RICK WARREN: THINKING LIKE A PAGAN &
A "THEOLOGY DISSING" JESUS
BY BUD AHLHEIM
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Remember how Jesus, when He came to earth as the Incarnate Son Of
God, actually became a vile, depraved sinner so that He could adequately
reach sinners in a relevant way with His Truth? Or that time the
thrice-denying Peter answered Jesus’ thrice-offered query, “Do you love
me?” in the negative, but only so he could do effective ministry among
Jews who didn’t love Jesus either? Or how about that story of the
post-Damascus Road Paul who decided to forsake his apostolic calling and
return to living as a self-righteous pagan so that he could reach
pagans with the Gospel?
Don’t recall any of these things? Hopefully, you don’t. I
certainly don’t. But according to the “pastor” of the purpose gospel,
Rick Warren, it’s this sort of Scripture-denying, command-disobeying
tact believers must take in witnessing for the goal of church growth.
The mega-church, mega-pastor – who obviously doesn’t focus on being
“Mega-Scriptural” – touted this in a recent Pastors.com article, How To Understand How Unbelievers Think.
This stellar example of Biblical obtuseness on the part of Warren
comes only days after the “quick, delete that” Tweet by his
doctrinally-inept Saddleback Church.
Nice, huh? Just the perfect message to appeal to the
post-modern, feelings first, experience seeking, “who are you to judge”
mindset. It’s the ideal sort of seeker-friendly message that might
bring in pagan crowds, and just in time for Easter, too. Surely they’ll
think, “Wow! A church that doesn’t focus on ‘theology’ but is
interested in ministry first! And you know what ‘ministry’ means? It
means it’s all about me! It should really be called
“Minister-ME!’ And, just like Saddleback says, it’s what Jesus did! Yaaay!”
Saddleback
received duly-deserved social media scorn from many and subsequently
deleted the tweet. But notice something. While they deleted the tweet,
they didn’t comment on it. No apology was proffered. No explanation of
“that’s not really what we meant.” No confession that it was inaccurate,
inappropriate, and posted in error. No “we’re counseling the person who
erroneously posted on our behalf.” In effect, Saddleback offered no
visible expression of repentance for proclaiming an arguably blasphemous
view of Jesus. But, that’s Saddleback, and that’s quite accurately
the “other” Jesus of Saddleback. He’s one completely foreign to the
pages of God’s Holy Word yet one who perfectly fits the “YOU-ology”
touted by Warren.
But, a week or so after the “Jesus dissed theology” tweet, Warren
came out with his “think like a pagan to witness to pagans” article. As
with the deleted tweet, his article is an exercise in Biblical ignorance
with more than a whiff of intentional Scriptural disregard –
it includes not a single reference to Scripture, btw – but is replete with what an apostle would call the “wisdom of the world.” (
1 Corinthians 3:19)
It sounds more like it was written by a guy at the top of a
get-rich-quick pyramidal marketing scheme than a guy genuinely concerned
with obedience to, and proclamation of, the Truth of God in His Word.
But then that does fit the Warrenology modus operandi, does it not?
Warren, who – I could imagine – drives around (or is chauffeured
around) Southern California with a “Honk If You Love The Pope” bumper
sticker in some eco-friendly, steward-the-environment, “this’ll attract
the millennials” electro-car, initiates his article with a chiding of
churches for their sufficiently offensive-to-the-unchurched advertising.
After all, for Warren the pastoral sales mega-coach, church isn’t what
Jesus is building (
Matthew 16:18) – not a body comprised of authentic believers given Him by the Father (
John 17:24)
– it’s what you, too, can create if you’re savvy, committed to success,
know your purpose, and “subscribe to my Build Your Own Mega-Church The
Warren Way” training program.
Because I’ve been a Christian for most of my life, I
think like a Christian. I don’t normally think like an unbeliever. Worse
than that, I tend to think like a pastor, and that’s even further
removed from an unbeliever’s mindset! That means I must intentionally
change mental gears when seeking to relate to non-Christians.
