The foolishness of preaching

Writing to the Corinthians, Paul described his calling as an apostle of Jesus Christ. “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” [1 Corinthians 1:17. KJV] In the next verse Paul explained that how preaching was received by the hearers depended on whether they were saved or lost. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” [1 Corinthians 1:18. KJV]

Matthew Henry wrote that the power and success of Paul’s preaching was not based on the wisdom of man’s words

…lest the success should be ascribed to the force of art, and not of truth; not to the plain doctrine of a crucified Jesus, but to the powerful oratory of those who spread it. He preached a crucified Jesus in plain language…This truth needed no artificial dress…it shone out with the greatest majesty in its own light, and prevailed in the world by its divine authority without any human helps. The plain preaching of a crucified Jesus was more powerful than all the oratory and philosophy of the heathen world.[1]

Henry went on to say that because worldly-wise men are puffed up by their own learning and imaginary knowledge, they despised the message brought by a few lowly fishermen. They considered such preaching foolishness, but it pleased God to save those who believed by such presumed foolishness.[2]

But is the foolishness of preaching the same as foolish preaching? Remember, Paul said that preaching the cross is considered by the lost as foolishness. Therefore, we may also say that preaching anything other than the cross is a contradictory message and may be called silly or foolish preaching and not the foolishness of preaching to which Paul referred. But herein we find a dilemma. How do those that perish and consider preaching foolishness become saved? The answer is found in the work of the third member of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit. This will be examined more fully later in this chapter.

The purpose and methods of preaching

The nature of the message that God has given in the Bible is essentially declarative. The declarative nature of the Bible’s message confers on preaching its importance. Preaching reflects the fundamental means by which the Word of God is declared to a gathering of His people. Through those gatherings we encounter Jesus and fellowship with Him through his word. “It is the chief function of the sermon to unleash the word of the Lord in the midst of his people. It is the chief means by which the Lord directs, rebukes, sustains and invigorates his people.”[3] [emphasis added]

There are several methods by which one may preach or unleash the word of the Lord. We look to E. M. Bounds (1835-1913) for direction in this matter. His eleven published books center on the importance of prayer. But he talked of other spiritual things in his books which he knew to be inseparable from prayer. One of those was preaching by which he meant expository preaching.

That was true preaching—preaching of a sort which is sorely needed, today, in order that God’s word may have due effect on the hearts of the people…

No one having any knowledge of the existing facts, will deny the comparative lack of expository preaching in the pulpit effort of today. And none, we should, at least, imagine, will do other than lament the lack. Topical preaching, polemical (disputation) preaching, historical preaching, and other forms of sermonic output have, one supposes, their right and opportune uses. But expository preaching—the prayerful expounding of the World of God is preaching that is preaching—pulpit effort par excellence.[4] [emphasis in original]

If Bounds lamented the lack of expository preaching in his day, he would be appalled by the near nonexistence of it in many evangelical churches today. The absence of expository preaching is particularly notable in seeker-sensitive, Purpose Driven services.

Although expository preaching must be the center piece of preaching in the church, the intent here is not to judge preaching based on whether it encompasses entire books, just a few verses, or focuses on only one verse, whether by expository, topical, or other forms of preaching. As Nancy Pearcey points out, the problem arises when the Bible is treated as a collection of “facts” which produce a superficial interpretation of scripture devoid of metaphorical, mystical, and symbolic meanings.[5]

…by treating the Bible verses as isolated, discrete “facts,” the method often produced little more than proof-texting—pulling out individual verses and aligning them under a topical label, with little regard for literary or historical context, or the larger organizing themes in Scripture.[6]

The sharp rise in Bible illiteracy over the last half century is due in large part to at least five causes. The abandonment of expository preaching for other types, particularly topical preaching, is the major reason. A second reason is the decline in number of sermons that Christians hear from the pulpit. Thirty or forty years ago, the average evangelical church member would hear three or more messages preached each week compared to perhaps one each week at present. The church has replaced many regular preaching services with small group meetings and other religious activities that do not provide a consistent exposition of the Bible. A third contributing factor is a decline in regular attendance of church members at services where a message is preached. The fourth reason is the de-emphasis or complete elimination of a weekly Sunday morning Sunday school. The fifth reason is the replacement of hymns with their explicit doctrine-laced biblical themes with more contemporary, personalized themes. When all of these reasons are reduced to a mathematical examination, it is easy to suppose that thirty or forty years ago an average evangelical church attender may over the course of a year have heard 160 or more sermons preached and Sunday school lessons taught, all with a significant amount of Bible exposition and doctrinally-centered teaching. Today, the average church attender may hear as few as 25 or 30 sermons per year, most of which will have a much lighter, topical message with significantly less Bible exposition, doctrine, and teaching.

With this understanding of the true nature, purpose, and methods of preaching from the foregoing discussion, we shall examine the preaching that dominates modern evangelicalism in America.

Seeker-sensitive preaching

Rick Warren faults most traditional church services because he believes their messages are unpredictable in that they alternate erratically between evangelism and edification. He also believes that traditional services are poorly designed for unbelievers because they are not understandable. According to Warren, designing a seeker-sensitive service will address these deficiencies. As a result Christians will want to invite their friends which will produce a steady stream of unchurched visitors from which the church will be grown.[7]

Warren eliminates the supposed confusion of the unbeliever caused by messages of edification directed at the redeemed by designing and directing a substantial majority of his sermons as evangelical efforts to reach the crowd of unbelievers. Warren described the characteristics and construction of seeker-sensitive services and preaching.

Each week at Saddleback, we remind ourselves who we’re trying to reach: Saddleback Sam and his wife Samantha. Once you know your target, it will determine many of the components of your seeker service: music style, message topics, testimonies, creative arts, and much more.

Most evangelical churches conclude their worship service with an altar call. But many do not realize that it is a self-defeating strategy to focus the first fifty-eight minutes of the service on believers and suddenly switch to unbelievers in the last two minutes. Unbelievers are not going to sit through fifty eight-minutes of a service that isn’t in the slightest way relevant to them. The entire service, not just the invitation, must be planned with the unchurched in mind.[8] [emphasis added]

But Warren and the other Church Growth advocates have wrongly redirected the purpose of preaching from being primarily focused on the body of Christ to a weekly seeker-sensitive message aimed at the unchurched. This redirection has had a profound impact on the long-time faithful in many of those churches following the Purpose Driven model. The results of one study commissioned by a well-known mega church shocked its leadership when they discovered a widespread spiritual discontent among its most faithful members within or near what they considered to be their core group. This study will be discussed in a later chapter.

Warren claims that both book exposition (which supposedly works best for edification) and topical exposition (which works best for evangelism) are important in growing a healthy church.[9] Yet Warren plainly says that the thrust of his preaching is to the unchurched on a weekly basis. As a consequence, he rarely does expository preaching, and his topical preaching cannot be expository by its very nature.

In spite of assurances to the contrary, many evangelicals lack confidence in the Bible. Bible exposition from the pulpit has been replaced by meatless but entertaining and therapeutic messages with a biblical facade. Although they may be initially interesting and temporarily comforting, such messages will over time dull the senses of the listener who develops a deep hunger for God’s word and impatience with the inconsequential and light-hearted fare which they are regularly fed.[10]

Warren’s incessant focus on getting the unchurched into the church to hear a weekly evangelistic-topical message not only perverts the primary purpose and method of preaching to the church but also fails on three other counts: content, enlisting the power of the Word, and reliance upon the work of the Holy Spirit.

Preaching the cross

At its heart, all preaching must be a preaching of the cross. Preaching must not be separated into a special set of sermons for sinners and another set for Christians. It is readily admitted there are salvation messages and messages that edify, but to segregate or pigeonhole preaching into edification or evangelism is to limit or shackle the breadth of application and power of the scriptures.

