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The Striking Similarities Between the Purpose Driven Church & Used Car Salesmen

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saying, "When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, - Amos 8:5 (ESV)

RJ Wilson from Urbo.com recently penned an article entitled "Six Car Salesmen Secrets to Know Before You Buy a Car." Curious I read it and before long I noticed the correlation between the schemes of the purpose driven church movement and the tactics of car salesmen. The key verses from today come from an interesting time in the life of the Prophet Amos. His short rebuke here to the leaders of Israel contrasts what is supposed to mean something to them with their true ambitions and desires. When will the new moon festival be over so we can make money again? When will the Sabbath be over so that we can not only make money again but do so by cheating people by being deceitful and using false balances? This is indicative of the church today as well. The pseudo-piety of religiosity is a mere veneer. You have to put on the new moon festival to pretend that this is all for Jesus! Behind that veneer however is when can we sign our next book deal? When can we deceitfully bring a watered down gospel to the goats and tell them they are saved? You see the purpose driven church turned the body of Christ into a business and the shepherd into a CEO. The product however is not Jesus. If it were, they would not need to sell Him. No beloved, the product is that individual church building. The CEO pastor dude needs you to come back to his church, buy into his brand, and eventually tithe and serve in ministry for free. That's a tough sell so in exchange he promises you eternal life you do not have. He guarantees you musical entertainment, great oratory skills and a sense of belonging that is admittedly difficult to find in this world. The driving carnality behind it though is just as rooted in human wisdom and scheming that we would see in a used car salesman. Let us reason together through these six things offered up as secrets of the car sales business and see how they correlate.

"1. Before you've even stepped onto the lot, they're getting you ready to buy." -- RJ Wilson

Before you step into a new church they are already working on you. The greeter ministry is trained to spot new arrivals, introduce themselves, and be warm and welcoming. Tricks to get you in the door? How about the following:

* This Summer Church by the Glades is doing a sermon series called, "Baes, Besties and Booty Calls."

* Andy Stanley having his worship band sing 90's boy bands music when the church was supposed to be worshiping Almighty God.

* Hillsong doing "I like to Move It, Move It" and turning Silent Night into a burlesque show.

* Perry Noble doing Highway to Hell.

* Giveaways for visitors ranging from free guns to plasma TV sets.

These promotions are nothing but the doctrines of demons infiltrating the church in the end times. They are designed to tickle your ears and make you walk in the door. I have seen churches where the pastor does motocross in the sanctuary and another where the sanctuary was transformed into a monster truck course. They are in fact working on you far before you ever set foot in the parking lot.

"2. They're trained to sell based on incremental payments rather than the full price. " -- RJ Wilson

The sales pitch for the purpose driven church is often very subtle. They remove the topic of sin and the need to repent and instead deal with the increments of the love of God and the general concept of blessing. Instead of focusing on what God has done eternally for us on Calvary the attention is shifted to what He can do for us in the temporal. Preachers like Joel Osteen readily admit that they purposefully do not preach the wrath of God because they feel they want to be an "encourager." Avoiding the truth however is not encouraging. When Paul says goodbye to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, he declares himself free of their blood because he did hesitate to proclaim to them the whole Gospel. The purpose driven pastor will have a lot to answer for. The car salesmen holds back the full price because he can make more money through financing. The purpose driven pastor holds back the full price because he can't sell it.

3. If you do your research, your salesman will hate you. -- RJ Wilson

There is nothing a false teacher hates more than a Christian who reads their Bible. Many churches do not even allow congregants to ask questions of the cult of personality pastor. We must realize that most up and coming pastors today were trained by the Rick Warren Purpose Driven Church. Do not confuse this with the Purpose Driven Life, which came out ten years later. The Purpose Driven Church is a manual for how to turn the bride of Christ into a lucrative cash cow, all for the glory of Christ of course; win wink nod nod. In these pages lay the destruction of the church that we see all around us today. Consider this new theology nugget Rick Warren introduces in it called "Blessed Subtraction."

"Be willing to let people leave the church. And I told you earlier the fact that people are gonna leave the church no matter what you do. But when you define the vision, you're choosing who leaves. You say, "But Rick, yes, they're the pillars of the church." Now, you know what pillars are. Pillars are people who hold things up " And in your church, you may have to have some blessed subtractions before you have any real additions" -- The Purpose Driven Church

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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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