Posted on 06/25/2007 7:33:30 PM PDT by Blogger
Rick Warren - Is He Scary?
"Do secular liberals who applaud and enable Warren know that he aims to recruit '1 billion Christian foot soldiers' who are willing to do 'whatever it takes' to turn the entire planet into a purpose-driven Kingdom of God? That his Purpose-Driven Ministries, he says, has trained more than 400,000 ministers and priests in 162 countries? "Typically, demagogues who dream of making the whole world conform to their single, uncompromising vision wear gaudy military uniforms that give them an immediately threatening veneer. Rick Warren, on the other hand, favors Hawaiian shirts decorated with large pineapples. Be very afraid. " [Mary Reinholz, "The Thirteen Scariest People in America, October 30, 2006, Old Trout Magazine][emphasis added]
The quote above comes from the left of the spectrum. Now why would Rick Warren be scary to them? Maybe for the same reasons he is scary to us. Did you know that these things were part of the Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan?
"…armed guards, biometric palm scanners and steel doors that guard the facility…"
The Orange County Register, the newspaper of note in "Saddleback Country," California, has been doing a series of stories this Fall on Rick Warren -- his church, his fame, his programs, etc. Most of these pieces haven't been notable. But yesterday's article was another matter. For the first time we get to peek behind the scenes at the Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. And what we learn is downright scary!
1. There is a strangely SECRETIVE "Internet-based PEACE plan training."
This is for the short-term missionaries who become part of the billion-man army to implement Warren's Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. The article states that:
"The fledgling 'e-missionaries' depend in turn upon a $3 million Internet-based training platform the church is building to educate and track its PEACE plan participants. When finished, the Web site ( www.thepeaceplan.com) will constitute the main – if not only – source of information many PEACE missionaries will have about the troubled places they visit." [emphasis added]
2. This uses a mammoth databanking facility.
This use of Internet technology which is unprecedented in the way in which it will manage, control, direct, monitor and databank the emerging Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan -- its recruits and its activities. The article reports that this databank is an:
"…expression of Warren's lifelong fascination with the evangelistic possibilities of technology and the first test pilots of his belief that the Internet is, like the printing press, an epochal invention that will multiply the message of Christ and transform the future church.
"'Every time God's word is put in a new technology, there's a spiritual awakening,' Warren says. 'We are in a very exciting age where technology is allowing me, and allowing other people, to have far greater impact because it shrinks distance and time, and it multiplies the message.'" [emphasis added] …
…"The computers run a portal that allows Saddleback small groups to log on to the Web site, download training modules and upload reports on their own PEACE trips for the following wave of PEACE missionaries to read."…
3. This is a MAXIMUM SECURITY databank!
This next part of the article should be read in its entirety. Here is what Rick Warren is doing with his technology according to the article:
"Today, Saddleback's information technology department has morphed into a multimillion-dollar 'research and development department of Christianity,' says Warren (paraphrasing management guru Peter Drucker).
"Case in point: Saddleback's new PEACE 'platform,' a Web site built upon original software written by the church's 'pastor' of technology, Eric Busby, and about two dozen engineers and experts around the world.
"Busby wants the PEACE platform to be a full-service Web site to which any church group anywhere in the world can connect and be matched not only with a destination in which to do missionary work, but with training appropriate to the mission.
"That means, Busby says, writing scalable software capable of allowing the Web site to expand as thousands – potentially tens of thousands – of churches sign on. Busby says the Saddleback PEACE site is designed to grow to the size of leading Web sites, such as eBay.
"Already, the platform's electronic brain – the 8-foot racks of hundreds of servers needed to store the site's growing database (14,000 articles in English alone) – is housed in a warehouse-sized, MAXIMUM SECURITY "Tier-1" Internet data center in Irvine.
"'Such centers exist in several dozen locations around the world to host the electronic information of the world's largest companies, which explains the ARMED GUARDS, biometric palm scanners and steel doors that guard the facility,' Busby says." [all emphases added]
4. Only the INITIATED may enter into this WEBSITE.
The Orange County Register article includes a link that lets one TOUR Rick Warren's website. By all means, take this tour. Note the opening statement that says: "The PEACE plan home page and login site. Only church groups that have been screened by Saddleback Church and accepted into the PEACE plan program are currently allowed to use the site." The article then explains:
"In at least one respect… Saddleback does control the PEACE platform. Although Saddleback says it will make training materials available to the general public at some point in the future, for now, the site is proprietary, which means that Saddleback DOES NOT PERMIT nonmembers to view the site. (The Register was allowed to see the site only once, and in the company of a church staffer.)
