A Rick Warren blog

'Sermon stealing'

By Mark Kelly

I was pleased to see an excellent article on plagiarizing sermons in the April 17 edition of The Christian Century. Thomas Long, professor of preaching at Emory University's Candler School of Theology, brings some nuanced perspective to a subject often cast as a stark “either/or” issue.

Rick Warren has been taken to task by a few bloggers for telling pastors, “If my bullet fits your gun, shoot it.” Many of them act as if Warren thereby condones, in the words of a blogger this week, “theft, laziness, and dishonesty.”

They would do well to read Warren’s column on Pastors.com entitled “Other pastors’ sermons – the commentaries of the 21st century.” What he actually says is that “sermons preached by other pastors ... give me ideas. They help me see Scripture in entirely new ways sometimes. I believe these sermons are like the commentaries of the 21st century. I hope my sermons will do the same for you. That’s why I make them available to you on Pastors.com. Whether you use the outlines and transcripts for sermon ideas or listen to the preaching to fine-tune your delivery, I’ll be thrilled if your ministry becomes more effective because of them.”

What I see there is an encouragement to use material in specific ways – to generate ideas and sharpen delivery. Critics act as if Warren has endorsed a preacher using his personal illustrations – complete with the names of his and Kay’s children – as if they happened to the preacher!

“Sermon stealing” is not as simplistic a matter as some pretend.

Liberal? Postmillennialist? Dominionist?

By Mark Kelly

One of the most frustrating aspects of the “post-modern” age is that people seem to think beliefs are true simply because they believe them. No need to do any research. No need to actually document your case. No need for any logical connection between your assertions. Just regurgitate whatever pops into your head and plop it onto the Internet.

Call it a “blahg” site.

For example, we recently came across a site that in one short posting labeled Rick Warren as a liberal, a postmillennialist, and a Dominionist.

The first of those could have been laid to rest with a simple visit to Saddleback’s Web site, where the confession of faith clearly places the church in the mainstream of historic biblical Christianity. The second assertion might actually have required contacting the church to ask a question. (Answer: He's a premillennialist.) Yes, that is a lot of trouble for someone who’s in a hurry to get an opinion out of his system.

The third assertion, however, is ridiculous. Dominionism is generally understood to be a political version of Christianity that urges its followers to gain control of the country and impose a religious dictatorship on the “infidels.”

According to Al Dager, author of an exposé book, Vengeance Is Ours: The Church in Dominion, this belief system is based on three tenets: (1) Satan usurped man’s dominion over the earth through the temptation of Adam and Eve; (2) The Church is God’s instrument to take dominion back from Satan; (3) Jesus cannot or will not return until the Church has taken dominion by gaining control of the earth’s governmental and social institutions.

One site that does “discernment research” claims Dominionism is a vast conspiracy that involves collaborators across the entire political spectrum, from Far Left to Far Right. The author divines a spider web of connections between what appear to be unrelated groups in the Church: the “spiritual warfare prayer movement,” the “mission as transformation movement,” and the “patriotic American movement.” The writer claims Rick Warren “has single-handedly accomplished more to bring about a public convergence between the three sects of dominionism than any other individual.”

That is utter nonsense.

Podcast: Mobilizing in disaster or tragedy

Pastor Rick's podcast on how to respond when tragedy strikes your community has been posted.

The guests for Mobilizing Your Church in the Wake of a Disaster or Tragedy are:

Pastor David McPhereson who was the youth pastor at ground zero during the Columbine shootings. Pastor Jim Walters of Bear Valley Church in Lakewood, Colo., who ministered as a second tier church during the Columbine shootings. Pastor Dishan Wickramaratne of People’s Church in Sri Lanka, who was one of the first pastors to respond to the tsumani in South Asia. Pastor Stephen Trammel who ministered through the tragedy surrounding hurricane Katrina and now serves at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Pastor Jimmie Davidson of Highland Fellowship in Abingdon, Va., currently ministering to the communities near Virgnia Tech. Pastor Jim Pace of New Life Christian Fellowship in Blacksburg, Va., currently at ground zero on the Virginia Tech campus.

The Power of Parishioners

If we're going to seriously tackle the "global Goliaths" that oppress mankind – spiritual emptiness, corruption, extreme poverty, endemic disease and lack of education – we've got to mobilize a volunteer army like the world has never seen.