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 perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. [2 Timothy 3:16-17. KJV] [emphasis added]

It is the Holy Spirit that prepares the heart of the listener to receive the message, whether he is saved or a sinner. Through the divine work of the Holy Spirit, a single sermon has the power to touch a multitude of people on a multitude of levels. One may need salvation, another edification, others encouragement for a variety of reasons, some for peace, and the list goes on. The preacher that through prayer has sought and is led by the Holy Spirit in preparing and delivering his message need not fret as to whether or not he has correctly assessed and targeted his audience and delivered an understandable message.

The power of God’s word v. the power of man

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. [Isaiah 55:11. KJV]

Warren’s belief that traditional messages are not understandable by the unbeliever devalues the power of the Word to draw the sinner to Christ. The sinner may not understand every scripture used by the minister, but the scriptures are not ordinary words but God-inspired and have power to accomplish its purposes beyond a preacher’s limited ability to articulate what he thinks God is trying to convey and the listener’s ability to comprehend.

Too often, new paradigm churches dumb down the message of the Bible and therefore make it a husk without the life sustaining core from which spiritual nourishment is found. Words, illustrations, stories, and loose interpretations are often used inappropriately and excessively to such an extent as to make the clear meaning and intent of the Bible completely distorted. Because of the cultural demand for microwaved, abridged, Cliff Notes-styled preaching that flows from modern intellectual laziness, there is a general belief among many evangelical leaders that rigorous study and expository preaching of the Bible and its doctrines is no longer necessary in our enlightened seeker-friendly age.

In seeker-sensitive preaching, there is an inherent conflict between preaching the cross and their goal of being sensitive to the feelings and needs of the unchurched. We find the correct answer to this conflict revealed in the book of Hebrews.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. [Hebrews 4:12. KJV]

Matthew Henry explains the work of the sword. “It is quick; it is very lively and active, in seizing the conscience of the sinner, in cutting him to the heart, and in comforting him and binding up the wounds of the soul.”[11] [emphasis added] Here we see that the Word not only accuses and cuts but comforts and dresses wounds. In the seek-sensitive church world, saccharine superficial messages attempt to massage and caress felt needs without the necessity of spiritual surgery. But the Word rightly applied cuts deeply beneath felt needs to the secret sin buried in the heart of man which Jeremiah called desperately wicked and deceitful (see Jeremiah 17:9).

The work of the Holy Spirit

Warren’s brand of evangelism effectively makes salvation a matter of works on the part of the preacher and merit on the part of the sinner. Both tend to ignore the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the sinner. The Holy Spirit can quicken or bring alive any message, be it of an evangelical or an edifying type, and use it to cut to the heart of a sinner. Paul said in Ephesians 2:1, “And you he hath quickened, who were dead in Trespasses and sins.” The “you” is the sinner who is spiritually dead because of trespasses and sin. The “he” refers to the Holy Spirit. By “quickening” is meant to be made alive.

But too often the sinner’s spiritual corpse is mistakenly diagnosed as being merely sick, faint, dispirited, calloused, hardened, or burnt-out. All suggest a spark of life still remains that will allow the sinner to do something to merit God’s forgiveness and return to His good graces. If only the minister can entice the sinner with the right presentation, illustrations, stories, and understandable words, he will admit to a mental awareness of his sinful condition, rededicate himself, turn over a new leaf, and try harder. But such is foolish preaching and inhibits the work of the Holy Spirit without which both the minister and the sinner are utterly powerless to lead the sinner from death to life. It is only through a clear presentation of the gospel and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit followed by repentance and abject surrender can the sinner find unmerited favor which is called the grace of God.

God’s ways cannot be reduced to a formula

Francis Schaeffer was one of the most widely recognized Christian thinkers of the last half of the twentieth century. He has said that God uses different ways in different moments of history, but he cautions that this freedom to use various ways in accomplishing His work has limits. First, in doing His work, we must live only in the circle of scripture and do what it says. We must not go outside of scripture and do what it says is sin. Second, in doing God’s work, His ways cannot be reduced to a formula. When we attempt to confine God’s ways to a formula, we rob Him of His personality, diversity, and sovereignty.[12] On the surface this would appear to be the same message as preached by Warren. However, a closer look reveals that Warren goes beyond the boundaries of this freedom within which the church and individual Christians must operate. Warren too often crosses the line with regard to accommodating and even encouraging the spirit of the world in the church. Second, and contrary to biblical commands, he had developed and maintained associations and relationships with the leadership of false and strongly anti-Christian religions. Third, in spite of all his assurances to the contrary, he has reduced God’s work and ways to a formula that has been extensively described and documented in this chapter and the last.

It would appear that Paul’s foolishness of preaching that was abandoned by the liberal church a hundred years ago is also being abandoned by many in evangelical churches today. In its place we see foolish preaching because it has little or nothing to say about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the cross, sin, forgiveness, death to self, and life eternal.

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961), p. 1803.
[2] Ibid., p. 1804.
[3] Peter F. Jensen, “A Vision for Preachers,” Doing Theology for the People of God, (Eds., Donald Lewis and Alister McGrath, ( Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1996), p. 219.
[4] E. M. Bounds, The Necessity of Prayer, from The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1990), p. 78.
[5] Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2004, 2005), p. 301.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, pp. 251-253.
[8] Ibid., pp. 253-254.
[9] Ibid., p. 296.
[10] Jensen, pp. 219-220.
[11] Henry, p. 1914.
[12] Francis Schaeffer, “Interview with Francis & Edith Schaeffer – God’s Leading in L’Abri & Our Lives,” How Then Should We Live?, DVD – Gospel Communications International, Inc., (Worchester, Pennsylvania: Vision Video, 1977).

Doing church

To achieve the goal of balance among the five purposes (fellowship, discipleship, worship, ministry, and evangelism), Rick Warren organized the Purpose Driven church around two concepts. According to Warren, the Life Development Process is the “what we do” at Saddleback. Circles of Commitment illustrate the “who we do it with.” Circles of Commitment contain four concentric circles surrounding a core. The goal is to move low commitment/maturity people from the outer circle to high commitment/maturity people at the core.[1]

In this concept of “who we do it with,” the outer circle represents the community or unchurched where the purpose of evangelism occurs. This is a pool of lost people that occasionally attend but have made no commitment to Jesus Christ or the church.[2]

The second circle just inside the outer circle is the crowd or regular attenders and who may be believers or nonbelievers. Their commitment extends only to attendance of a weekly worship service and fulfills the worship purpose of the church.[3]

The third circle is comprised of official members, called the congregation, that are committed to fellowship. To move into this circle, one must have received Christ, been baptized, attended the membership class, and signed a membership covenant.[4]

In the fourth circle as we move inward are the committed that take their faith seriously but are not actively serving in ministry within the church. They are dedicated to growing in discipleship which includes prayer and giving. To be in this group, one must take a spiritual maturity class and sign a maturity covenant card which requires a daily quiet time, tithing ten percent of their income, and being active in a small group.[5]

The central area surrounded by the four outer circles is the core group that is considered as having the deepest level of commitment to ministering to others. The requirements for admission to this group include a third level of training; completion of a personality, skills, and gifts assessment; having a personal ministry interview; being commissioned as a lay minister at Saddleback; and attending a monthly meeting of the core group.[6]

The Life Development Process (“what we do”) is designed to lead people from the outer circle to the core through education and assimilation. The process is visually described as a baseball diamond. Each base represents a level of commitment: first base is membership, second is maturity, third is ministry, and home plate is missions. Warren described the goal of his Life Development Process.

Our goal is to help people develop a lifestyle of evangelism, worship, fellowship, discipleship, and ministry. We want to produce doers of the Word, not hearers only—to transform, not merely inform…Our ultimate goal at Saddleback is to turn an audience into an army.[7]

To describe the Purpose Drive church and its methods, Warren is fond of using military metaphors such as army, target, strategies, front line, and mission, all of which are intended to connote activity, action, and movement. Driven is an action verb whose synonyms include pushed, propelled, urged, goaded, shoved, thrust, forced, coerced, maneuvered, and constrained. When driven is inserted between purpose and church, it is here we begin to see that the restless Purpose Driven march to do church is a reflection of the humanistic spirit of the world that values and exalts the Enlightenment ideal of progress. Progress implies movement, and in one sense it implies the importance of doing as opposed to being. But the frenetic doings of the Purpose Driven church pale in comparison to the serenity and communion with Christ found in the Christian walk even when that walk may take us into the valley of the shadow of death.

