Rick Warren and his 40 days of Perpose

[bemanisuperstar]

As soon as my church annouced they were doing this I had a really bad feeling that they were falling into something that wasn't going to help anybody.

I read reviews on amazon from pastors that pretty much confirmed what I thought. This man is a Fraud.

I would like to know what you think of him if you've heard of him.

Also I am open to suggestions of Scripture I can go to in place of this since I decided to have as little to do with this as possible.

As most of you know i have relationship problems and I don't really feel I belong in my church so any scrputre you can suggest I read I'm open to.

Thanks a bunch

[Tibby]

I haven’t read the book of did the program yet, but I have some friends who did the 40’s days thing your talking about. My first reaction “Oh, Catholics have been doing it for years, its called LENT.”

All joking aside, I heard it was a crock, too, however, I haven’t heard an specific reasons. What do you have?

[bemanisuperstar]

Basically that the whole book is gibberish that leads you nowhere and it's a bunch of mis quoted scripture

[Whitehorse]

What do you not like about it?

I do agree that he should have used at least a dynamic equivalent translation for scripture instead of a free translation, better a literal but i don't know any literals that used the septuagint.

But that aside, the chapters I've read so far are good. It starts with the basic fact that we are here for God's purposes, not the other way around. A good starting place. I'm on the fourth chapter so far.

[Tibby]

Sounds to me like a crock  

Rick: "where hear for Gods purpose!"

reader: "Ya think?"

[ollie]

How about the Bible and a lifetime of purpose in God's Christ?
Then eternity.

Ollie

[bemanisuperstar]

I diddn't even pay for it which is so far the only good thing

[one in christ]

i was given that book as a baptism present from a sibling and from what ive read so far about 3 chapters i dont think its a crock  it helps you realize that your here on this earth for a reason which kinda ties in to the abortion  arguement why would god make you just for your mother to have you aborted  you were concieved for a purpose planned before you were even concieved  i recomend people read that book im a teenager and trust me most teenagers dont like to read books like that but this book is different   and definitly not a crock



-kay

[dan p]

If you have a Pastor worth his salt, you don't Rick Warrens book. I know some who attend there, and made her very uneasy, especially when engaging in politics. And I don't agree with his stand on water baptism, and to me it is a waste of money.

[Melheartc]

While everyone is entitled to their opinion, it is important to be mindful of people who want to bash a pastor, especially one who is as known as Rick Warren.  I have been a member of Saddleback Church for 10 years and Rick is anything BUT a fraud.  I worked at the church for two years, WITH Pastor Warren and got to know him personally.  First of all, know that 100% (yes that is CORRECT) of his book profits go to helping churches, AIDS, research, Bible printing and many other sources.  He takes a salary, but has lived in the same home, with the same car for years.  While many of the pastors of the church are WELL paid (I know this personally), he doesn't take profits or salary from the congregation.   

Sometimes Rick is hard to take.  He expects people to get out and do something more than working day in and day out, living life in a bubble of what most of us normally do.  He expects you to get involved in the community, get involved in the tough areas of life and will never lie down and accept a non-substantial life.  When he says you are made with a purpose, what part of that is difficult to understand or take as being fraudulent.  Unless you have sat in his church, or known him, worked with him or his people, you may not get the full effect of what his dreams and visions are.  He is a visionary with an amazing heart and love of people. 

Sure there are lots of "big" pastors who are frauds.  There are many things people often say about Rick Warren to bring down the amazing church he has grown for 30 years, starting with 2 people in a school auditorium.  But the stories don't lie and the way God has truly blessed his church is proof of his amazing commitment to God and people. 

My church rallies everytime there is a tragedy (we gave 4 million to Hurricane Katrina victims), sent over 5,000 people who donated time from their small groups to help rebuild New Orleans, and each time something happens in our country, this church steps in.  He doesn't "wait" for the government which in many ways has let us all down.

He is a large pastor, well know and certainly not perfect by his own admission, but never ONCE in the 10 years have I seen him to be anything but a man of God whose heart is in the right place.  He is beyond his "worth in salt" and beyond what the "media" portrays and what other pastors, good or negative hearted, say of him.  Knowing him personally lends to his credibility as a man who truly has found his purpose in life.

