The New Reformation: “A Whole New Paradigm Between Faith Communities”

“The bottom line is that we intend to reinvent mission strategy in the 21st century. This will be a new Reformation. The First Reformation returned us to the message of the original church. It was a reformation of doctrine - what the church BELIEVES. This Second Reformation will return us to the mission of the original church. It will be a reformation of purpose- what the church DOES in the world.” —Rick Warren (Italics added)1


“Purpose Driven Ministries is bypassing old distinctions between denominations and nationalities and unifying the church worldwide.” (Emphasis added)2



On May 15, 2005, Rick Warren’s message for the Global Day of Prayer included a startling admission regarding his New Reformation:



“‘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.’” (Bold added)3



A week later at the Pew Forum’s Conference on May 23, 2005, Rick Warren elaborated on his purpose to undo the first Reformation:



“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 (Emphasis added)4



Carefully consider Rick Warren’s purpose here. The first Reformation was indeed about belief, and it divided those who believed the true Gospel of Christ from those who believed a false gospel—i.e., Rome’s false gospel of works. No, he will never get Rome to agree on the scriptural means of salvation. Rome will never agree that “a bunch of stuff” like baptism is not the means of forgiveness of sins and eternal life or that communion (the “Eucharist”) is not the literal sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for redemption and forgiveness of sins!



Throughout its history, the Roman Catholic Church has been adept at twisting Scripture into a lie. And, grievously, Rome is now being embraced by professing Christians even though it has never deviated from teaching the same false gospel of works which the Lord Jesus Christ’s tortured, faithful martyrs rejected and thereby suffered gruesome deaths by Rome’s hand. How times have changed among those who call themselves followers of Christ!



At the Pew Forum’s Conference Rick Warren was asked, “How much engagement with Catholics are you really experiencing?” He replied:



“I think it’s just getting started … I think it’s the beginning of a new movement. I’ve had a number of Catholic people, like Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, came out, and others have kind of made a pilgrimage to Saddleback … And I just think the word is getting out. There have been movements that have come along that have broken the denominational barriers in Christianity, things like the conferences we do …



“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 (Emphasis added)5



The Catechism of the Catholic Church6 contains a multitude of false doctrines that oppose the Gospel of Christ and deny or ignore what God said in His Holy Scriptures. It was completed at the request of Pope John Paul II who gave the task to a commission chaired by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,7 who is now Pope Benedict XVI. When completed, this very current Catechism was approved by Pope John Paul II who “offered [it] to every individual who … wants to know what the Catholic Church believes.” He declared it to “be a sure and authentic reference text for teaching catholic doctrine,” which “is meant to support ecumenical efforts” (emphasis added).8



Keeping in mind Rick Warren’s declaration that “I’m not as far apart from these guys as I thought I was,” here is a relatively small sample of Rome’s false teachings taken from this Catechism:



Salvation, the work of redemption, and forgiveness of all sins are through Rome and her sacraments, administered by her exalted “divinized” priests—



• “‘Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God …’” (#97; p. 29; emphasis added)



• “‘… all Christian churches everywhere have held and hold the great Church that is here [at Rome] to be their only basis and foundation …’” (#834; p. 221; brackets in the original)



• “The Church is the mother of all believers. ‘No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother.’” (#181; p. 48)



• “The Church is catholic: she proclaims the fullness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers the totality of the means of salvation.” (#868; p. 230; emphasis added)



• “One who desires to obtain reconciliation with God and with the Church, must confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers …” (#1493; p. 374)



• “Indeed bishops and priests, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, have the power to forgive all sins …” (#1461; p. 367)



• “[Who then is the priest? He is] the defender of truth, who stands with angels, gives glory with archangels, causes sacrifices to rise to the altar on high, shares Christ’s priesthood, refashions creation, restores it in God’s image, recreates it for the world on high and, even greater, is divinized and divinizes.” [!] (#1589; p. 397; brackets in the original)



• “The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation.” (#1129; p. 292)



• “Baptism is necessary for salvation.… The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude …” (#1257; p. 320)



• “By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin.” (#1263; p. 321)



• “The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God’s mercy to sinners.… The same is true of the Eucharist, the sacrament of redemption: ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (#1846; p. 452; emphasis added)