Being the Church

Over sixty years ago A. W. Tozer wrote insightfully and perhaps prophetically of the deep inner confusion caused by the antagonism between being and doing. He wrote that modern civilized society, particularly in the West, was firmly entrenched in doing as opposed to being.

We Christians cannot escape this question. We must discover where God throws the stress and come around to the divine pattern.

The tendency to accept without question and follow without knowing why is very strong in us. For this reason whatever the majority of Christians hold at any given time is sure to be accepted as true and right beyond a doubt.

This is why being has ceased to have much appeal for people and doing engages almost everyone’s attention. Modern Christians lack symmetry. They know almost nothing about the inner life. They are like a temple that is all exterior without any interior.

“The accent in the Church today,” says Leonard Ravenhill, the English evangelist, “is not on devotion, but on commotion.”…Externalism has taken over. God now speaks by the wind and the earthquake only; the still small voice can be heard no more. The whole religious establishment has become a noisemaker…The old question, “What is the chief end of man?” is now answered, “To dash about the world and add to the din thereof.” And all of this is done in the name of Him who did not strive nor cry nor make His voice to be heard in the streets (Matthew 12:18-21).

We must begin the needed reform by challenging the spiritual validity of externalism. What a man is must be shown to be more important than what he does.

We must show a new generation of nervous, almost frantic, Christians that power lies at the center of life. Speed and noise are evidences of weakness, not strength…The desire to be dramatically active is proof of our religious infantilism; it is a type of exhibitionism common to the kindergarten.[8] [emphasis added]

What is the divine pattern that God emphasizes? It is being his child, loving and being loved, and sharing the inner life of the Trinity forever. We have status as a member of God’s family. Status implies being, not becoming. Being is for eternity. Doing is time-bound and only for a season that is likened to a vapor. Therefore, the emphasis must be on being to which doing must always defer. The Church Growth movement became fixated on the doing to the diminishment or exclusion of being. As a result it became excessively one-sided and therefore lacked symmetry. It has become unbalanced, the exact opposite of what it so vigorously demands. As a result much of the Bible is not taught nor even given much thought. Here we see the fundamental flaw in the Purpose Driven model.

In spite of assurances and protestations to the contrary, the Church Growth movement’s teachings and methods do compromise the biblical message by ignoring or giving scant attention large sections of the biblical narrative, twisting biblical doctrines to fit the Church Growth movement’s philosophies and methods, and an over or under emphasizing of many aspects of the biblical record. Although of great importance, the outworking of the Great Commission has been molded and massaged to justify the teachings and methods of the Church Growth movement. As a result, the focus has moved from Christ’s atoning work on the cross to the felt needs and desires of Warren’s iconic target—Saddleback Sam and Samantha.

The seeker-sensitive formula

As noted in previous chapters, the orthodoxy of the Church Growth movement and its seeker-sensitive model for doing church were inspired by the writings of George McGavran during the 1950s (See Chapters 21 and 24). Its guiding principle is that sociological research and scientific principles can be blended with biblical truths to achieve numerical growth in American congregations. These scientific principles dominate and “selected” Bible verses are used to support those principles. Invariably, as we are told, these properly applied scientific principles will produce numerical growth in any type of organization including churches. But little if any thought is given to the kind of growth that is being achieved. The type of growth desired in businesses and other organizations is not necessarily desirable in the church.[9] We need merely to return to Chapter 3 to see that the kind of growth a church experiences is exceedingly important for its long-term survival. Because of Roman Emperor Constantine’s legalization of Christianity in 313 and its elevation to the official religion of the Western Roman Empire in 381, thousands joined the church, but many were Christians in name only as the narrow gate was made wide which allowed a flood of corruptions to flow into the church.[10]

In the end, Church Growth practitioners see numerical church growth as merely a product of effective marketing. Give the customer what he wants. Customer-sensitive in the business world became seeker-sensitive in the Church Growth world. Robert Schuller’s slogan became the mantra of the seeker-sensitive church, “Find a need and fill it. Find a hurt and heal it.” Being seeker-sensitive is the heart of Warren’s Purpose Driven model and essentially drives all of its activities. To be a seeker-sensitive, a church must survey the community so as to identify its needs. Next the church organizes all of its efforts around meeting the “felt needs” of its target audience.[11]

Warren justifies the satisfaction of people’s “felt” needs by which he means their “heart” needs because it can attract large crowds. He is correct. Churches do grow by appealing to and feeding people’s felt needs. He claims Jesus ministered to the felt needs of the people in order to attract large crowds. However, Jesus’s purpose was not to attract large crowds, but when crowds came anyway, he certainly did not preach a seeker-sensitive message. Jesus’ focus was on the will of God and not numerical growth.

In the seeker-sensitive churches, felt needs are assumed to be legitimate but are often merely diversionary measures used by Satan and his forces to defeat the human soul. As previously noted, the source of man’s felt needs comes from his heart, but the heart is a most unreliable source. As Jeremiah recognized, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” [Jeremiah 17: 9. KJV] This is contrary to the cry of humanistic psychologists, “Get in touch with yourself. Follow your heart.” Aren’t seeker-sensitive churches encouraging the same mindset by focusing on every hurt and whim of the audience?

The seeker-sensitive mindset of church leaders has effectively embraced the humanistic psychology movement of which Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was one of the principal founders. Maslow developed a hierarchy of human needs to which man must ascend to achieve purpose and happiness in life. According to Maslow, the pinnacle of human needs is reached and satisfied when one becomes self-actualized by achieving a maximum degree of their inborn potential. The next lower need is self-esteem which connotes confidence, achievement, respect of others, and respect by others. It is only when we descend to the third level do we see any mention of relational needs such as love, belonging, friendship, family, and sexual intimacy.[12] But his hierarchy of human needs fundamentally conflicts with the human universal of the primacy of relationships in motivating human beings.

Maslow’s theories of human motivation are based on the humanistic worldview. They fail as human motivators because they dramatically diminish the importance of relationship in favor of self. Apart from physiological and safety needs which are creational givens, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is upside down as it reflects human nature and leads to a false worldview. The societal disorder that permeates the entire planet is a result of this widely held humanistic worldview which has elevated self above relationship. The whole of the seeker-sensitive movement’s dedication to meeting the felt needs of people taps into the humanistic spirit of the world and its devotion to self.

The great god of entertainment

Not only does the seeker-sensitive church attempt to meet the felt needs of their audience, they also attempt to meet their felt wants. Udo W. Middelmann cuts to the heart of the matter in his stinging indictment of many evangelical churches in America.

In the course of a very few decades much of the church has embraced the way of mass culture in its drive to reduce everything to play and attractive entertainment. It has bowed to the demands of a consumer society and offers a message that more often distracts for the moment than comforts for the long run. Adjustments in content and form to match the perceived needs of future possible converts eat away at the content necessary to understand God, the fall of man, and redemption. Marketing priorities preside. The product is matched to the customer’s expectations. There is little room for the doctor to prescribe the medicine or for God to set forth judgment and conditions for redemption.[13]

In his book Storm, Jim Cymbala echoes much of what Middelmann said with regard to the reasons for the decline of the American evangelical church. Many blame the decline on forces outside the church including failed political solutions and a decaying secular culture that is increasingly hostile to the message of Christ and His followers.[14] Certainly these are contributing influences, but the Church has survived far worse in its 2000 year history. Therefore, the modern evangelical church cannot blame the world for the church’s failures because

…we simultaneously mimic the ways of the world in hopes of packaging our faith into “Christianity Lite”—a spiritual candy we can toss at nonbelievers rather than confronting the hostile reactions that can occur when we proclaim the real gospel of Jesus Christ. Pandering to the culture with prepackaged truth nuggets hasn’t made us more effective; it has made us ineffective. [15] [emphasis in original]

Tozer recognized this trend in the early 1950s and wrote that religious entertainment is in many places is rapidly replacing the serious things of God with the “full approval of evangelical leaders who can even quote a holy text in defense of their delinquency.”[16] Tozer compared these carefully-programmed services with the New Testament model.

