Rick Warren

Some, like Ahimaaz, outrun others, but don't know what the message is when they get there! 2 Samuel 18:23; 2 Samuel 18:28-29.

 

Remind me what that was?

edit: so looks like Prop 8 was a marriage proposition supporting traditional marriage. If he supported, definitely a good thing.

 

Not someone I'd recommend.

 

And it's that kind of stuff that makes you wonder.

 

I never said to judge a church simply by its mission efforts.

 

Our men's class started a study using Rick Warren's books. About halfway through the material, we threw them in the trash. Does that give you a hint of what I think of Rick Warren?

 

I think this is the reaction I had when first introduced to these emergent type teachings. They have some sound doctrine, but their teaching is not really Bible-related at all. It's psychology/self-help sprinkled with Scripture. But I would venture to say that true Christians are bored with this. They want to dive into the Bible and the mysteries of God. It's the tares that are interested in this stuff, and it keeps them in the pews. And that's primarily who these teachers are catering to.

But ultimately if fails and doesn't translate to the next generation. The crowds at the mega churches increase, but next generation walks away and the number of Christians in America decreases. It's a tragic cycle we're in. The only thing that will save us is if the Church leaders like Warren and the others go back, unashamed, to the word of God. Be at peace when possible, but stop being afraid to speak the blunt truth of the Gospel which will indeed offend some.

 

And that's the pattern of Church leadership today. We've gone from be at peace whenever possible to be at peace at all costs. That's the mistake of Warren. He believes he can somehow share the gospel without offending anyone, and that's why he makes these gaffs. That's why the teachings are so watered down and politically correct. He's worshiping peace in a sense, and Christ never wanted it to go that far.

 

Many of the Emergent church are defective in theology, as they would be the ones to have a hrad time with accepting literal scripture views in ike Genesis, and would have an issue with the "harshness" of the Bible in regards to lifestyles and living arrangements!

 

My understanding is that Christians should reach out to the lost. You don't think so?

 

I found this statement about what Warren considers to be the gospel (straight from "A Purpose driven life").

• "Right now, God is inviting you to live for his glory by fulfilling the purposes he made you for. It’s really the only way to live. Everything else is just existing. Real life begins by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ. If you are not sure you have done this, all you need to do is receive and believe. The Bible promises, "To all who received him, to those he believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" . Will you accept God’s offer? First, believe. Believe God loves you and made you for his purposes. Believe you’re not an accident. Believe you were made to last forever. Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you’ve done, God wants to forgive you. Second, receive. Receive Jesus into your life as your Lord and Saviour. Receive his forgiveness for sins. Receive his Spirit, who will give you the power to fulfil your life purpose. The Bible says, "Whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever!" . Wherever you are reading this, I invite you to bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity: "Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you."  Go ahead. If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God! You are now ready to discover and start living God’s purpose for your life. I urge you to tell someone about it. You’re going to need support" 

When I look at this I would agree that repentance is not mentioned as being necessary for salvation. Many ministers don't emphasize that but that doesn't make it right. in addition, he says nothing about the need to be born-again as a new creature and have a personal relationship with Jesus. This is a very common but crucial error.
I think however that you would find something similar preached in most Southern Baptist churches today. So i do have concerns about Warren. What are yours?

 

He teaches a seeker friendly Gospel, where he does mention get saved by receiving jesus, but no mention of how vile we once were, how sin wrecked us, and we need to count the cost and take up daily cross...

 

Not as bad as some like schuler and olsteen, but one that does relatre to feeling good about yourself, God has wonderful plans for your life, lets get on His team etc!

 

What I notice is...

A. No Mention of the Resurrection--"If you confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you shall be saved."

B. No mention of agreeing with God that we have sinned against Him.

C. His message is man centered and not God-centered--The Gospel is Good news About Jesus Christ and what He has done to reconcile unholy sinners to a Holy God.

These are just my opinions and observations. I would hope someone would analyze what I saw with the same degree of discernment and healthy critical-ness.

Point A. was definitely left out. That's pretty critical. Point C is the overarching theme of Scripture.