• “For it is in the liturgy, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, that ‘the work of our redemption is accomplished’ …” (#1068; p. 278)



• “In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.’” (#1374; p. 346; bold added)



• “… the Church … presents to the Father the offering of his Son which reconciles us with him.” [!] (#1354; p. 341)



• “Holy Communion separates us from sin.… cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins …” (#1393; p. 351)



• “Worship of the Eucharist.… ‘The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful …’” (#1378; p. 347)



Salvation through Rome does not require faith in the Gospel of Christ and can occur after death—



• “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church … those too may achieve eternal salvation.” (#847; p. 224)



• “Within the unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples and cultures is gathered together.… ‘Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions.’” (#814; p. 215)



• “… Noah, like Enoch before him, ‘walks with God.’ This kind of prayer is lived by many righteous people in all religions.” (#2569; p. 617; emphasis added)



• “To be sure, there are as many paths of prayer as there are persons who pray, but it is the same Spirit acting in all and with all.” (#2672; p. 642)



• “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” (#1030; p. 268; emphasis added)



Salvation and deliverance from eternal death are through the saving work of Rome’s completely sinless “All-Holy One” who bodily ascended into heaven and was exalted by God over all things. This person is not the Son of God -- the sinless, all-holy Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who bodily ascended into heaven, was exalted by God over all things, sits at His right hand as the only Mediator between God and man, and through Whom is life that ends the death by Adam. No, in Rome the sinless giver of life and salvation is none other than the “Mother of God,” Mary, “Queen over all things”—



• “As St. Irenaeus says, ‘Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.’… ‘The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience …’ Comparing her with Eve, they [‘the early Fathers’] call Mary ‘the Mother of the living’ and frequently claim: ‘Death through Eve, life through Mary.’” (#494; p. 125; emphasis added)



• “Mary … was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.” (#411; p. 104; emphasis added)



• “‘Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things …’” (#966; p. 252; emphasis added)



• “By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the ‘Mother of Mercy,’ the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives.” (#2677; p. 644; emphasis added)



• “You [‘O Mother of God’] … by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.” (#966; p. 252; emphasis added)



• “‘Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.’” (#969; p. 252; ellipsis dots in the original; emphasis added)



• “In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifests the Son of the Father, now become the Son of the Virgin. She is the burning bush of the definitive theophany. Filled with the Holy Spirit she makes the Word visible in the humility of his flesh. It is to the poor and the first representatives of the gentiles that she makes him known.” (#724; p. 191; bold added)



The path of Rome leads to becoming “other ‘Christs,’” which continues their denial of the uniqueness of the Lord Jesus Christ—



• “… by Baptism, he [‘the Father’] incorporates us into the Body of his Christ; through the anointing of his Spirit who flows from the head to the members, he makes us other ‘Christs.’… ‘So then you who have become sharers in Christ are appropriately called ‘Christs.’’” (#2782; p. 667; emphasis added)



• “Christ and his Church thus together make up the ‘whole Christ’ (Christus totus). The Church is one with Christ. The saints are acutely aware of this unity: ‘Let us rejoice then and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but Christ himself.… Marvel and rejoice: we have become Christ.’” (#795; p. 210; parentheses in the original; bold added)



• “The Eucharist is our daily bread. The power belonging to this divine food makes it a bond of union. Its effect is then understood as unity, so that, gathered into his Body and made members of him, we may become what we receive. . . .” (#2837; p. 681; ellipsis dots in the original; emphasis added)



• “… to receive in faith the gift of his Eucharist is to receive the Lord himself.” (#1336; p. 337; emphasis added)



The path of Rome leads to ‘godhood,’ which is the ultimate defiance against the Lord God—



• “[Who then is the priest? He is] … divinized and divinizes.” (#1589; p. 397; brackets in the original; emphasis added)



• “Created in a state of holiness, man was destined to be fully ‘divinized’ by God in glory.” (#398; p. 100; emphasis added)



• “The Church is essentially both human and divine …” (#771; p. 203; emphasis added)



• “The grace of Christ … is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism.” (#1999; p. 484; bold added)



• “‘For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.’ ‘The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.’” (#460; p. 116; emphasis added)



What exactly was Rick Warren referring to when he said, “I’m not as far apart from these guys as I thought I was, you know?” Purpose? Unity? Not God’s purposes or unity of the faith!