So the fast-paced, highly spiced, entertaining service of today may be a beautiful example of masterful programming—but it is not a Christian service. The two are leagues apart in almost every essential. About the only thing they have in common is the presence of a number of people in one room.[17]

The battle between Christianity and the forces of Satan is described in Ephesians 6:12. It is a spiritual conflict with an army of evil spirits headed by their commander Satan. They are the spiritual rulers of the world who energize the ungodly, oppose the will of God, and attack the believers of this age. They are a vast and highly organized empire of evil. [18] With cultural decay abounding in every facet of society, there never has been a period in American history when there has been such a desperate need for mature Christians to do battle with the forces of Satan. But to our great harm and dismay, a vast number of believers have reverted “to spiritual childhood and clamor for religious toys.”[19]

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1995), pp. 130-131.
[2] Ibid., p. 131.
[3] Ibid., pp. 131-132.
[4] Ibid., pp. 132-133.
[5] Ibid., pp. 133.
[6] Ibid., p. 134.
[7] Ibid., pp. 143, 145.
[8] A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, (Camp Hill, Pennsylvania: WingSpread Publishers, 1955, 1986), pp. 83-86.
[9] Marshall Davis, More Than A Purpose, (Enumclaw, Washington: Pleasant Word, 2006), pp. 23-24.
[10] B. K. Kuiper, The Church in History, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951, 1964), p. 27.
[11] Davis, pp. 28-29.
[12] Neel Burton, M.D., “Our Hierarchy of Needs,” Psychology Today, May 23, 2012. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201205/our-hierarchy-needs (accessed September 18, 2014).
[13] Udo W. Middelmann, The Market Driven Church, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2004), p. 124.
[14] Jim Cymbala with Jennifer Schuchmann, Storm – Hearing Jesus for The Times We Live In, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2014), pp. 14-15.
[15] Ibid., p. 15
[16] Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, p. 33.
[17] Ibid., pp. 105-106.
[18] Commentary on Ephesians 6:12, The Full Life Study Bible, King James Version, ed. Donald C. Stamps, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1990), p. 439.
[19] Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, p. 34.

In The Purpose Driven Church Rick Warren writes that Christians are obligated to remain faithful to the unchanging Word of God but also must minister in an ever-changing world.[1] To accomplish this Warren developed a structure and process for doing church which he claims will allow it to continually adapt and adjust to a continually changing culture. These processes and methods are designed to be seeker sensitive, culture-friendly, and acceptable to the unchurched. As culture changes, old methods are disposed of and new methods are plugged in without harming or compromising the message. But is this true? If Warren is wrong, the widely-accepted assumptions and methods of the Purpose Driven Church will have critically if not mortally wounded evangelicalism in America and many other parts of the world.

Balance is everything in the Purpose Driven Church

Warren’s solution rests on creation of new churches and transformation of existing churches into new paradigm churches “that are driven by purpose instead of other forces.” The new paradigm churches must impose two essential elements. To become a new paradigm church, the first essential is that the church must be looked at through the lens of five New Testament purposes: worship, evangelism, fellowship, discipleship, and service. But mere recognition is not enough. He further states that God intends for the church to be balanced in advancing all five purposes. Therefore, the second essential requires the new paradigm church adopt a process for fulfilling the purposes of the church. When this process is followed, the church will focus equally on its five New Testament purposes. Warren assures those following his formula that “your church will develop the healthy balance that makes lasting church growth possible.” If a church becomes a new paradigm church, it will be healthier, stronger, and more effective by becoming purpose-driven.[2] In other words, the five-fold purposes of the church must be in equilibrium for the church to be healthy. For Church Growth practitioners, the details used to achieve the goal of equilibrium are found in the process of fulfilling the purposes of the church.

Preaching is an example of one of the processes used in pursuit of balance that dominates new paradigm churches. Warren advises pastors to “preach on purpose.”

To produce balanced, healthy believers, you need to plan a preaching schedule that includes a series on each of the five purposes over the course of a year. A four-week series related to each of the five purposes would require only twenty weeks. There would still be more than a half a year to preach on other themes.

Planning your preaching around the five purposes of the church does not mean you must always be teaching about the church itself. Personalize the purposes! Talk about them in terms of God’s five purposes for every Christian.[3]

Warren’s fetish for balance does not stop with preaching. Programs are designed to fulfill each purpose. Church departments are organized around purpose-based teams. Two months on the church calendar each year are dedicated to a special emphasis on each purpose. Staff members are hired to fill purpose-based job descriptions. Christian education is centered on creating a lifestyle that will focus on the five purposes of the church.[4]

During the church’s two thousand years of existence, one wonders why God did not reveal Warren’s techniques of balancing the five purposes of the church and his very precise and structured process for achieving those purposes in the church. Where is it found in scripture that the five purposes of the church should be balanced in both church organization and execution of its mission? Warren must supply unequivocal and biblically sound answers to these two questions to retain any credibility for his claims that church health is dependent on achieving this magical balance. But he has not done so for those answers do not exist.

What Warren cannot support with scripture he attempts to support by pointing to results. Here Warren endeavors to justify his claims by quoting the apostle Paul who said God will judge whatever we build on the basis of whether it will last. “The fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.” [1 Corinthians 3:13-14. Version not disclosed] Warren points to his own success as living proof that the principles of balance and process work because Saddleback church has not only survived but thrived.[5] He also points to the successes of other purpose-driven churches. But Warren speaks of crowds and financial success which are temporal. Paul spoke of the eternal. There are many churches and media ministries that have the appearance of success through attendance, revenues, and praise of men but in truth are spiritually and doctrinally bankrupted and will not survive time and eternity.

Christian pragmatism

Warren’s assurances that his success is evidence of God’s blessing lead us into the realm of Christian pragmatism. Pragmatism is a philosophy that states that the “test of truth is usefulness of the idea.” In this philosophy, truth or falseness is determined by the results or consequences of an idea when it is implemented. In other words, if it works it is good. If it doesn’t it is wrong. Warren’s Christian pragmatism fits comfortably within the philosophy of humanism which was described at some length in Chapters 12 and 16.[6]

Warren absorbed his Christian pragmatism while he was a student missionary to Japan. During that time he was profoundly influenced by the writings of George McGavran (See Chapter 21) who challenged the conventional wisdom about what made churches grow.[7] Based on a series of studies conducted while McGavran was a missionary in India, he developed the concept of receptivity to measure the positive or negative response to the gospel among certain people groups. McGavran then proposed that areas of high receptivity were to receive priority in the assignment of missionaries and resources.[8]

As stated in Chapter 21, this was a dramatic change with regard to making disciples, the first part of the church’s mission as outlined in Matthew 28:18-20. By adopting McGavran’s pragmatism, many denominations and missions organizations now use sociological and demographic studies as the deciding factor in assigning personnel and resources. Ministers and missionaries once called and led by the Holy Spirit are now dependent on receptivity studies for direction. Carried a step farther, Christian pragmatism is used to select the means and methods to reach the masses. Also, such studies allow practitioners of modern Church Growth methods to better craft their sermons to address the felt needs of the people as opposed to seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit regarding the message to be preached.

Evangelical Christianity was introduced to pragmatism in the 1950s through the writings of McGavran.

