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Rick Warren chose Robert Schuller
"Jesus had an ego. He said, 'I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.' Wow, what an ego trip He was on!"
Robert Schuller, "The Phil Donahue Show," August 12, 1980. The Vanishing Conscience, John MacArthur page 84)
Rick Warren
Rick Warren's wife claims that Robert Schuller had a profound influence on him at the beginning of his ministry. Robert Schuller himself claims to have launched the mega church movement in 1970. Here are some quotes from Robert Schuller:
"And there’s Rick Warren, a pastor who today is phenomenal. He came to our institute time after time. And in "Christianity Today," his wife was quoted as saying, "When we came to that institute, we were blown away." How God has blessed him. And today Rick Warren is blessing millions of people."
(Robert Schuller, "What Will Be The Future of This Ministry?" This message was delivered by Robert H. Schuller from the pulpit of the Crystal Cathedral and aired on the Hour of Power April 4, 2004.)
"I have been credited or blamed--both are correct--as the founder of the mega church."
(Robert Schuller, "Schuller's glass act," The Christian Century, April 10, 2002)
"I launched the megachurch movement through the Institute for Successful Church Leadership in 1970," he said, referring to his annual pastors conference at the Garden Grove church. "There were no megachurches 32 years ago--we were the closest thing to it."
(Robert Schuller, "Schuller's glass act," The Christian Century, April 10, 2002)
Larry King: "Reverend Schuller, how did you come to Pastor Rick Warren, whose book 'The Purpose-Driven Life,' the major best seller, was referred to?"
Robert Schuller: "How did I come to..."
Larrry King: "Yes, how..."
Robert Schuller: "Well, about 38-years-ago, I founded an institute for successful church leadership. And I was trying to tell pastors that they should focus on the needs of people. Focus on the hurts of human beings. Be a mission, don't just be a church peddling your own doctrine. But really try to be a place where the love of God, and the love of Jesus Christ come through. And he went for a few years, and said, apparently, it impacted him. His (UNINTELLIGIBLE) has about 50,000 (UNINTELLIGIBLE), but this book is fantastic, and I'm just so thrilled that she was a part of it."
(Robert Schuller, "Larry King Live," March 14, 2005)
"Plus, Dr. Robert Schuller, the renowned minister who mentored Rick Warren, the author of "The Purpose-Driven Life," the bestseller that Ashley Smith read to the suspect, Brian Nichols."
(Larry King, "Larry King Live," March 14, 2005)
"Imitating Schuller, Warren walked the (then unincorporated but fast-growing) town of Lake Forest, asking what kept people from going to church. He recruited a Bible study group that met at the Warrens' condominium; its members helped stamp and address letters to 15,000 households. "At last!" the letter began. "A new church for those who've given up on traditional church services!" More than 200 people showed up for an Easter service at Laguna Hills High School. Watching them stream in, Warren marveled, "This is really going to work!"
(A Regular Purpose-Driven Guy, Christianity Today, 11/08/2002)
"We are the home of the world's first Church Growth Institute, -launching the mega-church movement in the 20th century. Tens of thousands of pastors, including famous graduates Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Bishop Blake, Walt Kallestad, and Sundo Kim of Korea, were mentored here."
(Hour Of Power.org, "As We Celebrate 50 Years Of Ministry," Who We Are)
Unknown Man: "Why should we do anything to encourage people to become lovers of themselves if Paul in fact warned Timothy that would be the state of Godlessness in the last days?"
Robert Schuller: "I hope you don't preach this. I hope you don't. You would do a lot of damage to a lot of beautiful people. And so, if you preach that text, oh, Man! They'll switch you off! They'll turn on the rock music and Madonna. So please, that stuff, there are Bible passages, just because it's in the Bible doesn't mean you should preach it! But are we so corrupt and are we totally unable to do any good and inclined towards all evil? The answer in the Catechism says, 'Yes, unless we are born again by the Spirit of God.' I don't think that I'll accept that answer. I know people that are not Christians, they're not born again, but they're very kind people. I have to say they do a lot of good."
Unknown Man: "Well, Paul says, 'There is no one who does good. No, not one."
Robert Schuller: "Well, I'm not going to say that because I think that leads ultimately to holier than thou-ism self righteousness. And that comes out of the personality of the preacher and it does untold damage."
(Robert Schuller. Audio-Clip from, "Resources on Televangelism," White Horse Inn, Michael Horton)
"Love yourself or die--physically and spiritually!...Love yourself or you will die spiritually."
(Dr. Robert Schuller, "Self-Love," Page 43)
"To be born again means that we must be changed from a negative to a positive self-image -- from inferiority to self-esteem, from fear to love, from doubt to trust."
(Robert Schuller, "Self-Esteem: the New Reformation," page 68)
"Jesus had an ego. He said, 'I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.' Wow, what an ego trip He was on!"
(Robert Schuller, "The Phil Donahue Show," August 12, 1980. The Vanishing Conscience, John MacArthur page 84)
"The Cross sanctifies the ego trip. For the Cross protected our Lord’s perfect self-esteem from turning into sinful pride."
(Robert Schuller, "Self-Esteem: the New Reformation," page 75)
Rick Warren's wife admits that Robert Schuller influenced him and gave him ideas for the seeker sensitive movement. That is a chilling admission, see the quote from Christianity today:
"During his last year in seminary, he and Kay drove west to visit Robert Schuller's Institute for Church Growth. "We had a very stony ride out to the conference," she says, because such nontraditional ministry scared her to death. Schuller, though, won them over. "He had a profound influence on Rick," Kay says. "We were captivated by his positive appeal to nonbelievers. I never looked back."
(A Regular Purpose-Driven Guy, Christianity Today, 11/08/2002)
Has God ever used a false teacher to influence a biblical movement? Can you show me in the Bible where this is done? The Bible commands us to rebuke and be separate from false teachers--not to use their methods and ideas for worship (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
In Rick Warren's article of the March 2005 Ladies home Journal I have never seen such anti-Christian and unbiblical advice coming from a pastor--let alone a "pastor" to pastors which Rick Warren is.
Here is a sampling of this very unbiblical and harmful advice that is given to unbelievers:
"Learn To Love Yourself! Self-esteem still wobbly after all these years? These five simple truths will show you that you don't need to be perfect to be priceless....Accept yourself...God accepts us unconditionally (Remember he's talking to unbelievers)...Love yourself...Be true to yourself...Forgive yourself...Believe in yourself...You can believe what others say about you, or you can believe in yourself as does God, who says you are truly acceptable, lovable, valuable and capable," Ladies Home Journal March 2005, page 36.
There really needs to be no comment on this harmful advice coming from a man that so many thousands of pastors adore and follow uncritically. The last thing an unbeliever needs to be told is that "God accepts us unconditionally." God does not accept unbelievers unconditionally--God accepts them when they come to Him through Jesus (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 4:12).
The name of Jesus was not even mentioned in this article--neither was sin or the dire state of unbelievers that remain separated from God because of their sins.
Rick Warren's advice sure sounds a lot like Robert Schuller's teaching on self-love and self-esteem. What does God's Word have to say about the love of self: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves..." 2 Timothy 3:1-2.
Rick is also a contributing author to CFaith.com (As of 2003), this a basically a online Word Faith teacher gathering. Here is a short list of members: Creflo Dollar, Ken Copeland, Oral Roberts, Charles Capps, Fred Price, John Avanzini, Jesse Duplantis, etc. To associate with these men is a travesty. I find this association with prosperity teachers very odd since Rick Warren called the Prosperity Gospel "Heresy" in his book the Purpose Driven Church on page 302.
According to The Dallas Morning News Rick Warren also "led prayers at the gathering" of the Global Day of Prayer on May 15, 2005. This unity prayer event was lead in part by T. D. Jakes. Shepherds are supposed to warn the sheep of wolves not associate with them to the hurt of God's precious sheep. What a sad day it is when our shepherds that are supposed to guard the flock are promoting a man that denies the Trinity.
In an interview with Time Magazine March 29, 2004, Rick has this to say, "I'm translating the truth into 21st century language, and evidently a lot of people are listening." He's convinced that the nation is on the verge of a spiritual awakening, as people seek fulfillment they don't get in fast-track jobs and can't buy with gold cards. "The culture is asking, 'How do I fill this hole in my heart?'" he says. "I think religion has the answer."
