RICK WARREN'S GLOBAL P.E.A.C.E. PLAN

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WHICH ADDRESS RICK WARREN'S GLOBAL P.E.A.C.E. PLAN
RICK WARREN'S

Dedicated to the churches of Jesus Christ our Savior in the 67 countries in which Rick Warren has tested his pilot P.E.A.C.E. Plan in 2005, the 131 countries[1] he has been working on for the last two years, to those who speak the 56 languages in which Purpose Driven Life has already been translated, and to rest of the nations throughout the uttermost parts of the earth that he has targeted to consummate the roll-out for his plan in 2006. This is also dedicated to the tens of thousands of churches which have already been stolen by Rick Warren's teachings and to the saints who were purpose-driven from those churches for opposing his teachings and covenants, many of whom now have no church and to all of those pastors and church members still on the fence about Rick Warren's teachings.. We hope this will help alert you to the magnitude and scope of this religion and movement and sound an alarm to those Christians who have never heard of Rick Warren.

The following documentary compares Rick Warren's Global P.EA.C.E. Plan to Scriptural Teachings. (See section on New Reformation in this document for description of Rick Warren's P.E.A.C.E. Acronym.) Warren announced his Global P.E.A.C.E Plan on April 17, 2005 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California to an audience of 30,000 people, during a church service marking the 25^th Anniversary of Saddleback Church. Earlier in 2005, Warren had previewed it when he disclosed on CNN's Larry King Live:

“And we're right now doing a test pilot of the PEACE plan in 67 countries. We're about a year and a half into it. It's a two-year test plan. We plan to go public with it -- well, now, it's going public on LARRY KING -- but we plan to go public with it in 2006, which is to mobilize hundreds of thousands of small groups that have done the 40 days of purpose in churches and communities and civic groups and corporations -- churches that have done 40 days of purpose in groups to do these five things around the world. And that's really why I was in Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya, to test that."[2]

Rick Warren launched his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan April 17, 2005 during Saddleback Church's 25th Anniversary celebration. During the unveiling he sang the Purple Haze song, written by Jimi Hendrix about the psychedelic drug LSD and demonic visions. Here are the lyrics:

“The cause of death [of Jimi Hendrix] noted on the coroner's report was inhalation of vomit after barbiturate intoxication.”[4]

Music was Jimi Hendrix' god. Apparently Hendrix attended church some in his youth, because he later testified: "I used to go to Sunday School BUT THE ONLY THING I BELIEVE IN NOW IS MUSIC" (Hendrix, cited by Curtis Knight, Jimi).

Hendrix and the occult

Hendrix was deeply involved in occultism and mysticism and these themes permeated his music. His song "Voodoo Chile" glorified voodoo practices such as out of body experiences.

"Well I'm a voodoo child/ Lord I'm a voodoo child/ The night I was born/ Lord, I swear the moon turned a fire red/ ... My poor mother cried out now the gypsy was right/ And I seen her fell down right dead/ ... 'Cause I'm a voodoo child/ Lord knows, I'm a voodoo child..."

In fact, Hendrix believed he was possessed by the devil. Girlfriend Fayne Pridgon said:

"HE USED TO ALWAYS TALK ABOUT SOME DEVIL OR SOMETHING WAS IN HIM”...and having some root lady or somebody see if she could DRIVE THIS DEMON OUT OF HIM" (sound track from film Jimi Hendrix, interview with Fayne Pridgon, side 4, cited by Heartbeat of the Dragon, p. 50).[5]

Scripture is very clear about pharmaka, the Greek term for “drugs.” The King James Version Study Bible states the following about pharmaka:

“Witch (mekashep) denotes a form of magic. The root means "to cut up," and thus may refer to one who cuts up herbs and brews them for magical purposes (Gr. Pharmaka, drug). The term is used in Micah 5:12 for some such material as drugs or herbs used superstitiously to produce magical effects. The noun therefore means enchanter or sorcerer (Ex. 7:11; 22:18; 2 Chr. 33:6; Dan. 2:2; Mal. 3:5). (KJV Study Bible)”

