to be "healthy."  HE says these are non-negotiable.  What does non negotiable mean?

And how is your church?  Is it "healthy" by Rick's definition? 

How is your pastor? 
Is he balancing the five non negotiable purposes properly?  Is he healthy or unhealthy?  
Is he learning how to be healthy and grow a healthy church, 
from the one who knows what a healthy church is 
and isn't,.

How does your pastor measure up to being "healthy"?

Rick says that “most” pastors are not healthy, (but he is!)  He points out that most of them are incompetent, or rather, unhealthy.  However, they can change.  Rick encourages pastors to listen to him and learn from him and lead their church congregations into "change" Rick makes sure to point out the unhealthy pastors and the reasons that people should listen to him....

Rick says:

“I probably have the largest library of books on preaching in America. I've read over 500 books on preaching. Maybe some seminary might come close to that, but I am sure that no pastor comes close to 500 books on preaching. And as I've read them, the vast majority doesn't really understand that preaching is about transformation, not information.”

Purpose-Driven Preaching: An Interview with Rick Warren

“I find most pastors do not understand the power of preaching. But even more important than that is they don't understand  the purpose of preaching.”

Purpose-Driven Preaching: interview by  Michael Duduit.

Rick Warren is preaching to the church not unbelievers; this is because is on a mission, not to save unbelievers, so much as to change what the "American" church believes.  For example, he church has always believed in repentance, but Rick teaches a new word for repentance... that is, "paradigm shift."

“Now most people think of the word of repentance they think of sandwich signs, turn or burn, or they think repentance means stopping all my bad actions. That is not what repentance is…. Repentance, metanoia, simply means changing your mind.  And we are in the mind changing business. Preaching is about mind changing. Society’s word for repentance, by the way, is "paradigm shift "…. And repentance is changing your mind at the deepest level of beliefs and values.”
Rick Warren-  Purpose-Driven Preaching: Interview by M. Duduit

How many people will let him change their minds at the deepest level of beliefs and values?

“What is needed today are churches that are driven by purpose instead of by other forces. "

 Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, page 80.

“What do Finney, Wesley, Calvin, Spurgeon, Moody, Billy Graham, Jesus, Peter, and Paul all have in common?  None of them were verse-by-verse, through the book teachers. Not one of them.

Rick Warren-  Purpose-Driven Preaching: Interview by M. Duduit
Joshua 8:35; Romans 15:4; Rev. 1:3 Rev. 2:22 ; Acts 26:20; Acts 2:38

“..koinonia (fellowship) as "being as devoted to each other as we are to Jesus Christ."

Matthew 10 34-37; Luke 14:26?

Rick says, statistically, if you are a believer (Christian,) you are probably in an unhealthy “traditional” church with immature, self centered, uncommitted, half-hearted, lazy people… who have been taught wrong (by unhealthy, uneducated, unbalanced pastors. ) They do not know what they are doing... and they are not interested in God.... unless of course,  they are the kind that agree with and listen to Mr. Rick and are, as he labels them, "healthy."

“The problem is that many believers want to love God half-heartedly.

HOW SHOULD WE LIVE?  by Rick Warren

"It's unfortunate, but many churches assume that spiritual maturity happens automatically, so they have no real plan for helping their members grow in Christ. That’s why I encourage churches to be purpose driven”

Helping Members Grow To Maturity by Rick Warren

“Very few Christians I know live a truly God-centered life on a daily basis.”

A Purpose Driven Phenomena An Interview With Rick Warren
Modern ReformationMagazine

“Most Christians do not behave the way they claim

to believe…The typical believer never shares

his faith, never helps the poor, never visits

those in prison, and never does many of the

other things Jesus commanded us to do”

A Purpose Driven Phenomena Interview Modern Reformation magazine

So, you see, Rick does not like those Christians too much.  He takes a very shallow view of both the church and of Christians.  BUT Rick knows all the secrets to a true Christian life...

If Rick can, he will convince his hearers that listening to him will make them wiser... than those other churches, the "unhealthy" ones, are nothing but "unhealthy," "self-centered" people.  However, if you have itching ears... he will teach you his secrets of being a successful Christian like he is  when you subscribe to his mailings, buy and rad his books, products, embrace his programs and fund his purposeful brand of missionary work to make the world a better better and healthier place where there is no poverty, no disease or no illiteracy.. and most importantly, no "unhealthy pastors" in church.

And healthy pastors... (or those who want to be healthy and have the healthy congregations Rick talks about,)  will  be sure to let Rick teach their own Sunday congregations, be sure to implement Rick's programs in small groups and kids Sunday school programs too.  They will simply quite doing things the "old fashioned" way and do the new things that they are learning from Rick. They may even download Rick's study his notes and preach some or maybe all of Rick's sermons!  Then, before you know it, every church, even across denominational lines will be built all the most important thing in the world... PURPOSE!  

Every Church will be a "healthy," Purpose Driven (TM)  church filled with World Class Christians who really know how to serve, befriend and love the world!!

Rick will teach you and your mega-growing healthy congregation all about the scriptures.  Perhaps he will even teach you about prophecy and the return of Jesus...