"Church teams who want to use the materials must register (and attend a conference) under the PEACE program umbrella. Saddleback can, consequently, track and lay claim not only to the 142 PEACE teams that have gone on mission so far, but also to the potentially thousands that will do so in the future and that will become, in the process, indirect partners in the PEACE 'movement' – and brand." [all emphases added]
5. All of this is done with strict controls.
The TOUR says that once "a region is selected, missionaries can research a particular country before choosing it as their destination. They must then have their trip approved by both Saddleback and their own church's leadership" [emphasis added]. The article explains:
"A church is like a business with branch offices," Busby says. "If you start saying we got 2.5 million branch offices – nobody has that." [emphasis added]
6. This is a PROPIETARY, logo-branding, public-relations and merchandising campaign.
The article explains how this works in the marketing world, including a reference to Larry Ross, the P.R. (public relations) firm that handles Saddleback, Warren, etc.
"It is another example of both a core concept and key critique: Warren's knack for synergy. Using technology, a broad vision, an expressed desire to evangelize and, perhaps, a keen sense of market share, Saddleback may create a platform for both the kingdom of God and for itself.
"Influence, however, is something Warren says he courts. It is Larry Ross' job to explain why." [emphases added]
COMMENTARY:
After reading this some key questions come to mind. Why is this secret? Several reasons come to mind, and none of them are very fun to think about. Here some possible reasons for the secrecy, and we exaggerate intentionally to make the point that this is strange and scary:
1. Warren is setting up a cult, complete with entry-level rites (must undergo preliminary training, sign covenants, etc.), indoctrination (in-depth training, including post-mission trip training), monitoring (via high-tech internet feedback loops), databanking (personal, psychological and corporate information), love-bombing (awards and accolades for high performing "healthy" examples), etc. Check out the TOUR pages just to verify all of this.
2. Warren's missionaries will be spies, working at a high level of geo-political intelligence gathering which is so sensitive that it requires armed guards, surveillance and steel doors to protect sensitive information. If this is the case, for whom is he working -- multi-national corporations and/or the United Nations?
3. This is the world's largest marketing gimmick, done in the name of Christ. Proprietary information is being carefully guarded, patented, and branded to protect the corporate intellectual capital and image. If so, this is the indicative of building an empire, a sad example of one man's egotism gone globally amok.
4. This is the world's largest multi-level marketing project, and as such needs tight security to ensure that the product is uniform and consistent, that the field representatives are trained in the exact terminologies, sales pitches, product lines, etc. If so, this is not the humble biblical Gospel message, which is transmitted by God's grace, one-on-one, through no power other than that of the Spirit of God.
5. The secrecy is to keep true believers out. True believers wouldn't sign up if they knew what they were in for. They might discover parallels to, or worse, working relationships with other utopian global peace plans, such as the ones touted by New Age Theosophists. They might find out who Rick Warren's hidden partners are. They might discover the money trails and learn who is actually financing this massive project. They might object to the psycho-social indoctrination (brainwashing?) they they must undergo before, during and after the mission trips. They might learn which partners (corporate or state) have access to their private information which is being collected at this secret website. The list of paranoid possibilities here could go on and on….
Is this how the Gospel should be presented? Is this what it means to do "whatever it takes" to bring the Gospel message to the unsaved peoples on this planet? Or, is this one megalomaniac's giant plan to "advance" a "kingdom" of "God" on earth?
The Truth:
Rick Warren could take a lesson from Jesus:
"Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple; whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing." (John 18:20)
Gentlemen, I find this set up very odd.
My roomie is a network admin for a large ISP and their NOC is set up about like that. Of course, they handle some sensitive accounts so that may be why. I know they are likely paranoid about somebody getting into their system and planting something. You’ve all heard about the kiddie pron blackmail schemes, I assume.
Armed guards, steel doors and hand scanners????
read later
Thanks for your input. That is interesting. I am very distrustful of Rick Warren, so I distrust his reasons for the secrecy, but I can see a certain amount of security. Other things, such as only letting the initiated even SEE what is on the site, letting the newspaper see it once and in the presence of a church staffer, having proprietary information on a CHURCH website, I find odd.
http://www.mnnonline.org/article/10052
Warren to present his PEACE plan
Print Mobile Posted: 22 June, 2007
USA (MNN) — Rick Warren, founder of Purpose Driven Ministries and author of The Purpose Driven Life, will be speaking at the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Warren will speak at the October convention on his PEACE plan. The plan is “very similar to the concerns of the Baptist General Convention of Texas,” according to Charles Wade, executive director of BGCT.
It’s an endeavor to get the church to be the forerunners in eliminating social issues such as illiteracy, poverty, and AIDS. His sermon will be the focal point of the meeting which is called “Missions - Together We Can Do More.” Up to 2.3 million people from 5,600 congregations could be in attendance at the conference.
Time magazine has named Warren America’s New People’s Pastor. “Rick has caught the attention of the people around the world with his vision of what local churches can do to make a genuine difference in solving the giant problems facing humanity,” said Wade. The Economist calls Warren one of the most influential pastors in America.