"And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived." Revelation 18:23 Note: the word “sorceries” is rendered “pharmakeia” in Strong's Lexicon:

Is this the example Rick Warren wants to set in leading his sober and vigilant billion-man Christian army? Even if Rick Warren sang Purple Haze in jest to inaugurate his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan, it still has the appearance of evil and is a bad witness for a Christian. Rick Warren's justification for defending the singing of Purple Haze before his congregation, is like saying “Well, I just did a séance with all of my friends just for the fun of it and to help set the tone and stage for the New Reformation.” What a song to pick; one whose author regularly took LSD and promoted a psychedelic culture! Is Purple Haze the type of song Jesus would ever sing? Is this the kind of song Jesus will sing when he launches his Global Millennium Peace Plan? It is astonishing that Rick Warren would choose a song which glorifies drugs used to produce magical effects. This is not the way to attain either personal perfect peace or the Global Peace that Jesus Christ himself will usher in with the Millennium. It was commonly known to all of us who grew up in the '60s that this song was identified with LSD. This song should be a red flag for any Christian that grew up then. But for the children of the children of the '60s who do not know to what the song was originally referring, it is a clear stumbling block and brings to mind the following Scriptural warning:

"And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea." - Mark 9:42

Promoting a song which glorifies evil, and/or is well known and identified with the drug culture, and the fact that he has not publicly repented for it, should disqualify Warren from being a pastor at all, let alone 'America's Pastor' - the title Time Magazine bestowed upon him:

If Rick Warren actually accepts the mantle of 'America's Pastor' he should be held to an even stricter accounting as an elder of elders. In actuality, there is no such biblical mandate for any single man having the authority to be any nation's pastor. NOBODY needs to be 'America's Pastor' and nobody should be!

Now, Rick Warren seems to have assumed upon himself the role of the world's pastor, or as he puts it, the leader of a billion-man Christian army. Didn't the first Reformation teach us anything? Have we forgotten what Lord Acton said, “power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely?”[7] Not even the Apostles Paul or Peter possessed final authority over the whole early church. In fact, they taught against it! For an in-depth study why the Bible does not support the absolute sovereignty of a single pastor in a church, see: Pastor is Master, Isn't He?, The PZ Insider Report – Where has all the discernment gone? © Sunday, November 6, 2005,[8]

Music, particularly in the context of a church service, needs to conform to the following Scriptural criteria – qualities completely lacking in Purple Haze.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.” Philemon 4:8

The Scriptural criteria found in Philemon, to be sure, is exactly what we find in the kind of song Jesus Christ has in mind for His Global Peace Plan:

“And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.” Revelation 15:3

“And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;” Revelation 5:9

“And they sang as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.” Revelation 14:3

What is startling about Rick Warren's Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan is not so much what it contains, but what it does NOT contain.

There is no mention of our Adversary in spiritual warfare. There is no mention of the Holy Spirit in Rick Warren's Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. Bob DeWaay exposes this fatal flaw in his new book Redefining Christianity, Chapter Nine, Understanding the Purpose-Driven Movement, 21^st Century Press, 2006.

Where is the Prince of the Power of the Air described in Scripture, which any Biblical Peace plan must take into account?

Satan still has temporary possession of the kingdoms of this earth; he offered them to Jesus as a temptation in the Wilderness at the Lord's First Coming. In fact, Satan will usher in a Global Peace with signs and wonders that will appear to defeat the giants of Rick Warren's P.E.A.C.E. Plan.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].” Ephesians 6:12

Warren’s plan implies we can simply restore the earth to its Garden of Eden status before Christ returns, but no temporal worldwide peace plan can ultimately succeed until these principalities are conquered and defeated. This will be done by Jesus Christ himself on the Day of the Lord; they he will destroyed at the brightness of his Second Coming. Where are the principalities in Rick Warren's Peace Plan? Where is the war? When has the strong man been bound for good?

“Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.” Matthew 12:29

If anyone on the earth should be able to define “evil”, it should be “America's Pastor,” but this is not the case. Here are some excerpts of what Rick Warren said at the July 2005 Aspen Institute, an organization that promotes the New Age [more accurately, the New World Order], where he was a featured speaker on the panel entitled: The Problem of Evil.[9]

“In fact, I don't think evil and sin are the same... We don't know the answers...we really don't...none of us are going to come out at the end of the day and say 'got that one figured out.' If you do please write the book on it and I will buy it.....I don't think it [evil] is the same thing as sin...I don't consider myself an evil person because I sin...I think you have to reserve the word 'evil' for 'evil'....I haven't yet found a good definition of it...maybe Peter has. I was the one who suggested this topic by the way because I wanted to hear what Alan and Peter had to say about it because these are two men I have respected for years read all their stuff and I really came to take notes....We can become an evil person by making bad choices....I think evil is metastization where it just takes over....”

“You're a good man (referring to Alan Wolfe)...when we begin to compartmentalize our lives we're headed for evil [emphasis mine]...I don't act one way with Alan and another way over here with Mrs. Resnick and another way over here with Alan Simpson...OK...I am the same no matter where I am. What you see is what you get. Rick Warren has integrity because he doesn't act one way with one crowd and another way with another crowd. He is integrated...and when what I see in our society today is a misunderstanding of character that thinks I can compartmentalize this area of my life and then go do this the next day and that's how they would justify it. And I think that total compartmentalization is a myth and moves us towards more and more evil.....as I pointed out yesterday, Abraham Lincoln and Washington said things that President Bush could never get away with today. There was far more God talk. Go to the Second Inaugural Address of Lincoln. Read it in the Lincoln Memorial. And it is full of God is on our side talk.”

I can't imagine any Christian wanting the pastor of their own church, let alone following him globally as the leader of hundreds of thousands of churches, to be someone who is still looking for a good definition of “evil.” Scripture tells us that “God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6a) We already have the ultimate authoritative book which defines “evil”and good: the Bible.

Rick Warren proceeds to remark that he doesn't know objectively what evil is, but that he would recognize it if he saw it. Are we to depend on his subjective assessment of what constitutes evil? We don't need Rick Warren's subjective assessment of what constitutes evil because we have the objective criteria. The word “evil” occurs 613 times in the Bible (KJV) and Scripture goes into elaborate detail defining and describing not only what evil is but who is evil. Subjective definitions of evil produced gnosticism and mysticism, Christianity's earliest heresies, as evidenced by the teachings of the Desert Fathers, now being imported into the church by Rick Warren and the Emerging Church Movements.[10]

Contradicting his earlier statement that he could not find a good definition of evil, Rick Warren then goes on to define it by telling us that sin doesn't become evil until it metastasizes, that sin in and of itself is not yet evil. This may sound right, but is it? My father was a physician and often talked to me about the word metastasize, particularly as it corresponded to whether cancer was malignant. So when I heard Rick Warren describe the process and meaning of “metastasize,” I knew he was wrong. Medically, metastasize is defined:

“To spread to another part of the body, usually through the blood vessels, lymph channels or spinal fluid.”[11]

This definition virtually echoes the Scriptural process of unholy leaven in a lump, i.e., it spreads until the entire loaf is leavened. When Jesus warns us of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, and when the apostle Paul cautions that a little leaven leavens the whole lump, they are not saying that leaven is not evil or wicked until it spreads (i.e., while it is still little), but it is already evil at the beginning before it spreads throughout the entire lump.