We devise mission methods and policies in the light of what God has blessed—and what he has obviously not blessed. Industry calls this “modifying operation in light of feedback.”…If it doesn’t work to the glory of God and the extension of Christ’s church, throw it away and get something which does. As to methods we are fiercely pragmatic—doctrine is something else.[9] [emphasis added]

Warren paraphrased McGavran when he said, “Our job as church leaders…is to recognize a wave of God’s Spirit and ride it [and] get off dying waves whenever we sensed that God wanted to do something new.”[10] But Christian pragmatism is nothing more than a convenient way to attract a crowd with worldly, sinner-friendly methods and inevitably leads to doctrinal compromise and diminished biblical authority in a hostile culture. Warren and other Church Growth leaders will vehemently deny this assessment, but nevertheless it is the end result of his message and methods. Norman Vincent Peale’s practical Christianity and Robert Schuller’s possibility thinking were unquestionably products of Christian pragmatism. Warren’s focus on purpose-driven balance and seeker-sensitive message is merely the latest version.

Seven churches of Revelation – Unbalanced and therefore unhealthy

Warren states that the key issue for churches in the twenty-first century is church health and not growth. Growth is a byproduct of a healthy church. An unhealthy church occurs because it is out of balance. He says that church leaders are charged with the task of discovering and removing from their churches “growth-restricting diseases and barriers so that natural, normal growth can occur.” [emphasis added] Amazingly, Warren claims that, “Many of these diseases are illustrated and identified in the seven churches of Revelation. Health will occur when everything is brought back into balance.”[11] [emphasis added] This is an astoundingly conceited, brash, and foolish statement. The problem of five of the seven churches was sin and not a loss of balance in achieving the churches’ purposes. A closer examination of the condition of the seven Asian churches makes it abundantly clear that sin cannot be conquered through man’s efforts to achieve some sort of equilibrium or balance of the church’s five purposes.

In the first chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, while in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, John was given a vision and instructed to write what he saw in a book and send it to seven churches in Asia. One by one, John recorded the revelation of each of their works (good and bad) and the condition of their heart.

Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) A typical first century church, they had many great works and had labored and endured without growing weary. Their sin was that they had left their first love. It was not a matter of rejection but neglect. Fervency and zeal for Christ were no longer present and without which they were in jeopardy. Their only hope was repentance and doing their first works again.

Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) Best described as the persecuted church. They suffered tribulation, poverty, and slander. They were encouraged to not fear the coming suffering, imprisonment, and for some even death because a crown of life awaited the faithful.

Pergamos (Revelation 2:12-17) It was labeled as the church where Satan dwelled. This church mixed with the world. They were faithful in spirit but filthy in flesh. They communed with persons of corrupt principles and practices which brought guilt and blemish upon the whole body. When those corrupt members of a church are punished, so too will the whole church be punished if they allow such corruption to continue.

Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29) Although commended for their charity, service, faith, and patience, evil progresses and idolatry was practiced in the church. The church contained unrepentant and wicked seducers who drew God’s servants into fornication and offering sacrifices to idols.

Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) It was representative of the church that is dead or at the point of death even though it still had a minority of godly men and women. The great charge against this church was hypocrisy. It was not what it appeared to be. The ministry was languishing. There was a form of godliness but not the power.

Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13) It was a church of revival and spiritual progress. The church had proved itself faithful and obedient to the Word. As its name implies, it was a church of love and kindness to each other. Because of their excellent spirit, they were an excellent church. They kept the word and did not deny His name. No fault was attributed to the church, only mild reproof for having only a little strength or power.

Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-19) The worst of all of the seven Asian churches, Laodicea had nothing to commend it. Its great sin was that it was lukewarm—neither hot nor cold. Its indifference arose from self-conceitedness and self-delusion. It believed itself rich and in need of nothing but in reality was wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Christ reminded them of where true riches may be found, without which severe punishment would follow.[12]

The seven Asian churches found in Revelation were not the only first century Christian churches. However, they were selected by God to give a timeless example and caution for His people throughout the centuries to the end of the age.

Although the Laodicean church is a description of the final state of apostasy which the visible church will experience in the last days, the reality is that all of the sins of the Asian churches have been present throughout the church age and are particularly evident in many evangelical churches and especially in the Church Growth movement in America. Fervency and zeal for Christ are fading in many churches. As a result they have replaced their first love with human wisdom in their efforts at doing church. Because of an accommodation of the spirit of the world, Satan has been allowed to find a home in many churches. Although many are faithful in spirit, they are filthy in the flesh. They commune with persons of corrupt principles and practices and have brought guilt and blemish upon the whole body. Some churches deliberately ignore unrepentant and wicked seducers and idolaters in their midst. Others are clothed in hypocrisy and maintain only a form of Godliness but not the power. Lastly, many are lukewarm and indifferent which arises from self-conceit and self-delusion.

How utterly absurd for Warren to blithely claim that the “diseases” of the seven churches of Asia Minor were due to lack of balance and that their leaders need only to discover and remove “growth-restricting diseases and barriers so that natural, normal growth can occur.” No sound-minded, biblically-literate Christian can seriously believe that Warren’s prescriptions of a balance of purposes and application of culturally relevant methods of doing church can somehow rid itself of sin and the spirit of the world with which the church has wrestled for two thousand years.

It is the church’s modern mindset of the victimhood of man from which it began calling sin a “disease.” From this mindset, the church embraces the illusion that a healthy (balanced) church using the right man-created processes and methods can treat the disease of sin to which man has fallen victim. This deluded mindset is the end result of the therapeutic gospel’s message and methods. True church health is a result of repentance, turning from sin, obedience to biblical doctrines, and rejection of the spirit of the world.

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1995), p. 55.
[2] Ibid., pp. 80-81, 107.
[3] Ibid., pp. 149-150.
[4] Ibid., pp. 141, 143, 147, 148, 150.
[5] Ibid., pp. 46, 80-81.
[6] Ibid., p. 29.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Stephen Parker, Church Growth Crisis – The decline of Christianity in America, (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Forever Family Publications, 2011), p. 27.
[9] Marshall Davis, More Than A Purpose, (Enumclaw, Washington: Pleasant Word, 2006), pp. 96-97.
[10] Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, pp. 14-15.
[11] Ibid., pp. 16-17.
[12] Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961), pp. 1970-1974.

Rick Warren published The Purpose Driven Church in 1995. Preceding the title page were forty-one endorsements written by many well-known luminaries spanning both the evangelical and non-evangelical spectrums. These included pastors such as Adrian Rogers, Pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee; Jack Hayford, Pastor of The Church On The Way, Van Nuys, California; Robert H. Schuller, Pastor of The Chrystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, California; and Eddie Gibbs, Associate Rector of All Saints Parish, Beverly Hills, California. Denominational officials included Ken Hemphill, President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Jim Henry, President of the Southern Baptist Convention; Henry J. Schmidt, President of Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary; Archibald Hart, Dean, School of Psychology, Fuller Seminary; Thom S. Rainer, Dean, Billy Graham School, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Elmer L. Towns, Dean, School of Religion, Liberty University; Jerry Falwell, Chancellor, Liberty University; and Bill Bright, President of Campus Crusade for Christ International. Also endorsing the book was Leonard Sweet, Dean of Drew Theological Seminary.[1] Sweet professes to be an evangelical but is leading supporter of the New Spirituality, aka “New Age Spirituality”. Sweet has distilled the pantheistic teachings of many New Age leaders into what he calls quantum spirituality which “bonds us to all creation as well as to other members of the human family.”[2]

Two decades after the book’s publication, many are seeing the damaging effects of the Purpose Driven model of doing church on American evangelicalism. How can this be when only twenty years earlier, many respected and doctrinally sound leaders in the evangelical church placed a glowing stamp of approval on Warren’s book and his methods? First, we must remember that in 1995, Rick Warren was a rising star in the evangelical world; however, he and his methods were not widely known throughout the evangelical church. Warren’s Saddleback Church was growing rapidly, but most Christian leaders had not delved beneath the surface of his philosophies and methods to determine what drove its growth. Second, it is a natural and common practice for well-known Christian leaders to give a “hand-up” to energetic young pastors that appeared to be destined for stardom. Robert Schuller had a similar “hand-up” from each of the leaders of the two broad currents of American evangelicalism. In 1957, internationally renowned Norman Vincent Peale preached from the top of a concession shack for Robert Schuller whose church was located in a drive-in movie theater.[3] In 1970, while Schuller’s was still in the earlier and less doctrinally-deviant days of his ministry, Billy Graham encouraged Schuller to go on television with his ministry.[4]

