Part Three- IMAGINE THIS- THINKing about the 2010 Desiring God National Conference and Rick Warren ---

Part Three- Desiring God Conference... Rick Warren Speaking....<---click and listen to Rick Warren's presentation for yourself at John Piper's Desiring God website, or you may need to find it elsewhere by doing a "google search" if it's removed it after I post the address here..) 

The notes on this blogpost are from the ending portion of the address.  For more inormation see blog pasts 1 & 2.

Desiring God and Rick Warren...Quotes to Note

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"Let God stretch your imagination. You see, Everything in life begins with a dream."
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"If you don't have an overarching vision for your life,; If you don't have an overarching dream for your life; If you don't have an overarching goal for your life, your life is out of control."

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"Let me ask you quite frankly, what's your dream for your next ten years?   Have you ever written it down?"

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"We need entrepreneurs who  dream great dreams and make a lot of money for kingdom uses.  I am talking about dreaming great dreams.... I'm not talking about changing doctrine... The bible says in the book of Jude..."the truth once delivered to the saints."  It's there, you don't want to change it.  To change it is heresy."


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"God has vision for your life.  God can't help you reach your goal unless you got a goal... because a goal is a statement of faith and THE BIBLE SAYS, "without faith it is impossible to please God."
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In this concluding segment of his talk at this conference done in a video session, Rick Warren talked about the importance of our "imagination."    He had a lot to say, and even quoted the famous person named "Napoleon" as saying "Imagination rules the world."  

Do you suppose that Rick thinks that Napoleon had it right when he said such a thing?  Was he suggesting that Napoleon had the right thinking?  Was Rick Warren suggestiong that Christians should emulate his (Napoleon's) idea? Better yet, does Rick Warren believe that imagination rules the world?  He did say, "Let God stretch your imagination." 

"Let God stretch your imagination."?  (YBH? ) <---    This, according" to Rick Warren,  means "Yes, But How?)


 Please note that Rick never said "how" to let God do this, (even though earlier in this very lecture he made a point about the importance of teaching "application" all the time, even saying that Jesus always taught the "how"s.)  And, in case you missed his earlier remarks.... the YBH.equals "Yes, but how?"  this being  something Rick says he often asked himself, something he would write down often as a child, while listening to sermons.. (BTW...more sermons than "anyone" else.....(has ever heard.)

Yes.... Mr. Rick quotes the Bible....here, there, and everywhere.  He quotes it often too but he is sloppy about it and he doesn;t really reccomend it either.  HE even quoted "Proverbs 29:8"... to prove this point, of God stretching your imagination.. though he likely and inadvertently misquoted the scripture address here.... most likely though, he meant to say Proverbs 29:18..that reads,."Where there is no vision, the people perish:" We do not know for sure, but he was talking about the importance of having a vision, a dream and a goal for you future as he referenced Provebs here. 

Rick then went on to say:

"If you don't have an overarching vision for your life; If you don't have an overarching dream for your life; If you don't have an overarching goal for your life, your life is out of control."

So, saying that without dreams and visions our lives are out of control, he then suggested that people get control by coming up with a dream for their future.  

Apparently, according to Rick, one must have a vision, a dream....at least for the next ten years of your life.  (Not only that, but putting it into writing is important too.)

  Rick said:

"Let me ask you quite frankly, what's your dream for your next ten years?  Have you written it down?"



Rick forgets (or completely disregards) James 4:13-1 as he uses this approach to get people planning our their future. 

But James says: ."Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit."Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.  Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Not only that, he tells them that their lives are virtually bad... essentially, perishing, simply,  "out of control" if they are not following his wise advice to get control of their lives by making a plan, coming up with a goal for where they want to see their lives go...in the next ten years, and solidifying it by writing it all down.

 So Christian, if you know James says this, and you do not do it... if you do something else because someone's fancy words and perceived level of importance has influence you to do otherwise..., like Rick has, if their words make more sense to you then what the Bible says... then what?

Rick further encouraged this dreaming and imagining, by saying:

"What we need today are great imagin-ers, great dreamers, great imagineering people...We need great entrepreneurs who dream great dreams and make a lot of money for kingdom uses.   I am talking about dreaming great dreams..I am not talking about changing doctrine, The bible says in the book of Jude..."the truth delivered once to all the saints."  It's there, you don't change it; to change it is heresy."

Heresy? 

YEs, Rick, to change it, to change the faith once delivered to all the saints, IS heresy.



Christian, Are you... like Rick. dreaming great, big- as-God, dreams?  More importantly, like Rick, are you opposed to changing doctrine, opposed to odious things, like "heresy"?  Are you thinking, like Rick that it's really a good thing to focus on making "a lot of money,"...  if it is for kingdom uses? 