“Your glorying [is] not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” 1Corinthians 5:6

From Rick Warren's analogy, we would be led to believe that sin is not evil until it spreads. But sin is evil, period! It does not need to spread (metastasize) to become evil. Even if this were true, who decides at which point of sins' spread now qualifies as evil? Rick Warren? Scripture? It is supremely ironic that Rick Warren would give us this definition of evil because later on in the panel discussion Rick Warren warns of the danger of absolute power. He describes why there are three branches of government, to balance power and keep each branch in check (i.e., to keep it from fully metastasizing to become completely evil). Yet he retains absolute sovereignty in his own church and trains thousands of Purpose Driven Churches to vest a single pastor with the authority to cast the vision for the church through his surrogate Dan Southerland's Church Transitions organization, which has already trained 100,000 church leaders. Warren should heed his own advice given on Larry King Live: “You give a guy a little bit of power and they turn into Stalin.”[12] And yet Rick Warren is quite forthright in announcing that he is going to be THE general of his billion-man Christian Army.[13] Warren tells us Abraham Lincoln said that God is on our side, but that is not what Lincoln actually said. Here is Lincoln's comment from a conversation in the White House during the Civil War. Note that, in fact, Lincoln says quite the opposite of what Warren alleges:

"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."

Warren also referred to Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address where we can read just how much God was on our side.[14] (I did as Rick Warren suggested at the Aspen Conference...I looked up and read Lincoln's Second Inaugural address.)

Nothing like what Warren states is in this address. Lincoln did quote Jesus Christ from Matthew 18:7:

“The Almighty has His own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.'"

A Christian leader or pastor should be able to discern evil and be a discerner of spirits. Otherwise, how does he detect doctrines of demons, false teachings, or when a wolf is in the sheepfold? But believers don't necessarily need to have the Holy Spirit Gift discernment to spot a false teaching or teacher. If we are good Bereans, we can ferret out a false teacher using the objective criteria of Scripture.

Rick Warren, by his own testimony, can't do that, and so why would we want him as “America's Pastor” as Time Magazine has dubbed him? I don't think so!

Further, it is clear Rick Warren does not recognize a false teacher or evil in his own midst (or at least does not mark him as such), Rev. Peter Gomes, his co-panelist, is openly gay[15], and is a universalist (confirmed by him at the Aspen Conference when Rev. Gomes was asked about his new book). He is a Professor and Chairman of Christian Morals at the Harvard University -- what a mockery of God! But Warren proclaims that he is a great admirer of Gomes and has read all his works.

Rick Warren's effusive praise of Peter Gomes is quite ironic, given that Warren now distances himself from Dr. Robert Schuller, who is also a universalist.[16] It is difficult to believe that Warren would discover that Schuller is a false teacher in only the last few years, when his full-blown heresies were in full public view in 1990 as he took his “self-esteem” gospel to Russia (a message mirrored in Warren's March 2005 Ladies Home Journal article). Schuller's departure from Orthodox Christianity can be documented as early as 1982 when he published his well-known book entitled: Self-Esteem the New Reformation, Word, 1982. (See the section in this document on “New Reformation.”)

Rick Warren further states at the Aspen Conference that he does not compartmentalize, that he is the same before all audiences, and that he is not duplicitous. This statement is the height of absurdity! According to Warren's definition of evil, one who increasingly compartmentalizes his life, would then render Warren evil by his own definition as we read the doctrinal position statements of his Saddleback Church then compare it to his March 2005 Ladies Home Journal Column and you will clearly see how double-minded Rick Warren is.[17]

Upon being informed of Neal Donald Walsch's New Age PEACE Plan, during an interview, Rick Warren laughs, then laughs again louder.[18]

Warren, who has been dubbed “America's Pastor” and who is continually voted one or two in polls as to who is the most influential evangelical leader in America, should GRIEVE at the many who will be led away from God by Neal Donald Walsch. Woe unto you who laugh now; blessed are those who mourn at the state of the world. Christian leaders and all Christians should following the example of Jeremiah. He did not think what the leaders of Israel were doing to his people was very funny. There is not one single example of Jesus or any of his Apostles laughing in the face of false teachings or false Peace Plans. Instead, they gave the strongest warnings. Did the Apostle Paul laugh when false teachers were threatening the Church of Ephesus?

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” Acts 20:28-31

James 1:8 says that a “double-minded man is unstable in all his ways”. Rick Warren does not and apparently can not discern good from evil, which may explain why he promotes false teacher after false teacher, as outlined in this document and the referenced resources. His own SHAPE program, based on the teachings of occultist Carl Jung who believed good and evil should be balanced and reconciled, belies the claim that Warren knows what he is talking about regarding the definition of evil, let alone the idea that he can be trusted to run a Christian Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. When he does not blur the line between good and evil, he obliterates it.

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20

If the Lord Himself through Isaiah gives such a dire warning about calling evil good and good evil, wouldn't it be wise for all Christians to heed this warning? And how are we to heed it if we “we don't really have any good definition of evil?” Most assuredly, we don't want a pastor who doesn't have a handle on the definition himself, let alone seek to anoint him “America's Pastor.” A host of Christians do not abide with this title.

For an excellent chart on Rick Warren's leaven, see Greg DeVoignes Hidden Leaven In The Church Growth Movement: How it got in by Christian Research Ministries.[20]

For a list of churches in your State or Country which have ALREADY imported the Purpose Driven leaven, go to the Simplicity In Christ website.[21]

The obvious fuzzy math problem with this proclamation is that there aren't that many true Christians on the earth -- the majority will choose the wide highway to Hell:

“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:14 also see Matt. 20:16 and 22:14

“I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8

Warren's Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan contains no enforcement clause or declaration of who will enforce it whereas in Jesus Christ's worldwide peace, Jesus himself will rule with a rod of iron:

“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” Revelation 12:5

It is Jesus Christ who will enforce the rule of ALL the nations, including the global governing of his worldwide plan of Peace (i.e., the Millennium). He will not be initiating Rick Warren's Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan; he will be enforcing his own.

Rick Warren says his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan is the New Reformation.[23] However, Robert Schuller already said his Self-Esteem gospel is the New Reformation. He even wrote a book about it nearly 25 years before Rick Warren's plan [24]

“The problems weren't new, but... his P.E.A.C.E. Plan methodology of confronting these 'Giants' would be a revolution”.[25]

In Rick Warren's plan, P.E.A.C.E. is an acronym for: Planting Churches, Equipping Leaders, Assisting the Poor, Caring for the Sick, and Educating the Next Generation. The five 'Giants' he refers to which he plans to obliterate are: Spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, Extreme poverty, Pandemic Diseases, and Illiteracy and education.

“Even in villages where you cannot find a clinic, a store, a school, or a post office, you can often find a church. The PEACE Plan will address these five "giant" problems by Planting new churches... Equipping leaders... Assisting the poor...Caring for the sick... and Educating the next generation....I now believe that I know why God is blessing this book [his Purpose Driven Life] in such an unusual way. It is more than just a message that God wants to get out to everyone(which is huge). I now also see that God is using this phenomena to expand the platform for us to mobilize thousands of local churches for global world missions through the PEACE plan.”[26]

From a Christian biblical perspective, global evangelism has always been the mission of the true church. However, this must be qualified. The church is led by elders who then equip the saints. In addition, the biblical references to the poor and sick refer first and foremost to saints of the household of God, and then to our enemies.

In promoting his Plan, Warren is redefining the mission of the church. His idea is that we are to wipe out world problems and make the world a better place to live in before Christ returns. His program screams of Dominionist Theology[27] which teaches that Christ can't return until the Church takes over the earth. And his billion man army reminds me of another two other “army” movements in the name of Jesus: The Army of Joel and the Manifest Sons of God who promote the false teaching in which they think the Lord has given them a mandate to take over the earth for Jesus so that he can return.

Though “P” for Church Planting can still be found on Rick Warren's website describing his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan, he changed the acronym to have “P” stand for “Participation” in his keynote speech at the Religious Newswriters convention on Sept. 29, 2005,[28] where Warren states that he is getting 400,000 churches to participate in his plan. The mission of the church as defined in Matthew 28; Luke 24; and Acts 1 is to preach the gospel and CALL PEOPLE OUT OF THE WORLD. Once converted, people are taught to “obey everything that Jesus taught.” Part of this teaching is giving alms, but that is hardly the key mission of the church, as Warren claims. In fact, Christ tells us NOT to give alms before men to be seen by men; Warren brags about his almsgiving to the whole world.

From a worldly perspective, history is replete with peace plans and men of peace...even those claiming the name of Jesus. Rick Warren thinks Muslims can help his peace plan with “spiritual lostness” (see Section on Islam for reference) in spite of the fact that they themselves are totally lost. Warren’s plan is not new; it is simply revisionist history.

“GOD'S DREAM FOR YOU—AND THE WORLD” October 27, 2003 Email to Saddleback Church.[29]

God never sleeps, so God doesn't dream (who could give God a dream?)! But even were God to have given Rick Warren his dream, God gives instructions which are 100% truth, not falsehood or any percent falsehood! One should also note that the dreams God does give even to non-believers in God, primarily are warnings and deal with judgment.

“You are not a part of Saddleback Church by accident...I say this without fear of exaggeration—God is going to use you, and all of us together at Saddleback, to change history![31]

“Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1

"Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what [shall be] on the morrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14 KJV

“For that ye [ought] to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin." James 4:13-17

Num 15:30, Dt 6:16, 18:20, Isa 45:9, 1Co 10.9, 2Peter 2:10,Gen 11:4, Num 14:44, 20:11; 2Ch 26:16, Luke 12:19

Rick Warren's Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan's initial funding is generated by the royalties he receives from his book The Purpose Driven Life and tithes and offerings from his Saddleback Church in California. He also promotes reverse tithing.[32] Additional income is derived from his companion books and study guides and the 115,000 pastors who subscribe to his Pastors.com Rick Warren Ministry Toolbox and pay to download his sermons. However, this is just seed money; his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan will require funding vastly exceeding what has currently been financed, if it is to transform every nation on earth.. To fully succeed, Rick Warren is going to have to forge alliances with Heads of State, Corporations, and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs).

I am utterly astonished that someone could write a book saturated with false teachings, promotion of false teachers, false translations, and even blueprints for how to practice psychology, then validate his own righteousness by declaring repeatedly how he is going to give 90% of the royalty income from his sales back to the church, charities, and of course, to finance his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. Rick Warren has made his fortune by “causing my little children to stumble,” deceiving 30 million readers of his Purpose Driven Life book, leading astray 20,000 members of his own church, 400,000 church leaders he has trained, 20,000 churches in a host of denominations and 165 countries, which he hopes to turn into purpose-driven countries under the banner of his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan.[33]

We also constantly hear of how modestly Rick Warren lives. This reminds me of the Vatican. The Pope isn’t rich; the wealth is held by the Roman Catholic Church. However, as the absolute sovereign authority over its assets and distribution of funds, does he need to technically own anything? Likewise, Rick Warren has absolute authority over Saddleback Church and his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. He is simply taking money from one pocket and putting it in the other; it is still in the same pair of pants. It would not matter if Rick Warren gained the whole world from the sales of his book and gave all of it to finance his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan, if his fortune was made from a book of false teachings. Warren should refund the money from his books sales, and his publisher Zondervan needs to remand and recall his book! Further, Christians and churches who bought his book should strongly consider having a bonfire and pitching his books into it, as the early Christians did in Acts 19:19 when they burned all of their magic arts scrolls.

Rick Warren has rejected correction and refused to make restitution -- the fruit of repentance. Even if there were such a person as “America's pastor,” Rick Warren has not met the first essential criteria: being faithful to God's Word. As a pastor, he must meet the requirement of an elder, to be able to rightly divide the truth. (For elder qualifications, see 1 Timothy 3.2-7 and Titus 1: 6-7, and the Pastor is Master, Isn't He? article[34]. A true elder must defend, contend and confess The Faith without equivocation or waffling. It is bad enough that much of Warren’s income was received from unsuspecting non-believers who could not discern the falsehood of his teachings. Even worse, he has plundered from tens of thousands of church treasuries and individual Christians who bought his book.

