| Resources to aid your Understanding |
| |
"The first Reformation was about beliefs. This one
needs to be about behavior. … We’ve had a Reformation; what we need
now is a transformation." [1] Rick Warren
"The transition... to a culture of peace is a process of
individual, collective and institutional
transformation."[2]
"Citizenship for the
next century is learning to live together. The 21st Century city will be a
city of social solidarity.... We have to redefine the words... [and write a
new] social contract."[3] Federico Mayor, former head of
UNESCO.
"A sea change of transitions and transformations is birthing a whole
new world," wrote Dr. Leonard Sweet, whose books are often quoted in Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox. "God is birthing
the greatest spiritual awakening in the history of the church.... Are you
going to show up."[4]
If you love truth, you may want to say no! For in his book Soul
Tsunami, Dr. Sweet, a popular leader of the Emerging Church, tells us to
flow with the currents of change and leave God's unchanging gospel behind.
"Postmodern culture is a change-or-be changed world," he continues. "Reinvent
yourself for the 21st century or die. Some would rather die than
change."[4]
Would Rick Warren agree? Probably, since he wrote this glowing
endorsement for the front cover of Sweet's book: "Soul Tsunami shows us
why these are the greatest days for evangelism since the first
century!"
What kind of evangelism does Warren envision? Would it be based on
God's Word or on "good" works? Apparently, the latter. In a world that has traded Biblical
absolutes for changing values and feel-good experiences, God's "divisive"
truths face a rising tide of hostility. But few will argue against helping the
poor and sick. Perhaps that's why Pastor Warren keeps repeating this
statement: “The first Reformation was about belief; this
one’s going to be about behavior.”[5]
The
new focus is on unity -- a worldwide oneness reflected in the growing union
between the East and West. Leonard Sweet's online book, Quantum Spirituality,
sheds some revealing light of the envisioned global "church" for the 21st
century. In his view, the offense of the cross has been replaced with a passion
for interfaith peace and possibility
thinking. To illustrate this point, Dr. Sweet points to Thomas Merton,
the popular Catholic author who popularized mysticism and died in Asia searching
the depths of Tibetan Buddhism.
"A Quantum spirituality
challenges the church to... dare its future by sticking its big toe into
the time and place of the present.... Then, and only then, will a New
Light movement of 'world-making' faith have helped create the
world that is to... be. Then, and only then, will earthlings have uncovered
the meaning of these words, some the last words poet/activist/contemplative/bridge
between East and West Thomas Merton uttered: 'We are already one. But we
imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original
unity.'"[6]
Seeking that illusive
solidarity, today's success-driven church leaders are rushing into the postmodern
age of flexible "truth" and relational pleasures. Unbounded by any solid anchor
in God's unchanging Word, they dash forward -- hand in hand with the world.
Their goal is an imagined future attainable through practices long hidden
in secret societies, occult orders, and Eastern religions. These include meditative
rituals, dialectical synthesis and systems thinking. Add service learning
to the last two and you have the transformational strategies first tested
by Communist rulers, then incorporated into the
UN
- U.S. education system, which intentionally undermined
factual, rational learning and established the postmodern ways of thinking.[7]
We need to understand
this amazing worldwide revolution -- and the subtle compromises caused by
today's pragmatic "Christian" alliances. Therefore, the next two articles
in this series will look more closely at the social manipulation behind "community
service" and "lifelong learning" -- two programs driven by continual assessments
and remediation. Meanwhile, you can find helpful background information on
the following pages:
Molding
Human Resources for the Global Workforce
Bush,
Shultz, Gorbachev and Soviet Education
Spirit-Led
or Purpose-Driven, Part 4: Dealing with Resisters
Character
Training For Global Citizenship
But first, let's examine Rick Warren's celebrated P.E.A.C.E. Plan and
its links to the United Nations.
Like most other UN documents, its Millennium
Goals sound kind and compassionate. They are designed to appeal to noble
instincts and caring hearts -- and they do! That's why nations, corporations,
organizations and churches have joined the global campaign. Who would disagree
with these eight lofty goals?
