MT. BETHEL, Pa. - The California pastor who has helped churches worldwide increase attendance by leaps and bounds through his “purpose driven” phenomena now has his eye on New York City.
Speaking at the 17th annual Pastors' Prayer Summit in Pennsylvania Tuesday, Rev. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, asked for the collaboration of 300 pastors and church leaders from the Greater New York area in launching a region-wide 40 Days of Purpose campaign.
"One drop of rain is worthless – it can't do anything. But a thousand drops of rain and a million and a billion drops of rain can turn a desert into a forest," said Warren.
The best-selling author wasn't talking about theory but from a model he's tried and tested. Warren, founder and pastor of Saddleback Church, said his church experienced the greatest period of growth through their first run of the campaign. Nearly 1,200 new members joined during those 40 days and average attendance rose by 2,000.
Churches in Chatanooga, Tenn., which were among the first to launch a city-wide campaign, also reported astounding growth. The 100 participating churches grew by an average of 30 percent simultaneously. That model was so successful that 270 churches in Orlando followed soon after.
If the campaign is implemented in the Greater New York area, which houses more than 7,100 churches, even a smaller percentage of the average growth experienced in other cities would mean thousands added to the pews.
The campaign, said Warren, is not a church growth strategy but rather a people growth strategy, where churches grow naturally as their members mature spiritually. While any church would grow through the 40 Days of Purpose strategy, he noted, a widespread campaign would have a synergistic impact.
"A rising tide raises all the boats," Warren told the crowd attending the three-day retreat.
Some pastors who listened to Warren's pitch were hopeful that the purpose driven campaign could be the gateway to the unity they have been longing for.
"It would help people see unity [among the churches]. They hear about it, talk about it, but they have never seen it," said Trevor Rankine, pastor of World Harvest Deliverance Church in Queens, during a regional breakout session at the retreat.
Eva Vega of Full Gospel Tabernacle in Queens at first expressed concern with getting churches on board but later shared that she would love to see New York become "a testimony" that church growth is possible through a region-wide adoption of the strategy.
The 40 Days of Purpose campaign in Metro New York will be the first event to be hosted by The New York City Leadership Center, a new project by Concerts of Prayer Greater New York – the organization behind the Jan. 28-30 prayer summit.
The NYC Leadership Center, slated to launch on Sept. 20, will train under-resourced pastors and isolated workplace leaders in how to overcome practical challenges in urban ministry. Leaders will learn how to raise up other leaders and handle day-to-day operations, such as securing funding, through a variety of seminars and graduate-level courses offered by the center. Organizers say they hope to initialize the training of the first cohort of 150 leaders by the center's launch date.
Warren, who sits on the National Advisory Team alongside evangelical leaders like Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church, said his heart was set on reaching the global metropolitan area for many years. He sees the project as the catalyst to reaching what he considers the most strategic city in the world.
"We're very excited about the Leadership Center kick-off in New York City," Warren told The Christian Post.
"We're all different languages and groups but we speak with one language and one purpose on this. And we believe it will be key to revival, reformation and renewal in the Greater New York City area and become a model for all the other places."
Comments
Rick Warren, The Emergent Church, pretty much the whole democratic party including, but not limited to Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Hillary, Barbara Boxer, and Bill Clinton, as well as those in the Republican Party with a liberal New-Age Agenda along with the Theosophical Society and the UN all need to be deported to the South Sandwich Islands or France.