Some prominent Christian leaders who should know better say that before Jesus ever criticized anyone, he always found something good to say about them. This is inaccurate. Jesus did this with individual churches, as with five of the seven churches in Revelation, but he never did this with a false teacher. Neither did any of the prophets of the Old Testament nor any of the Apostles in the New Testament. NEVER! Christian leaders who defend Rick Warren think that giving profits to charity somehow sanctifies Warren's false teachings in the book which generated the royalties. Furthermore, even if the income came from honest gain, tithing should be voluntary. Warren forces members of his own church to sign tithing covenants,[35] putting Christians back under the law. The Apostle Paul condemned the Galatian church for doing that.

Paul teaches that we are NOT to give out of compulsion, but this doesn't stop Rick Warren. It would be bad enough were he to require this only of his own megachurch, but he trains leaders in his Purpose Driven Church franchises to do the same.

This still doesn’t take into account the destruction left in Warren's wake in all of the churches who paid for his Purpose Driven Life book and materials, to facilitate transition from a New Testament church model to Purpose Driven church polity. Many members of these churches did not just lose $20 paying for one of Warren's books, they lost their church or were purpose-driven out. In many cases, these were senior members or charter members who had helped build their church. I wonder what all those saints forced out of their churches thought when Rick Warren had the audacity to state the following on Larry King Live on CNN:

“One is a reformation of the church in America and the other is a return of civility to society when people who disagree can still get along and like each other even if they disagree.”[36]

For documented case studies of the consequences for Christians who opposed Rick Warren's teachings and refusal to sign his covenants, see Spiritual Euthanasia[37]

Also see Bob DeWaay Redefining Christianity, Understanding the Purpose-Driven Movement, 21^st Century Press, 2006, and Dr. Noah Hutchings, The Dark Side of the Purpose Driven Church, Bible Belt Publishing, Southwest Radio Church, p. 8. 2005.

Rick Warren tells us how much he is giving to the church and repeatedly advertises this in the market place. So let's see what the Lord commands regarding this practice:

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." Matthew 6:1-4

As bad as it is how Rick Warren made his fortune in the first place, as bad as it is that he touts it before men, as bad as it is what happened to a host of saints who resisted his teachings and takeover of churches, and as bad as it is that the unholy leaven of Warren's teachings has virtually if not permanently taken over once God-fearing sound doctrine churches, imagine the greater consequences for using the income from his false teachings and spiritual abuse of authority to finance components of his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan outlined in this document. Warren may succeed with his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan; after all, he has guaranteed it. But what will be the cost? Who will pick up the pieces of the dismembered Christians left chewed up by the propeller in the wake of his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan once it is consummated? There is no room at Rick Warren's table for those Christians he calls “resisters.” His co-conspirator Dan Sutherland of Church Transitions calls leaders who oppose or question this movement 'Sanballats,'[38] but there will be room at the table for all true saints who will take their place when they sit at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. See Matthew 26:26-29 and Revelation 19:19

It it not surprising that there are no published statements by Rick Warren mentioning the fear of the Lord in his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan, because he does not teach it in his Purpose Driven Life book, the trunk from which the branch of his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan grew. In fact, he teaches the opposite:

“We give ourselves to him, not out of fear or duty, but in love.” The Purpose Driven Life, page 77, Zondervan, 2005.

It is not surprising that Rick Warren leaves out the fear of the Lord, as later he states:

“We obey God, not out of duty or fear or compulsion, but because we love him and trust that he knows what is best for us.” The Purpose Driven Life, page 95, Zondervan, 2005.

“We don't serve God out of guilt or fear or even duty, but out of joy, and deep gratitude for what he's done for us.” The Purpose

RICK WARREN'S GLOBAL P.E.A.C.E. PLANvs.SCRIPTURAL TEACHINGS ON PEACE

RICK WARREN'S GLOBAL P.E.A.C.E. PLAN
vs.
SCRIPTURAL TEACHINGS ON PEACE