Church Marketing

An expos'e of the Rick Warren philosophy of "how to do church".  The book   "Transitioning"

If you have any doubts about whether or not God is in the "Purpose Driven" movement you need to read the book, "Transitioning" written by   one of his disciples, Dan Southerland, and wholeheartedly endorsed by Mr. Warren.

If you have any doubts about whether or not God is in the "Purpose Driven" movement you need to read the book, "Transitioning" written by one of his disciples, Dan Southerland, and wholeheartedly endorsed by Mr. Warren himself. It is a handbook on ecclesiastical sabotage. It’s all about how to sneak the Warren philosophy of “how to do church” for the “emerging culture” into your church, “under the radar”. Now it is one thing for Mr. Warren to go out and start a church as he did the Saddleback Church in Southern California but it’s quite another thing for him to promote the crookedness and deceit we find in this book. You “do church” as you please, you will have to give an account to God even as I, and I won’t say much about it but when you send your boys out to undermine another church I’m going to yell my head off and hope somebody hears. When I read that one of the main requirements for certain of your key people in this scheme is that they “must know how to keep their mouths shut!” about what’s going on, even a dumbbell like me know’s something ain’t right.

 While many fundamental preachers and pastors would totally dismiss anything out of the Robert Schuller/ Glass Cathedral, few realize that  Rick Warren is simply repackaging what he learned under Schuller, labels it “Purpose Driven” and pedals it to gullible “progressives”. Schuller calls Mr.Warren one of his most outstanding and successful disciples. There is all kinds of evidence out there if you are interested.

 In this article we will examine the flawed arguments and outrageous scripture twisting that are used to justify this attempt to remake the New Testament church into something that not a one of the N.T. writers could possibly recognize or claim. Were you ever tempted with the “if you can’t whip’em, join’em” syndrome? You were tired of fighting the battle that comes with staying true to Biblical standards and convictions and the temptation was there to throw in the towel and go whole hog in the other direction. Well here’s how to do it. The Purpose Driven crowd has joined them and then some. Don’t forget, the planes that flew into the twin Towers were piloted by purpose driven men.

 As the cover on the book states it is assumed that if your church is not “purpose driven” it is program driven. What a choice! Flaw #1. Any decent Baptist church is Great Commission driven. Win the lost, baptize them, teach them to know and practice the Word of God. Pretty simple isn’t it?  This book has a lot of false assumptions in it but we won’t dwell on them.

 Let’s look at the word, “unchurched”.  We are to reach the “unchurched”. What’s wrong with the word “unsaved”? The book pays lip service to the words “lost” and “unsaved” maybe two or three times but by far the favorite word used over twenty times is the word “unchurched”. We are to target the “unchurched”. We are to do church for the “unchurched”. The “unchurched” determines our “style of worship”.

 So what’s wrong with targeting the unchurched? Plenty. Out of the countless millions who attend church how many do you think are actually saved? Probably less than 10%. The Bible is full of religious but lost people. I doubt that Paul ever had a single convert who did not belong to some religious organization. The first place he chose to preach in was the local church (synagogue).We are to target the LOST! Be they in church or out of church. Likely half the people in our churches belonged to some church or the other before they got saved. But Brother Walt you don’t want to offend people do you? To call them   unsaved or to say they are lost is so offensive, it sounds so much better to refer to them as unchurched.  Yea, I guess I get your point, but let’s stick to Bible terms, OK?