In an excellent article just out in Forbes magazine, Rick Warren shows how the global Church holds the key to providing solutions that have eluded governments, business, and humanitarian organizations.

You'll want to read The Power of Parishioners. The on-line subscription to Forbes is free.

Leading, ministering in crisis

Thinking about how God's spirit is moving in people's hearts because of this week's horror in Blacksburg, Va., Pastor Rick is about to post a podcast on how to lead through a crisis. His guests will be pastors who have ministered in severe crisis – from the Columbine High School shootings, Hurricane Katrina, and the South Asia tsunami to the recent Virginia Tech massacre.

This will be a podcast you will not want to miss!

His blog today has a list of "21 ways to minister to those who are suffering" that John Piper wrote after the Columbine shootings, then revised after 9/11.

You can catch both those at http://blog.pastors.com.

‘Make criticism your ally’

By Mark Kelly

When a pastor ministers to someone with a critical spirit, one of the first insights he gains is that the shortcoming the criticizer sees in another often is actually something he dislikes about himself. How often have you heard someone loudly criticize adultery, only to learn later that the critic was himself plagued by that very sin?

Paul states this truth clearly: “You have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.” (Romans 2:1-2 NAS)

Still, we heave learned that God can use even our harshest critics to bless us.

One fellow who has claimed that Rick Warren misuses Scripture recently took him to task for a Saddleback sermon series entitled “When You’re Running on Empty,” which we said would help people “learn the ancient secrets from God’s Word for a less stressed, more relaxed, and lighter, freer lifestyle.” He sarcastically described the sermon series as “false advertising” and accused Rick of not telling people the truth about the cost of discipleship – of “sugar coating Christianity.”

This critic’s mind apparently leaped to Matthew 10:34 as a passage of Scripture that supposedly contradicts what the sermon series taught about stress. He chose to quote the NIV, but I prefer the King James Version I memorized as a teenager: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.”

It isn’t hard to see that this fellow has quoted a passage that has nothing to do with the stress caused by life’s problems. Matthew 10:34 is about Jesus preparing his disciples for the persecution they would encounter. More than once he taught them about how to gain victory over stress.

Perhaps this brother has forgotten these words of Jesus:

The ‘Running on Empty’ sermon series

From: Rick Warren
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 5:22 PM
Subject: Last week’s message

Mark:

I wanted to share a few brief notes about the “Running on Empty” sermon series and last week’s message:

1. Jesus always started where people were, not where he wanted them to be. Then he’d move them to where they needed to be. People came to Jesus for different reasons – a question, a problem, a need for healing, a conflict, a curiosity. All of these are valid reasons, and Jesus never criticized anyone for coming to him, except the self-righteous religious critics who were constantly trying to trap him or twist his words. The Bible tells us their motive: ““For he knew that because of envy they had delivered Him up. (Matthew 27:18 NAS)

2. Eight weeks ago, I invited everyone attending our six services to write down on a card (1) their most persistent secret sin, (2) their deepest wound, and (3) the greatest issue that kept them from following Christ 100%.  Our preaching team studied the responses and outlined a number of teaching series to help people grow in Christlike character and discipleship, which is the goal of preaching (Galatians 4:19, Ephesians 4:11-24, 1 Corinthians 14:3)

3. From the questions we used to probe the spiritual health of our members, we discovered that busyness was an insidious enemy of discipleship.  People are stressed out and not taking the daily time alone with God to restore and refresh their daily walk with God. Many are too tired to evangelize and minister to others.  So we chose the theme “When you are running on empty” for this discipleship series.

4. Last week’s message was “Lightening Your Load,” a word-by-word exposition of Jesus’ invitation to less stress in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my load is light." (NAS)  Sadly, a lot of legalistic believers ignore this verse and as a result live cranky, spiteful, and exhausted lives.

5. The biblical secret of not running on empty is to obey the three commands of Jesus in that passage: (1) Come to me, (2) Take my yoke, (3) Learn from me. We must give up control and trust God with every area of our lives. That is true discipleship.  Obeying Christ does not reduce the stressors around you, but it definitely reduces the stress inside you.

6. In choosing sermon titles and promotional copy, we try to use words that non-believers and non-religious people will understand.  Jesus commanded us, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent (harmless) as doves.” (Matthew 10:16 NAS) That is a command, not a suggestion.  Unfortunately, when it comes to evangelism and reaching out and advertising, most churches are “harmless” but not “shrewd.”  They write religious sounding ads and sermon titles that only catch the attention of the already-saved folks.