1 Timothy 4:1
[ The Great Apostasy ] Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
1 Timothy 4:1-3 (in Context) 1 Timothy 4 (Whole Chapter)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
2 Timothy 4:2-4 (in Context) 2 Timothy 4 (Whole Chapter)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
2 Peter 2:1
[ Destructive Doctrines ] But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2 Peter 2:1-3 (in Context) 2 Peter 2 (Whole Chapter
1 Timothy 4:1
[ The Great Apostasy ] Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
1 Timothy 4:1-3 (in Context) 1 Timothy 4 (Whole Chapter)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
2 Timothy 4:2-4 (in Context) 2 Timothy 4 (Whole Chapter)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
2 Peter 2:1
[ Destructive Doctrines ] But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2 Peter 2:1-3 (in Context) 2 Peter 2 (Whole Chapter)
2 Peter 2:4
[ Doom of False Teachers ] For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
2 Peter 2:3-5 (in Context) 2 Peter 2 (Whole Chapter)
2 Peter 2:12
[ Depravity of False Teachers ] But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption,
2 Peter 2:11-13 (in Context) 2 Peter 2 (Whole Chapter)
2 Peter 2:18
[ Deceptions of False Teachers ] For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.
2 Peter 2:17-19 (in Context) 2 Peter 2 (Whole Chapter)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Concerning this line: “relevant to the culture” I am not sure of your meaning. It sounds like the meaning intended is this: the church needs to meld with the times in order to effectively bear witness to the gospel of Christ in a format acceptable to the world. If this is correct this sounds like compromise to me.
This line: “must go out into the streets and perform service and giving and charity” needs some tweaking as in perform service, giving and charity to whom? The lost? The responsibilities of the church are to teach the gospel to those in the assembly so that understanding is gained strengthening each individuals witness of the gospel to the world in which they live, i.e. “the streets.” From a benevolence standpoint, the church is to take care of: orphans, widows and those saints having need who are part of the church. This is where the apostles chose other men to handle the daily affairs of the church as there were certain churches complaining that their orphans and widows were not receiving what they needed through the church.
Now from an individual standpoint as part of our witness to the lost, responding to the needs of those crossing our path as we move through our daily life is good, noble and should be done. I would say however from my own experiences, discernment has to be part of the help provided.
C'mon. Ppl always don't read the direction carefully and get lost. Maybe some didn't read the book carefully enough. Let's give some credit to our hard working pastor, yea?
okay, people need to stop with the rick warren bashing. the church has a need to stay both relevant and keep its identity. all you southern baptists bashing on rick warren -- how are your teenagers turning out? like britney spears? all im saying is that we need the church to stay relevant to the culture in order to communicate effectively. jesus communicated God's love through parables to his disciples. we gotta be relevant. and at the same time, we can't lose our identity. we have to know what scripture is saying and really live out scripture in our lives in all ways and not accept sin. we do not accept sin. 40 days of purpose for the church is about turning a church into a biblical church, into an acts 2 church where the whole church is called to discipleship, must go out into the streets and perform service and giving and charity after first receiving the Holy Spirit through word, prayer, and fellowship. what is so wrong with that? most american churchgoers think they've done their christian duty by just attending sunday service. they dont give out to people. liberals on the other hand think that being christian means just feeding the homeless and they neglect the word and prayer. ill tell you that there is much more than that to being a christian. we gotta live the word in our life, in our community, in our family, in the world. we got to live it and be relevant.
Another 40 Days of Destruction and Division
"Here's another sad email from someone with a testimony similar to my own. The last line of the email sums it up: "Our church has been destroyed by the Purpose Driven Life program, and the pastor just doesn't care!"."
Continued here:
http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.120
Purpose-Driven Deception on a Global Scale
By Berit Kjos, 11-26-06
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/006/pd-deception.htm
The Purpose Driven Church - A Critique
Michael J. Penfold
"It’s a depressing statistic. A majority of Western churches do not see a single addition through conversion in a typical year. So to try and turn things round many are rejecting traditional methods of evangelism and adopting a new ‘church growth’ model. Market research has convinced them that unbelievers stay away from church not because they reject Christ, but because they reject the church’s boring presentation of Christ. There’s no need to change the product – just the packaging – and the crowds will come flocking back.