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child
mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and
other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Develop
a global partnership for development.[8]
But there's more to this list than these nice-sounding words. The motivational
vision of a worldwide welfare system may have captured hearts around the world,
but it actually serves the grandiose aims of socialist change agents who have
little concern for human suffering. Yet, no other program has more effectively
linked the evangelical church to the UN management
system, which, from its birth, declared
war on Biblical truth and values.[9] And no other program
has more effectively drawn Christians into a process designed to manipulate
the masses, undermine traditional values, silence
resisters, synthesize
beliefs, trade individual thinking for collective
thinking, and train global citizens to serve
the "greater whole."[10]
An interview titled, "Pastor
[Warren] lays out a global vision," summarizes parts of that
plan:
Q:
Your book is a mega-seller and there are 82,000 names on Saddleback's church
rolls. What's next?
Warren: "In the 21st century we are going global and mobilizing the
American church to help internationally. ... President Kagame will welcome
us to Rwanda for a joint project among the government, business and the
church....
Q:
How will Saddleback tackle these huge problems?
Warren: With our PEACE plan.... P is for plant a church or partner
with an existing one in every village. We'll work with everyone who wants to
help. I'll work with an atheist who wants to stop AIDS. E - equip local
leaders. A - assist the poor. C - care for the sick. And E - educate the
next generation. ...
Q:
What is your greatest hope for all this?
Warren: A second Reformation. The first one was about belief. This
one will be about deeds."[11]
Now compare
this celebrated P.E.A.C.E. Plan with the United Nation's Millennial Goals.
Keep in mind that both purpose-driven churches and their strategic leadership
programs require training in psycho-social processes and assessment technologies
(See Dream
Giver and DISC Assessments) that match secular corporations and support
the UN vision for human resource development around the world.[12]
|
Warren's
PEACE Plan |
Millennium Development Goals: |
| 1. Plant
churches |
#8. Develop a global
partnership for development |
| 2. Equip servant leaders |
#8. Develop a global partnership
for development. Actually "Lifelong Learning" has been the major
UNESCO education goal since the UN agency was founded. |
| 3. Assist the poor |
#1. Eradicate extreme
poverty and hunger |
| 4. Care for the sick |
#4. Reduce child
mortality |
| |
#5. Improve maternal
health |
| |
#6. Combat HIV/AIDS,
malaria and other diseases |
| 5. Educate the next generation |
#2. Achieve universal
primary education |
The implied aims of UN Millennium Goals #3 and #7
are certain to be included in each of Warren’s five programs – especially
in P, E, A and E.
|
#3. Promote gender
equality and empower women |
| #7. Ensure environmental
sustainability |
1. Plant churches.
The first point sounds
good. But what will those church plants look like? Will they be clones of
Saddleback Church in California -- or of thousands of other churches that
follow the purpose-driven model?
Not exactly.
The cultural context will change from nation to nation, so the transformational
strategies must be carefully adapted to each new setting. But the heart of
the transformation -- the unseen process of human resource development --
will employ the same key tactics for change: Total Quality
Management, psycho-social leadership training, promotion of a positive
(compromised) gospel and a permissive (feel-good, non-judging) God, continual
high-tech assessments and remediation, and the dialectic
process operating through facilitated small groups.
The mission
field is the entire world. As Pastor Warren says,
"'Billions of people suffer each day from problems so big no
government can solve them.... 'The only thing big enough to solve the
problems of spiritual emptiness, selfish leadership, poverty, disease, and
ignorance is the network of millions of churches all around the
world....
'The Scripture shows us that Jesus shared the Good
News, trained leaders, helped the poor, cared for the sick, and taught the
children... 'Our P.E.A.C.E. Plan will just do the five things Jesus did
while he was here on earth.'"[13]
But Pastor Warren's comparison with Jesus couldn't be more misleading.
Jesus never used the psycho-social strategies or the manipulative management
systems that drive today's social and spiritual transformation!
