Nearly 20,000 people gathered to join American Pastor Rick Warren and Rwandan President Paul Kagame to launch the first national “40 Days of Purpose” campaign in Rwanda Sunday.
Attendees came from every province in African nation to greet the bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life and initiate the national campaign at Amohoro (translated “Peace”) Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital.
"This week we are launching a biblical way of living in Rwanda; we call it, 'The Purpose Driven Life,'" Warren said to the thousands gathered under the hot African sun, according to his media team.
"What matters in life is your relationship to God and His purpose for you,” he said.
This week’s trip marks the tenth visit by Warren to Rwanda, the first east African nation to implement the P.E.A.C.E. Plan. Sunday’s event also celebrated the three years since the P.E.A.C.E. Plan was initiated in Rwanda and included a graduation ceremony for the first class of 200 Rwandan pastors who completed a three-year Purpose Driven and P.E.A.C.E. training program.
"I want to say to Rick and Kay Warren that they could not find a better place than Rwanda for the Purpose Driven campaign, for good and bad reasons," President Kagame said. "The bad reasons are related to our history – in our past we have lived a life without purpose. The good reasons are related to our future – that we have a chance with the Purpose Driven Life.”
Kagame praised the P.E.A.C.E. plan for combining the resources and strength from three sectors of society – public, private and faith. He spoke of how Saddleback Church’s Western Rwanda HIV/AIDS Healthcare Initiative Project is changing healthcare management and distribution by using churches as clinics.
"This model can be replicated in other parts of our country. More importantly, more Rwandans of faith need to adopt this mindset."
The P.E.A.C.E plan is a global effort to mobilize 1 billion Christians to combat the five biggest problems in the world – spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic diseases, and illiteracy and lack of education.
The acronym stands for promote reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
"We didn't choose Rwanda, they invited us. Our goal is not to change Rwanda, but to serve this country,” Warren told reporters. “The P.E.A.C.E. Plan is built on the biblical foundation that faith without works is dead, and we overcome evil with good."
Other events Warren attended in Rwanda included a prayer breakfast with local business and government leaders and a White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiative Conference (WHOFBCI) on Public-Private Partnerships and Economic Development.
During the prayer breakfast, the California megachurch pastor discussed the four building blocks needed for successful relationships – unselfishness, humility, love and forgiveness.
"No nation is stronger than its families – to build a strong church, community or nation, you need strong families," he said.
The forgiveness component was especially emphasized to the leaders, whose country is still recovering from the 1994 genocide that killed as many as 1 million Rwandans.
The Warrens will visit Nairobi after spending nine days in Rwanda.
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Comments
All faithful Christians must reject this Prosperity Gospel. This is a perverted view of the Gospel and I pray for all Catholics and Protestants to stand against what Rick Warren is trying to do.
Both ONline and CP2008 bring up some very Valid points that we Christians must address.
Church,
Please read the article that Online4Him has posted below.
This is a serious matter and disciples of Jesus Christ need to be discerning about this issue.
Think about this: ‘purpose-driven’ theology has now permeated 3 ENTIRE NATIONS and the stated plan is for every nation on the face of the earth to be ‘purpose-driven’. It is a GLOBAL Peace Plan.
Remember that when the disciples asked Jesus questions concerning the end of the age, the FIRST thing that Jesus said was “Take heed that no man deceive you.” (Matthew 24)
Church, please take Jesus’ warning seriously. Consider what Revelation 17 & 18 says and compare it closely to what is being organized in these ‘purpose-driven’ nations…
A total marriage of Religion-Government-Business
Check out the post by Simplicity in Christ - Uganda - The Second Purpose Driven Nation
http://christsimplicity.wordpress.com/category/peace-plan/
Interesting!
Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, helping the widow and orphan are noble and right endeavors. And for a disciple of Jesus Christ, these are the out-workings of who we are. Faith without works is dead.
But discerning Christians, please beware:
This global partnership that Mr. Warren is organizing… Religion-Government-Business… or as Peter Drucker called it, the Three-Legged-Stool… is the same global partnership that God Himself will judge and destroy in the future. Please read Revelation 17 & 18.
The woman (religion)
The kings (government)
The merchants (business)
Be aware that when Mr. Warren’s Global PEACE Plan was first unveiled, the “P” stood for “Plant Churches.” But it then morphed into “Plant Faith Communities”, and now it has been changed into “Promote Reconciliation.” No more mention of ‘planting churches’.
This is what the Lord says to His people in regards to this unholy alliance:
Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her (the woman – false religion), my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues...” (Revelation 18:4-5)
Is the partnership organized by Mr. Warren’s Global Peace Plan laying the foundation for the Global Partnership we see in Revelation 17-18?