7. One of the questions we constantly ask is “Who are we trying to impress with our advertising?” Our answer and strategy is based on Jesus’ own words: “When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why is he eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?’ And hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” (Mark 2:16-17 NAS)  We want a Christlike ministry, so we focus all our attention on building relationships with unbelievers, and using titles and phrases that attract unbelievers helps build those relationships. Of course, that upsets the 21st-century Pharisees, just as it did in Jesus’ day.  The Pharisees called Jesus “a friend of sinners” and meant it as a criticism.  But that is exactly what Jesus was, and to be like him, we must befriend sinners.  We live for his approval, not those who have decided that they will spend all their time castigating other Christian ministries. 

8. As Jesus commanded, we pray for our critics and love our critics, but we live for an Audience of One. “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Romans 14:4 NAS)

I hope this clears things up a little. 

Thanks!
Rick

Nothing new in ‘New Atheism’

By Mark Kelly

Newsweek’s God Debate between Pastor Rick and Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith, caused quite a stir on the Internet this past week. Especially notable was the pleasure New Atheists found in having their worldview so well represented in such a high-profile venue.

Harris is knowledgeable and articulate, without a doubt. Unfortunately, he also clings to a system of thought as outdated and inadequate as the cartoonish “pre-scientific” Christianity he rejects.

There isn't anything new about the New Atheism. It is nothing more than the last gasp of a dying worldview, a desperate attempt to prop up 19th-century theories of “scientific” naturalism and materialism that simply are no longer supported by the scientific data. Virtually all the sciences today are demonstrating that the universe is too complex and too finely tuned to be an accident. This world simply cannot be explained by matter plus time plus chance. The New Atheists, however, cling to their old dogmas, much as the bishops of another era clung to the doctrine of a flat earth at the center of the universe.

One of the most glaring problems with Mr. Harris’ perspective is his naiveté about why anything is right or wrong.

Whispers about the Council on Foreign Relations

By Mark Kelly

A couple of times in the past few months, we’ve received inquiries about whether Pastor Rick is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. The letters were sincere questions from friends, the kind of queries we get every day. What was really unusual about them were the Internet rants they pointed us back to.

Did you know Rick Warren has for years been a member of a semi-secret cabal the world’s power elites are using to create a One World, New Age government and pave the way for the emergence of the Anti-Christ?

We were shocked too.

Conspiracy theories are fascinating – obviously for those who believe them, as well as for those who wonder why anyone ever is taken in by them. Given the right mental and emotional state, however, I suspect many of us could be taken in by a convincing hoax. Sometimes it’s easier than coping with reality.

I remember walking into a living room on a day in early January more than 25 years ago. The whole family was seated together, consoling each other, eyes red from crying, children sniffling. I was distressed by their heartache and asked what had happened.

It was Jan. 8 – Elvis Presley’s 65th birthday, had he not died three years earlier. The tears, however, weren’t exactly about Elvis’ death. The family was upset that “the King” had faked his death – and they couldn’t understand why.

Rick Warren’s Ministry Podcast

Those of you in this audience who are pastors or friends of pastors will want to take note of the new podcast/blog Pastor Rick has launched at http://blog.pastors.com.

Rick Warren’s Ministry Podcast is a place for pastors to connect with, learn from and help one another. It’s not just insight from Pastor Rick, although that certainly is there. It’s also going to give pastors an opportunity to pick up on excellent insights from their colleagues in ministry.

For example, in the initial podcast Pastor Rick dialogues with Bryan Crute of Destiny Metropolitan Worship Church in Atlanta, Ga., Dave Holden of Lake Gregory Community Church in Crestline, Calif., and Scott Weatherford of Parkway Church in Victoria, Texas. The topic is “How to use special days and follow-up sermon series for healthy growth.”

The blog also features a post from Rick on the importance of a pastor/preacher finding balance in spending time with both God and his people: “If you spend all your time with people, you’ll be drained. If you spend all your time with God, you’re out of touch with the people God has called you to serve.”

Rick is inviting comments on the site because he wants it to be a place where current issues from the podcast and blog are discussed in community.

We hope you’ll visit http://blog.pastors.com and share the link with the pastors and pastors’ friends in your network!