Growing up on a dairy farm, I was naturally an expert on the freshness of milk. There were two tests to determine if milk was “blinky” which meant that it was close to being soured. The first test was to smell the milk. Although it may not have smelled sour, there were occasions when it still seemed that there was something just not quite right about the milk. This called for a second test—the milk had to be tasted. Although the milk may not have soured, the taste test would determine if it was blinky. A mere sip could cause one’s eyes to blink because of its assault on the taste buds. Another reason for the use of the term “blink” arose in more superstitious times when one supposedly blinked under the gaze of an evil eye. In those less enlightened eras, evil influences also were believed to have caused milk to be bewitched or turned sour by witchcraft.[5]

Twenty years ago Rick Warren’s purpose driven message and methods were not well-known but had been newly explained in his 400 page book. For many the book had passed the smell. Yet, some perceived that there may be something not just quite right about Warren’s message and methods but were inclined to give him the benefit of a doubt. In other words, they didn’t want to judge Warren’s work without all the facts. It deserved a taste test.

Blinky milk is not served to drink, but it is not thrown out either. It is used for making breads, biscuits, and cornbread but must be cooked at high temperatures that eliminate potentially dangerous bacteria. Although passing the smell test, it is almost certain that many of those endorsing Warren’s book did not totally agree with his message and some of his methods but were willing to withhold final judgement until a taste test could be done. Like blinky milk, if Warren’s message and methods did not pass the taste test, perhaps there may still be some potential for good to come from Warren’s efforts. In addition to fresh milk and blinky milk, there is a third stage in which milk becomes curdled or soured. Curdled milk has not only separated, but the solids have settled to the bottom of the container as curds. Curdled milk is harmful to humans and cannot be consumed. It must be thrown out or fed to the livestock.

After twenty years, it has become obvious to many that the Purpose Driven Church model has changed the direction of the evangelical church in America. There are some good things that have come from portions of Warren and the Church Growth movement’s message and methods, but there has been preaching and innovations which over time have proven to be misinterpretations or misapplications of scripture. Warren and his Church Growth peers have roused a lethargic and disinterested evangelical church that since the 1960s has slumbered through or ignored the message of Christ’s great commission because of a hostile, humanistic culture. But in their zealous effort to make disciples, they have failed to understand that the mission is to the sinner and not the unchurched. Warren and his peers have also called attention to the needs of the hurting masses outside the walls of the local church. But in practice this has often become a retro-social gospel focused on social justice, poverty, and building an earthly kingdom instead of building His kingdom that is “not of this world.”

Far more grievous and disturbing than misinterpretation and misapplication of the scriptures, Warren and other Church Growth ministries have allowed into the evangelical church the spirit of the world and many heretical New Age philosophies. These philosophies have mixed with and curdled the sincere milk of His Word. But the Bible says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.” [1 Peter 2:2. KJV] To understand what the Bible means by sincere, one need only look at its synonyms: genuine, honest, truthful, and authentic. Real kingdom growth comes from no other source.

The Church Growth-Purpose Driven message offers many counterfeits of the Bible’s doctrines and teachings. A counterfeit may work for a while but doesn’t perform as well as the genuine article. Over time defects appear that are not covered by a guarantee from its maker. The once-valued diamond and gold-plated ring is found to be merely a bit of glass mounted on a gold-toned band. The knife made of cheap metal quickly loses it edge. A cheap imitation of a hardened-steel wrench can’t stand the pull of the mechanic. But counterfeits are not only defective and disappoint, they can be life-threatening. So it is with the Christian whose eternal life with God is threatened by New Age counterfeits of biblical doctrines and teachings. It is in this area that the efforts of Warren and many others in the Church Growth movement have caused the greatest concerns. Because of the curdling effect of New Age poisons which have been mixed with the biblical message in many evangelical churches, the Church Growth-Purpose Driven message has greatly weakened or destroyed the integrity and effectiveness of those churches that have embraced its message.

The full title of Warren’s book is The Purpose Driven Church – Growth Without Compromising Your Message or Mission. But after much research and in light of the examinations and conclusions discussed in previous chapters, it is this author’s considered belief that Warren has compromised and damaged the mission of the church through misinterpretation and misapplication of scripture. Additionally, Warren’s strong associations and interactions with leaders of false religions and his associations with and endorsement of New Age leaders and their books have damaged the integrity of the church and given cultural legitimacy to the enemies of Christ and the church.

The statements of the author should not be taken at face value. Rather, the reader must do his own taste test of the Church Growth-Purpose Driven message and methods which will be conducted over the next several chapters. In performing this test we must follow the example of the Bereans and not the Thessalonian Jews. Acts 17:1-9 describes Paul and Silas’ days in Thessalonica. As was his custom, Paul went to the synagogue and for three weeks argued with the Jews from the scriptures that it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead. A great many were persuaded—some Jews, some Greeks, and not a few of the leading women. But other Jews who were jealous of Paul incited the wicked rabble rousers, gathered a crowd, and created havoc in the city. They eventually attacked the home of Jason, Paul’s host. The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away for their own safety. They went to Berea and again to the synagogue.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. [Acts 17:11-13. KJV] [emphasis added]

The Bereans did not uncritically accept what Paul preached to them but checked Paul’s message against the scriptures. In the next several chapters the philosophy, tenets, practices, and methods of the Church Growth movement as preached and practiced by Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, and other Church Growth leaders will be examined in the light and context of the scriptures as has already been done with regard to the ministries of Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller.

This is not about Warren and Hybels. It appears that, like Peale and Schuller before them, they are sincere, good, and caring men with personal integrity and a professed love for God, but those things are for God to judge. However, the Bible tells us to beware of many seemingly well-intentioned men and women who for a variety of reasons bring heresy into the church and cause multitudes to go to hell for want of a truthful witness. We cannot beware unless we are aware of those coming to us with pleasing words but peddling a blinky or curdled message.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. [Matthew 7:15-23. KJV]

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), pp. 1-4 (unnumbered).
[2] Warren B. Smith, A “Wonderful” Deception, (Magalia, California: Mountain Stream Press, 2011), pp. 103-104.
[3] George Mair, A Life With Purpose, (New York: Berkeley Books, 2005), p. 108.
[4] Robert H. Schuller, My Journey, HarperSanFrancisco, 2001), p. 293.
[5] “blinky,” Word Wizard. http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=18809 (accessed November 2, 2015).

Rick Warren is a fourth-generation preacher. His great-grandfather came to Christ in Charles Spurgeon’s church in England. Following training in Spurgeon’s college, Spurgeon sent him to America to become a circuit-riding preacher. Warren’s father was a lay-preacher who specialized in planting and (literally) building churches. Born in 1954, Warren spent most of his growing-up years in Redwood Valley, California, where during his teenage years aspired to be a guitar-playing rock star. While working at a Christian summer camp in 1970 just before beginning his junior year in high school, Warren began thinking that perhaps God wanted him to be a preacher. In 1972 he entered California Baptist University in Riverside and held many revivals and crusades throughout California during his college years.[1]

In 1973 Warren traveled to San Francisco to hear W. A. Criswell speak at a conference. Criswell was the pastor at the First Baptist Church of Dallas which at that time was the largest Baptist Church in the world. Warren met Criswell and cherishes the memory of his laying hands on Warren and praying that God would bless him.[2]

Warren married Kay Lewis in 1975, and upon graduation together in 1977, they moved to Fort Worth, Texas, to attend Southwestern Theological Seminary where he earned a doctorate in December 1979. During the summer before his final classes were to be completed in December, they had decided to plant a new church in California. They left Texas and arrived in Orange County’s Saddleback Valley on January 2, 1980.[3]