Putting the label of “Christian” on false religions (faiths), such as Roman Catholicism and Mormonism, is merely the deceptive work of the Angel of light. A label doesn’t change false doctrines and gospels into truth. In addition, referring to those who are lost as “brothers and sisters in Christ” is anything but loving toward them. True love does not deceive people into thinking they are saved when they are ensnared in false beliefs that cannot save their souls. This is nothing less than the utmost cruelty. To join in unity with false religions does nothing for furthering the Gospel of Christ. But it does do a great deal for propagating the Angel of light’s false gospel that “we are all one.”



The Lord God, Who alone is God and divine, is the One Who set forth His means of salvation. Mankind can’t change the truth just because it wants to be positive, tolerant, and inclusive of those in other religions (faiths). Absolute truth is what it is, regardless of whether or not people choose to believe it or try to change it or choose to broaden the definition of what is considered “Christian.”



Rome does say we are saved by grace. But Rome’s “grace” is “deifying”! Furthermore, the Word of God declares that faith gives us access into God’s grace—which gives us eternal life not godhood! That we are saved by grace through faith was the basis of the first Reformation and the subsequent division of the church, which Rick Warren’s New Reformation seeks to purposefully undo. If faith is not the key that gives us access into the grace of God, then either everyone is or will be saved or works become the key. Both of these things completely contradict God’s Holy Scriptures.



“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)


“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)


“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.… I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Galatians 2:16, 21)



Although good works are the result of salvation, as the means to salvation grace and works render each other null and void by taking from each other the very essence of what they are:



“And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” (Romans 11:6)


“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.… For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect … Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace …” (Romans 4:4-6, 14, 16)


“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” (Galatians 5:4-5)


“Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?” (Ecclesiastes 7:13)



There’s a reason Scripture exhorts us to contend for the faith not for the unity of faiths:



“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 1:3)


“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)



“Yet Warren’s pastor-training programs welcome Catholics … ‘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 [Rick Warren] asks …” (Emphasis added)9



At the Pew Forum’s Conference, Rick Warren was asked, “So are you saying doctrine won’t be important or is not important if you bring together all these –.” He replied:



“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.” (Emphasis added)10



Clearly, the essentials of true Christianity and the essentials of Roman Catholicism are mutually exclusive.11 In order to “get together” with Rome, the Gospel of Christ (not to mention the truth in general) would have to become non-essential in order to bridge the divide between the narrow way and the broad way.



The first Reformation divided Christianity from Churchianity. Yet today it is no longer a problem if not everyone agrees on the Gospel of Christ because religious (doctrinal) distinctions are being bypassed for the sake of uniting together in the name of purpose.



“There are Purpose Driven churches in over 200 different denominations and associations. We work with denominations to strengthen their churches. We encourage every church to maintain its own heritage and doctrinal convictions while we cooperate together on what every church is called to do -- the five biblical purposes of worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism. Everybody agrees on that!” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)12



On November 4-6, 2004, the American Society for Church Growth held its 2004 annual conference at Fuller Theological Seminary. This conference was to “learn, interact, and grow with the leading voices of the Emerging Church.”13 Pastor Dennis Costella, Editor of FOUNDATION Magazine, attended this conference “to better understand the latest thinking of the church growth leaders.”14 In the November-December 2004 issue of his magazine, he reported that Rick Warren made the following statements at this conference:



“We now have ‘purpose-driven’ churches in 122 countries. And if I were to ask every ‘purpose-driven’ church in America to raise their hand, it would shock America because we don’t tell them to change their label. On the front it says, ‘Lutheran, Second Methodist, Holy Power Episcopal,’ you name it; ‘Four-Peas-in-the-Pod Four Square’—it’s got everything! Every name you can imagine. And we have Catholic ‘purpose-driven’ churches …



“And I don’t make any apology in saying to you that the ‘purpose-driven’ paradigm is the operating system of a 21[st] century church. I believe that because we now have 36,000 case studies, and it’s in every country.