[Soldier4Christ]

Hello Melheartc ,

Welcome to Christians Unite forums.

I personally don't know a whole lot Rick Warren himself so I can't speak on him as you have. I noticed two things here though in your post.

1. No income from his own books and no income from his congregation. How then does he manage to live the extravagant lifestyles that he does?

2. You mention a lot of good works performed by him but there is nothing about the word of God that is or is not presented. Good works don't get one into heaven. It is the gospel that matters.

[Melheartc]

Hi Pastor Roger,

Thanks for the welcome to the forum.

Curious as to where you might base your decision that he leads an extravagant lifestyle?  Is this from personal experience?  From what someone has told you?  Or the media?

Pastor Warren lives in the same home he purchased 25 years ago.  He added a spa and a pool since he bought it.  He has one vehicle he drives as a primary vehicle and his wife has a vehicle as well.  To me as a resident of Orange County, this is not considered extravagant.

The church itself has many people who donate to help build his resources there at the church for the community.  But this does not reflect his personal lifestyle.  There are lots of television evangelists who do have many homes, live a lifestyle well above the norm and reap in the benefits of their flock.  Rick Warren is not one of them.  He pays his staff well (I used to be on staff), as well as the pastors that work for him.  But I certainly wouldn't call it extravagant by any means, and certainly not by Orange County standards.

As for the "works" comment, I see your point.  However, this post was about his book.  If you want to get into what he believes and teaches each week,  go onto the website of Saddleback Church and browse around.  Listen to one of his messages online.  Watch a Sunday service.  He follows Biblical scripture, teaches it in daily life and is never afraid to talk about the real subjects that affect people on a daily basis.  A lot of people feel he is "fake" and isn't "traditional."  If you have sat in the front few rows of the church you will realize he certainly is not traditional, but this is his teaching style and how he has grown his church.

You can start another post and say "What does Rick Warren teach" or "What does Rick Warren say about the Bible" and see what people might say.  As for this one, we focused on what people said about book sales and what his book is talking about, getting involved and having a purpose in life beyond sitting in a pew.  The beauty of this is also that many people are not open to the Word, so by presenting it in a book about being involved and giving of yourself, it opens up a conversation to discuss your beliefs.  I have done the purpose driven life and 40 days of purpose.  I have gone on missions, locally and within the US and while doing your "purpose" based on his book, it opens up an opportunity for the Word of God to be presented based on what I was doing to help others.  People asked why I was there helping (Hurricane Katrina) and why I would give my time freely.  To me, to be able to SHOW how God has used me to be able to help others is a great way to talk about the gospel and what I believed.  It works beautifully together.

Thanks again for the welcome and the good conversation.

[Soldier4Christ]

You are the one that came on here saying that you know him personally I didn't. My point was in asking where he gets his income, how does he manage to pay his bills if he gives away 100% of his income from Saddleback and his books as you said he did. btw, this statement of yours also contradicts what Rick Warren himself has said in various interviews.

You can start another post and say "What does Rick Warren teach" or "What does Rick Warren say about the Bible" and see what people might say.  As for this one, we focused on what people said about book sales and what his book is talking about, getting involved and having a purpose in life beyond sitting in a pew.

You don't make the rules here so don't even try that one.

[Soldier4Christ]

Let's get to the truth of this matter.

This information is according to Rick Warren in various interviews that he has given.

He lives in the same house that he has lived in for the last 18 years. It is not a cheap house though. He does still drive the same Ford truck he has owned for the last 8 years. He does not take a salary from the Saddleback church. In fact he has paid back all the salary that was given to him prior to the years that his books came out. He takes 10% of his profits from book revenues and donates 90% to various charities. Most of those charities are ones that he has started. 10% is still quite a lot seeing as how his own personal revenues from book sales is over 25 million. Much more than many pastors get in a lifetime.

Now on to the the rest.

The person that started this thread was talking about the teachings of Rick Warren in his book series of the Purpose Driven Life. So it is germaine to the subject of this thread and I must agree with the consensus that he gave in his post. Such works as this book are not in conjunction with scripture, it is not an inspired work of God. People would be much better off turning to the Bible than they would in turning to this program.

[preachervern]

I want to see how many times he mention the name of Jesus when he does his thing with the new Presdent of the US.