If you look at most church advertising, it’s obvious that it was
written from a believer’s viewpoint — not from the mindset of the
unchurched.
When you see a church ad that announces, “Preaching the Inerrant Word
of God,” what group of people do you think that ad appeals to?
Certainly not to unbelievers!
How absolutely egregious! That a church, which is supposed to be made
up of genuine, Spirit-regenerated believers, would dare cater to
genuine, Spirit-regenerated believers! How appalling! What are they
thinking? That’s no way to reach pagans, fill your pews (and your
coffers), and build your non-profit, multi-campus empire for
Geeeezzzzuusss.
No, no, no. Rick, you do not “think like a pastor,” at least not one
that could be remotely identified by even the simplest New Testament
attributes. (I’m thinking of “Preach the word” –
2 Timothy 4:2 – or “teach what accords with sound doctrine,” -
Titus 2:1- for example.) Rick
thinks
he thinks like a pastor, but he promotes like a self-serving carnival
barker on a late night infomercial. His theology-free Jesus is merely an
example that confirms this. But, so far as those “deceiving and being
deceived” (
2 Timothy 3:13)
are concerned, Warren is at the pinnacle of the post-modern idea of
“church.” If you want a “pastor” who’ll twist the Scriptures to make
you feel good, grant you absolution for an offensive to Scripture,
repeat after me prayer, and coddle you with a “no need to repent”
message from his folded, spindled, and mutilated Bible, then Warren is
your pope.
I’ve often heard pastors complain that unbelievers are
more resistant to the Gospel today than in the past. I don’t think that
is necessarily true. More often than not, resistance is just a response
to poor communication.
The problem is that the message isn’t getting through. Churches need
to stop saying that people are closed to the Gospel and start finding
out how to communicate on their wavelength.
No matter how life-changing our message is, if we’re broadcasting on a
different channel from the unchurched, it won’t do any good.
What? People are resistant to the Gospel? The message is not
getting through? Folks are “closed to the Gospel,” despite how “life
changing” it is? Really? How can this be? What do we do?
Fret not, because Warren the wonder Word-twister understands your
problem. You need to “communicate on their wavelength.” You have to
“broadcast” on the channel of the unchurched. You need to change
channels, and for that, you have to change your message. (There’s a
verse somewhere, I think, about tampering with God’s message … Oh, yes.
Here are two.
Deuteronomy 4:2 and
Revelation 22:18-19 oughta suffice. Check them out on your own.)
The abide in my word believer (
John 8:31)
will understand immediately why the message isn’t being received. The
dead can’t hear. They can’t see. They can’t answer a call. They can’t
reach out for the life preserver. They can’t understand spiritual
things. They are dead. And nobody’s knocking on the door of their dead
hearts. But that’s just going by the Book. (See
Ephesians 2:1,
Ephesians 2:5,
Colossians 2:13,
1 Corinthians 2:14, for further details on being spiritually dead.)
To go by Warren’s book, though, altering the message is the super
secret way to ensure post-modern mega-church success and is a surefire
method to get pagan posteriors planted in your plush pews. And the way
to do that? Think like a pagan.
How do you learn to think like unbelievers? Talk
to them! One of the greatest barriers to evangelism is that most
believers spend all their time with other Christians. They don’t have
any non-believing friends. If you don’t spend any time with unbelievers,
you won’t understand what they’re thinking.
Frankly, based on what comes out of Warren’s Saddleback bloviating,
he’s one of the “greatest barriers to evangelism” himself. When you
promote a false, it’s all about you Jesus, you’re touting an “other”
gospel that doesn’t save and is apostolically anathematized. (Galatians 1:9)
When you tell a believer to think like an unbeliever in order to reach
the unbeliever, you’ve taken upon yourself the presumed ability to
save.
But, Scripture makes pretty clear that “salvation is of the Lord.” (
Jonah 2:9)
Even before the wrongly- conceived, “theology-dissing Jesus” of
Saddleback’s deleted tweet archives became the incarnate Son of God, the
last book of the Old Testament tells us that it is God who does the
work of salvation. “I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.”