“And so it doesn’t demand that they change from being Lutheran or Methodist or Nazarene or Assembly of God or Baptist or whatever. I don’t really care what your doctrine is. What I care about is, do you have a process by which you bring people into membership, build them up to maturity, train them for ministry, send them out on a mission, for the glory of God?” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)15



It was inevitable for doctrine to be bypassed in the purpose-driven Reformation. In Rick Warren’s “final exam,” “God won’t ask about your religious background or doctrinal views” (PDL; p. 34; emphasis added).



The narrow way’s unity of the faith and the Holy Spirit through the truth are too exclusive for the unity-driven world. Instead, the commonality of purpose and values is allowed to transcend doctrinal and religious barriers and advance the broad way’s “unity in diversity.” “Non-essentials” are put aside for what is deemed the higher value -- unity.



“God deeply desires that we experience oneness and harmony with each other.



“Unity is the soul of fellowship. Destroy it, and you rip the heart out of Christ’s Body. It is the essence, the core, of how God intends for us to experience life together in his church.” (PDL; p. 160)


“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.” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)16



In “The Essence of Separation,” Charles Spurgeon warned against this very thing:



“‘To remain divided is sinful! Did not our Lord pray, ‘that they may be one, even as we are one’? (John 17:22).’ A chorus of ecumenical voices keep harping the unity tune. What they are saying is, ‘Christians of all doctrinal shades and beliefs must come together in one visible organization, regardless.… Unite, unite!’



“Such teaching is false, reckless and dangerous. Truth alone must determine our alignments. Truth comes before unity. Unity without truth is hazardous. Our Lord’s prayer in John 17 must be read in its full context. Look at verse 17: ‘Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.’ Only those sanctified through the Word can be one in Christ. To teach otherwise is to betray the Gospel.” (Emphasis added)17



The rampant destructive errors spreading throughout Christianity need to be addressed and corrected according to the light of God’s Holy Scriptures. But little if any scriptural addressing and correcting of the destructive errors is allowed to occur with the following taking place:



• Unscriptural covenants are being signed to categorically uphold the unity of purpose-driven churches.



• People are falling for the propaganda that everything’s fine and they shouldn’t listen to the so-called “gossip” of “divisive” people who say otherwise.



• Contenders of the faith are being encouraged to leave the churches and become “blessed subtractions.”



• “Every church” is being encouraged to maintain their own doctrines without regard for their adherence to Scripture’s truth.



The Angel of light must be very pleased with the extent of his success in neutralizing Christianity. And his success in achieving non-doctrinal unity within today’s Christianity and with Rome is only the beginning.



Interfaith “Spiritual Care” -- “Whatever it Takes!”



“You boldly held up your ‘WHATEVER IT TAKES!’ sign when I challenged you with the PEACE plan and the vision for the next 25 years.” —Rick Warren18


“Pastors and church leaders from 49 countries and 200 denominations ended last week’s Purpose Driven Church Conference [May 17-20, 2005] with a commitment to do whatever it takes to topple the global giants of spiritual lostness, egocentric leadership, poverty, sickness and illiteracy.



“Conference attendees made the commitment by holding up red and yellow signs as they agreed to do their part in a new worldwide reformation that Purpose Driven Ministries founder Pastor Rick Warren says will focus on what the church does.”19



There is no difference between “whatever it takes” and “no matter what it costs,” and these phrases already have a broad meaning. But the masses in the Purpose-Driven Paradigm are willing to follow this path to a New Reformation that is turning the first Reformation upside down. But it doesn’t end there. Their purpose-driven leader “intend[s] to use the Purpose Driven movement to fulfill PEACE in a new reformation” (emphasis added).20



Rick Warren’s global P.E.A.C.E. Plan was publicly launched in 2005. Basically, it consists of fighting the five “global giants”:



• spiritual lostness or blindness or, most commonly, emptiness

• egocentric or self-centered leadership

• poverty

• sickness or disease

• illiteracy



The five solutions to these giants, respectively, are:



• Plant or Partner with a church or congregation

• Equip leaders

• Assist the poor

• Care for the sick

• Educate the next generation



Trustfully following a leader into the hazy and open-ended area of “whatever it takes” is risky. Especially when the leader is undiscerning and deceived, as evidenced in his teachings and actions. Over and over and over it is brought up that this P.E.A.C.E. Plan was “quietly” tested for two years. And according to Mike Constantz, Saddleback’s pastor of missions, “Rick has tried to keep the PEACE Plan under wraps for two years.”21