Warren's initial thrust is into Africa, where the P.E.A.C.E. Plan will
fit well. It already has a foothold in Rwanda, where the 1994 genocide
against the Tutsi minority shocked the world. But according to Time magazine,
its president Paul Kagame is no friend to Biblical Christianity:
"Kagame has repeatedly stated his disdain for religious
organizations. Thus a buzz went up in Kigali's Amahoro Stadium last month
when Kagame allowed Rick Warren... to throw an arm over his shoulders and
'pray for the President.'... Kagame has committed his government to
cooperation in a five-to-seven-year self-sufficiency project staffed by
Rwandan volunteers but initiated, advised and at least partly funded by
Warren's network of 'purpose-driven churches.' Warren talks of turning
Rwanda into 'the first purpose-driven nation.'"[14]
Do you
wonder why a somewhat anti-Christian African president would enter into such
an agreement? Kagame answered that question when he spoke at Saddleback Church
in April:
"...they also told us about the vision of
the PEACE plan.... It is a vision with a big goal, which is to confront the
world's major problems; but it is practical and simple in strategy because
it is built on using average people rather than just the elite. Rick and I
agree that each partner – the church, the government and businesses have a
role to play and we are better together and more effective when we
cooperate."[15]
"More effective"
in what? In planting Biblical churches -- or in "Capacity Building" and "developing" a poverty-stricken
nation? Will cooperation with "government and businesses" actually help establish
Christ-centered churches with faithful "born again" Christians who -- by God's
grace -- love and follow His Word? Or will it spread spiritual complacency
and deception? Will it encourage Biblical worship, discipleship, ministry
and mission -- or feel-good celebrations and "good" works? Will it please
God or man?
Will
it fulfill what Warren presents as God's five main purposes for the Church?
Or might those purposes all be compromised under the banner of church growth,
church health, and success-driven service through church/world
alliances?[16] Partnerships face problems when one partner controls
the money or political power. The controlling member will be in a position
to set the rules and define the terms, forcing the other member(s) to submit
or leave.
Actually, Rick Warren's five purposes have already been compromised.
"Warren presents some basic teaching regarding Gods purpose to glorify Himself
and what man should do in relation to God," wrote Richard Bennett in an article
titled "The
Purpose Driven Life: Demeaning the Very Nature of God." "The fact that
none of these purposes is presented in a biblically accurate way makes Warren's
work all the more dangerous to the true understanding of Who God is and His
Gospel in Christ."[17]
Consider
Warren's five main purposes from a Biblical perspective:
Worship
: We cannot
worship God unless we know and love the God we worship!
We cannot know Him, if we don't know the Scriptures that reveals Him to us!
Postmodern worship forms are designed to stir happy feelings and human passion,
not worship inspired by the Holy Spirit. They point to a positive and permissive
God who -- like our human team members -- will cheer our self-centered nature
and excuse our unholy ways. (Psalm 50:21 & Mark 7:6-7) Such false worship
clashes with genuine expressions of a Spirit-filled heart that freely praises
our wonderful holy God without emotion-raising, man-centered feasts. (See
Spirit-Led or Purpose-Driven)
Fellowship
: The world's fellowship is
largely formed within the boundaries of the dialectical
guidelines. These push group members toward unbiblical tolerance,
feeling-based rather than fact-based "sharing," and silence with regard to
Biblical absolutes. In contrast, Biblical fellowship happens when we come
together with common delight in His Word, His will and His ways -- loving and
encouraging each other with His Word and by His
Spirit.
Discipleship: The new church management systems
call for training in submission and loyalty to "the group" and the new social
ethics -- not to God and His Word. It requires participation in collective
thinking and "service learning" and fun team building activities.
It has turned its back to God's narrow ways
and divisive truths. It highlights Scriptures that call for Biblical oneness
among actual "born again" believers but ignores verses such as Luke 12:51:
"Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all,
but rather division."
Ministry: The shape and structure of purpose-driven
ministries are increasingly defined by new management gurus, personality assessments, community surveys, and group appeal,
not
by Biblical teaching nor God's actual
purposes. But the Bible shows us that our main focus should be on building
up the believers -- by preaching and
teaching His Word, and by exhorting and serving one another.
We are called to live and work as one body by His Spirit -- not by
training in group thinking and politically correct tolerance. In the true
Church, all the members know and follow Jesus Christ, the King of
all! He is not a reinvented god acceptable to the world, but the holy,
almighty God who revealed Himself through the Scriptures.
Evangelism
: Today's soft, non-offensive gospel focuses on God's supposed passionate
love for people who are naturally lovable, not on His loving mercy
for depraved sinners. (See Ephesians 2:1-4) When "Christian" change agents train the masses to
"think outside the box" of God's unchanging Word, they are spreading a false
gospel and blinding people to the only truth that can set us free.