Malachi 1:2
Telling a believer to think like an unbeliever flies in the face of
not only the ministry of Jesus, of Peter, of Paul, and of the entirety
of the New Testament, but it’s also usurping specific apostolic commands
which instruct us otherwise. We are never told in Scripture to mimic
the thought processes of the pagan, even if for the noble goal of
witnessing to them. Instead, we are told “we have the mind of Christ,” (
1 Corinthians 2:16) to think on things above not on things below (
Colossians 3:2), to hate the things of this world, which would certainly include the depraved “thinking” of the world (
1 John 2:15) and, from Paul, we are even given a list of things to “think about,” (
Philippians 4:8)
none of which would land on the “top ten list of things pagans think
about.” Telling believers to think like pagans is telling them to
engage in sin.
We are told, commissioned, to proclaim a paradoxical Truth to the
pagan – that God sacrificed His own Son to save man from God. We are to
proclaim this “you must be born again” message (
John 3:1-8)
to the pagan whose spiritually darkened, dead soul cannot apprehend it –
apart from the sovereign, illuminating, regenerating, faith-gifting
work of God. He saves, we merely proclaim. We cannot so twist God’s
Gospel to make a Jacob out of an Esau, but we are to faithfully proclaim
the Gospel so that God can save the “Jacobs” He has chosen from before
the foundation of the world. (
Ephesians 1:4)
But, if you just want to build a super successful non-profit business
enterprise wrongly called a “church,” following Warren’s “think like a
pagan” marketing plan makes sense. The five points of Warren, which put
the mega-church mogul on his own way to ecumenical stardom, are drawn
from savvy marketing wisdom, not from Scriptural truth. Using Warren’s
unbiblical methods may gain you a club member, but those souls will be
not a step closer to the pearly gates.
“I began Saddleback Church by going door to door for 12 weeks and
surveying the unchurched in my area. I wrote down in my notebook five
questions I would use to start Saddleback:”
Warren’s five points for mega-church mega-growth to achieve
evangelical glory isn’t remotely Biblical. In fact, doing a simple cut
and paste maneuver to it would hardly cause one to think the questions
were even about “church.” Replace the word “church” with “social club,”
“country club,” “society,” “alliance,” or any other organizational
community structure and the responses given would likely reflect a
negligible difference. Why? Who wouldn’t want to go to a place that
caters to their express needs, wants, and desires? But church ain’t
Santa Claus and the unregenerate don’t need coddling; they need the
Gospel.
But, by calling it “church,” it simply caters to fallen man’s innate
need to worship and assuages his natural proclivity to be legalistic. I’m going to church so God’s gotta be happy.
Such behavior may be culturally acceptable and superficially
rewarding, but adherence to a false gospel doesn’t gain one points for
glory. Instead, Scripture says those who do such things are “merely
storing up wrath.” (Romans 2:5)
Instead of hoping drops of Truth rub off on the legalistic, but
unregenerate church goer, Christ has chosen to build His church by first
saving souls. The Spirit-regenerated believer is given something that
Warren’s method cannot provide, nor does it even ask for – genuine
repentance and faith that is evidenced by fruits of the Spirit (
Galatians 5:22-23) and good works (
James 2:17).
We don’t need to think like a pagan to share the Good News. While it
will be summarily rejected by most – after all, the road is wide that
leads to destruction (
Matthew 7:13-14) – the Gospel is the only mechanism by which God saves. (
Romans 1:16)
The proper goal for the believer – and for the church – is never
numerical growth. The proper, biblical goal is faithfulness. (
2 Corinthians 5:7)
But for Rick Warren, and those who promote his theology-dissing Jesus
(this is a false Jesus …) and his unbiblical, market-driven, do-it-yourself, build-a-church techniques (
and this is an unbiblical tactic), we have been given a simple, apostle-approved, command. “Avoid them.” (
Romans 16:17-18)
[
Contributed by Bud Ahlheim]
For more on the dangers of Rick Warren, see HERE.