Over the last year, the P.E.A.C.E. Plan has gradually been unveiled in conferences and events. And the extent to which this Plan intends to involve interfaith unity in “whatever it takes” continues to be less and less under wraps. About his P.E.A.C.E. Plan, Rick Warren has said:



“Now this is the strategy behind the P.E.A.C.E. plan. It’s a strategy to mobilize millions of small groups in millions of churches to attack the 5 global giants with a 5 point strategy.… P-E-A-C-E is the P.E.A.C.E. plan. Now where does that come from? It comes from Luke 10.” —Rick Warren22



“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 (Emphasis added)23


“I am working toward a second Reformation of the church which could create a Third Great Awakening in our nation or world …” —Rick Warren24


“Find the man of peace. Bless him. He blesses you back. Who is the man of peace? He’s influential and he’s open. He doesn’t have to be a Christian. Find a non-Christian who’s influential and open—a Muslim or an atheist.” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)25


“… you go in and you deal with gatekeepers, for instance, like pastors, priests, rabbis, imams, whoever you would call, we call them the man of peace …” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)26


“What do you do once you find the man of peace? You do the P.E.A.C.E. Plan. You Partner or Plant with a church, Equip a leader, Assist the poor, you Care for the sick, you Educate the next generation.” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)27


“Planting churches is the way to fulfill the Great Commission.” —Rick Warren28


“The first Reformation divided the church. We need a new one that unites it. And then I believe that this new Reformation will be the evangelization of the world.” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)29



According to Rick Warren, working with unbelievers in different faiths is going to bring in the new Reformation that is to evangelize the world! And this P.E.A.C.E. strategy of his even includes working with these non-Christian “men of peace” in partnering with or planting a church. What kind of “church” is an atheist or an imam or any other Muslim or unbeliever going to want to plant or partner with?! How is this the solution to spiritual lostness/blindness/emptiness? Nevertheless, “planting churches is the way to fulfill the Great Commission”!



Even in regards to working with these unbelievers on the solutions to the other giants, what beliefs are they going to equip leaders and educate the next generation with? What “spiritual care” will they offer the poor, sick, and dying?! This is not about God or His purposes or the Gospel of Christ or God’s peace or eternity.



An article on Pastors.com reported that Rick Warren made the following statements at his May 2005 Purpose Driven Church Conference about his “new worldwide reformation”:



“‘It’s time to stop debating and start doing,’ said Warren … ‘It’s time to stop criticizing and start cooperating. It’s time for the church to be known for love and not legalism. It’s time for the church to be known for what we are for not what we are against. It’s time for the church to act on what we believe. It’s time for the church to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer.’”30



In light of his pursuit of interfaith unity in his New Reformation and P.E.A.C.E. Plan, those statements have quite an impact.



Rick Warren does rightly say, “It’s time for the church to act on what we believe,” and, “It’s time for the church to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer.” However, when churches are believing and propagating error, interfaith unity, and corrupt per-versions of the Word, acting on what they believe and being a doer of “the Word” doesn’t mean what it should. (Incidentally, neither does the term “Christian;” according to today’s use of the term, even the devil would qualify as one!)



Under the guise of “a new worldwide reformation” of purpose, the faith of Christianity is being globally transformed into the unified faiths of Churchianity. This interfaith cooperation in the P.E.A.C.E. Plan goes beyond enlisting merely the individuals and leaders who are in other religions (faiths). The Plan seeks to involve even the churches (“houses of worship”) of “all the different religions.”



“Now these 5 problems [‘global Goliaths’] are so big no government can solve them. The United Nations can’t even solve these problems. They’re so big. The only thing big enough to solve these problems is the network of millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions of churches all around the world. Catholic churches, Protestant churches, Pentecostal churches, Evangelical churches, and every other kind of church. I can take you into a thousand villages that don’t have a school, don’t have a clinic, don’t have a fire department, don’t have a grocery store, don’t have any government, don’t even have any business, but they got a church. And what, I began to dream, would happen if we could mobilize millions of small groups, tens of millions of small groups in millions of churches from village to village around the world to begin to address the 5 global giants?” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)31


“These are problems so big that no government can solve them. The only thing big enough are millions and millions of local churches of every kind.” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)32



When Rick Warren said “every other kind of church,” he meant “every kind” of church or congregation. He has clarified this in different conferences and events. The following quote is from his Keynote Address to the interfaith, Annual Conference of the Religion Newswriters Association (RNA) in September 2005.