Religion has the answer? Is that what the Bible teaches? I thought Jesus is the answer? I thought Jesus is the only way to heaven? Religion is in fact the Devil's greatest tool! There are billions of people in "religion" on their way to hell thinking everything is ok! How could "America's most influential" preacher deny Jesus to Time Magazine and their millions of readers? Would it offend unchurched Harry and Mary to say that Jesus is the answer and that He is the, "Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6)?"
In an article from the USA today Rick Warren claims that Mormonism is just another Christian denomination rather than a false religion: "Yet Warren's pastor-training programs welcome Catholics, Methodists, Mormons, Jews and ordained women. I'm not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won't try to change other denominations."
Rick Warren says, "You must decide who you're trying to reach, identify their preferred style of music and then stick with it." For example the Modesto Bee reports: "Warren's emphasis on approachable Christianity is reflected at Saddleback, where worshippers can choose from nearly two dozen services that feature different styles of live music, from heavy metal to reggae to hula."
Listen to the words of Charles Spurgeon regarding this method of reaching unbelievers: "Dear friends, we know that souls are not won by music, if they were it would be time for preachers to give way to opera singers."
Over 116 years ago Charles Haddon Spurgeon was preaching against the seeker sensitive movement of his day. Just as the Bible says, "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun," Ecclesiasties 1:9.
"The fact is, that many would like to unite church and stage, cards and prayers, dancing, and sacraments. If we are powerless to stem this torment, we can at least warn men of the existence, and entreat them to keep out of it. When the old faith is gone, and enthusiasm for the gospel is extinct, it is no wonder that the people seek something else in the way of delight. Lacking bread, they feed on ashes; rejecting the way of the Lord, they run greedily in the path of folly."
(Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Another Word Concerning the Down Grade, The Sword and the Trowel, 1887)
"The idea of a progressive gospel seems to have fascinated many. To us that notion is a sort of cross-breed between nonsense and blasphemy. After the gospel has been found effectual in the eternal salvation of untold multitudes, it seems rather late in the day to alter it; and, since it is the revelation of the all-wise and unchanging God, it appears somewhat audacious to attempt its improvement. When we call up before our mind's eye the gentlemen who have set themselves this presumptuous task, we feel half inclined to laugh; the case is so much like the proposal of moles to improve the light of the sun...
Do men believe that there is a gospel for each century? Or a religion for each fifty years?"
(Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Progressive Theology, pg. 157-58, The Sword & Trowel, 1888)
"Dear friends, we know that souls are not won by music, if they were it would be time for preachers to give way to opera singers."
(Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit," Volume 18, page 239)
"That very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors."
(Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "How Saints May Help The Devil," July 24, 1859)
"The heaving of the masses under newly invented excitements we are too apt to identify with the power of God. This age of novelties would seem to have discovered spiritual power in brass bands and tambourines...The tendency of the time is towards bigness, parade, and show of power, as if these would surely accomplish what more regular agencies have failed to achieve."
(Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit," Volume 28, page 377, 1882)
"Jesus said, 'Preach the gospel to every creature.' But men are getting tired of the divine plan; they are going to be saved by a priest, going to be saved by the music, going to be saved by theatricals, and nobody knows what! Well, they may try these things as long as ever they like; but nothing can ever come of the whole thing but utter disappointment and confusion, God dishonoured, the gospel travestied, hypocrites manufactured by the thousands, and the church dragged down to the level of the world."
(Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit," Volume 40, page 199, 1888)
"Another cause of mourning is when we see the holiness of the visible church declouded. I trust I am not given to finding fault where fault there is not. But I cannot open my eyes without seeing things done in our churches which 30 years ago were not so much as dreamed of! In the matter of amusement professors have gone far in the way of laxity. What is worse the churches have now conceived the idea that it's their duty to amuse the people. Dissenters who use to protest against going to the theatre now caused the theatre to come to them."
(Charles Spurgeon, "A Dirge for the Downgrade and A Song of Faith," Isaiah 66:10)
"From speaking out as the Puritans did, the church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.
My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church. If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it? "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). That is clear enough. So it would have been if He had added, "and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel." No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to him.
Then again, "He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers .., for the work of the ministry" (Eph. 4:11-12). Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.
Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all his apostles. What was the attitude of the church to the world? Ye are the salt" (Matt. 5:13), not the sugar candy---something the world will spit out not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, "Let the dead bury their dead" (Matt. 8:22) He was in awful earnestness.
Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into his mission, he would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear him say, "Run after these people Peter and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick Peter, we must get the people somehow." Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them...
Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired. It works havoc among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment has been God's link in the chain of the conversion, stand up! There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire."
(Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats")
Hear these words of J. Gresham Machen:
"God grant that you may resist the Tempter’s voice; God save you from the sin of paring down the gospel to suit the pride of men; God grant that you may deliver your message straight and full and plain. Only so, whatever else you may sacrifice, will you have one thing — the favour of the Lord Jesus Christ. And only so will you be the instrument in saving souls. Do you think men’s souls are satisfied by the current preaching of the day, with its encouragement of human pride? It might seem so. The churches are crowded where Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah and his associates hold forth; one can sometimes in those churches scarcely obtain a seat; hundreds are turned away at the doors. But let us not be deceived by appearances. Among those crowds — contented though they may seem to a superficial observer to be — there are many hungry hearts. Despite all the apparent satisfaction of the world with this ‘other gospel’ of a non-doctrinal Christianity, this ‘other gospel’ that is dictated by human pride, there is deep down in the human heart a hunger for the Word of God. Despite all the efforts of modern prophets, all that Zedekiah and his far more than four hundred associates can do, despite the hubbub of modern optimism, you will find, here and there at least, in this modern world, listening to these modern preachers, those who say, after listening to it all: ‘Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we might enquire of him?’"
A. W. Tozer wrote these words in 1955:
"For centuries the Church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for what it was—a device for wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability. For this she got herself abused roundly by the sons of this world. But of late she has become tired of the abuse and has given over the struggle. She appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers. So today we have the astonishing spectacle of millions of dollars being poured into the unholy job of providing earthly entertainment for the so-called sons of heaven. Religious entertainment is in many places rapidly crowding out the serious things of God. Many churches these days have become little more than poor theaters where fifth-rate "producers" peddle their shoddy wares with the full approval of evangelical leaders who can even quote a holy text in defense of their delinquency. And hardly a man dares raise his voice against it."
For a great series on this issue get, "Hard To Believe," or the books, "Hard To Believe," "Ashamed Of The Gospel," "Fools Gold," "This Little Church Went to Market," and "Famine In The Land."
Other Articles:
Church Growth In The Bible
Charles Haddon Spurgeon on the Seeker Sensitive Model
John MacArthur on the Seeker Sensitive Movement
John MacArthur: What's Inside The Trojan Horse?
John MacArthur: A Clarion Call To The Modern Church
J. Gresham Machen On Being Faithful To God's Word
Quotes From Rick Warren
"Learn To Love Yourself! Self-esteem still wobbly after all these years? These five simple truths will show you that you don't need to be perfect to be priceless....Accept yourself...God accepts us unconditionally (Remember he's talking to unbelievers)...Love yourself...Be true to yourself...Forgive yourself...Believe in yourself...You can believe what others say about you, or you can believe in yourself as does God, who says you are truly acceptable, lovable, valuable and capable."
Rick Warren, "Learn To Love Yourself," Ladies Home Journal March 2005, page 36)
"The first Reformation was about belief; this one’s going to be about behavior," said Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of the best-selling The Purpose-Driven Life. "The first one was about creeds; this one’s going to be about our deeds. The first one divided the church; this time it will unify the church."
(Rick Warren, "Global prayer rally focuses on world problems," Baptist Standard, By Ken Camp May 16, 2005.)
"Warren's emphasis on approachable Christianity is reflected at Saddleback, where worshippers can choose from nearly two dozen services that feature different styles of live music, from heavy metal to reggae to hula. Pastors preach in T-shirts and hand out fill-in-the-blank flashcards that dovetail with the day's sermon."
("Two Faces Of Faith, 'Purpose Driven' preaching for an MTV world," By GILLIAN FLACCUS,
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Last Updated: April 9, 2005)
"When David said, 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,' why did he say that? Well, because David was a shepherd," Warren says in an interview at Saddleback Church, a sprawling campus of manicured lawns, airy buildings and vast parking lots. "Today, I don't think it's any less appropriate for the businessman to say, 'The Lord is my CEO' or 'The Lord is my manager.' You can't just assume terminology today is understandable. I work very hard at being a translator."