The pragmatic assumption that "the ends justify the
means" has already blinded a critical mass of "Christian" leaders. Many don't
realize that the "end" they are promised is merely an illusion. Trained to
accept a compromised gospel, they spread it to a world that wants to share in
God's blessings without conviction of sin or genuine repentance. Since the
postmodern gospel neither demands such responses nor offends unbelievers, it's
easy to persuade the masses to join the movement.
This radical reformation becomes all the more concerning
when church leaders like Rick Warren link hands with Bono, Ellen DeGeneres,
and other UN supporters in their evangelistic crusade and war on poverty.
Since these noble aims fit right into the United Nations' efforts to "develop"
nations, train human resources, build human
capital, and establish its global management system, we cannot ignore
its basic philosophy.
What's more, today's soft, social "gospel"
conforms easily to UNESCO's guidelines for religion in the new world order.
Remember Pastor Warren's words, "The first [Reformation] was about belief.
This one will be about deeds."[11]
It all makes sense. The true gospel offends people.
It reminds us that we are fallen creatures in bondage to sin apart from God.
That's why God's Word warns us that "we are to God the fragrance of Christ
among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one
we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life
leading to life." (2 Corinthians
2:14) It reminds us not to expect
popularity in the world when we are true to His Word! Instead we are called to
follow His narrow, difficult road, no matter what the cost:
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated
Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its
own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you.... If they persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you... because they do not know Him who sent Me." John 15:18-21
In contrast, humanitarian deeds will win the world's
applause. So will a whitewashed gospel, cleansed of offensive truth, and focused
on man's worth rather than God's righteousness. This new gospel fits the vision
of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
as summarized in its Declaration
on the Role of Religion in the Promotion of a Culture of Peace. Notice
that it uses the evils committed by false or "cultural
Christianity" to justify its criticisms of genuine Christianity and to
press all religions into accepting its guidelines for global service in its
new world order:
1.
...We are all interdependent and share an inescapable responsibility for the
well-being of the entire world.
2. We
face a crisis which could bring about the suicide of the human species or
bring us a new awakening and a new hope. We know that religion… has an
indispensable role to play….
6.
Religions have… led to division, hatred, and war. Religious people have too
often betrayed the high ideals they themselves have preached.
8.
Peace entails that we understand that we are all interdependent….
collectively responsible for the common good.
11.
We must… cultivate a spirituality which manifests itself in
action...
13.
We commit ourselves to ... assure a truly humane education for all. We
emphasize education for peace, freedom, and human rights, and religious
education to promote openness and tolerance.
19.
Our communities of faith have a responsibility to encourage conduct imbued
with wisdom, compassion, sharing, charity, solidarity, and love; inspiring
one and all to choose the path of freedom and responsibility. Religions must
be a source of helpful energy.
20. …
We should distinguish fanaticism from religious zeal.
21.
We will favor peace by countering the tendencies of individuals and
communities to assume or even to teach that they are inherently superior to
others …
22.
We will promote dialogue and harmony between and within religions …
respecting the search for truth and wisdom that is outside....
23. …We call upon the different religious and cultural traditions to
join hands… and to cooperate with us."[18]
Whether consciously or simply out of success-oriented
pragmatism, the purpose-driven church movement has answered the call. With
management guru Peter Drucker as his mentor, Rick Warren's quest for reformation
and transformation serves the UN vision very well. In fact, the two seem to
march to the same drumbeat. Like Warren's vision of transformation,
UNESCO Culture
of Peace Programme calls for total transformation to its global system
of assessments and control --"a process of individual, collective and institutional
transformation."[2]
Those who have studied UN literature realize that
its envisioned "Culture of Peace" would happily embrace a compromised form of
Christianity that would serve the world system. But Biblical Christianity, so
despised by the world, would be banned -- just as Jesus warned His
disciples:
"...they will deliver you up to tribulation and
kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then
many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness
will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the
end shall be saved." (Matthew 24:9-13) See Signs of the times
A small group of faithful missionaries, working
quietly among the African poor, might by God's grace, be able to share the
whole gospel beyond the watchful eyes of the new global managers. But the
publicity-hungry PD movement with its popular agenda will be carefully
scrutinized for compliance with the UN ideals. To succeed within this global
framework of control, it must conform, comply and ultimately serve the global
agenda. And its fury may well be focused on those uncompromising missionaries
and faithful Christians that would rather suffer persecution at the hands of
intolerant "peace-makers" than betray their beloved Lord.
