It's Not the Gospel

There are some who preach another  gospel....

" As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."  (Galatians 1:9)

 “This book will become a standard text that we will use to train every mission team we have in 196 countries. It should be required reading in every Christian college and seminary, by every relief and mission organization, and by every local church pastor.”

       "It's a book that can change the world."

  -Rick Warren,  New York Times best-selling author, The Purpose Driven Life; Pastor, Saddleback Church

 
 What book?  

Well, it's not the bible.  The book that "can" change the world is,
 The Poverty of Nations, A Sustainable Solution, by Barry Asmus and Wayne Gruden, with foreword by, Rick Warren.  

Rick Warren is all-about "sustainability." 


At the Saddleback Church website, it tells us who Pastor Rick is.  It reads,

"Rick Warren was born in San Jose, California and earned a Bachelor of Arts from California Baptist University, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary. He and his wife Kay founded Saddleback Church when he was just 26 years old and he continues to serve as the senior pastor. To many, he is Pastor Rick, but to his church, he is Papa Rick—a voice of wisdom, hope, encouragement, and vision."

"God gave him a vision for The P.E.A.C.E. Plan, a mission to fight the five giants of spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy that devastate the lives of men, women, and children around the world. He and Kay consider it their life’s’ work to empower local churches and local leaders to create sustainable change that gives a voice to the voiceless and help to the helpless."  Saddleback.com

POP QUIZ!
(Fill in the blank:) 

_____ gave Rick the Vision for the P.E.A.C.E. Plan.

Is it then safe to say that if you are not under the tutelage of Rick, then you are not listening to  "God."  Seems logical.  But seriously.  If God gave Rick this vision for the P.E.A.C.E. plan as it says then, thats pretty serious business.

The webpage also says of Rick, that he is a voice of wisdom, hope, encouragement... and of course, vision. (After all God gave him a "vision.")  And note how Rick is  referred to as  'papa.". This is a curious thing, for Jesus, taught his disciples to call no man on earth "father" for you have one father, in heaven. Calling Rick "Papa," publican like this ....  Is just notably odd.


So, maybe he is "like a father."  Maybe calling him Papa is just a term of endearment, after all we all have fathers that we call "dad" or "papa. " Let's ignore that for a moment.... and consider this other talk of Rick being a voice of wisdom, hope, encouragement and vision.  It's nice that the writers of this webpage for Sadleback have such a high regard for their pastor, but there's a problem: Rick is habitually twisting the scripture, wresting them to say what he wants them to say.

audio  from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVth6gtHBNk ) 
 

Rick says:

"The biggest mistake that churches make is we think that sermons will produce spiritual maturity. If people don’t take notes, they forget 95% of what they hear within 72 hours. That is not going to produce spiritual maturity." - Rick Warren  Interview at Exponential Conference

Sermons don't work, according to Rick... but:

"The Purpose Driven strategy is not a church growth strategy. It is a spiritual maturity strategy. It’s bringing people closer and closer to Christ."   - Rick Warren

Rick also says that prayer and preaching doesn't work to "grow a church." These are strange things to say in the light and importance of the scriptures, (which are to be alight unto our path and a lamp unto our feet,)  don't you think?   But there's Rick, a pastor to pastors, saying such things. According to him, it's his Purpose Driven Life books, or his vision from God,... the P.E.A.C.E. Plan that Christians, and others should be desiring.....
and God is going to do great things... through Rick.

“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

The scripture doesn't work...  sermons don't produce maturity but Rick's P,E.A.C.E. Plan is what God will use, (according to Rick,) for "revival!"  One could only wonder what will be revived as he announced it to the world, it was "only the beginning" of something new that God was about to do...

“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

God breathed scripture is apparently obsolete.  If Rick had  his way, the scripture which testifies of Jesus Christ, and all he said and did is out.  Churches are built on the cornerstone of "purpose" and he is busy as a bee, creating and passing out his own masterful platitudes, like:

"We were planned for God's pleasure
      ... so your first purpose is to offer real worship. 
We were formed for God's family
     ..... so your second purpose is to enjoy real fellowship.
We were created to become like Christ,
         ....  so your third purpose is to learn real discipleship.
We were shaped for serving God
        .... so your fourth purpose is to practice real ministry.
We were made for a mission
           ....so your fifth purpose is to live out real evangelism "

 But, then while Rick says such creative things, he also likes to say, "It's not about you." and one can note how each of these statements is about..."YOU." 

And what do you think about his verbal emphasis here on "real" ....(verses fake?)   Apparently, following Rick and his instruction is "real,"  on the other hand, the sermons and prayer and preaching  that once produced all thie things in the life of church, ....worship, and fellowship, and discipleship, and ministry and evangelism.... is not.