(Rick Warren,"Two Faces Of Faith, 'Purpose Driven' preaching for an MTV world," By GILLIAN FLACCUS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Last Updated: April 9, 2005)
"The goal of 'The Purpose Driven Life' is to help people develop a heart for the world."
(Rick Warren, "The Purpose Driven Life helps readers determine the focus of their lives," pastors.com)
"Keep your pastoral prayers short in your seeker services...The unchurched can’t handle long prayers; their minds wander or they fall asleep."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Church, p. 256)
"The point Paul is making is that we must be willing to adjust our worship practices when unbelievers are present (1 Corinthians 14:23). God tells us to be sensitive to the hang-ups of unbelievers in our services. Although Paul never used the term 'Seeker Sensitive,' he definitely pioneered the idea."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Church, p. 243)
"During his last year in seminary, he and Kay drove west to visit Robert Schuller's Institute for Church Growth. "We had a very stony ride out to the conference," she says, because such nontraditional ministry scared her to death. Schuller, though, won them over. "He had a profound influence on Rick," Kay says. "We were captivated by his positive appeal to nonbelievers. I never looked back."
(A Regular Purpose-Driven Guy, Christianity Today, 11/08/2002)
"Imitating Schuller, Warren walked the (then unincorporated but fast-growing) town of Lake Forest, asking what kept people from going to church. He recruited a Bible study group that met at the Warrens' condominium; its members helped stamp and address letters to 15,000 households. "At last!" the letter began. "A new church for those who've given up on traditional church services!" More than 200 people showed up for an Easter service at Laguna Hills High School. Watching them stream in, Warren marveled, "This is really going to work!"
(A Regular Purpose-Driven Guy, Christianity Today, 11/08/2002)
"It's a myth that all you need is prayer and dedication to grow a healthy church. Some of the most dedicated prayer warriors I know are pastors of dying churches. It really bothers me that some pastor's conferences promote that myth -- leaving pastors feeling discouraged and guilty instead of encouraged.
We've all heard speakers claim, "If you'll just pray more, preach the word, and be dedicated, then your church will grow." Well, that's just not true. I can show you thousands of churches where pastors are doctrinally sound; they love the Lord; they're committed and spirit-filled and yet their churches are dying on the vine."
(Rick Warren Interview, Pastor's.com, August)
In an interview with Time Magazine March 29, 2004, Rick has this to say, "I'm translating the truth into 21st century language, and evidently a lot of people are listening." He's convinced that the nation is on the verge of a spiritual awakening, as people seek fulfillment they don't get in fast-track jobs and can't buy with gold cards. "The culture is asking, 'How do I fill this hole in my heart?'" he says. "I think religion has the answer."
(Rick Warren, Time Magazine, March 29, 2004)
Warren is part of the ultra-conservative Southern Baptist Convention, and all his senior staff sign on to the SBC's doctrines, such as the literal and infallible Bible and exclusion of women as senior pastors. Yet Warren's pastor-training programs welcome Catholics, Methodists, Mormons, Jews and ordained women. "I'm not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won't try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?" he asks, citing as his model Billy Graham, "a statesman for Christ ministering across barriers."
("This evangelist has a 'Purpose," by Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY, 7/21/2003)
"Everybody knows that Christmas is the idea that God sent Jesus Christ to earth. The big question is, 'So what?' Why did He come? And of course the Bible says, 'He came to, uh, give our past forgiven, a purpose for living and a home in heaven. And that's what this book (The Purpose Driven Life) is about."
(Rick Warren, "The Bill O'Reilly Show, The Factor," Friday, December 17, 2004)
Note: No mention of sin and the Gospel to the millions of veiwers of Bill O'Reilly on the Fox Network.
Larry King: "I'm going to have Phil (Dr. Phil McGraw) follow up. I want to ask Rick Warren one thing in here because I want to get a clip in from Phil's show. Rick, you've talked about three phases of disaster, rescue phase, resuming phase, rebuilding phase, what do you mean?"
Rick Warren:..."The rebuilding phase takes years and I think it's very interesting that you've invited Admiral Carmona, who is about physical and Dr. Phil about emotional and myself about spiritual because, as human beings when we go through a crisis it affects all three parts. We're spirit, we're soul and we're body and that rebuilding has to take place on all three levels."
(Rick Warren, "Larry King Live Show," September 6, 2005)
Note: Rick Warren endorses Dr. Phil McGraw for "Emotional" rebuilding? Dr. Phil McGraws Life Law #6 states, "There is no reality, only perception." And under his "Defining Your Authentic Self" article he states, "The fictional self sends you false information about who you are and what you should be doing with your life. It blocks the information you need in order to maintain the connection with your authentic identity."
"There are always going to be situations that conspire to shrink your heart and shrivel your spirit...What will sustain you is your spirituality...Remember, there are no unspiritual abilities, just misused ones. I challenge you to start unsing yours for God's pleasure and enjoy the passion you'll find along the way!"
(Rick Warren, "Live A Passion-Driven Life," Ladies' Home Journal, April 2005, page 36)
Note: Remember this article is to unbelievers. Any unbeliever in the world could agree with Warren's statement: "What will sustain you is your spirituality." Rick's method of reaching unbelievers is foreign to what is taught in Scripture. Listening to Warren speak of "spirituallity" and "God" sounds like common New Age jargon--And I'm sure any New Ager would agree with Rick's article.
"We have used film clips, we have used some dramas, and we have used some object lessons. One of my favorite features is called "point and play," where we separate the points by music. We always do this at Easter and Christmas Eve. I learned this when I was a consultant on the DreamWorks movie, "The Prince of Egypt," to help keep it biblically correct. One day I was in the hall at DreamWorks, and I noticed something on the wall called an "Emotional Beat Chart." They actually monitor the emotional highs and lows of a movie."
(Rick Warren, "Purpose-Driven Preaching: an interview with Rick Warren," Pastors.com)
"Using sermon titles that appeal to felt needs isn’t being shallow; it’s being strategic."
(Rick Warren, "In Planning Appealing Sermon Titles, I Ask Myself Four Questions:")
"I'm never going to deny what I believe, but I've got to say it in a way that makes sense to the MTV generation in a postmodern world. Traditional churches think I'm changing the message, but all I'm doing is changing the method."
(Rick Warren, "A look at pastor and author Rev. Rick Warren," Dateline Alabama, March 25, 2005)
"We actually have 22 different services in our church appealing to all different kinds of ages, styles of music. If you were to come this Sunday, you could come and you could hear me speak, but you could choose whether you're going to go to the reggae service – we actually have reggae music, or you can go to the jazz service or you can go to the black gospel service. You can go to the unplugged service. You say, why do you do that? I can't even get my own family to agree on music, much less 22,000 people. What's wrong with that? You know, we all like different styles of music, so we have different styles of music in our services – it allows people to choose."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"And the other thing that's interesting, last Saturday I spoke at a thing called the Global Day of Prayer. You've probably never even heard about it or covered it. There were only 150 million people involved in that, but it got almost no coverage, okay?...I went to the head site in Dallas. They decided to do it in Dallas, and it's a reunion, and I'm the speaker. And they were broadcasting 24 hours a day around the world. It was the most amazing thing. And we were talking about this barrier breaking down between black, white, Pentecostal, different groups, and T.D. Jakes – you know who he is – and T.D. Jakes said, "One of the things television did is it allowed people to watch each other's services from a distance and go, 'That's okay.'
And, you know, growing up as a Protestant boy, I knew nothing about Catholics, but I started watching ETWN, the Catholic channel, and I said, "Well, I'm not as far apart from these guys as I thought I was, you know?"
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"If you look at most church advertising, it’s obvious that it was written from a believer’s viewpoint -- not from the mind-set of the unchurched. When you see a church ad that announces, “Preaching the inerrant Word of God!” who do you think that ad appeals to? Certainly not to unbelievers! Personally, I consider the inerrancy of Scripture as a non-negotiable belief but the unchurched don’t even understand the term. If you’re going to advertise your church you must learn to think and speak like unbelievers. The spiritual terminology that Christians are familiar with is just gibberish to the unchurched."
