The Purpose Driven Christian
“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17
His name: Rick Warren. His church: Saddleback Church of California. He has been referred to by many as a Spiritual Superman. At the Christian Booksellers Association convention in Orlando, Florida, his book “The Purpose Driven Life” was named Book of the Year. He has also been referred to as “America’s Pastor”.
Rick Warren’s conferences have attracted over 300,000 pastors from over 90 denominations, 47 states and 37 countries. They come to hear a man that has a church which now boasts over 17,000 members. More than 30,000 churches have embraced his philosophy in church growth.
Warren is loved by many and has been endorsed by such names as Billy and Franklin Graham, Bruce Wilkinson, and Adrian Rodgers. In his book “The Purpose Driven Life” he promotes five basic principals:
· Worship God
· Be part of a church family
· Study God’s word
· Serve others
· Evangelize
I have read his book “The Purpose Driven Life” and can see why it is so popular. I do agree with the following:
· His father’s testimony of “One more for Jesus”.
· Many of the chapters taught things like: being transformed by truth, growing through temptation and restoring broken fellowship. These things are truly needed in the church today.
There is no argument to the fact that a lot of the principles he teaches in his book have been a part of the church since Antioch. So what is the catch?
While most accept his ministry with no question, others attack him. What is it that causes his ministry to grow beyond reason? Is there anything to be concerned about? This is what we are about to examine. One of the gifts that the Lord has given me is to be someone who sounds the “warning” before danger comes. This is why many have not noticed the things being revealed in this tract. My prayer is that once it is revealed, you, too, will see it.
How it all started
I was at a friend’s home when a brother in the Lord gave me some information about the Purpose Driven Church movement. He asked me if I would do some research on it. At that time, I was busy trying to get my book Timeline BC printed and had not even heard about it. As time moved on, the Lord revealed to me that he wanted me to study this movement.
Sometime later an acquaintance of mine was asked by his pastor to go with him to a Purpose Driven Church Conference. Before it was half over, my friend and his pastor were encouraged to do the following:
· Stop wearing suits and ties.
· Sing less of the hymns and in with the contemporary bands, because that is the music people listen to. Why play music that people are not used to hearing?
· Keep your message and prayers short and positive
· Take words like Baptist and Methodist off your church signs
· Remove anything that reminds the world of the traditional church
· Use newer, modern translations and get rid of the King James Bible.
Let the reader of this understand that the only way to come to the truth of anything is by letting God’s word be the only foundation to evaluate all things.
God’s Word
The Bible says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” II Timothy 3:16
This means that scripture has no end and that there are no limits to the wisdom that it radiates. Near the end of The Purpose Driven Life, Warren writes in Appendix 3: “Why use so many translations?” He stated, “no matter how wonderful a translation is, it has limitations.” Warren is admitting his lack of historical knowledge of the Bible. If he knew his history he would never have made that statement. This type of belief about the scriptures will only lead to the rejection of the inspiration of God’s Word.
This is the first step leading to the rejection of the authority of the Bible. Over 90% of the versions that are used in his book are not translations at all, but transliterations, glorified opinions of those who wrote them. They do not agree with the Hebrew and Greek texts. Therefore, there is the danger of adding to God’s word just to get your ideals promoted. The most quoted from book in the translations is “The Message”. It omits controversial subjects that we deal with today such as homosexuality. Someone who would use this book could not prove that this type of lifestyle is an abomination to the Lord. All such verses have been removed. This book is not a translation, but one man’s opinion. It also removes the following:
· It is written to be politically correct for today’s time with a liberal slant
· It removes powerful verses that deal with salvation, the Trinity, the Deity of Christ and the Blood Atonement.
· Verses that appear in Romans 1 where God gives the ungodly over to a reprobate mind are not accepted in liberal circles, therefore you don’t find them in this book.
The Purpose-Driven Life is the first book I have come across that has a Bible verse without the reference or the version used. If you want to find it, you have to search the back of the book. Most people will not do that. They will just accept it.
Think about this: Would you rather use a translation written by one man that errs in untold places or one that was written by 54 of the greatest minds of their day. Not only has the King James Bible been tested and proven for hundreds of years, it also went through at least fourteen different checks before it was accepted.
The Music
Warren states on page 66, “There is no such thing as Christian music; there are only Christian lyrics. It is the words that make a song sacred, not the tune.” Here we find that Warren has shown his lack of knowledge of what God says about music. As a youth Warren was involved with rock music. This area of his life was never forsaken and it has affected his judgment in regards to music. What we cling to in our youth will eventually destroy us as adults.
God has a lot to say on this subject. The Bible has over 500 references that deal with music. First of all, scripture states that all things will be judged whether they are good or evil. All types of music will be judged whether it is good or evil. It is not neutral. When King Saul was distressed by evil spirits in I Samuel 16:16, his counselors looked for someone who could skillfully play the harp. When David played the harp, the tormenting spirits would leave. This shows that this type of music is good.
On the other hand, many natives from different parts of the world who have accepted Christ have testified that one of the ways they would call up demons would be with their musical instruments. Several years ago a missionary documented that the very type of “Christian music” that is being promoted in Purpose-Driven churches is the same type of music, not lyrics, that the natives have used to summon up evil spirits prior to receiving Christ.
Warren’s philosophy that any music is good is becoming popular in churches all over our country. Note the following:
· Moody Radio has been reported of using secular music from artists such as James Taylor
· Pastor’s conferences playing songs like “Born to be Wild” and other rock songs
· Local churches allowing secular rock bands to play for the youth on a Friday night for the purpose of drawing them to church on Sunday.
Overall, the theme of both The Purpose Driven Life and the pastor’s conference in the area of music, is to get rid of hymnals and bring in today’s music.
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him.”
I John 2:15