There is no doubt about it.... Rick has lots of little sayings.  Like invisible balloon sculptures, his twisted scripture-sounding sayings go out to to delight a crowd.  Contorted into ambiguous shapes and forms, they have the magically ability of saying whatever the hearer (or the speaker) wants to hear be said.  Inflated with lofty notions, big numbers, huge crowds and radical endeavors, it is as if  "BIG"  is somehow a measure of how great THOU really art. With scripture silenced, twisted, and tied up lin knots like a street clown's balloon  what results is a uniquely crafted marvel, one with little or no substance.  Purpose Driven church goers leave church holding not their Bible, but books written by Rick and friends.  

Sadly, as fine sounding as Rick may be, he does not preach the gospel so that people listening can be saved,. (Click on "Rick" and watch the video.)  And contrary to what he telling audiences,  all major religions do not "point to truth," and when you become a christian, Jesus is not merely a "manager" or "C.E.O."  of your life.  Sadder still, as emotional about "the gospel of Jesus Christ", as close to the verbal truth as he gets, all he says quickly lends itself, not to give you eternal life through faith in Christ, but to change your thinking and get you on his program.  It's bait and switch.

Thinking are doing a wonderful work of the Lord as they dismiss warnings from friends and family, and get into small groups doing community service projects as they strive to live out our their dreams doing what Rick defines  as a "Purpose Driven Life," in a Purpose Driven Church" with a focus on being in community and loving and serving.... the world., people tune out the real study and proper use of scripture and rely on Pastor, "Papa" Rick

" Why would God pour more maturity and wisdom into a stagnate reservoir? Following the same thought, the last thing many believers need is to go to another Bible study; What they need are opportunities to serve - where they can exercise their spiritual muscles. Your example will teach the members of your congregation to shift from an attitude of “serve us” to "service." 

Transform your congregation through service, by Rick Warren, June 2, 2004  here

"But as we mature in Christ, the focus of our lives should increasingly shift to living a life of service. The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, “Who’s going to meet my needs?” and starts asking, “Whose needs can I meet?” Do you ever ask that question?"                               We Are Commanded to Serve God by Rick Warren, August 19, 2009

 Are you so selfish and immature that you dare ask God to help meet your need? And by the way, whose needs are you going to meet today?  

"As we seek to grow and become more like Christ, we need to learn how to live a life of service."

-Rick Warren, Living a Life of Service, May 21, 2014

Daily Hope with Rick Warren, rickwarren.org

You know, Hebrews 11 is not refered to as the hall of service.... but the hall of faith.  And not only that,  Jesus, (aka God)  is the only one who can meet the needs of people... not you.... and yes, we are needy people, relying on the Lord and others too for help in our need.   Being without a need, is not a sign of spiritual  maturity. 

Jesus is the hope we have, but Rick says,

"Truly the church is the hope of the world!"

Rick Warren, 

The Church, The Hope of the World by Rick Warren.

Who knew?  

...." the church," (not Jesus) "is the "hope of the world." 

The Bible warns Christians of "another gospel." (Galatians 1:8;    2 Corinthians 11:4)  and another Jesus.  Be warned.  Rick Warren has some foreign ideas that are definately unbiblcal and move people away from scriptural truths of the Bible. 

 And his grandiose notion of creating  "sustainable change" is simply not the gospel. 

"The Path Back To God"

"The Path Back To God was Rick's title for his first of this new year's daily devotional,  Daily Hope with Rick Warren.  And here Pastor Rick writes, (that is... if it is really Pastor Rick that actually comes up with this gimmicky stuff. who knows?) ..... He writes that there are four things you need do, if you want to get back to God.

"Four things?"  (You might ask.)

Yes , four.  

Well, it says "four" but there's only three in his numerically bulleted list. 

That's odd.... (you would think there's be four.)

That is strange! Maybe someone made a typo?

What is even stranger, (this is from a Biblical  perspective,) is that the "pastor" neglects to mention anything about Jesus as any of his "four" .. (or rather three,) things you "need to do" to "get back" to God.

And what are they? (According to Rick)

First, according to the devotionals, you need dissatisfaction. He says that you need to say,
  “I don’t like this. I’m tired of being stressed out all the time. I’m tired of being frustrated all the time. I’m tired of being overworked all the time. I’m tired of feeling distant from God.”

Really?   

(It is no wonder that the bible teaches Christians to be content in every circumstance, for dissatisfaction will have you listening to people like Rick. It's easy to be dissatisfied.

Then he quotes the Message novel, saying, "Jeremiah 29:13 says, “When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed”"

What he quotes here is not a translation of the bible, it is a paraphrase, 

one which makes God sound ike He's some salesman.

And one would think God was going to wait until you 

"get serious" before you can find him.... meanwhile it was

 while we were still sinners that Christ died for us.)

 

God made the first move toward us.

Secondly, according to the devotional, you need to "own up to your sin."
(Question: Why this isn't number one on the list?)

The bible says that sin separates us from God.  This is true and Rick mentions that, but then he diverts the conversation by saying that if you don't" feel" close to God, it is because you moved.  He says that once you "own up to your sin," you can have a right relationship with God.

Under number three, Rick says, you must offer yourself up to God.  He says "True transformation happens when your heart moves from self-centeredness to God centeredness." and then asks, " Are you there yet?"

There is no number four on his list.... and there is no mention of Jesus.  /he does add,
"True transformation does not happen overnight"   and  he tells his readers that "God is going to work on you your entire life." and " But there is a decision that starts the process."

He then quotes Romans 12:1a from the NIV.....
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice”
 That's odd. No Jesus and instead we are being taught/told that we must make a decision to offer ourselves as a sacrifice to God.  

But there's more.  There are some "Talk it Over" questions.  

And again... no mention of Jesus.


 
             " Why do you think it is sometimes difficult to let go of the things that stress us out?"
 

             " What does it mean to repent? "
 

             " What does it look like practically to offer yourself up to God?"






If the truth were to be told, we would hear about Jesus and how by believing upon him we could be saved from sin and death.  

If his goal was to show you the Path... or the way to God, he would show you Jesus, Because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  Rick doesn't.  

This webpage here neglects to tell people the truth about Jesus Christ.   It does however, tell you about being "transformed" as if you can do that on your own........ and you will probably need Rick's book to do it.  

His book is not free though.... at the very least you will have to make a donation.

God's gift of salvation is. 

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ephesians 
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:





 

 
 

 
 
 

Rick Warren Guest Speaks To the Dissolving Mars Hill Congregation.... (But Not In-Person.)

Anyone who knows anything about what has been taking place at Mars Hill Seattle, knows that there is much more than simply a "change of plans" going on.  People have been hurt, some deeply.  Others were confused, wondering what took place, how such a thing could have happened between friends, struggling with issues of faith and confidence in the leadership, feeling betrayed and abandoned, wondering how to move on.  

Well, never fear.... Rick is here.  

Who knew that someone outside of the immediate congregation would be tagged withe task of giving the last sermon and give closure to all that took place at Mark Driscolls's Mars Hill.

In his address, Warren reminded the crowd how believers have the promise of Romans 8:28.  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose," he told them,  Then went on to say that God's purpose is to make you like Christ, (even if he has to use a sledgehammer on you.)  He told them that if you are a believer, then you're going to have to go through everything that Jesus went through.

Now, I don;t know about you, but I know that Jesus was crucified and now I have Rick telling me that I have to go through that too?  Funny...I thought it was the other way around.  You know, he took my place and now it is of comfort to know that Jesus, God who became man, suffered, died in my place and therefore truely knows, understands all our suffering and pain.  For those who have seen the movie by Mel Gibson, that comment can be pretty intimidating to hear how we will all have to go through everything that Jesus went through.

Rick did offer a list of advice to the crowd that filled the room:

 "Let me suggest this: number one, refuse to be bitter about what's happened. If you hold onto bitterness you'll only hurting yourself. Bitterness prolongs the pain."

Without even quoting any good scripture on the matter of bitterness, Rick still makes a positive point about the danger of harboring bitterness in one's heart, but the interesting thing is that he didn't do it in person.  His address was not even simulcast  "live."  Nope.  Totally impersonal, his message was merely a video shown on a big screen to the gathered crowd,  a  pre-recorded video.   He continued: 


"Refuse to blame anybody. Stop the blame game." 



Again, this is not bad advice. These people were obviously ready to move in a new direction after the sinful actions of their leadership destroyed members of their congregation and left them without a place to call "church."  It was time for a new pasture.

 "Number three, refuse to gossip or judge. You've got to let it go."

 You can almost hear the echo in his choice of words. "You've go to let it go." 
"Let it go... let it go...."

Does he mean "forgive?" 

(Isn't it interesting how to gossip" or "to "judge" sometimes means never talking about anything that happens, and never labeling bad behavior as somehow wrong?  The bible tells us not to gossip and to judge rightly, when we do.... and it tells us too to speak the truth in love and test all things to see if they are of God.)

"Number four, show grace to your leaders. Why? Because every leader is flawed. … 

Everyone, (not just leaders) is "flawed"..... that is, everyone but Jesus.  
Jesus is not flawed.
 
 Number five, be grateful .… You need to be grateful for all of the ways that God used Mars Hill Church. Be grateful for all the ways God used Mark Driscoll."



Romans 8:29 rings true.here....


It had been a bad situation.But had Mark been being used by God?  After all, Mark Driscoll is known for telling people in his own congregation that God hates them.  (The Christian has to wonder, who is this God that Mark represents?) 

 Is this the same God who is described as "Love".in the bible, the God who is patient, kind, long-suffering, and not self-seeking? Is this the she same God who "so loved" the world that he sent his son as a gift to give eternal life to those who would believe? (John 3:16) 

Is Mark right or wrong when he tells his congregation that God "hates them"?  Who is this God that makes Mark  boast that 'by God's grace" there is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus."  

Dead bodies?  By God's grace? It does not make sense in light of God and Scripture.

 Mark Driscoll is also known for his use of profanity and being vulgar in his position as "pastor." His actions had given him the reputation of "potty mouth" pastor.  He has published many controversial books, one on the topic of marriage and another with a rather vulgar interpretation of the character and  behavior of Jesus Christ , (see , Vintage Jesus. ) Now, through people who have seen through the veneer and have dared to speak out, the truth is known and Mark Driscoll has been exposed. 

Yes....  grace to cover over sin and make amends is always important, but where's Mark Driscoll now?   And now that he is gone, is Rick some sort of superior  "overseer" of the churches that will now emerge out of the fallen carcass previously known to the world as Seattle's Mars Hill?

Rick demonstrated  Mars Hill as a great giant of a tree... now fallen.  He showed the camera he was filming for a photo of what he said was a sycamore,   and told them, 

 "Even in God’s garden of grace, broken trees bear fruit."

It's perhaps a comforting statement, but it's certainly not a bible verse with which to live your life by.  It is a little quip of Rick's that he's tweeted and used other times in the last year, one that has gotten him some media mileage.  It's evidently important for him to promote this concept as well as show this picture and tell how it was given to him by a monk and also to mention to everyone that it is a sycamore tree. (Why a "sycamore?") Most of the sermon, or rather "video recorded message," was a  lot of regurgitation of Rick's previous dissertations, philosophies and personal experiences and of course he also could not do without at least one, ( actually much more than one,) mention  of the the word, "purpose." 

Calling himself a “purpose-driven eater”  Warren, as he has done before, compared God’s plan of working all things for good (Romans 8:28)  to the ingredients involved in making a cake, saying how import it was for them to work together:

“Eaten individually, every one of those items is pretty distasteful ... even if you eat sugar by itself, it’s just not that good, but if you stir it all in, all things work together.”

 Even the part about how God uses sledgehammers and jack hammers to make us be like Jesus, for example, came from chapter 29 of his Purpose Driven Life book!   He would have you think that we but mere jewels in the making at the hands of a sledgehammer wielding jeweler forcing us to conform.  Is this biblical teaching? (Answer: NO.)


His words and visual aid didn't quite mesh together.  His photo depicted a dead tree and he pointed out new trees rising up where the old tree had fallen.  It didn't show "fruit" on the fallen tree, or fruit on the new young trees either, yet he talked about fruit on trees. This is  not coherrent, but the concept of dead and up-rooted trees being actual "fruit producers" is incoherent too.  Even fallen tree branches only produce fruit if they had fruit in production in the first place.... they do not produce any fruit once they are uprooted and fall.  

But besides all that,Jesus said it is not just being a fruit producer that matters;  (Mathew 7:17.  Producing some fruit is easy for any fruit tree to do.  The fruit produced must actually be suitable for consumption.  Good trees bear good fruit, not bad.

Lastly, Rick gave one more directive. He said,

 "Number six, keep your eyes on Jesus."

And that's good advice straight from the book of Hebrews in the Bible.  To do that you have to make some time and learn about Jesus.... You will be able to do this by reading about him in the Bible.  There you will see who he is and what he dis and does and understand what it is that we as Christians,and what some, serving as pastors, are supposed to do and not do.  

Jesus, the good shepherd, is faithful and true and he will never leave us or forsake us... (and he probably will not ever need to make "pre-recorded videos" in some pretense of being in touch with us.)  God is not a shadow on the wall that moves and changes.  He is real and in our midst as believers.  As the Good Shepherd he will lead us and guide us and protect us from all the storms of life.  His is the one that pastors should be pointing people to instead of writing book after book and pitching sales, because only Jesus, (not mere men like Rick Warren or Mark Driscoll) and it is recorded in the Bible, has the words of eternal life.