Paul Proctor -- What Rick Warren Wants

I'd like to thank Joseph Farah for filling in for me these last few weeks to cover, in my absence, the latest Rick Warren escapades, with his riveting series of commentaries and reports over at WorldNetDaily. After writing about the Purpose Driven pastor myself in numerous articles for NewsWithViews.com and trying as best I could to warn the infatuated flock of his wily ways since near the turn of the century, I really needed a break. (Kidding)

Seriously, it has been both fascinating and strangely entertaining to witness the ongoing exchange between WND's premier pundit and Saddleback's pragmatic pastor over the clergyman's calamitous "courtesy call" on Syria - mainly because Warren's wink and wiggle tactics are so predictable, they're almost comical. It's like watching George Costanza on reruns of Seinfeld. You know what he's going to do because you've seen it all before. And with his fake humility, egocentric nature and penchant for duplicity and doubletalk, you can't wait to see him pay the price for his shameless and self-absorbed behavior. So, when he finally does EXACTLY what you knew he was going to do - and it blows up in his face - you just want to laugh. And I probably would if the subject wasn't Warren, the stakes weren't so high and we weren't talking about real sin.

In his Tuesday, November 28th column, the sixth in a blistering barrage, critical of Warren, Joe Farah had some less than cordial things to say about the Saddleback padre's Purpose Driven powwow with the leader of a terrorist nation:

"Let's be clear about what Rick Warren did and why he is being criticized.

But you see, what Warren was doing in Syria is what he's been doing all along here in America and around the world with the dialectic church - withholding inconvenient truths about sin and the call to repentance for the sake of Results and Relationships. Going soft on sinners is his specialty! That's how you "build bridges," exponentially grow churches and dialectically achieve "unity in diversity" - by putting absolutes aside and dialoguing differences away until everyone's conscience is seared and conviction vanishes in the ambiguity of religious relativism.

The facilitators of the church growth movement have always played "footsie" with reprobates - given "cover" to evil - "lied to the world about the state of the church" and overlooked "bellicose threats" against resisters.

What makes the controversial megapastor so predictable is the dialectic template from which he operates. It's not that hard to recognize once you understand what it is, how it works and what it achieves. Unfortunately, he has used this template to maneuver his mesmerized minions into believing his teachings and practices are all scriptural, when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. It might seem practical to fellowship with evil and overlook wickedness and rebellion for the sake of progress and unity (Results & Relationships) but the fruit of such friendship is always rotten - and only the ignorant and arrogant are foolish enough to believe they aren't adversely affected by abhorrent affiliations.

"Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?" - Proverbs 7:27-28

Those in the Christian community with little or no discernment or regard for Biblical absolutes see Warren as brilliant; and because the church at large long ago acquired a taste for men of "smooth words," he was generously rewarded with record-breaking book sales and empowered with celebrity status, though few outside the dialectic church actually knew of the man. For those that did, he was just another pop preacher - but not to me. It was only a matter of time before Warren's "whatever it takes" philosophy would steer him toward the political arena and on to the Middle East where someone like Joe Farah would be watching.

Like the dialectic church, the dialectic government would also see Warren as brilliant, offering him the world stage on which to present his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan - a pulpit usually reserved for high-powered politicians, corporate heads, world leaders and wealthy elites who, by and large, have long been considered the enemies of Christ. And frankly, addressing them would be perfectly fine for any pastor, except that Warren didn't take that stage to proclaim the Gospel of repentance and faith as men of God are called to do - he went to sell his P.E.A.C.E. Plan - and when he started "playing footsie" with President Bashar Assad in Syria, rather than calling on him to repent for his atrocities, those with a working knowledge and understanding of world affairs, like Farah, quickly identified him as an "imposter."

As we've alluded to already, "playing footsie" with evil didn't begin for Warren in Syria, nor did it end there. Shortly after the Assad incident, he hosted an AIDS conference at his church, inviting an array of "progressive" speakers that included a pro-abortion Senator and a gay physician - point being - this is just business as usual. "Playing footsie" with evil is what being Purpose Driven is all about!

But it wasn't Warren's creation - he just gave it a new name. Before it was called "Purpose Driven" it was called "seeker-sensitive." That's back when pastor Bill Hybels was at the forefront inviting scoundrels like then president Bill Clinton to speak at his Leadership Summit held annually at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. This was during a time when water cooler conversation included Oval Office jokes about cigars and semen-stained dresses.