The new packaging is all about replacement. A ‘stage’ with a moveable Perspex lectern replaces the old wooden pulpit. PowerPoint graphics replace the hymn books. A rock band replaces the organ. A casually dressed and jovial audience replaces the reverent congregation. A charming minister in a t-shirt and jeans replaces the suited ‘preacher’. Fun replaces holiness as the tone of the service. Loud music, side-splitting drama, multimedia presentations and a humorous ‘talk’ replace hymn singing and preaching. But, we’re confidently assured, the message remains the same.
Judging by numbers alone the new model has certainly proved a success. Prominent ‘church growth’ pastors like Robert Schuller (Crystal Cathedral, LA), Rick Warren (Saddleback Church, California), Bill Hybels (Willow Creek Church, Chicago) and Joel Osteen (Lakewood Church, Houston) attract thousands to their churches each Sunday. Though a majority of this ‘growth’ occurs by transfer rather than ‘conversion’, multitudes of other churches have adopted this model and have seen their congregations rocket numerically. Small wonder anyone questioning the movement is told, “Never criticise what God is blessing.”1 Truth never stood a chance against success."
Continued here:
http://www.biblebb.com/files/pdc-critique.htm
There is something terribly wrong about Rick Warren's teachings and his whole Purpose Driven© Movement.
How's about this, Warren - 40 Days of Propaganda to push your personal agenda on New York!!! No Thanks. You should go back to your own church and leave the East Coast alone. Why should we ever be "on board" with you. Socialist theology rules in Warren's worldview!!!
Konewone: well said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOW THE "PURPOSE DRIVEN" PHILOSOPHY HAS MISHANDLED THE "PURPOSE" OF THE SCRIPTURES
If you are planning to go through the 40 Days of Purpose, individually or with a group, do not be influenced by the subtle pressure to accept Warren’s teachings and Bible references at face value. Whether it takes 40 days or 40 months, test everything in this study against God’s sacred word.
Those who have, by God’s grace, escaped the cults of Mormonism or the Jehovah’s Witnesses are well aware of how altering the words and meaning of God’s holy Word can lead followers into grievous error and away from God’s pure truth. The main focus of cults like these has always been to “retranslate” Scripture in such a way as to prove their heretical positions and deceive their followers. Joseph Smith did it with his “New Translation” in order to preserve a bogus priesthood authority and mix works-righteousness with grace; and Jehovah’s Witnesses have produced the “New World Translation” to propagate their false teachings which deny Christ’s deity. These counterfeit Scriptures are an abomination and should be exposed for deceiving millions of people and leading them astray.
The question is: if we are going to hold cults like Mormonism to a biblical standard on this issue, then shouldn’t we hold our evangelical leaders to that same standard? Wouldn’t it be hypocritical to condemn Mormons for biblical chicanery and ignore evangelicals who do a similar disservice to the Bible?
Such is the reasoning for holding Rick Warren accountable for his hermeneutical methods in promoting his “Purpose Driven” teachings. Though we do not believe that Rick Warren is preaching a false gospel like Mormonism or Jehovah’s Witnesses, we do believe that his technique for using God’s Word is perilously similar to the way a cult twists Bible verses for their own purposes. In this case, Warren is more concerned with promoting his philosophical agenda for postmodern Christianity, at the expense of real biblical substance.
Continued here:
http://www.sacredsandwich.com/warren_scripture.htm
Is christianity all about MEMBERSHIP to a particular church & paying your sunday dues or buying Rick Warren's book? Christianity has turned into commercialism...& into the pockets of pastors & tele evangelist.
JHS,
God Bless you Southern Baptist that resist Rick Warren's evil! Why don't they just kick him out. Let him go be pastor of some Gay affirming Church like Jay Baker. Then they can spend all their time "rethinking" Christinty if they want to.
God Bless
Danny
Frankly, alot of the Southern Baptist do not like Warren, which is enough reason for me to like him all the more, I think if he pulled his church out of the Southern Baptist convention, the total I.Q of the convention would drop by 20%, most people even at his church do not know the church is southern baptist, he does not promote the SBconvention at all on his website, and frankly I do not blame him.