Purpose Driven or Scripture Driven? - Way of Life Literature
Purpose Driven or Scripture Driven? - Way of Life Literature Purpose Driven or Scripture Driven? - Way of Life Literature
on Sunday to all the church body, at Saddleback, doctrineis only taught to sub-groups of the congregation apart fromthe regular church services. Warren emphasizedSaddleback’s strategy of moving new members “aroundthe bases” by having interested Christians take specialclasses to prepare them for service. Although Bible studygroups also meet together, our question is this: Why is notthe pulpit used to proclaim the “whole counsel of God” tothe whole congregation assembled before it on the Lord’sDay (Acts 20:20-31)? Why make serious, systematic Bibleinstruction an option, heard only by the relatively few inthe crowd who desire to “round the next base”? The wholecounsel of God is to be proclaimed, to all seated before thepulpit, all the time!• A spirit of compromise must prevail in the church that isto experience dynamic growth. The embrace ofcontemporary culture and style will most assuredly set thedesired mood that totally opposes the Biblical mandate toearnestly contend for the faith and separate from error.What works, what is least offensive and what is positiveand uplifting is what should define the ministry, accordingto Warren. The church leaders who are interested indynamic growth must embrace the attitude that says,“Don’t try to tell me the Bible requires holiness and a stylefor worship and ministry that is different from that of theworld.” This “grace-in-your-face” attitude is so prevalenttoday because of church elders who are not willing, or notaware of how, to instruct ones to behave in the house ofGod (1 Tim. 3:15).Rick Warren began the seminar by revealing the vastinfluence his message has had throughout the world. He toldthe pastors and church leaders who were attending the102
seminar, “You’re joining a group today of over 45,000pastors and church leaders that have gone through thisconference in the last few years from about 42 differentcountries, from about 63 different denominations. We have anumber of different countries that flew in today just for thisone day conference, from Europe, from Asia, from SouthAmerica.” To accent the ecumenical mood of the seminar,Warren later suggested, “It really doesn’t matter yourdenomination, folks. We’re all on the same team if you loveJesus.”Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Church and the relatedpublications of Saddleback’s literature ministry haveinfluenced tens of thousands more who have never attendedany of his seminars. As Warren indicated in a closing prayer,the impact of the Saddleback experience is extensive, to saythe least: “Thank you that there is a movement, a stealthmovement, that’s flying beneath the radar, that’s changingliterally hundreds, even thousands of churches around theworld.” It is necessary for the faithful believer today to bewary of any “stealth” (camouflaged, secretive) programintended to fly “beneath the radar” in order to avoiddetection. For many years now the church growth movementhas certainly flown into congregations undetected bythousands of churches worldwide. The onslaught must bedetected, the warning must be sounded now!This report will identify and analyze the programssuggested by the Saddleback Community Church model andwill ascertain whether or not this model is consistent withwhat the Bible says concerning the nature, purpose andstrategy of the church. Although Saddleback CommunityChurch is one of the largest churches in America(comparable to Bill Hybels’ Willow Creek CommunityChurch), the believer must not take a pragmatic approach to103
- Page 52 and 53: how sick and blasphemous this thing
- Page 54 and 55: Warren’s P.E.A.C.E. PlanSpeaking
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- Page 68 and 69: clamour for a confederacy which wou
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- Page 94 and 95: Warren Doesn’t Mention JesusIn Ju
- Page 96 and 97: Warren Predict’s A “NewReformat
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- Page 130 and 131: the law, but a judge. There is one
- Page 132 and 133: About Way of Life’s eBooksSince J
- Page 134 and 135: ecumenical; it is charismatic; it i
- Page 136 and 137: Transformational Power of CCM. V. S
- Page 138 and 139: variety of situations, including ho
- Page 140: “The encyclopedia is excellent. T
seminar, “You’re joining a group today <strong>of</strong> over 45,000past<strong>or</strong>s and church leaders that have gone through thisconference in the last few years from about 42 differentcountries, from about 63 different denominations. We have anumber <strong>of</strong> different countries that flew in today just f<strong>or</strong> thisone day conference, from Europe, from Asia, from SouthAmerica.” To accent the ecumenical mood <strong>of</strong> the seminar,Warren later suggested, “It really doesn’t matter yourdenomination, folks. We’re all on the same team if you loveJesus.”Warren’s book The <strong>Purpose</strong> <strong>Driven</strong> Church and the relatedpublications <strong>of</strong> Saddleback’s literature ministry haveinfluenced tens <strong>of</strong> thousands m<strong>or</strong>e who have never attendedany <strong>of</strong> his seminars. As Warren indicated in a closing prayer,the impact <strong>of</strong> the Saddleback experience is extensive, to saythe least: “Thank you that there is a movement, a stealthmovement, that’s flying beneath the radar, that’s changingliterally hundreds, even thousands <strong>of</strong> churches around thew<strong>or</strong>ld.” It is necessary f<strong>or</strong> the faithful believer today to bewary <strong>of</strong> any “stealth” (camouflaged, secretive) programintended to fly “beneath the radar” in <strong>or</strong>der to avoiddetection. F<strong>or</strong> many years now the church growth movementhas certainly flown into congregations undetected bythousands <strong>of</strong> churches w<strong>or</strong>ldwide. The onslaught must bedetected, the warning must be sounded now!This rep<strong>or</strong>t will identify and analyze the programssuggested by the Saddleback Community Church model andwill ascertain whether <strong>or</strong> not this model is consistent withwhat the Bible says concerning the nature, purpose andstrategy <strong>of</strong> the church. Although Saddleback CommunityChurch is one <strong>of</strong> the largest churches in America(comparable to Bill Hybels’ Willow Creek CommunityChurch), the believer must not take a pragmatic approach to103