Facing Tomorrow Like Yesterday - Part IV
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Adolph Hitler displayed fatherly-like care for the German people. He successfully identified with their needs and worked feverishly to stop their suffering. He unified the various branches of religious thought and geopolitical differences. He rooted them together and fed them ambition by a new centralized national purpose. Hitler is viewed by many to be one of the greatest leaders of the 20th Century. Educational institutions and modern-day philosophers seek to capture his success of gaining unquestionable devotee’s to accept and champion his new national purpose. Should Pastors that claim to represent Jesus Christ use Hitler as an example of leadership? Should they use a man who prepared the hearts of an intelligent nation to go as far to accept the genocide of the Jewish people, racial superiority, and world domination?
LEADERSHIP INSTEAD OF MINISTRY
John Maxwell in his book, “Developing The Leader Within You” says, “leadership is influence.” He characterizes leadership as the “ability to obtain followers.” His examples of leaders are Adolph Hitler, Jim Jones, Jesus of Nazareth, Martin Luther King, Jr., and John F. Kennedy. His emphasis was on them having followers as being the identifying mark of their leadership quality. The Webster’s Dictionary’s primary definition of leadership is “guidance.” To clump Jesus Christ in a category of failed humanity is despicable at best. True leadership in the Church is being led by the Holy Spirit. He Alone will lead you into all truth. He will always point to Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. The emphasis of leadership should be the message and where it leads one to.
Maxwell then reveals the sequence of importance for becoming a leader. He says, “Once you define leadership as the ability to get followers, you work backward from that point of reference to figure out how to lead.” This is the crux to the modern church growth phenomenon; train and make leaders of Pastors and once they get a following supply them with what to tell their followers. This is why there is so little Biblical doctrine taught today. The emphasis of the new leadership paradigm is not the quality of the message but on the quantity of people. The church growth leadership guru’s know that once the people are in place they have the “product” to help pastors lead and teach their sheep how to conform and perform their purposes.
RICK WARREN, THE DECEIVER
Rick Warren is the most dangerous person in the church today. He has a clear agenda to redefine church and its new role for his purpose. I will say it this way; he is destroying the church on purpose! In “Break Through These 3 Barriers To Growth” Warren outlines three essentials for breaking through barriers to church growth. Point #2 says:
You must change the primary role of the pastor from minister to leader.
Warren says, “. . . you learn ministry skills in seminary, but you learn leadership skills in seminars.” He shares with his devotee’s that you must learn five skills before your church can grow:
“1. Learn to communicate your vision;
“2. Learn the ability to motivate through messages;
“3. Learn how to equip for ministry. If you do not learn to coach, you will not be able to equip;
“4. Learn how to raise money. Those who write the agenda must be able to underwrite it; and,
“5. Learn the skill of managing your time and energy.”
You will not find any of this in the Book of Acts!
Rick Warren compares himself to Adolph Hitler. Based on the modern church paradigm definition of leadership Warren wants to see the success Hitler had with Germany happen for him and his followers. At Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, Warren said:
“In 1939, in a stadium much like this, in Munich Germany, they packed it out with young men and women in brown shirts, for a fanatical man standing behind a podium, named Adolph Hitler, the personification of evil. And in that stadium, those in brown shirts formed with their bodies in a sign that said, in the whole stadium, Hitler, we are yours. And they nearly took the whole world.”
Warren would then tell his excited adherents that when he hears those stories, “I think what would happen if American Christians, if world Christians, if just Christians in this stadium, followers of Christ, would say, ‘Jesus we are yours’? What kind of spiritual awakening would we have?” He later asked the crowd to hold up signs saying, “Whatever it takes.” He utilizes Jesus as a symbol, drawing people in and then substituting his own approach. The people think they are worshipping Jesus when in reality the target is Warren himself.