IT is all sounds strange to you, that is because it is.  And. don't think for a moment that Rick does not know what he is doing.  He knows what he is doing.  He is after all, full of purpose.  He is the man of THINK, a genius, and he uses purpose and reason in what he says and does.   Not only that, (THINK back to the begining of this video sermon,)  this is a message from God, (remember?) one that "your life" and the life of your congregation "depends upon".... and now he wants you to DREAM DREAMS FOR GOD.



Rick dares his listeners, saying,  

"What I am doing is, I'm challenging you... I'm daring you... I'm begging you.. dear brothers and sisters, to dream great dreams and and teach your members to dream great dreams for God..... It's not enough to to just not believe everything you think...  It's not enough to  to just guard your mind from the garbage...It's  not enough to keep on learning and developing character, we must also let God develop our imaginations.

YBH? (Yeah, but how?)

He didn't say... but he did mention  his Decade of Destiny program he is starting.  So probably, people will be invited to learn the "how "through the next Rick Warren 40 day program?

Yes, according to Rick, you have to have a goal.....a "dream"... (one of your own making.)
He said,
" God can't help you reach your goal unless you got a goal... because a goal is a statement of faith...... and THE BIBLE SAYS, "without faith it is impossible to please God."


Like a magician, Rick just changed doctrine. He changed what is means to be a Christian from believing in JEsus Christ to believing in your goal....  Then he cast a final spell upon the crowd.... as he made them make a promise, or rather a covenant....  Rick loves people to covenant with him. 

He loves people to make promises and oaths, knowing that they will do all they can to keep them.    Making covenants and such is something, he said,  that he expects of his Saddleback church members.

It is also notable that Rick was careful to note that most people (might YOU be one of the few?) couldn't keep the covenants the elite members of his very special Saddleback church does.  He also said that "most people" also do not know that those at his church who do not keep the covenants, actually get "church discipline."  He is of course hoping Christians will "covenant with him and with Saddleback Church.... but we do not need to covenant with Rick as Christians, because  Christians can and do know the true covenant we have with God and with one another in our fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Christians know that our righteousness is not based on our ability, but on the righteousness of Christ.  We do not have to make covenants with any person, for our covenant is with the one who is faithful and true, not with sinful man.  As Christians we are those who have partaken in the covenant God made with his people and as such we agree with God that we are sinners in need of salvation, and this same God is that only he can save.  HE has declared that t salvation is in Jesus Christ and in him lone.  As Christians, we do our best, we repent when we fall short and we simply let our yes be yes and our no be no. With Rick, this simplicity is not enough.  HE wants us to covenant with him... and be disciplined by him when we break such covenants.  All this with no JEsus.... no real heart change... just a change of mind.

Romans 1:21-22 addresses well this situation that Rick Warren lays out as he demands a covenant with his audiences, as he hypocritically sells them his books and materials, and as he teaches them to believe in the power of their own mind, (their greatest assent.. iand in the power of their dreams, aspirations and their huge enormous, God-sized, imaginations.  It says,^"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools..."

Yes, Rick is right, the book of Jude.  It does talk about the faith once delivered to all the saint... but he fails to read about "filthy dreamers".... who " denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."


 If Warren would teach the entire message of the book of Jude he would warn his hearers about these  "murmurers, complainers,"  who murmur and complain, about God's terrible American Church and unhealthy pastors, "ineffective" Christian people... (who wrongly think it's not skill that bring success and instead rely upon praying and preaching His Word.)

 It might be highly creative to imagine, but the imagination is not to be filled with our own vanity instead of,m or in place of God.  It might be highly profitable for Rick to toot is own horn, and sell his books.  IT may even offer hope to people when they believe they can somehow control their own destiny in life by being smart, dreaming up goals and visions for themselves or even mastering their own minds, but to teach such as "biblical truths," particularly when such teaching completely avoids real Christian doctrinal issues and pointing to Jesus, is really nothing more than false teaching.

Rick, sad to say, is out of sync with a lot of biblical substance.  However he does appear to be a master at captivating audiences with his charm and genius too.  He is an expert at  encouraging people to dream big, God-sized dreams and at giving tips about how to experience measurable amounts of "worldly " success.  He can eloquently talk another person into following his ideas, programs and methodologies for sure.  He can even tell you what the Bible says, as he informs you that  you can imagine yourself and your world to be anything you like, but if what you are dreaming and imagining is not of God it simply will not last. 

Rick's a man of purpose, but God has a plan and a purpose too and his ways are far above our own.  He gives us his word, and fulfills it to a "t".   He gives us an inspired, holy vision of who He is and what reality is about.  As for God, he is able...   truly able,  to do immeasurably more than all we ask or ever could imagine,  (Ephesians 3:20.)