(Rick Warren, "We Must Learn To Think Like Unbelievers")
"Today “preaching to felt needs” is scorned and criticized in some circles as a cheapening of the gospel and a sell-out to consumerism. I want to state this in the clearest way possible: Beginning a message with people’s felt needs is not some modern approach invented by 20th century marketing! It’s the way Jesus always preached. It’s based on the theological fact that God chooses to reveal himself to man according to our needs! Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with many examples of this."
(Rick Warren, "Learning to Preach Like Jesus")
"Now I preach on repentance on every single Sunday without using the word because the word is misused today, it is misunderstood. So I talk about changing your mind and I talk about paradigm shift. But really, every message comes down to two words: will you? Will you change from this to this in the way that you are thinking?
Our culture is falling apart. If you are not preaching repentance in your message you’re not preaching. No matter what we cover it has got to come back to change your mind, because your mind controls your life."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Preaching: An Interview with Rick Warren. Sept-Oct 2001)
"Now what I love to do is to teach theology to non-believers without ever telling them it is theology and without ever using theology terms. For instance, I once did an eight-week series on sanctification and never used the term. I did a four-week series on the incarnation and never used the term. I did a twelve-week series on the attributes of God — the omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence — and never used the terms. I just called it "Getting to Know God." I love to teach theology to non-believers without them knowing what it is; I find that a challenge. So it’s a good balance."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Preaching: An Interview with Rick Warren. Sept-Oct 2001)
"Long before "The Purpose Driven Life" became a phenomenon, before it helped a hostage in Atlanta persuade her captor to turn himself in, Pastor Rick Warren applied his purposes to the rootless sprawl of south Orange County. "We have been trying to redefine the 'good life,' " Warren says. "People in Southern California, specifically Orange County, typically describe it as 'looking good, feeling good and having the goods.' But the truth is, the good life is all about 'doing good.'"
He proudly points out that the 20,000-plus-member Saddleback congregation raised $1.5 million for tsunami relief "over and above the church offering."
It's ironic, then, that the church born 25 years ago in Warren's living room is often likened to a spiritual shopping mall. On any Sunday, parishioners can get their Christian message in assorted live-music venues, including a tent-like structure for hard rock and another featuring gospel. There is also a center for children's services near the café.
Fields' shtick-cum-sermon ushered in a three-weekend series titled "Simplify Your Life." First, to warm up the crowd, giant screens aired a mock exposé called "Garage Raiders," with a flamboyant reporter ambushing Saddleback clergy. Why was Pastor Glen polishing a red Ferrari? Next up was a live skit in which two men spoke covetously of their neighbors' Mercedes-Benzes, Harleys and Sea-Doos. Fields then touched on how people rationalize their choices, like the friend who bought a Hummer because "it's really a safe car."
(Scott Duke Harris, "Livin' Extra-Large," L.A. Times April 24, 2005)
"It is my deep conviction that anybody anybody can be won to Christ if you discover the felt needs to his or her heart. That key to each person's heart is unique so it is sometimes difficult to discover. It may take some time to identify it. But the most likely place to start is with the person's felt needs. As I pointed out earlier, this was the approach Jesus used."
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, pg. 219)
"We must be willing to adjust our worship practices when unbelievers are present. God tells us to be sensitive to the hang ups of unbelievers in our services."
(Rick Warren, quoted in "Church Growth Gone Mad," By Clay Miller, Associate Pastor, Outreach Ministries, Grace Community Church)
"...And of course, that purpose now becomes greater -- and in fact, I think that's really what the message this week of Easter is, is that God can bring good out of bad. That he turns crucifixions into resurrections. That he takes the mess of our life, and when we give him all the pieces, he can -- God can put it together in a new way."
(Rick Warren, "Larry King Live," CNN, March 22, 2005)
Note: Is that the message of Easter? Or is it that Christ, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures," 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
"Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, everybody's heard the word "repent" and they don't really understand what the word means. For a lot of people, when they think of the word repentance, they think of a guy with a sandwich sign that says, "turn or burn," or, "you're going to die and fry."
But actually, repent is the Greek word, metanoia (ph), which means literally "to change your mind." And it means that when I repent, I change my mind. First, I change my mind about God, I change my mind about myself, I change my mind about others, I change my mind about life. And a lot of people look at repentance as a negative thing, like I'm going to have to give up this, this, and this, and this, and like it's something terrible. You know, when I repented, Larry, years ago, I basically turned from hopelessness to hope, from darkness to light, from guilt to forgiveness, from loneliness to a family of God, from purposelessness to purpose, from having no meaning in my life to having meaning. It was the most positive change in my life. "
(Rick Warren, "Larry King Live," CNN, March 22, 2005)
Note: Wow! When you repent you will have give up alot of things that you formerly enjoyed but now you realize that they are sinful!
"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it," Luke 9:23-24.
"Well, okay, let me start backwards. On the Great Awakening, I am just seeing signs that people are more open to spirituality and talking about God than they've ever been before. When I went to Harvard a month ago, I honestly expected a pretty hostile audience – I'm an evangelical pastor and I'm going into Harvard. And I went in and I spoke four times and they gave me a standing ovation."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
Note: When Jesus preached at His home town synagogue they tried to kill Him (Luke 4:25-29). When Rick Warren speaks at a secular university he gets a standing ovation?
"You see, here's the problem. My book happened to be published by Zondervan, which is owned by Harper-Collins, which is owned by Newscorp, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch. So when the book hit 15 million, I called up Rupert Murdoch and I said, "What are you going to do to celebrate my book?" And he goes, "Well, what do you want to do?" I go, "I want you to throw a party and I want you to invite all your secular elite friends from Manhattan and let me talk to them." And he goes, "Okay." (Chuckles.) So he sends out a list, he invited 350 people, who's who in Manhattan to the top of the Rainbow Room, and I went up there and you know, I just started talking to them – again, standing ovation."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
Note: "And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offence of the cross ceased," Galatians 5:11.
"Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach," Hebrews 13:13.
"You know, the three biggest surprises of 2004 were first, as you mentioned, 'The Passion of the Christ,' which was roundly panned by every media, and yet went on to become the third best grossing movie in history. That was the first bit surprise. The second was my book, where for the second year in row, 2003 and 2004, it was the best selling book in the world. And what in the world is a book by a pastor doing at the top of the best-seller's list for two years."
(Rick Warren, "Larry King Live," CNN, March 22, 2005)
Note: Good question, "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets," Luke 6:26.
"Well, I'm actually speaking at the University of Judaism this next month, where I've been asked to come in and teach the rabbis my preaching seminar. So I'm speaking for Jews."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says, "Those who teach the gospel should make a living by the gospel." In other words, he says, "It's okay to pay your priest. It's okay to pay your minister, your rabbi or whatever."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"There were five global giants. And here's what – in my opinion, as I've traveled around the world – are the five biggest problems.
The first one is spiritual emptiness. Billions of people in this world do not know that their life is not an accident. There are accidental parents but there are no accidental children. There are illegitimate parents but there are no illegitimate children, and there is a purpose for every person's life. And they don't know that, and they don't know that God made them for a purpose."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"And we've actually created what we call clinic-in-a-box, business-in-a-box, church-in-a-box, and we are using normal people, volunteers. When Jesus sent the disciples – this will be my last point – when Jesus sent the disciples into a village he said, "Find the man of peace." And he said, "When you find the man of peace you start working with that person, and if they respond to you, you work with them. If they don't, you dust the dust off your shoes; you go to the next village." Who's the man of peace in any village – or it might be a woman of peace – who has the most respect, they're open and they're influential? They don't have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they're open and they're influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that's going to bring the second Reformation."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
Note: Rick Warren states that one of the "five global giants" that are the "five biggest problems" and the "biggest problems on the planet" is "spiritual emptiness." Then he goes on to say "They don't have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they're open and they're influential and you work with them to attack the five giants."
How can a Muslim help solve the problem of "spiritual emptiness?" How is this possible? The only answer for the "Global Giant" of "Spiritual Emptiness" is Jesus! And a Rabbi, Muslim, or any other non-Christian can't help lead a man to Christ if they reject Him and His Gospel.
"Now that's what a mega-church is, so what's an evangelical? Let's just review. An evangelical believes the Bible is God's Word, Jesus is who he claimed to be, salvation is only by grace – in other words, you can't earn your way to heaven – and everybody needs to hear the good news; information, not coercion."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"You know, 500 years ago, the first Reformation with Luther and then Calvin, was about beliefs. I think a new reformation is going to be about behavior. The first Reformation was about creeds; I think this one will be about deeds. I think the first one was about what the church believes; I think this one will be about what the church does.