Two Scriptures would be worth remembering in the
challenging times ahead:
"...the time is coming that whoever kills you
will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you
because they have not known the Father nor Me." John 16:2-3
"But none of these things move me; nor do I count
my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the
ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of
the grace of God.“
Acts
20:24
See also Spirit-Led
or Purpose-Driven? and Small Groups and the Dialectic Process
Endnotes:
1.
Rick Warren: Global Baptists -- "We're all in this together," at http://www.bwanet.org/Congress/congresstoday29f.htm
2.
UNESCO Culture of Peace Programme at http://www.peace.ca/vowunesco.htm
3. Federico Mayor, speaking
at a conference on "solidarity" during the 1996 UN Conference on Human
Settlements in Istanbul, Turkey. Taped and transcribed by Berit
Kjos.
4. Leonard Sweet, Soul
Tsunami, Page (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), pages
17, 34, 75.
5. Ken Camp,
"Second Reformation'
will unify church, Warren tells Dallas GDOP," Pastors.com, 2005, at
www.pastors.com/article.asp?ArtID=8280
6.
Leonard Sweet, Quantum Spirituality, entire book available
online at Quantum Spirituality: A Postmodern Apologetic
7. See "The International
Agenda at http://www.crossroad.to/Books/BraveNewSchools/2-International.htm#1-wcefa and Small Groups and the Dialectic Process at http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/3-purpose.htm.
See also http://www.undp.org/eo/ADR
8. "Millennium Goal
:
Conforming the world to Socialist Solidarity" at www.crossroad.to\articles2\TwoSummits.htm
9. http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/chisholm.htm
and "UNESCO:
Its purpose and Its Philosophy" at http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/julian-huxley.htm
10. "Serving the 'greater
whole'" at http://www.crossroad.to/Books/BraveNewSchools/6-Service.html and "Social Change and Communitarian
Systems" at www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/6-purpose-communitarian.htm
and "Molding Human Resources for the Global
Workforce at
www.crossroad.to/text/articles/HumanResources.html
11
. "Pastor [Warren] lays out a global
vision," [registration
required]:
12. "Reinventing the World"
at www.crossroad.to/articles2/Reinvent1.htm
and Re-Inventing the Church
at
www.crossroad.to/articles2/2002/change-agent-1.htm
13. "P.E.A.C.E. Plan: A Worldwide Revolution,
Warren Tells Angel Stadium Crowd at http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/absolutenm3/templates/articles.aspx?articleid=981&zoneid=25
14. David Van Biema, "Warren of Rwanda," Time magazine,
August 22, 2005 at
http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1093746,00.html
1
5."Remarks by his Excellency Paul Kagame,
President of the Republic of Rwanda, at Saddlback
Church (17 April, 2005)
at http://www.gov.rw/government/president/speeches/2005/17_04_05_saddleback.htm
16 Topical Index of Scriptures at www.crossroad.to\HisWord\verses\topics\alliances.htm
17. Richard Bennet, "The Purpose Driven Life: Demeaning the Very
Nature of God," at http://www.bereanbeacon.org/articles/rick_warren_purpose_driven_2.htm
18. Declaration
on the Role of Religion in the Promotion of a Culture of
Peace
19. "Dealing with Resisters"
at www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/4-purpose-resisters.htm
Provided by
Berit Kjos
See our selection
of wonderful
books by Berit Kjos
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal
Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need
to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly
forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you
need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as
Savior, but have come to realize His reality and the approaching End of the
Age, and want to accept His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can also do so
now, in the privacy of your home. Once you accept Him as Savior, you are spiritually
Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then,
you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually.
If you would like to become Born Again, turn
to our Salvation Page now.
Finally, we would love to hear from you.
You can contact us
by mail or email.
God bless you.
Subscribe to our email updates and messages
from our editor by entering your email address below
Return to:
