Ask Lee... About Attacks on Rick Warren
By Lee Strobel
8.3.06
| Thanks to everyone who submitted a question! CLICK HERE to pose a question for a future newsletter. Though we can’t answer them all, we’ll select the ones that seem to have the broadest appeal – or are the most intriguing! |
Q. I see that you have a link to some Rick Warren material. I would also like to suggest that you read a book called Deceived on Purpose and listen to a CD concerning the truth about the seeker-sensitive church movement.
A. Don’t look for me to jump on any anti-Warren or anti-seeker church bandwagons. Rick Warren is my friend. And I came to faith through Willow Creek Community Church, the granddaddy of seeker churches. Neither is perfect, but neither deserves the criticisms that some people have leveled at them.
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Watch NowI found Deceived on Purpose to be little more than a lame attempt to link Rick with New Age thinking and with Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral. Anyone who knows Rick is aware that his theology is thoroughly biblical and rather conservative. He is, after all, a Southern Baptist! (To read his church’s statement of Faith, click here.) And I can tell you personally that it’s simply inaccurate to suggest that Schuller is a current influence in Rick’s life or ministry.
If you’d like direct responses to the various allegations raised in this book, try Richard Abanes’ excellent book Rick Warren and the Purpose That Drives Him. Abanes, a credible and award-winning investigative writer, does a point-by-point refutation of these half-baked allegations against Warren.
 Mark Mittelberg |
As for the seeker church movement, my colleague Mark Mittelberg, author of Building a Contagious Church, summed up the issue well in an article he wrote several years ago for The Christian Research Journal:
“The concept of seeker-sensitivity, properly understood, is not new and not controversial—because it’s biblical. Paul said in Colossians 4:5, ‘Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.’ In 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, he said, ‘I have become all things to all people . . . for the sake of the gospel.’
“That last phrase is key. The goal is the clear proclamation of the gospel by teachers whose concern is to please God, not people (Galatians 6:10). One of the primary ways to please God is to raise the priority of finding lost men and women who matter deeply to him, and to present his message to them in understandable terms, using relevant illustrations and effective modes of communication. All of this is for the purpose of removing unnecessary barriers and helping these people in their journey toward Christ.
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What Can I Do to Make a Difference 2? Build Relationship with a Lost Person (2:59) |
“This is the same principle behind sound missionary efforts. Missionaries are encouraged not only to become articulate with the gospel, but also to study the language and culture of the people they hope to reach. Their goal is to contextualize the message and present it in a clear and compelling fashion that will bear fruit and build the Kingdom in that corner of the world.
“Unfortunately, we often overlook the need to do this same thing here in America. We forget that, as Christians, we move in our own evangelical subculture that is growing more and more distant from the increasingly secular culture around us. The challenge for us is to develop a missions-mindset and figure out how to crack the cultural code where we live so that we can contextualize the message and effectively reach people in our own back yards.
“As always, Jesus is our model. He went out of his way to get up close to those he wanted to reach. He spent time with them, he spoke their language, he taught them using illustrations they could understand, and he lovingly challenged them to follow him.
“Jesus took risks for the sake of the Kingdom. And, need I add, he was misunderstood and criticized for it. It ruined His reputation. Opponents accused him of being a glutton and a drunkard—but it was guilt-by-association. They disparagingly called him “the friend of sinners”—a phrase meant as a put-down, but which he took as a compliment. Jesus came to “seek and to save that which was lost,” and before he left he said, “As the Father sent me, now I also send you.”
Rick Warren answers: Is Christianity Arrogant? Where God is on Days of Great Tragedy (2:09) |
“The challenge is to do this outreach ministry in appropriate ways. It’s certainly not easy, and there are inherent dangers. Jesus said that sick people need a doctor who will go and help them. But there’s always the risk of the doctor catching the disease! And there’s the temptation to spend time with the patients but hold back from telling them the full extent of their problem or from prescribing a treatment that they won’t like.
“That’s why we caution church leaders to communicate to their culture without ever compromising with their culture. Sometimes, in the thick of ministry, it’s hard to see where to draw that line. It’s easy to make mistakes, and many mistakes have been made under the heading of ‘seeker sensitivity.’ But many lessons have also been learned, progress has been made, and much fruit is being borne.
“Almost daily I hear stories of lives being changed. Just yesterday I read a letter that was sent to one of our pastors from a former skeptic who recently trusted Christ. She said, ‘No one could be more surprised than I am at what has happened to me. I know it wouldn’t have happened without Willow Creek, and I thank you from the bottom of my formerly hardened heart for your part in this.’
“She was one of 300 new Christians who we had the privilege of baptizing this month. And the pastor she wrote to—the one who baptized her—was himself an atheist when his wife first brought him to a church service designed for spiritual seekers. It’s stories like these, combined with the biblical imperative to take the gospel to the whole world, that continue to motivate seeker-sensitive churches.
“Jesus said, ‘By their fruit you will know them.’ Scrutinize this movement carefully—both its teachings and its results—without relying on media reports or second-hand rumors. When you’re done, I hope you’ll do more than just give a nod of approval. I hope you’ll roll up your sleeves and join with us in finding ways to penetrate the culture with the life-transforming message of the gospel.”
Click here for a response to common myths about Willow Creek, the archetypical seeker church.
| Thanks to everyone who submitted a question! CLICK HERE to pose a question for a future newsletter. Though we can’t answer them all, we’ll select the ones that seem to have the broadest appeal – or are the most intriguing! |