The first Reformation actually split Christianity into dozens and then hundreds of different segments. I think this one is actually going to bring them together. Now, you're never going to get Christians, of all their stripes and varieties, to agree on all of the different doctrinal disputes and things like that, but what I am seeing them agree on are the purposes of the church. And I find great uniformity in the fact that I see this happening all the time. Last week I spoke to 4,000 pastors at my church who came from over 100 denominations in over 50 countries. Now, that's wide spread. We had Catholic priests, we had Pentecostal ministers, we had Lutheran bishops, we had Anglican bishops, we had Baptist preachers. They're all there together and you know what? I'd never get them to agree on communion or baptism or a bunch of stuff like that, but I could get them to agree on what the church should be doing in the world."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"No, no. I think, though, it's what Augustine said: "In the essentials, unity; in the non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity." And I think that's how evangelicals and Catholics can get together. And I don't know if you know this or not, but fundamentalists and Pentecostals don't like each other, okay? They don't. But they could get together. "In the essentials, unity; in the non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
Note: If Rick Warren were to follow Augustine's advice he would have no unity with the false Catholic Church.
"Now the word "fundamentalist" actually comes from a document in the 1920s called the Five Fundamentals of the Faith. And it is a very legalistic, narrow view of Christianity, and when I say there are very few fundamentalists, I mean in the sense that they are all actually called fundamentalist churches, and those would be quite small. There are no large ones...A fundamentalist would deny the miraculous today. They would – for instance, one of the hallmarks of a Pentecostal would be praying for miracles of healing and speaking in an unknown tongue and things like that. Those would be hallmarks of Pentecostalism and fundamentalists would say, "Oh no, all that stuff died at the end of the New Testament." They would not accept the miraculous today...That would be true. A fundamentalist basically would look at many others in Christianity and say, "You're not even a Christian." They'd say it about Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics. You know – even evangelicals. It's interesting – maybe 15-20 years ago, Falwell stopped calling himself a fundamentalist, and actually left the fundamentalist fellowship, and he went and joined the Southern Baptist Convention – which is as wide – I mean you can find anything in that."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
Note: So if I take a orthodox and biblical view of the Catholic Church I am a fundamentalist? The five fundamentals of our faith are legalistic?
MR. WILLIAMS: "So on abortion, you're strongly pro-life; is that right?"
MR. WARREN: "Sure, I am. It's just not the only thing on the agenda. Of course, if I believe every child is born for a purpose – and in Psalm 139 it says, "I formed you for a purpose in your mother's womb" – then obviously I would believe that abortion short circuits a person's purpose. Sure, but that's not the only issue."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"Experts haven't agreed on one definition. Rick Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church in California -- and arguably the nation's most influential evangelical pastor -- says evangelicals are united by three characteristics: "They believe that the Bible is literally God's Word, [they believe] that Jesus Christ is God...and [they believe] that we have a responsibility to pass this good news on to other people." But other experts impose stricter tests, while still others use the term more loosely to apply to anyone who claims to be a "born-again Christian."
("Getting Your Religious Terms Right," May 23, 2005. BusinessWeek Online)
Note: What about the Trinity, Virgin Birth, or the Bodily Ressuirection of Jesus? Any liberal or Oneness Pentcostal could agree with Rick Warren's definition of an "Evangelical."
"We want to loosen up the tense muscles of uptight visitors. When your body is relaxed your attitude is less offensive."
(Rick Warren, quoted in "Church Growth Gone Mad," By Clay Miller, Associate Pastor, Outreach Ministries, Grace Community Church)
"Worship is a powerful witness to unbelievers – if God's presence is felt, and if the message is understandable. God's presence must be sensed in the service. More people are won to Christ by feeling God's presence than by all our apologetic arguments combined. Few people, if any, are converted to Christ on purely intellectual grounds. It is the sense of God's presence that melts the heart and explodes mental barriers."
(Rick Warren, quoted in "Church Growth Gone Mad," By Clay Miller, Associate Pastor, Outreach Ministries, Grace Community Church)
"I want to state this in the clearest way possible: Beginning a message with people's felt needs is more than a marketing tool! It is based on the theological fact that God chooses to reveal Himself to man according to our needs. Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with examples of this."
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, pg. 295)
"We have used film clips, we have used some dramas, we have used some object lessons. One of my favorite is called "point and play," which is separate the points by music. We always at Easter and Christmas Eve do a "point and play" message. For example, with my Easter sermon, I took every point and we divided it up into five sections, and we had a song that went with each point. So there is an emotional punch as well as an intellectual punch at the same time. We layer it: tension/release, tension/release.
I learned this when I was a consultant on the DreamWorks movie, "The Prince of Egypt," to help keep it biblically correct. One day I was in the hall at DreamWorks, and I noticed something on the wall called an "Emotional Beat Chart." They actually monitor the emotional highs and lows of a movie. I counted up and there were nine peaks and nine valleys in this 90-minute movie — about every ten minutes there’s tension/release, tension/release. Well, you can do that in a message: you can do it with humor, you can do it with an illustration, or you can do it with a feature, but it allows us to keep people’s attention longer in order to give them more material."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Preaching: An Interview with Rick Warren. Sept-Oct 2001)
"I believe that one of the major church issues [of the future] will be how we’re going to reach the next generation with our music."
(Rick Warren, SuperConference 2003, at Liberty University)
"Having a separate service for believers and non-believers is a good idea."
(Rick Warren, SuperConference 2003, at Liberty University)
“Edit archaic terms from your songs, use the choir in a contemporary way,” Warren urged. “Encourage members to re-arrange and rewrite. New songs say God is doing something awesome. For 2,000 years, the Holy Spirit has used all kinds of music.”
(Rick Warren, SuperConference 2003, at Liberty University)
“There’s no such thing as Christian music. There are just Christian lyrics. To insist that all good music came from Europe 200 years ago; there’s a name for that - racism.”
(Rick Warren, SuperConference 2003, at Liberty University)
"Saddleback is unapologetically a contemporary music church. We’ve often been referred to in the press as “The flock that likes to rock.” We use the style of music the majority of people in our church listen to on the radio. Years ago, after being frustrated trying to please everyone I decided to survey our church. I passed out 3 x 5 cards to everyone in the Crowd service and asked them to write down the Call Letters of the radio station they listened to...What we discovered was that 96% of our people said they listened to middle-of-the-road adult contemporary music."
(Rick Warren, Selecting Worship Music, July 29, 2002)
"I will admit that we have lost hundreds of potential members because of the style of music Saddleback uses. On the other hand, we have attracted thousands more because of our music."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Church, p. 285)
"The ground we have in common with unbelievers is not the Bible, but our common needs, hurts, and interests as human beings. You cannot start with a text expecting the unchurched to be fascinated by it. You must first capture their attention, and then move them to the truth of God's Word. By starting with a topic that interests the unchurched and then showing what the Bible says about it, you can grab their attention, disarm prejudices, and create an interest in the Bible that wasn't there before."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Church, p. 295)
Warren cited a study conducted by Columbia University that found, “After 50 times of hearing a song, the human mind quits thinking about the words.” Warren said that the only way to remedy this disconnect of repetition is to revamp the music.
(Rick Warren, SuperConference 2003, at Liberty University)
"Although music is usually the most controversial element of a seeker service it is a critical element that cannot be ignored. We need to understand the incredible power of music, and harness that power by being willing to set aside our own personal preferences and use the music that will best reach the unchurched for Christ."
(Rick Warren, Selecting Worship Music, July 29, 2002)
"You must match your music to the kind of people God wants your church to reach.... The music you use 'positions' your church in your community. It defines who you are.... It will determine the kind of people you attract, the kind of people you keep, and the kind of people you lose."
(Rick Warren, Selecting Worship Music, July 29, 2002)
"If you were to tell me the kind of music you are currently using in your services I could easily describe the kind of people you are reaching, without even visiting your church. I could also tell you the kind of people your church will never be able to reach."
(Rick Warren, Selecting Worship Music, July 29, 2002)
"If they try to change the existing service too much they'll lose some people who are already there. You don't necessarily have to stop what you're already doing. It's like when you're fishing. Instead of just using one line, throw another hook into the water. You might have four or five different worship styles, if that's what's needed to reach different generations that live in your community. I'm not against any traditional method that is still reaching people for Christ - I'm just a proponent of adding new ways and services to reach those who will never be reached by the way we've traditionally done it."