“There’s only one thing big enough in the entire world to solve them [the five global giants]. Only one thing. The millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions of congregations that are spread out all around the world. I could take you today to a million villages that don’t have a school, don’t have a clinic, don’t have a post office, don’t have a fire department, don’t have a business, but they got a church. Or they got a synagogue. They got something. They got a house of worship.… All the Wal-Marts and Starbucks and every other franchise put together couldn’t compete to the amount of churches that are in the world.…



“So I began to think, what is the key to this? And I came up with a thing called the P.E.A.C.E. Plan. When Jesus sent the disciples out, he said, ‘When you go into a village, you find the man of peace.’ Now this person doesn’t have to be a Christian.… You find the person of peace, and then you begin to do the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, P-E-A-C-E. It stands for Partner with congregations, partner with congregations. You start with them because they’re already there.… They’re in the village. Partner with a congregation. Or you plant a congregation if there’s not one there.…



“Now why am I telling this to you? Because we’re going public with it this next year in 2006.… [W]e’re now learning the lessons of the two-year prototype … we’re going to release it to those 400,000 congregations that we’ve trained. And I believe it will change the world.” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)33



These 400,000 congregations that are to “change the world” aren’t even necessarily Christian, as pointed out in this same Keynote Address:



“In the 1990s I trained about a quarter of a million pastors. It’s now gone, as I said, to over 400,000 … and we’re talking about all kinds of different groups, including priests in the Catholic church, and including rabbis.… So anyway, then in the 21st century I said that now we’re going global.” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)34



Regardless of Rick Warren’s additional statement at this Conference that “P-E-A-C-E is just what Jesus did when he was here on earth,”35 his P.E.A.C.E. Plan is about serving the world’s physical needs through interfaith unity, which opposes what Jesus did while He was here on earth. The Lord Jesus Christ met physical needs in the course of His work of saving souls. And He never partnered with people or congregations in the different religions to do His work!



That interfaith unity underlies the various strategies of Rick Warren’s P.E.A.C.E. Plan contradicts all rhetoric that his Purpose-Driven Plan is about the truth, the work of Jesus, the Gospel, God’s purposes, and the Great Commandment and the “Great Commission.” This is further evidenced in the following, which gets even worse.



Rick Warren spoke at the TIME Global Health Summit on November 1, 2005—a summit which among many other speakers also featured U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Chairman of the U.N. Foundation Ted Turner, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton.36



First, in the initial press conference that day, Rick Warren made the following comment:



“My personal position is I will use whatever works.”37



This position obviously refers to much more than the specifics of fighting AIDS, which this statement was in reference to. In his speech later that day, he discussed the world’s failure at addressing the five giants listed in his global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. Then Rick Warren actually called for partnering with congregations of “all the different religions” not just for physical care but for spiritual care!:



“Well, as I said, I could take you to villages that don’t have a clinic, don’t have … But they’ve got a church. In fact, in many countries the only infrastructure that is there is religion.… What if in this 21st century we were able to network these churches providing the … manpower in local congregations. Let’s just take my religion by itself. Christianity.… The church is bigger than any government in the world. Then you add in Muslims, you add in Hindus, you add in all the different religions, and you use those houses of worship as distribution centers, not just for spiritual care but health care. What could be done?…



“Government has a role and business has a role and churches, houses of worship have a role. I think it’s time to go to the moon, and I invite you to go with us.” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)38



To positively refer to all the religions’ idolatrous houses of false gods as “houses of worship” that should help give “spiritual care” to the world is an abomination. To say that this is not about reaching or saving “one more for Jesus” is a tremendous understatement! Besides, “worship” is Rick Warren’s first purpose, which he defines as “bringing pleasure to God” (PDL; p. 64). Since when does faith in false gods bring pleasure to God, Whose name is Jealous? And believing in a generic “God” of interfaith unity is not faith in God.



