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Insight Into the Flawed Seeker Friendly Thinking of Rick Warren

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I included this because the prevailing church model these days is a direct child of the purpose driven agenda. This agenda seeks to build a building, not the kingdom. It forces the needs of the church upon the people who make up the church. It is a fast track for people who are not spiritually ready for leadership or ministry to be used in both capacities. I have spoken with people who were foisted into leadership of ministries even though they had no active prayer life and didn't read the Bible. They knew they were living a lie but did not want to let the church down. This results in a direct shift away from how can we help the people to how can we help the building. There are people reading this today who serve in ministry or even leadership who know full well they should not be in those positions. The model today is to take people right after a guilt driven altar call, hand them a Bible and some literature, shuffle them off to baptism class, then membership class and into ministry as quickly as possible. The larger churches even seem to compromise on the membership requirement for ministry because the needs are so great.

 

I even love the term Warren uses here -- significant assimilation ministries. Then the membership class is listed as one of these ministries! This is the latest pattern that is associated with the seeker friendly thinking. Everyone who does anything within the walls of a church is now called a minister. You acted in a Christmas play -- you're a minster. You play the trombone -- you're a minster. I am sorry but you are not. A minister should be someone called to bring the Gospel. Someone who has gone through some sort of training; who can properly divide the Word of God. Quite frankly, someone who also will be held to higher standard according to the Word. This is the end result though of a watered down Gospel -- everything gets watered down with it. Leaders who don't read the Bible? Ministry workers with no prayer lives? People running around calling themselves Minister this and Prophetess that? Everyone scrambling around to build a building. A Baptist church in Dallas Texas just opened a 130 million dollar complex that they call a church while there are over 5500 homeless people in the local Dallas area. Building our own Tower of Babel with an even more grandiose sense of pride.

 

Because here is the thing. Unless your assimilation ministries are assimilating people to look like Christ they lead to a dead end. They are carnal in nature and of no eternal value. Warren and the seeker friendly movement seek to grow individual church buildings under the guise of "reaching as many for Christ" as they can. The actual Gospel becomes secondary to helping people find their significance. When you compromise the Gospel however, you do not reach them for Christ. You reach them for your church. I agree that we should write a follow-up letter to visitors from Resurrection Sunday and we should be nice and personable. We should however remind them that only the Savior has the keys to unlock the shackles around their ankles. Only Jesus can save them. Not the Pope, Rick Warren or drawing circles in the sand. It has not changed in thousands of years because it always has been sufficient on its own -- just save your high sounding nonsense and human philosophies and preach it!

 

 

Reverend Anthony Wade -- April 1, 2013

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Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to (more...)
 
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