In March of 2001, The Chicago Daily Herald reported that a forum was held at Willow Creek for the world's five largest religions in an article entitled: Forum Unites Diverse Religions, where the church's spokesman, David Staal, was quoted as saying "All pathways to heaven and God are not the same; that's the reality." The Herald went on to say that "organizers of the forum preached respect between the faiths" and "encouraged the representatives of Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism to revel in their diversity" - not exactly a concept you'd find in the Old or New Testament.

It is also worth noting that shortly after September 11th, Pastor Hybels invited a Muslim cleric, Fisal Hammouda, who had addressed that earlier forum, to return to Willow Creek where Religion Today said he explained how "the Koran does not allow violence against innocent people." In an October 17th, 2001 summary piece, entitled: "Willow Creek Church Welcomes Muslim Cleric's Perspective," Hammouda was quoted as telling the crowd of 17,000, which was spread out over four services, that they (Muslims) "believe in Jesus, more than you do."

But the dialectic church was not Hybels' creation either. Before him, it was Robert Schuller and his Self Esteem Reformation. And the list goes on. Like socialism, which is essentially what we're talking about, they just keep reintroducing it under a fresh moniker and marketing campaign to make everyone think it's the latest, greatest thing - taking the church further and further left with each new version. And when Rick Warren's star eventually fades, like Bill Hybels' and Robert Schuller's, another will surely rise to take his place.

Already Christianity Today is reporting that, according to Jon Walker, Saddleback's pastor of strategic communications, "Purpose Driven as an organization, in a sense, doesn't really exist anymore," having already reduced its staff by a third, signaling that it's time for the next rage. Obviously, Warren would like to believe his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan is just that, providing him an opportunity to shine a little longer.

Well, we found out in his apology to Farah - comments that were made public in Joe's 7th column of the series, entitled: "Rick Warren says he's sorry." In it, the People's Pastor was quoted as saying this:

"It is evident from your columns and e-mails to others that I hurt, angered and offended you personally by what I said in a second e-mail to you. I am truly sorry, and I humbly ask for your forgiveness.

You see, the good reverend wasn't the least bit concerned that he had sided with an evil dictator and advanced the lies and agenda of a terrorist nation. All that apparently troubled him was that his Relationship with World Net Daily's editor was not producing satisfactory Results; and after failing to fool his latest critic with bogus denials that only made him look worse, he decided it was time to reach for the artificial sweetener to try and get the bad taste out of everyone's mouth. Unfortunately, artificial sweeteners have a sickening aftertaste all their own - so needless to say, the Relationship continued to sour.

Any time you question or challenge today's dialectically trained pastors and church growth leaders regarding their scripturally errant words and ways, they invariably try and turn it into a Relationship issue to avoid facing the truth and consequences.

This is a tactic that most in the church today are unprepared to deal with. The average Christian doesn't even know such a thing exists. Having been taught by their PDL pastors to feel and experience each other's emotions and "think relationally," (play footsie) rather than know and obey God's absolutes, they are seduced and sidetracked into surrendering their conscience to the collective for the brotherly benefits of progress and peace. (Results & Relationships)

This is how you bring conflicting governments, economies and religions together to build a new world order and a one world religion - by persuading extremely diverse people groups from all sectors of society to put aside their differences, find common ground and exchange eternal truths for pragmatic promises and relativistic reasoning.

The last sentence of Warren's apology to Farah clearly reveals what is most sacred to him.

What he said he wants "more than anything" is "God's continued blessing on my life;" and I submit to you that this may well be his single greatest weakness and failing as a pastor and a Christian - and where Satan seems to have a hold on him - coveting Results and Relationships - the two things his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan promises to produce in unprecedented proportions.

The Greatest Commandment does not read: "Thou shalt love the Lord's blessing with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."

It reads: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." - Matthew 22:37

And Jesus repeatedly defined "love" as obedience to His Word - something Warren seems intent on bastardizing for his own Purpose and P.E.A.C.E. Plan.

But, if we love the blessing more than the Blesser, and that "blessing," for whatever reason, is taken away, our misplaced faith would be found as false as the angel of light we were serving all along.

Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late 1990's to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a distinctly biblical perspective. As a freelance writer and regular columnist for NewsWithViews.com, he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight on cultural trends and current events. His articles appear regularly on a variety of news and opinion sites across the internet and in print.