(Rick Warren Interview, Pastor's.com, August)
"The church that claims to reach everyone is only fooling themselves. No style of church can possibly reach everyone. Take a close look and you'll find that every church has a "culture." This culture is determined by the predominant kind of people who make up the congregation. Whoever your church has right now is who you're likely to attract more of - whether you like that fact or not.
What is the likelihood of a church full of retirees reaching teenagers? What is the likelihood of a church full of urban professionals reaching farmers? What is the likelihood of a church full of military personnel reaching peace activists? Highly unlikely. That's why we must start all kinds of services and churches."
(Rick Warren Interview, Pastor's.com, August)
"Seeker sensitive" doesn't mean you compromise the message. It means you take into consideration people's culture in order to communicate that message. Making a service "comfortable" for the unchurched doesn't mean changing your theology; it means changing the environment of the service - such as changing the way you greet visitors, the style of music that you use, the translation you preach from, and the kind of announcements you make in the service. The message is not always comfortable. In fact, sometimes God's truth is very uncomfortable. Still we must teach, "the whole council of God." Being seeker sensitive does not limit what you say but it will affect how you say it."
(Rick Warren Interview, Pastor's.com, August)
Rick Warren speaking to false teacher David Yonggi Cho: "I've read your books on Vision and Dreams - speak to pastors about how you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit?...What advice would you give to a brand new minister?...Do you think American churches should be more open to the prayer for miracles?"
(Rick Warren,"Breakfast With David Yonggi Cho And Rick Warren," Pastors.com)
"What you should do is change the easiest thing first and the things that make the greatest difference. Don't worry initially about the issues that cause the greatest disagreement. The easiest thing to change is the preaching. Any pastor in any church could update his preaching style for the 1990s and see a dramatic improvement. In many churches, we're still using an oratory style what was pre-television."
(Rick Warren Interview, Pastor's.com, August)
"The greatest challenge churches will face over the next five years is developing and adapting our ministry methods to the massive needs of the 21st century. We can't just keep on "doing it the way we've always done it."
The world has changed - permanently - and we are never going back to the 1950s. We must start thousands of new churches and services. It will take new churches to reach a new generation."
(Rick Warren Interview, Pastor's.com, August)
"We don't have to make the bible relevant — it is — but we have to show its relevance. What is irrelevant, in my opinion, is our style of communicating it. We are tending to still use the style from 50 years back that doesn't match who we are trying to reach today."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Preaching: An Interview with Rick Warren. Sept-Oct 2001)
"So my cry is: pastors just do more of it. You already know that you have got to apply in people's lives; you have just got to do more of it. If that means cutting back . . . I think sometimes in our preaching we are far more interested in a lot of the details and backgrounds than people are. A guy who spends three weeks on one verse is missing the point of the verse...God didn't mean for it to be read that way. He is missing the point of it."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Preaching: An Interview with Rick Warren. Sept-Oct 2001)
"People don't remember much. If you are motivated you remember about seven bits of information; if you’re not motivated you remember about two. So if they are only going to remember something what do I want them to remember? Well, I want them to remember the application, the lessons. Not a cute outline of text. The alliterated outline is not going to change their lives. So I say make your applications your points because the points are all that they are going to remember."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Preaching: An Interview with Rick Warren. Sept-Oct 2001)
"Rather than threaten sinners with fire and brimstone, Warren says, "We believe in attraction evangelism. We believe in loving people into the Kingdom."
("This evangelist has a 'Purpose," by Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY, 7/21/2003)
"As I go through these things, first I sit down and I start praying. I say, "Who is going to be there?" I start to think of one person...People that I have invited, like my back doctor who was an atheist Jew who came for Easter. I start thinking: "Now what is going to help this guy know about Christ?" (preaching the gospel) and I will go through that little formula and think about the points, which were actually quite simple."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Preaching: An Interview with Rick Warren. Sept-Oct 2001)
"But more than that I believe you need to hear God's word from more than just one personality. I think that is healthy. I think a lot of people, you hear a guy for about six or seven years and he has shot his wad. You’ve heard what he has got to say and you either have to start hearing the same stuff over again or move to a different church. Well, I want people to stay at Saddleback for thirty or forty years, so I’ve built a team of different preachers with different personalities — I do believe preaching is truth through personality, like Brooks said."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Preaching: An Interview with Rick Warren. Sept-Oct 2001)
"I happen to believe that the audience determines God's will for what you are supposed to preach on...So I start saying, "God, who is coming?" If I’m dealing with teenagers that is one kind of message. If I’m dealing with seekers, then that is another kind of message. If I am dealing with mature believers, that is another kind of message. If I am dealing with people who need to be mobilized for ministry . . . We look at that and we pray and then we will do a tentative outline of the series for the year."
(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Preaching: An Interview with Rick Warren. Sept-Oct 2001)
"The truth is the only people who like large churches are pastors. (Chuckles.) And they like them because they like to speak to big crowds. But people put up with the size in order to get the benefits – they say, "I like the teaching, I like the programs, I like the music, and I like the ministries," and things like that. So it's a myth that people go because they want the size."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"The reason most people are floundering- I've probably bought in my lifetime maybe 60 or more books that have Purpose in the title just to see what they're like and almost all of them would be classified as what I call self-help books. They all basically say the same thing, look at your dreams, clarify some values, set some goals, figure out what you're good at, aim high, go for it, be disciplined, believe you can achieve your goals and never give up. All those are good things and they'll help you become a success, but you can be a success in life and still never, ever know God's purpose for your life."
(Rick Warren Interview, Fall 2002)
"I knew that by simplifying doctrine in a devotional format for the average person, I ran the risk of either understating or overstating some truths. I'm sure I have done that. I also knew that I'd be criticized for what I left out of the book and for using fifteen different translations and paraphrases to get the message across. But I decided when I planted Saddleback in 1980 that I'd rather reach large numbers of people for Christ than seek the approval of religious traditionalists. In the past eight years, we've baptized over 11,000 new adult believers at our church. I am addicted to changed lives."
(Rick Warren Interview, Christianity.com)
"There are some types of people that your church will never reach because they require a completely different style of ministry than you can provide."
(Rick Warren, quoted in "Church Growth Gone Mad," By Clay Miller, Associate Pastor, Outreach Ministries, Grace Community Church)
"Explosive growth only occurs when the type of people in the community match the type of people that are already in the church and they both match the type of person the pastor is..."
(Rick Warren, quoted in "Church Growth Gone Mad," By Clay Miller, Associate Pastor, Outreach Ministries, Grace Community Church)
"The problem is the longer you are a believer the less you think like an unbeliever. Your interests and values change. Because I've been a Christian for most of my life I think like a Christian. I don't normally think like an unbeliever, and worse than that I tend to think like a pastor and that is even further removed from an unbeliever's mindset."
(Rick Warren, quoted in "Church Growth Gone Mad," By Clay Miller, Associate Pastor, Outreach Ministries, Grace Community Church)
"Music is an integral part of our lives. We eat with it, drive with it, shop with it, relax with it, and some non-Baptists even dance to it! The great American pastime is not baseball - it is music and sharing our opinions about it!...When I read about biblical worship in the Psalms, I see that they used drums, clashing cymbals, loud trumpets, tambourines and stringed instruments. That sounds a lot like contemporary music to me!...Saddleback is unapologetically a contemporary music church. We’ve often been referred to in the press as 'The flock that likes to rock.' We use the style of music the majority of people in our church listen to on the radio."
(Selecting Worship Music by Rick Warren)
"Worship has nothing to do with the style or volume or speed of a song. God loves all kinds of music because he invented it all -- fast and slow, loud and soft, old and new. You probably don't like it all, but God does!"
(Rick Warren, "The Purpose Driven Life," pg. 65)
"Meditation is often misunderstood as some difficult, mysterious ritual practiced by isolated monks and mystics. But meditation is simply focused thinking – a skill anyone can learn and use anywhere."
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, p. 90.)
Note: Anyone? If anyone can do it it must not be meditating on Gods word.
"Read Scripture from a newer translation. With all the wonderful translations and paraphrases available today, there is no legitimate reason for complicating the Good News with four hundred-year-old English. Using the King James Version creates an unnecessary cultural barrier. Remember, when King James authorized the new translation it was because he wanted a contemporary version. I once saw an advertisement that claimed if King James were alive today, he’d be reading the New International Version! That’s probably true. Clarity is more important than poetry."