Robert Schuller and Rick Warren

Before their move, Rick and Kay Warren made one other trip to California in 1979 to attend one of Robert Schuller’s Institute for Church Growth seminars. Before going, Kay Warren was skeptical about Schuller’s non-traditional approach to ministry. But after arriving, she stated that Schuller won them over. “He (Schuller) had a profound influence on Rick. We were captivated by his positive appeal to nonbelievers. I never looked back.”[4] In later years Warren claimed the so-called “profound influence” referred only to Schuller’s creative ways in building a nontraditional church and some of Schuller’s statements about the unchurched. Warren repeatedly denies that the “profound influence” included being influenced by Schuller’s doctrinal teachings. Warren admits that he spoke at Schuller’s Institute three times. The first was to give his testimony in 1984/1985. The next two engagements dealt with church growth, but Warren stresses that he did not preach nor speak at any of the Crystal Cathedral’s weekend services. But in 1991 at the invitation of Schuller, the Warrens gave their testimony at a Sunday morning service at the Cathedral.[5]

Schuller and Warren would have other contacts over the years. In 1991, Schuller birthed the idea and helped found a coalition of major Protestant churches to provide food for the Russian people living in near-famine conditions. Schuller’s idea became the Churches United in Global Mission (CUGM) which sent eleven thousand food packages to Moscow which was followed by a second shipment in March 1992.[6] Warren served on the CUGM Council along with many other prominent church leaders.

In 1995, Schuller wrote a laudatory endorsement of The Purpose Driven Church.

I’m praying that every pastor will read this book, believe it, be prepared to stand corrected by it, and change to match its sound, scriptural wisdom. Rick Warren is one all of us should listen to and learn from.[7]

Warren breaks with Schuller

Warren’s biographer claimed that Schuller had always been supportive of Warren and that the mutual respect that each man had for the other was exhibited through numerous friendly conversations and expressions of best wishes. But on Warren’s side of the relationship, something happened to sour the friendship between Schuller’s 1995 endorsement and Warren’s open break with Schuller in 1998. Warren’s biographer described Warren’s professed reason for the break.

But by the late 1990s, Warren had begun to notice that something was amiss at Schuller’s church. As he told me, “I got a bunch of information about him, and then I also started seeing him have all kinds of nonbelievers speaking at this church.” Then, Schuller had bestselling author Stephen Covey—a Mormon—speak at his church. This shocked Warren: “I thought, This isn’t right. How am I supposed to explain to all the ex-Mormons in my congregation why in the world Schuller has a Mormon up there talking?”[8] [emphasis in original]

The 1998 break with Schuller began with Warren’s resignation from the CUGM Council. “I must resign from the CUGM Council, I am afraid that the Crystal Cathedral’s ministry is going in a very different direction than Saddleback Church”[9]

When the break came, it had been nineteen years since Warren first attended Schuller’s church growth conference in 1979. Warren had spoken at three subsequent conferences and at the Crystal Cathedral in 1991. He also served on Schuller’s CUGM Council until 1998. Warren claims that the break with Schuller occurred because he had been noticing something “amiss” at Schuller’s church, had gotten “a bunch of information” about Schuller, started seeing many non-believers speaking at his church, and finally was “shocked” to find a Mormon had spoken at Schuller’s church. Had Schuller’s doctrines, actions, and church really changed that much and had “gone in a different direction than Saddleback Church” in a short span of time between the book endorsement in 1995 and the break 1998? Either Schuller had made a remarkably fast divergence from what Warren viewed as sound doctrine or Rick Warren was exceedingly disingenuous in denying that he had an earlier understanding of Schuller’s suspect theology. In either case, Warren was guilty of being incredibly naïve or lacking in even the smallest degree of spiritual discernment as to Schuller’s doctrinal positions given their long friendship and interaction. This raises the question as to the real reason for the 1998 break.

Schuller’s connections with various New Age spokesmen and promoters were well known before the 1980s and prior to Warren’s 1979 attendance at Schuller’s Church Growth school. One example was Schuller’s widely known and publicized association with prominent psychiatrist Gerald Jampolsky, a well-known teacher and practitioner of the New Age based “A Course in Miracles.” Jampolsky appeared on Schuller’s Hour of Power television broadcast on several occasions where Schuller introduced him as a fellow Christian. Jampolsky claims that his own spiritual awakening came as the result of an encounter with Indian guru Swami Baba Muktananda.[10] It is undeniable that the foundational teachings of “A Course on Miracles” are New Age and pantheistic in origin.

• The recognition of God is the recognition of yourself.
• When God Created you He made you part of Him.
• There is no sin; it has no consequence.
• For Christ takes many forms with different names until their oneness can be recognized.
• The journey to the cross should be the last “useless” journey.[11]

In his 1982 book, Self Esteem-The New Reformation, Schuller praised Jampolsky for his “profound theology.”

I am indebted to Dr. Gerald Jampolsky, a guest on our “Hour of Power,” for helping me to see what is not only great psychology, but is profound theology. Obviously, there can be no conflict in truth—when psychology is “right on” and theology is “right on,” there will be harmony and both shall be led to higher levels of enlightenment.[12]

Also obvious is that Schuller had no problems with Jampolsky’s “A Course in Miracles” theology and its New Age-pantheistic teachings. In 1985, “A Course in Miracles” study groups were meeting in Crystal Cathedral classrooms at the same time as evangelical ministers were being taught the principles of Church Growth at Schuller’s Institute for Successful Church Leadership. It also must be remembered that Warren was first invited to speak at the Institute in 1984/1985.[13] Schuller’s involvement with Jampolsky and his New Age beliefs was a long and public association covering a quarter of a century from his first appearance on the Hour of Power before 1982 to after an appearance on October 2004.[14]

A second example of Schuller’s involvement with New Age teachers is his connection with well-known surgeon Bernie Siegel who worked with the terminally ill. In Love, Medicine, and Miracles, Siegel wrote that he had an “inner guide” named George who helped him with his work. George was a bearded, long-haired young man who Siegel claims to have met while in a session of directed meditation. Siegel was on the board of Jampolsky’s Attitudinal Healing Centers and had endorsed “A Course in Miracles.” The opening page of Schuller’s 1995 Prayer: My Soul’s Adventure With God included Siegel’s warm endorsement of the book which Siegel said “…reaches beyond religion and information to what we all need—spirituality, inspiration, and understanding.” Writing in The Purpose Driven Life in 2002, Warren also quoted and praised Siegel as “one who has found the true purpose of life.”[15]

The Ken Blanchard Episode

Rick Warren also had his own entanglements with New Age advocates. One such occurred in 2003 when Warren introduced his 5-step-Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan in which Saddleback Church would focus on “…bringing a blessing to the entire world” through Planting churches, Equipping Leaders, Assisting the poor, Curing the sick, Educating the next generation.[16] To accomplish the “E” or equipping leaders step, Warren solicited help from two well-known authors, one of whom was Ken Blanchard, famous author of The One Minute Manager and founder of Lead Like Jesus. According to Warren, Blanchard would be “helping train us in leadership and how to train others to be leaders all around the world.” Warren called Blanchard a fellow Christian, and Blanchard himself pointed to people like Norman Vincent Peale and Bill Hybels who were instrumental in helping him turn his life over to the Lord in 1987-1988.[17]

But something Warren did not tell his congregation was that Blanchard was undeniably a New Age sympathizer and had endorsed and written the forewards to many New Age books in the years following the claimed turning of his life over to the Lord. As the P.E.A.C.E. Plan was being implemented and publicized over the next two years, Blanchard’s involvement as Warren’s go-to guy for training leaders became more widely known and some in the evangelical community began questioning Warren’s involvement with Blanchard and his New Age leanings.[18] Even after being publicly made aware of Blanchard’s New Age beliefs and endorsements, Warren attempted to separate Blanchard’s past from his current efforts on behalf of Warren’s P.E.A.C.E. Plan.