 Then there is the matter of “targeting”.  This is another favorite word used in the P/D movement. Loosely used, we target people and groups all the time. I am targeting a doctor right now. Also a businessman. I will use a different approach with each one as I try to win them to Christ. I targeted an atheist one time using certain materials that I knew would force him to face certain facts and bring him under conviction. And he did get saved as a result. We targeted the deaf community in an attempt to get a deaf ministry started. Yes we target different people and groups all the time but look at the difference. An example of scripture twisting to justify their style of “targeting”.  Didn’t God target the world? John 3:16.  Didn’t Paul target the Gentiles?  Didn’t Peter target the Jews? Well yes, but it’s one thing to target the world, the Gentiles, and the Jews but it’s quite another thing for a church to target “Saddleback Sam, He is thirty-four years old, unchurched, uncommitted to Christ, married with two kids, has a white-collar lifestyle, and is financially strapped.” Folks I’m sorry but I am use to churches where you would likely find a businessman in a $500.00 suit on his knees praying with a dirty little bus kid. Where we try as hard to reach the down and out as we do to reach the rich and famous. Paul targeted entire cities including every single soul therein. That’s Biblical targeting.

 (To be continued)

5/5/07

"GET THE POWER BROKERS ON BOARD" On page 68  Before you can be successful at sabotaging a church you have to get the "power brokers" on board. Who are the power brokers? The people in your church who have the most influence. "Mr.& Mrs.Charter Member, Mr.& Mrs.Been Here Forever and in some churches, Mr.& Mrs. Big Bucks.". "Any major change of plans requires the approval of the power brokers" page 70. Makes you wonder where God is in all this.

Then you must put together a "VISION TEAM". Here as no where else in the book we find the sneaky serpent like nature of the Purpose Driven movement. You need a vision team, people who are "mature Christians", "visionaries", and "trustworthy". This translates, for his purposes, into church members who are "broadminded", can "easily be sold on his vision", and I quote the book, people "WHO CAN KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT". You don't want anybody spilling the beans you know. but you do need people to infiltrate other groups with the express purpose of conditioning others to accept the changes that will change the total nature of their church.

The amazing thing is how Southerland seeks for scriptural approval in all this. He says on page 69, that his strategy is based on "scriptural principle" and "is a biblical idea". Time and time again he has to keep reassuring us that his whole plan is backed by scripture.Why is this? Simply because you would just about swear that the whole thing was of the devil if you didn't have his scripture twisting to help convince you otherwise. So what scriptures does he use to prove you must get the "power brokers" on board and that you need a "vision team" who "can keep their mouths shut"? He points to Nehemiah and how he went about doing the great work of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. Who in the world was Nehemiah's "power broker"? Why the king of course. Can't you see how it all fits together? No, and I don't see it either, maybe I missed something. By the way, anybody in the church who opposes the saboteur is referred back to Nehemiah and is classed as a Sanballat, a "leader from hell". page 115. "You cannot call this guy a leader from hell to his face but you can call him a Sanballat" So if you dare to criticize or oppose him you are to the church what Sanballet was to Israel. Of course Sanballet was a pagan and an idolater while those who oppose these worldly influences and methods coming into the church are likely to be the ones who spent years of sweat and sacrifice to build the church in the first place. The difference between Nehemiah and Southerland is that Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls while Southerland is tearing them down.

According to the book we are not to separate ourselves from the people. page143 By this he means that we are to more like what they are and what they like. Titles separate us so no more Pastor Dan or Pastor Jim, "Most just call me Dan." The way we dress separates us also so no more wearing suits to church. "I don't even own one anymore." page144 Oh yes, who speaks the King James English anymore ? "Why are we using a Bible that was written in four-hundred year old English...?" So any of the new translations are better. The KJ separates us. And then, "If you get loud in your preaching may I ask you why?" page146 Hey preacher don't you have a microphone?

What this boils down to is this, you don't like my title, Pastor? Ok I'll stop using it. You don't like the way I dress? OK I'll dress your way. You don't like my version of the Bible? OK I'll use the one you like. You don't for me to preach loud? OK I'll preach softly then. You don't like our music? OK We'll use your music then. You want it loud? OK we'll play it loud.You don't like the negative verses in the Bible? OK I'll only preach on the positive verses. Wait a minute folks, doesn't God say that we are not to be conformed to this world?  Who's' conforming to who in this Purpose Driven church movement? The answer is obvious.

 (To be continued)

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