WARREN’S AGENDA = RELIGIOUS PLURALISM
In 2008 in Davos, Switzerland, Warren spoke at the World Economic Forum and said, “The future of the world lies in religious pluralism.” In his conversation with world leaders from various countries, corporate CEO’s, and religious leaders of all faiths, Warren tells them, “Can’t we just all get along? I don’t care why you do good, as long as you do good.” It was Warren in another place that said this new reformation he has created is not about “creeds” like the first one. The second reformation is about “deeds.” This is why his religious pluralism is based on a social gospel and can partner with anyone who simply wants to do good.
WARREN’S PARTNERS
Rick Warren refers to himself as a bridge builder. He seeks to find “common ground” with all faiths rather than looking at the differences when he seeks people who will work with him. For example, Warren serves on the advisory board of the Tony Blair Foundation. The primary goal of this organization is to unify all the world’s major religions. Following is Warren’s explanation for serving:
“The vision and values of the Tony Blair Foundation are desperately needed today . . . In any effort to help people learn to live and work together, we must engage the vast networks, resources, wisdom, and influence of the faith communities. My friends, Tony Blair (Roman Catholic) is uniquely prepared with the gifts of temperament, knowledge, experience, leadership and global respect essential for a task so great. I honestly don’t know anyone better suited for this challenge. It’s why I agreed to serve on the Advisory board. The Tony Blair Foundation’s potential for doing good is staggering.”
What we have here is a protestant preacher having no problems serving with a Roman Catholic plan to unite all religious faiths. The new interfaith spirituality is centered on interdenominational cooperation in works. Warren is involved with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). One of his roles with the CFR is connected to their Religion and Foreign Policy Initiative, where he and Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) work together on a “Religion and Foreign Policy Meeting Series” that has to do with the “impact of religious doctrine on foreign policy.” The CFR has historically been active in getting the churches to assist them with their goals to set up a global government via a “social gospel.” Warren described the 3-legged partnerships he is forming between the church, governments, and industry, and indicated that this new global activity isn’t about the Gospel anymore. Warren believes that government and industry can’t succeed in solving social problems unless they include faith groups, with their large volunteer forces and their worldwide networks. “People are so worried churches are going to be about conversion,” he said, “but everyone has a motive. Everyone has a world view. Christianity is a world view . . . I don’t care why you do good as long as you do good.”
DO GOOD-ISM
The “do good” gospel is, by definition, pluralism in action. It brings in everybody and everything, and stands for nothing but to “do good.” It partners with anybody – governments and corporations, and even other religions – for the overarching purpose to “do good.” Warren claims to build the Kingdom of God on Earth. He will use whatever tools are handy, with whoever shows up on the scene, by whatever methods, doing “whatever it takes,” never minding the integrity of the Gospel. Warren pinpointed the world’s problems in five main broader issues: spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership and corruption, extreme poverty, pandemic diseases, and illiteracy.
Jesus did five things, the antidotes for those five problems: He promoted reconciliation, equipped servant leaders, assisted the poor, cared for the sick, and educated the next generation. I will address this with more details in future articles. Outside of the cliché, Jesus died for you, it appears Rick Warren has no idea what the Gospel is or he would be compelled to share it.
MAN’S PROBLEM: SIN
It takes a serious amount of deception to craft a plan for world peace that excludes the Gospel but is designed for Christians to champion and participate. Satan’s goal since his rebellion is to deceive man into believing he can make his own society without God. Warren’s social gospel and agenda to partner with the corrupt world shows the same demonic inspiration his idol Adolph Hitler had. The Purpose Driven movement ignores man’s problem of sin and, therefore, has no need to give the world the only solution for sin, the Cross of Jesus Christ. Sadly, Warren would also tweet his 900,000 followers to join him in prayer and fasting for the Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church to get wisdom from God in selecting their new Pope. Once they selected the Pope he “tweeted” his followers, “we have a new Pope.” Warren, a so-called protestant minister, insulted the blood stained martyrs of the Reformation by recognizing the Pope instead of a real prayer of hope for the Salvation of Roman Catholics. Warren is destroying the hope of the world, on ecumenical “purpose.” Join me in prayer for the deceived victims of the apostate church. May the truth of The Gospel destroy the unfruitful works of their unrighteousness but have mercy to grant them a space
to repent.
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