 "Well, it says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto every good work." But people misread that verse most of the time. The purpose of the Bible is not for doctrine, not for reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness… 

~Rick Warren- Purpose-Driven Preaching: Interview by M. Duduit

“the last thing many believers need is to go to another Bible study”

Transform your congregation through service   by Rick Warren

“If you want Jesus to come back sooner focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy”

Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren pg 286

  

Rick suggests that prophecy is not so important... and reading the bible... well... HE wil be happy to change that too.

 “God has a purpose behind every problem… In fact he depends more on circumstances to make us like Jesus than he depends on our reading the Bible”

Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life pg. 193

Paul used his testimony to share the gospel instead of quoting Scripture.”

Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life pg. 291

And about being friends with God...and worshiping God... Rick says,

There is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to worship and friendship with God."

Purpose Driven Life: Worship that pleases God   by Rick Warren

But in John 14:6 Jesus answered,

"I am the way 

            and the truth 

               and the life. 

                   No one comes to the Father 

                                   except through me. "

Sounds like a one size fits all approach, doesn't it?  

What does the  bible say about prophecy and how does that differ from Rick?

Rev. 1:3

Blessed is he who reads 
and those who hear 
the words of the prophecy, 
and heed the things which are written in it; 
for the time is near.

Rev 22:7

"Behold, I am coming soon! 
Blessed is he who keeps 
the words of the prophecy

2 Peter 1:21

For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, 
but men spoke from God 
as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor. 14:1

Follow the way of love
and eagerly desire spiritual gifts,
especially the gift of prophecy. ...

But that is the old idea... Rick wants everyone to be into something NEW now... being "World -Class."

“To be a world-class Christian you must make some mental shifts. Your perspective

and attitudes must change.”

World-class or worldly May-June 2003 by Rick Warren“

IS there really such a thing as a Christian who is in a class with the world?
 

John 17:16:

  "They are not of the world, 

even as I am not of it."

Healthy churches have undergone the proper transformation and they think in fresh new ways.  They believe in themselves and their abilities to get things done...

 It's your choice. You can believe what others say about you, or you can believe in yourself as does God, who says you are truly acceptable, lovable, valuable and capable.”

Learn To Love Yourself! By Rick Warren, Ladies Home Journal, March 2005

They rightly understand the new meaning of words, like repentance and  meditation....

  Meditation is often misunderstood….…."The Bible tells us to "pray all the time." How is it possible to do this? One way is to use "breath prayers" throughout the day, ….. You choose a brief sentence or a simple phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath: "You are with me." "I receive your grace." "I'm depending on you." "I want to know you." "I belong to you." "Help me trust you." … Pray it as often as possible so it is rooted deep in your heart

The Purpose Driven Life Pg 89 by Rick Warren

And they know how to break with tradition.... and are willing to restate the eternal truths of the Bible...

Here’s a simple tradition to break in the 21st Century: stop thinking of the church as an institution.”…”We need to present the church as a place where you belong, a family where, as they sang on Cheers, everybody knows your name. Now you and I may know that the church is a community, but emerging generations have never seen it that way. They’ve seen a list of rules, not a loving community. This is a prime example of an opportunity to re-state the eternal truths of the Bible

in a fresh, contemporary way”

Evangelizing the 21st Century culture by Rick Warren

and they know how to have peace, inner peace, 

(something that most people never do....)

all you have to do, according to Rick, in order to have inner peace is to tell God what you want...and thank him.

“... the truth is, very few people ever experience inner peace. The Bible is very clear about what brings inner peace. Philippians 4 says, “Don’t worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace.”

The Path To Inner Peace   Rick Warren

and then join Saddleback Church's Purpose Driven movement and get busy serving the world.

“I make no apology for telling people  to join Saddleback church, get involved in a ministry, and serve Christ by serving others.

Drawing More Members Into Ministry by Rick Warren

“There’s a man of peace in every village, in every government, in every business, in every church. ... When you find the man of peace, if he’s open and he’s willing to work with you, you bless him and you start your work there... The man of peace is open and influential. ... The man of peace does not have to be a Christian believer. Could be a Muslim. Could be Jewish”  

Rick Warren, in an Interview with Charlie Rose, Aug. 17, 2006.

But the Bible says peace comes through Jesus Christ, not simply in establishing a temporal peaceable kingdom here on earth with anyone who happens to be nice or more importantly to Rick, "influential" in a community, like a city government or religious congregation.  

Additionally, the  Bible never talks about joining a particular church.  In fact it  tells us that Christians are The Church...  joined to Christ, by faith.  In Christ, we are all members of one body, all under the authority of God. 



Jesus has a PEACE Plan...

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you, 

my peace I give unto you: 

not as the world giveth, give I unto you. 

Let not your heart be troubled, 

neither let it be afraid.

 2 Peter 1:2 

Grace and peace 

be yours in abundance 

through the knowledge of God 

and of Jesus our Lord.

.

“Know Jesus, know peace.  

   No Jesus, no peace”