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, p. 297.)
"Also, since the verse divisions and number were not included in the Bible until 1560 A.D., I haven't always quoted the entire verse, but rather focused on the phrase that was appropriate. My model for this is Jesus and how he and the apostles quoted the Old Testament. They often just quoted a phrase to make a point."
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002, pg. 325)
"Jesus drew large crowds yet he never comprimised the truth. No one accused him of watering down the message except the jealous chief priests, who criticized him out of envy (Mark 15:12). Frankly, I suspect that same ministerial jealousy motivates some today who criticize churches that attract large crowds."
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, page 53)
"Third, never criticize what God is blessing, even though it may be a style of ministry that makes you feel uncomfortable."
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, page 62)
"How do you define faithfulness? Are you being faithful to God's Word if you insist on communicating it in an outdated style?"
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, page 65)
"We discovered four common complaints about churches from our survey in the Saddleback Valley. Church is boring, especially the sermons. The messages don’t relate to my life. This is the complaint I heard the most. It's amazing how churches are able to take the most exciting book in the world and bore people to tears with it! Miraculously, they’re able to turn bread into stones! The problem with boring preachers is that it causes people to think God is boring! From this complaint, I determined to learn how to communicate God’s Word in a practical, interesting way. A sermon does not have to be boring to be biblical, and it doesn’t have to be dry to be doctrinal. The unchurched aren’t asking for watered-down messages -- just practical ones! They want to hear something on Sunday that they can apply on Monday."
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, page 191)
"Using information we gathered through the survey, we mailed an open letter to the community addressing the major concerns of the unchurched and announcing a church service designed to counteract the most common excuses they gave."
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, page 193)
"Some pastors today criticize "life-application" preaching as shallow, simplistic, and inferior. To them the only real preaching is didactic, doctrinal preaching. Their attitude implies that Paul was more profound than Jesus; that Romans is "deeper" than the Sermon on the Mount or the Parables. I call that heresy!"
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, page 229)
"Sadly, isolationists have been extremely judgmental of seeker sensitive churches in books and articles. Most of these criticisms are unfair characterizations made out of ignorance (very judgmental) and do not represent what actually happens in seeker sensitive churches. Trailblazers always get arrows shot at them. Translating the truth into contemporary terms is a dangerous business. Remember, they burned Wycliffe at the stake for doing it."
(Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, page 238)
Note: Comparing himself to Wycliffe?
"Most pastors do not understand the power of preaching. But even more important than that is they don't understand the purpose of preaching. I probably have the largest library of books on preaching in America. I've read over 500 books on preaching. Maybe some seminary might come close to that, but I am sure that no pastor comes close to 500 books on preaching. And as I've read them, the vast majority do not really understand that preaching is about transformation, not information."
(Rick Warren, "Purpose-Driven Preaching: an interview with Rick Warren," Pastors.com)
"I hear people talk about life application preaching as if it were a genre or type of preaching. But I think if you don’t offer life application in your sermon, then you’re not preaching. It may be a lecture, it may be a study, it may be a commentary but it is not preaching...So, my goal is not to inform, but to transform. Unless you understand that, your messages tend to be based on the traditional style of teaching."
(Rick Warren, "Purpose-Driven Preaching: an interview with Rick Warren," Pastors.com)
"What is irrelevant, in my opinion, is our style of communicating it. We tend to still use the style from 50 years back that doesn't match who we are trying to reach today."
(Rick Warren, "Purpose-Driven Preaching: an interview with Rick Warren," Pastors.com)
"A lot of guys need to start where they end their sermon. They will do about 80 to 90 percent explanation and interpretation in background study, and then at the end there is a little 10-minute application. Now, that is OK if you have a highly motivated group of people who just love Bible knowledge. But the Bible says there are a couple of problems with Bible knowledge. In the first place, it says that knowledge puffs up but love builds up, and the Bible says that increased knowledge without application leads to pride. Some of the most cantankerous Christians that I know are veritable storehouses of Bible knowledge, but they have not applied it. They can give you facts and quotes, and they can argue doctrine. But they’re angry; they’re very ugly people."
(Rick Warren, "Purpose-Driven Preaching: an interview with Rick Warren," Pastors.com)
Note: These are some pretty serious personal attacks "But they’re angry; they’re very ugly people."
"Now understand that I am pastoring a church in California, a church where maybe 77 percent of the people were saved and baptized at Saddleback. Without question, Saddleback is the most evangelistic church in America. We baptize more than 1,000 people every year."
(Rick Warren, "Purpose-Driven Preaching: an interview with Rick Warren," Pastors.com)
"We have used film clips, we have used some dramas, and we have used some object lessons. One of my favorite features is called "point and play," where we separate the points by music. We always do this at Easter and Christmas Eve. I learned this when I was a consultant on the DreamWorks movie, "The Prince of Egypt," to help keep it biblically correct. One day I was in the hall at DreamWorks, and I noticed something on the wall called an "Emotional Beat Chart." They actually monitor the emotional highs and lows of a movie."
(Rick Warren, "Purpose-Driven Preaching: an interview with Rick Warren," Pastors.com)
"Every small group has at least one 'difficult' person in it. If you don't immediately recognize who that person is -- it's probably you!"
(Rick Warren "Saddleback Sayings," Pastors.com)
"I think we should let culture determine the worship style (and you know I'm not talking about compromising the truth here). Paul said, "I become all things to all men that I may, in some way, save some." So, if you're in California, you should have a California culture church. If you're in Ohio, you have an Ohio culture church. If you're in Mississippi, you should have a Mississippi culture church."
(Rick Warren, "Why Do You Gear Your Weekend Services Toward Seekers?")
"Another trend that I see is this 40 days phenomenon – this 40 Days of Purpose, which of course I'm right in the middle of. Ten percent of the churches in America have now done 40 Days of Purpose and that's just now. We will take another 10 to 15 thousand through it this year, and on and on and on. And there's a little story of how that got started in churches and then it spread to corporations like Coca-Cola and Ford and Wal-Mart, and they started doing 40 Days of Purpose. And then it spread to all the sports teams. I spoke at the NBA All-Stars this year because all of the teams were doing 40 Days of Purpose. LPGA, NASCAR, most of the baseball teams – when the Red Sox were winning the World Series, they were going through 40 Days of Purpose during the Series. So the story of the 40 Days of Purpose is more than the story of the book. And maybe we can get back to why that touched such a nerve around the world, because The Purpose Driven Life is not just the best-selling book in American history; it's the best-selling book in about a dozen languages. It's in about 30 languages right now and that's why I was at this meeting last night with the Spanish.
The next phase that you're going to see is we're actually doing citywide 40 Days of Purposes. We've already done one in Chattanooga; we're going to do one in Philadelphia this fall with 250 African-American churches. We're doing one in Orlando, and you're going to see this movement.
The third trend I think you need to be aware of is the signs of the possible spiritual awakening in America. You know we've had two Great Awakenings in the history of America and we're a hundred years overdue for the next one. If there is a second Reformation in the Church and a third spiritual awakening in the world or in America, it will come through two words – small groups.
The small group structure is the structure of renewal in every facet of Christianity – including Catholicism."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"But all the smart people I know are now working in local churches. They're moving there and the power is moving back to the local congregations. Regardless of size, they just happen to be there. And as a result, the pastors and the priests and the ministers of these churches are, I think, gaining a larger voice. And that's why, by the way, the religious right does not represent evangelicalism. I'm not a part of the religious right and I don't know any of my friends who are part of the religious right. It's a portion, but it's like when you take the elephant and you've got the nine blind men and one says it looks like a tail and one says it looks like something else – you know, it's what you're grabbing onto at the time. And a part of that is because the religious right has tended to limit the number of items on the agenda to three or four social issues and missed a bunch of others."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
"Here's the second myth. The second myth is that mega-churches are politically active. In fact, you don't get to be a mega-church if you get involved in other issues. You would find that most of the churches that are politically active tend to be medium- or small-size churches. They are not the largest churches. And because they tend to get caught up in a political agenda, they don't grow to the size of others. The largest churches tend to focus on issues like the ones that we're focused on."