In the name of purpose, truth continues to be sacrificed on the altar of unity. And it isn’t “the moon” this path is heading toward.



“Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a-whoring after their gods …” (Exodus 34:12-15)



This is the purpose of the darkness of the broad way. It is a denial of the Gospel of Christ and of the Word of God and does not care one iota for the souls of people who will be given “spiritual care” by those on the “spiritual journey” (path) to eternal destruction. This is a prime example of how professing Christians who participate in interfaith unity are presenting the Lord Jesus Christ as “merely another way” along with Buddha, Mohammed, and all the false gods represented by the many “houses of worship” of “all the different religions.”



Rick Warren says over and over at various conferences and events that partnering with “men of peace” and “houses of worship” in other religions is to be part of his P.E.A.C.E. Plan. The repetitiveness shows that his interfaith statements are not involuntary remarks. He is purposefully calling for the religions of the world to work together on his P.E.A.C.E. Plan.



In July 2005, Rick Warren along with “100 of today’s most profound and provocative thinkers, writers, artists, corporate heads, policy officials, scholars and other leaders,” gathered for the inaugural Aspen Ideas Festival. This Festival was “a public celebration and exploration of the most compelling and thought-provoking ideas of our time.”39



At the end of Rick Warren’s discussion on “Religion and Leadership” with David Gergen, a Muslim man from the audience thanked Rick Warren “for giving so many people such deep and fulfilled lives.” He then asked for his advice on involving the evangelical community “in healing the chasm between faith communities” to promote interfaith cooperation in serving the world. Rick Warren’s answer to this Muslim reiterated the interfaith aspects of his P.E.A.C.E. Plan:



“In the global P.E.A.C.E. Plan, which is P-E-A-C-E, … Partner with other houses of worship, Partner with churches, Equip leaders, …



“In the Bible when Jesus sent his followers out, he said, ‘When you go into a village, you find the man of peace.’ And this is where you and I can work together. Find the man of peace.… He does not necessarily have to be a quote Christian, could be Muslim, could be Jewish, could be a nothing. But he’s open and influential. And when you find that man of peace then you work together.…



“There are millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions of churches spread out.… And if we could take houses of worship … Together we can make a difference. You and me, we’ll work on that.” (Emphasis added)40



Working together in interfaith unity with “men of peace” and “houses of worship” in “all the different religions” is not about the eternal peace and purposes of God. This is about the temporal peace and purposes of the world. This is not what the Lord Jesus Christ sent His followers out to do!



The first giant of Rick Warren’s P.E.A.C.E. Plan is spiritual lostness/blindness/emptiness. Interfaith unity will exacerbate this giant, not solve it! Neither will this giant be solved by working in interfaith unity on the other four giants. Even his P.E.A.C.E. Plan acknowledges that all five giants are “intertwined.” Yet ignoring this giant even more is the purpose-driven “strategy” in which “the effort would be on healing, not proselytizing.” The Gospel of faith has been transformed into a gospel of service.



“And what’s currently on the agenda for Pastor Rick Warren is nothing less than changing the world.” —The Orange County Register, 11/6/0541


“P.E.A.C.E. is a grassroots church-to-church strategy, which links congregations around the world to make a difference together. It is also a small group strategy that utilizes group dynamics for support and accountability.



“Moreover, the strategy is comprehensive, attacking all five problems, because they are all intertwined.… It is also a church-based strategy that makes local congregations the heroes.…



“Finally, P.E.A.C.E. is a global strategy. ‘Our goal is to mobilize every church in every nation,’ he concluded.…



“He asked the conference attendees, ‘Are you willing to do whatever it takes?’” —PurposeDriven, reporting on Saddleback’s Nov. 29 - Dec. 1, 2005 Disturbing Voices HIV/AIDS Conference (Emphasis added)42


“‘It will take a whole new paradigm between faith communities, and the private and public sectors,’ Warren said.…



“There is a new way to address problems we have been unable to solve alone, he said.