Ken is a new believer—a new creature in Christ. He should not be held accountable for statements or endorsements he made before he became a Christian. And he’s just learning now.[19]

Warren’s defense contradicts Blanchard’s own statements that were known to Warren. Two weeks after Warren had introduced his plan to the Saddleback congregation in November 2003, he appeared with Blanchard at a Lead Like Jesus celebration and listened as Blanchard described how he became a Christian fifteen years earlier.[20]

In 1998, Warren had sought to distance himself and the Purpose Driven movement from Schuller and his obvious connections to the New Age. Now, through Warren’s own decisions and efforts to advance his P.E.A.C.E. Plan, he had once again linked the Purpose Driven movement with New Age leaders and their doctrines just as Schuller had done throughout his ministry. Schuller remained unapologetic and true to his beliefs. However, for Warren it was imperative that his claimed evangelical and doctrinal credentials remain spotless and not thought of as compromising the message and mission of the church.

Before The Purpose Driven Church exploded in popularity following its publication in 1995, Rick Warren was just another Church Growth guy who had been successful at building a mega church. But now he ascended to a new level and became the mega-star spokesman for the Church Growth movement. His every word and action would be open to scrutiny. Within three years after his book’s publication, it becomes apparent that Warren’s long association with Schuller and his blatant New Age beliefs and doctrines would damage Warren and the Purpose Driven movement. Thereafter, he sought to distant himself from Schuller.

Five years later Warren’s association with Ken Blanchard was but one of a series of events and issues that called attention to a much larger threat to his Purpose Driven empire. These events were being described in several books published in 2004-2005 which forcefully and accurately described the Purpose Driven movement’s connection with the New Age. Not all of the books were critical of Warren and the Purpose Driven movement.

The Most Inspiring Pastor of Our Time

There are many stories of famous people who have had their portraits painted but wish to destroy the finished canvas because it reveals something beyond the outward likeness. Even if the likeness is astonishingly accurate, the sum total of the painter’s efforts, unconsciously perhaps, may reveal an unflattering characteristic or nature of the subject.

As an author, George Mair had this same experience but in book form. Mair is an author of numerous books, a syndicated newspaper columnist, radio talk show host, and broadcaster. While attending Saddleback Church for over two years, he wrote a highly flattering biography published in 2005 and titled A Life With Purpose – Reverend Rick Warren – The Most Inspiring Pastor of Our Time. Good biographers attempt to give perspective by placing the life of the subject in the flow of events, interaction with his contemporaries, and amidst the history of the times. Mair did this in his biography of Warren by talking about the church in America, the Church Growth movement, the influences of Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller, the New Paradigm Church, and modern religion in America.[21] Upon completion and before the book went to press, Mair claims to have contacted Saddleback’s “chief attorney.” Mair stated that he had wanted the manuscript to be made available to Warren for review. After waiting several months and receiving no response from the attorney, the book was published by Berkeley Books, a subsidiary of the Penguin Group.[22]

Shortly after Mair’s book was released, Lighthouse Trails Press picked up on the association of Warren with Ken Blanchard. On April 19th 2005, Lighthouse Trails issued a press release that raised serious questions about the wisdom of Warren’s association with Ken Blanchard and its New Age implications. On May 31, Warren emailed Lighthouse Trails and expressed his great displeasure with their April 19th email in particular and George Mair and his book in general.[23] Within a few hours, Richard Abanes, Warren’s soon-to-be new biographer and apologist, had posted Warren’s email on the Internet. What followed was a campaign by Warren and his associates to discredit his critics, and George Mair became the target of the massive Purpose Driven forces. Although Mair had attended Saddleback for two years, Warren’s now public email was a surprising and brutal blow to Mair.

George Mair, an unbeliever, evidently wanted to make a quick buck turning out a book on me, at the peak of the popularity of The Purpose Driven Life…Since he is not even born again, he certainly wouldn’t understand theology, what I believe, or even the basics of our ministry.[24]

Warren’s critics answered

Immediately, Warren turned to a former staff member of his church to write a book addressing the claims of his critics. The small 142-page Rick Warren and the Purpose that Drives Him – An Insider Looks at the Phenomenal Bestseller was written by Richard Abanes and published before the end of the year. In reality, the book was not about Warren’s best sellers but a defense of Warren and the Purpose Driven movement as shown by the single endorsement at the front of the book.

Abanes has done a great service by setting the record straight on Rick Warren and Saddleback. Warren has a strong commitment to the core doctrines of the Christian faith and an unmistakable passion for reaching the lost, equipping pastors, and strengthening local churches. “Purpose-driven” is not New Age, it’s New Testament.” James K. Walker, President, Watchman Fellowship, Inc.[25]

In his 1998, Warren supposedly learned a “bunch of information” about his long-time friend and who had been having a number of non-Christians speak at his church. Nothing was said about the New Age influences that had been evident for many years. However, the endorsement on the very first page of Abanes’ book revealed the real reason for Warren’s break with Schuller—fear that the Purpose Driven message would be associated with Schuller’s strong links to the New Age. But by 2005, those New Age influences on the doctrines and methods of the Purpose Driven movement could no longer be hidden as several books were published which documented those New Age associations.

The concerns about the teachings of the Purpose Driven movement extend far beyond infiltration of New Age and Eastern religions’ teachings and practices into evangelical churches. But the greatest threat remains the influence of the Purpose Driven movement’s humanistic worldviews on the leadership of many evangelical churches in America.
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In Chapter 3, it was noted that the enormous importance of doctrine (dogma, creed, belief, principles, and teachings) can be seen throughout the 2000 year history of the Christian church. Warren also recognizes the importance of doctrine as he keeps reminding us of his reverence for the unchanging doctrines of the Christian faith. However, Warren is highly sensitive and resentful when there is a thoughtful examination, comparison, or criticism of the teachings and methods of The Purpose Driven Church, and he and his defenders are prone to attack the character and Christianity of professed fellow Christians who attempt to do so. This is not a biblical approach because the scripture tells us that we should compare spiritual things with spiritual things [See: 1 Corinthians 2:12-13] This we shall do over the next several chapters with regard to the teachings and methods of The Purpose Driven Church.

This is not about Rick Warren but the biblical soundness of his Purpose Driven movement. It is vastly important that Christians make this examination because of Warren’s tremendous influence upon American evangelicalism and the importance and influence of those same American evangelicals on the rest of the world’s Christian churches.

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Richard Abanes, Rick Warren and the Purpose that Drives Him, (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2005), pp. 36-38, 40, 46.
[2] Ibid., p. 40-41.
[3] Ibid., p. 41, 45-46.
[4] Warren Smith, Deceived On Purpose, Second Edition, (Magalia, California: Mountain Stream Press, 2004), pp. 103-104.
[5] Abanes, Rick Warren and the Purpose that Drives Him, pp. 100-102.
[6] Robert Schuller, My Journey, (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001), p. 264.
[7] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), p. 3 (unnumbered).
[8] Ibid., p. 102.
[9] Abanes, Rick Warren and the Purpose that Drives Him, pp. 102-103.
[10] Marshall Davis, More than a Purpose, (Enumclaw, Washington: Pleasant Word, 2006), p. 154.
[11] Warren B. Smith, Deceived On Purpose, pp. 88-89.
[12] Robert H. Schuller, Self Esteem-The New Reformation, (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982), p. 123.
[13] Warren B. Smith, A Wonderful Deception, (Magalia, California: Mountain Stream Press, 2004), p. 28.
[14] Smith, Deceived On Purpose, pp. 97-98.
[15] Davis, p. 155.
[16] George Mair, A Life With Purpose, (New York: Berkeley Books, 2005), pp. 186, 190-194.
[17] Smith, A Wonderful Deception, pp. 52-54.
[18] Ibid., p. 55.
[19] Ibid., p. 61.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Mair, p. iii (unnumbered).
[22] Smith, A Wonderful Deception, p. 68.
[23] Ibid., pp. 55, 59.
[24] Ibid., p. 60.
[25] Abanes, p. 1 (unnumbered).