(Rick Warren, "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church," Monday, May 23, 2005. Key West, Florida. Respondent: David Brooks, Columnist, The New York Times. Moderator: Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics & Public Policy Center; Senior Advisor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life)
Summit focus at Chapel
Simulcast on leadership to draw business teams, church leaders to Green
Staff report: Posted on Thu, Aug. 11, 2005 Ohio Beacon Journal
GREEN - "Several hundred business and church leaders are expected to gather today through Saturday at The Chapel in Green for a Leadership Summit.
The simulcast is one of more than 100 across the nation that is expected to attract more than 50,000 people.
The Leadership Summit will originate at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill. Its goal is to help participants build a culture of integrity, character and effectiveness using ethical and spiritual principles.
When the summit began 10 years ago, it almost exclusively attracted church leaders. Now, companies send teams from their businesses for training. Topics include self-management and team building.
This year's speakers include:
• The Rev. Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church.
• The Rev. Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and author of The Purpose Driven Life.
• Colleen Barrett, president of Southwest Airlines.
• Curtis Sliwa, founder and president of the Guardian Angels.
The local simulcast is open to the public and participants can register at the door of the church, at 1800 Raber Road.
Sessions are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Friday and 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Cost is $255, or $75 for college students and faculty."
epreneurial Side of Leadership," "Making a Great Idea Fly," "Putting Yourself at Risk." But this conference is not for business leaders. It's for pastors...
The three-day event, screened in Raleigh and in 109 other locations across the nation, is an annual event and another example of the cultural connections between world of evangelical Christianity and the world of business...
As it grows, it attracts other professionals. There were a handful of employees from the YMCA of the Triangle, at least one lawyer and several executives from IBM too...
The conference provided plenty of examples of the influence of business on the church, from the flawless technical transmission, to the Starbucks kiosk in the hall outside the Raleigh sanctuary. Increasingly, even devotional books, Bible studies and praise music CDs have a sleek professional look not much different than that of secular culture."
("Gospel on leadership Conference brings together pastors, professionals," By YONAT SHIMRON, Staff Writer, The News and Observer, Published: Aug 12, 2005)
"Pastor Rick Warren, who founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., in 1980, has deftly used technology as well as marketing to spread his message. His Pastors.com, which reaches 100,000 pastors worldwide each week, has e-mail forums, archives of all of his sermons from the past 22 years and a place to post prayer requests. He also sends a free weekly newsletter, Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox, to pastors. When it came time to launch his book, The Purpose Driven Life, last year, Warren used Pastors.com to invite churches to participate in a "40 Days of Purpose" event (to correspond with the book's 40 chapters). The 40-day-long event attracted 1,562 churches and was kicked off with a simulcast broadcast to all those churches. Some 267 radio stations ran a "40 days campaign" during the same time period. And a CD of "Songs for a Purpose Driven Life" featuring well-known Christian artists was also released. From the start, the books and CDs were distributed in mass-market retailers such as Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ), Costco Wholesale (nasdaq: COST - news - people ), Barnes & Noble (nyse: BKS - news - people ) and Borders Group (nyse: BGP - news - people ). It quickly became a New York Times bestseller and has already sold 5.8 million copies, outselling Billy Graham and making it one of the most successful book promotions in Christian publishing history.
No doubt, churches have learned some valuable lessons from corporations. Now maybe they can teach businesses a thing or two. Companies would certainly appreciate having the armies of nonpaid, loyal volunteers. "The business world would love to have that kind of fellowship," says Vaughn," Megachurches, Megabusinesses, Forbes, Luisa Kroll, 09.17.03.
Earthly Empires
"Osteen's flourishing Lakewood enterprise brought in $55 million in contributions last year, four times the 1999 amount, church officials say. Flush with success, Osteen is laying out $90 million to transform the massive Compaq Center in downtown Houston -- former home of the NBA's Houston Rockets -- into a church that will seat 16,000, complete with a high-tech stage for his TV shows and Sunday School for 5,000 children. After it opens in July, he predicts weekend attendance will rocket to 100,000. Says Osteen: "Other churches have not kept up, and they lose people by not changing with the times."
Pastor Joel is one of a new generation of evangelical entrepreneurs transforming their branch of Protestantism into one of the fastest-growing and most influential religious groups in America. Their runaway success is modeled unabashedly on business. They borrow tools ranging from niche marketing to MBA hiring to lift their share of U.S. churchgoers. Like Osteen, many evangelical pastors focus intently on a huge potential market -- the millions of Americans who have drifted away from mainline Protestant denominations or simply never joined a church in the first place.
To reach these untapped masses, savvy leaders are creating Sunday Schools that look like Disney World (DIS ) and church cafés with the appeal of Starbucks (SBUX ). Although most hold strict religious views, they scrap staid hymns in favor of multimedia worship and tailor a panoply of services to meet all kinds of consumer needs, from divorce counseling to help for parents of autistic kids. Like Osteen, many offer an upbeat message intertwined with a religious one. To make newcomers feel at home, some do away with standard religious symbolism -- even basics like crosses and pews -- and design churches to look more like modern entertainment halls than traditional places of worship.
Branding Whiz: So successful are some evangelicals that they're opening up branches like so many new Home Depots (HD ) or Subways. This year, the 16.4 million-member Southern Baptist Convention plans to "plant" 1,800 new churches using by-the-book niche-marketing tactics. "We have cowboy churches for people working on ranches, country music churches, even several motorcycle churches aimed at bikers," says Martin King, a spokesman for the Southern Baptists' North American Mission Board.
Branding whizzes that they are, the new church leaders are spreading their ideas through every available outlet. A line of "Biblezines" packages the New Testament in glossy magazines aimed at different market segments -- there's a hip-hop version and one aimed at teen girls. Christian music appeals to millions of youths, some of whom otherwise might never give church a second thought, serving up everything from alternative rock to punk and even "screamo" (they scream religious lyrics)...Evangelicals' eager embrace of corporate-style growth strategies is giving them a tremendous advantage in the battle for religious market share, says Roger Finke, a Pennsylvania State University sociology professor and co-author of a new book, The Churching of America, 1776-2005: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy...In contrast, evangelicalism's theological flexibility gives it the freedom to adapt to contemporary culture. With no overarching authority like the Vatican, leaders don't need to wrestle with a bureaucratic hierarchy that dictates acceptable behavior. "If you have a vision for ministry, you just do it, which makes it far easier to respond to market demand," says University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sociology professor Christian Smith.
With such low barriers to entry, the number of evangelical megachurches -- defined as those that attract at least 2,000 weekly worshippers -- has shot up to 880 from 50 in 1980, figures John N. Vaughan, founder of research outfit Church Growth Today in Bolivar, Mo. He calculates that a new megachurch emerges in the U.S. an average of every two days." Earthly Empires: How evangelical churches are borrowing from the business playbook: By William C. Symonds, with Brian Grow in Atlanta and John Cady in New York. May 23, 2005 BusinessWeek Online.
"Once established, some ambitious churches are making a big business out of spreading their expertise. Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., formed a consulting arm called Willow Creek Assn. It earned $17 million last year, partly by selling marketing and management advice to 10,500 member churches from 90 denominations. Jim Mellado, the hard-charging Harvard MBA who runs it, last year brought an astonishing 110,000 church and lay leaders to conferences on topics such as effective leadership. "Our entrepreneurial impulse comes from the Biblical mandate to get the message out," says Willow Creek founder Bill Hybels, who hired Stanford MBA Greg Hawkins, a former McKinsey & Co. consultant, to handle the church's day-to-day management. Willow Creek's methods have even been lauded in a Harvard Business School case study.
Hybel's consumer-driven approach is evident at Willow Creek, where he shunned stained glass, Bibles, or even a cross for the 7,200-seat, $72 million sanctuary he recently built. The reason? Market research suggested that such traditional symbols would scare away non-churchgoers. He also gives practical advice. On a recent Wednesday evening, one of his four "teaching" pastors gave a service that started with 20 minutes of music, followed by a lengthy sermon about the Christian approach to personal finances. He told the 5,000 listeners about resisting advertising aimed at getting people to buy things they don't need and suggested they follow up at home by e-mailing questions. Like Osteen, Hybel packages self-help programs with a positive message intended to make people feel good about themselves. "When I walk out of a service, I feel completely relieved of any stress I walked in with," says Phil Earnest, 38, a sales manager who in 2003 switched to Willow Creek from the Methodist Church he found too stodgy," Earthly Empires: How evangelical churches are borrowing from the business playbook: By William C. Symonds, with Brian Grow in Atlanta and John Cady in New York. May 23, 2005 BusinessWeek Online.
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
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