“‘Just imagine,’ he says with a smile, ‘what could happen with a new paradigm of increased cooperation.’” —PurposeDriven News, reporting on the Nov. 1-3, 2005 Time Global Health Summit (Emphasis added)43


“Pastor Rick Warren, author of the smash best-seller ‘The Purpose-Driven Life,’ said at the briefing that he has rallied thousands in his church to begin missionary-style work in foreign countries. The effort would be on healing, not proselytizing, he said.” —ABC News, 11/2/05, reporting on the Time Global Health Summit (Emphasis added)44


“The bottom line is that we intend to reinvent mission strategy in the 21st century. This will be a new Reformation.” —Rick Warren45



“The P.E.A.C.E. Plan is a revolutionary missions strategy … Purpose Driven Ministries will be sharing the P.E.A.C.E. Plan model with churches throughout the world.” —Pastors.com46


“The Peace Plan, its a relationship for the global glory of God.” —Rick Warren47



A Peace Plan that calls for Christians to put their effort on healing, not evangelism (proselytizing), and calls for all faiths to work together despite their differences is about the ‘glory’ of man, not God.



This New Reformation is definitely a “revolutionary missions strategy” that puts greater effort into sharing the P.E.A.C.E. Plan with the world than it does the Gospel of Christ. But remember, the solution to the giant of spiritual lostness is to plant a church, and, as previously mentioned, Rick Warren has said, “There is one thing you could do greater than share Jesus Christ with somebody, and it is help start a church” (emphasis added). Even in starting his own church, he told active members “of any kind of religion,” “‘Great, God bless you, keep going.’”



The interfaith direction of his P.E.A.C.E. Plan and its desire to utilize non-Christians from other religions to help plant churches and give “spiritual care” was to be expected. Interfaith unity is more important than the fact that it won’t be the Christian faith that all the different religions (faiths) will be spreading in their attempt to meet “broad and varied spiritual needs”:



“He [Rick Warren] said that God uses many churches and traditions to meet broad and varied spiritual needs.



“‘Now I don’t agree with everything in everybody’s denomination, including my own. I don’t agree with everything that Catholics do or Pentecostals do, but what binds us together is so much stronger than what divides us,’ he said.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/12/05, reporting on the Anglican Communion Network’s Hope and A Future conference (Emphasis added)48



It isn’t the truth and the Gospel of Christ that binds Catholics with the churches embracing this religion. So exactly what is “so much stronger than” the truth which is “what divides us”? Creeds are being benched in favor of deeds in this New Reformation that has gone way beyond turning the first Reformation upside down.



The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette follows the previous quote with:



“I really do feel that these people are brothers and sisters in God’s family. I am looking to build bridges with the Orthodox Church, looking to build bridges with the Catholic Church, with the Anglican Church, and say ‘What can we do together that we have been unable to do by ourselves?’” —Rick Warren (Emphasis added)49



One’s feelings are completely irrelevant in determining truth. And given that he is building bridges with other religions (faiths), his feelings are leading him astray. “What could be done?” was also Rick Warren’s question when he called for “all the different religions” to participate in “spiritual care.” “What could be done” isn’t the issue; “Thy will be done” is.



Rick Warren says his P.E.A.C.E. Plan is “a Purpose-Driven strategy, built on the five purposes – worship, evangelism, discipleship, ministry, and fellowship.”50 Indeed, his interfaith Plan continues the man-centered path of his purpose-driven “manifesto.” “Religious background or doctrinal views” don’t matter in either one. In addition, John 15:5 has essentially been rewritten in both the “manifesto” and P.E.A.C.E. Plan to say, “for without community ye can do nothing.” This again elevates community (relationships) above God and His truth. And so does the following:



“We won’t let anybody do the PEACE plan by themselves. You have to do it in a team, in community.” —Rick Warren51



“Spiritual awakening” appears to be the new term for blindness in this upside-down world. What this world is “awakening” to is Oneness on the broad way. Christianity’s new message is no different than that of the interfaith world: “Together as ONE we can change the world.” And remember, the effort will be on “healing, not proselytizing.” Christianity’s new message has supplanted the Gospel of Christ.



Along with the world, Christians today are seeking the power of all working together as ONE rather than the power of the one Lord God. This is upside down to the Kingdom of God.



“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)



“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” (Titus 1:16)