Warren’s Saddleback Church started with one family in 1980 in Lake Forest, California. Currently 22,000 attend weekly.
Obama Points to Rick Warren, T.D. Jakes as Models for Faith-Driven Action
By Michelle Vu
Christian Post Reporter
Mon, Jun. 25 2007 04:44 PM ET
Prominent Christian leaders such as Rick Warren and T.D. Jakes were praised by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) this weekend as role models of Christians who put their faith into action.
In his first speech on the intersection of faith and politics as a presidential contender, Obama discussed how religion should inspire people across the Christian spectrum to unite in helping to eradicate social problems rather than divide them.
“I’m hopeful because I think there’s an awakening taking place in America,” said Obama on Saturday at the United Church of Christ’s 50th anniversary convention. “People are coming together around a simple truth – that we are all connected, that I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper.”
During his speech to a crowd of nearly 10,000 people, the senator, a member of Trinity UCC in Chicago, criticized division within the Church, but praised Christian leaders and groups that have worked together to remedy social problems.
“That’s why pastors, friends of mine like Rick Warren and T.D. Jakes and organizations like World Vision and Catholic Charities are wielding their enormous influence to confront poverty, HIV/AIDS, and the genocide in Darfur,” Obama said.
Dr. Rick Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church in California, had invited Obama to his church’s HIV/AIDS conference last winter despite vehement protests by pro-life groups that urged the megachurch pastor to rescind his invitation because of the senator’s pro-choice stance. Warren had refused to uninvite Obama, explaining that he wanted the Church to work together on the HIV/AIDS crisis despite their personal differences on other issues.
“I’m hearing from evangelicals who may not agree with progressives on every issue but agree that poverty has no place in a world of plenty; that hate has no place in the hearts of believers; and that we all have to be good stewards of God’s creations,” said Obama.
“From Willow Creek to the ‘emerging church,’ from the Southern Baptist Convention to the National Association of Evangelicals, folks are realizing that the four walls of the church are too small for a big God. ‘God is still speaking,’” the senator added, citing the motto of UCC’s media branding campaign.
Obama also talked about health care, the genocide in Darfur, Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and the controversial immigration bill.
The UCC, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday, is holding its biennial General Synod in Hartford, Conn., June 22-26. The liberal denomination, which prides itself on being the first denomination to ordain openly gay and lesbian ministers, emphasizes progressive causes and also began to endorse same-sex “marriage” starting in 2005 - a decision which caused a rift in the denomination and the departure of about 100 churches from the UCC.
Last year, according to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, UCC faced a 3.8 percent membership drop in the 1.2 million-member church body. Donations from church members to the UCC’s national offices and regional conferences also decreased by more than $2 million in 2006, according to the church’s annual report.
Zactly what I’m concerned about. This man is very very influencial. And, in the churches, the fruit of his influence is mixed at best. Couple this with his meetings with the Syrians and his willingness to work with the local imams to get this peace plan accomplished; his lack of desire to evangelize the Jews (he has enough Christian souls to worry about) when if he believes what the Scripture states, non-evangelization has eternally horrible consequences; this article just peaks my interest all the more.
FYI
I can appreciate that for sure (though I do confess, I do like John MacArthur :))
I teach a Sunday school where we are on Revelation right now. Was talking about false prophets and I tied it into how we have this cult of celebrity in America and it is very much a part of the church. You can like a preacher, but never exalt him to that kind of status. Compare EVERYTHING with the Word. And follow GOD, not man above all.
We have seen Rick Warren and the whole “Emerging Church” movement phenomenon before. It was referred to 30 years ago as “Modernism” or theological liberalism. In other words, the text of Scripture and apologetics is de-emphasized in favor of an emotional “do-gooder” Christianity based upon a squishy Jesus who is politically correct, completely non-judgmental, and multicultural. In short, it is nothing but theological poison. Jesus warned us of false prophets and Paul said to mark those who cause divisions. Warren and his ilk are simply the wolves in sheep’s clothing Jesus warned us about in Matt. 24.
I can think of lots of worse people to worry about. A man who has sold millions of books is hardly secretive. Yet, he does need to control his message. especially from green eyed monsters who would do him in.
ANY of HUNDREDS of datacenters AROUND the USA and EUROPE are set up like that. Nothing scary in and of itself.
He’s not scary, he just wants to be a celebrity, no wait, he is scary.
That isn't uncommon for access to a enterprise data center these days. The armed guards may be a bit much.
If the message is the mobilization of 1 Billion Christians to solve all the worlds ills; and, yet, he hides the data center that those Christians are supposedly to use from public eye and protects it more than a lot of defense sites are protected - I don’t care what anyone says, it is odd.
http://www.cicministry.org/radio_series.php?series=redefining
Well worth listening to (particularly the PEACE plan topic)
As I said, green-eyed monster. You have nothing to go on.
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