In the last three years, I’ve told you this several times: I believe God is preparing the church for another reformation. The first reformation focused on what the church believed; this one will focus on what it does.
For too long we’ve separated the Word of God from the work of God. As the church, we’re called to be the body of Christ – the whole body. We’re not just called to be the mouth of Christ, but the feet and hands as well.
Every time a new reformation has come, five renewals have preceded it. The awakening and reformation of the global church will begin with churches like yours. The same five renewals will precede this movement in your church.
1. Personal Renewal: It starts with the heart. If God is going to renew your church, he’ll begin it with you – and then it has to continue with the rest of your church. You might call it rededicating your life, being filled with the Spirit, or the “deeper life.” I don’t care what you call it. Just get it! Pastor, the bottom line is this – you need to fall in love with Jesus again. Do that and all of a sudden it’s not about religion and rituals; it’s about a relationship with Jesus. You realize that Jesus doesn’t just love you, but he likes you.
2. Relational Renewal: After you get right with God, you’ve got to get right with others. Jesus told us this. He told us to love God with all of our heart and then love others as ourselves. When you have relational renewal in your church, the gossip goes down and the joy goes up.
How do you know when a church has been through relational renewal? People hang around longer after the service. They want to spend time together. If people don’t want to hang around after your services, you have a performance not a church. The church is more than content; it’s a community.
3. Missional Renewal: This is when a church discovers what God wants it to do. We have a kingdom assignment. We’re not here just to bless one another. God wants to bless the world through us. Specifically, God has given the church five purposes – worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism. Missional renewal happens when we focus our churches on these purposes. When your church gets personal, relational, and mission renewal, it can’t help but grow.
4. Cultural Renewal: In this stage, God renews the culture of the church. I’ve known pastors who have tried to change the culture of the church without going through the other three renewals. There’s a word for that – martyrdom. You cannot change the culture of the church. Only God can. But once the first three renewals have happened in the church, God will change the culture.
5. Structural Renewal: After your church has been through the first four renewals, it’s going to outgrow your current structure. No doubt about it. I’ve seen it happen at Saddleback. The structure that works for a church of 100 won’t work for a church of 250 and so on. There is no perfect structure in Scripture. Why? Every situation is different. We’ve got to structure our churches differently depending on our circumstances. We change structures just about every year at Saddleback. You can’t put new wine in old wineskins. As your church begins to get healthier and healthier, the structure has to change.
There’s a sixth renewal, but it doesn’t happen in the local church. Institutional renewal happens when Christianity’s institutions change. Institutions like seminaries and denominations are always the last ones to change; they never start the change process. Change always happens first in the local church. Institutions are there to preserve the change of the previous generation. Take a look at a tree. The growth of a tree is never on the trunk. It’s always on the new branches. Institutions are like trunks. They provide stability not innovation.
A great spiritual awakening is on the horizon. Will your church be a part of it? Be aware of these five stages of renewal. As a pastor, God has called you to be a catalyst in the renewal of your church. You can’t do that unless you know where your church is on its journey.
Exciting days are ahead of us!
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life and The Purpose-Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. Copyright 2005 Pastors.com, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved
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"Deeds, not creeds." Rick is getting pretty tiresome. At a time when Christians are ignorant of what the Bible says, Rick doesn't have a clue. The Gospel is about what Christ has done FOR us. I don't see the Gospel anywhere in Rick's message.
Amen to KONEWONE2!!! Hallelujah, my sibling in Christ!
Bob DeWaay speaketh the Truth.
Look at the headline below" RELIGIOUS AMERICANS: 'MY FAITH ISN'T THE ONLY WAY'.
You know how that came about? When WillowCreek took all symbols of the Cross out of their sanctuary so they would not "offend" seekers.
When Warren goes on his endtimes, self-promoting delusion called THE GLOBAL P.E.A.C.E. plan and then uses 15 different paraphrases of the Holy Bible to conform Scripture to his own plans....a la Barack Hussain Obama, who spoke from the Saddleback pulpit.
When man-driven, purpose-driven and Emerging paganism from Brian MacLaren (an Obama advisor), Dan Kimball and others passes off for theology every Sunday in both mega and minor sized Churches.
When youth ministry is coffee shops, cell phones, text messaging, hard rock bands and The Message Bible.
When Contemporary Rock Bands like Switchfoot and 80% of what is played on Christian radio, do NOT mention the Name of Jesus.
When Natalie Grant says "I am sick and tired of people saying if you don't repent, you go to hell".
When all of this is happening, we get socalled Christians thinking Allah, Buddha and Oprah are god!!
When the media calls Rick Warren "America's pastor" and runs a Christmas special in December 2006 called "CAN RICK WARREN SAVE THE WORLD" and he does not ask them to change the title of the program. We get what we have in that PEW poll.
Lord, HELP US!
My friends, pray, pray and pray without ceasing! Each day is one day closer to His Glorious Appearing. Sad thing is, millions of fake christians, fooled by modern fads, will be on the wrong side of the White Horse with the Messiah and His Sword!
Shalom
Come, Lord Jesus!
Is this interview with pastor Bob DeWaay on Iron Sharpens Iron from Thursday, June 5, 2008 about the Purpose Driven Movement and Rick Warren's teachings troubling or not? Should we be concerned or is it all just a storm in a tea cup?
BOB DeWAAY: "REDEFINING CHRISTIANITY: Understanding the Purpose Driven Movement "
MP3 Available Here
BOB DeWAAY, pastor of Twin City Fellowship in St. Louis Park, MN and administrator of Critical Issues Commentary will discuss the theme of his controversial and timely book: REDEFINING CHRISTIANITY: Understanding the Purpose Driven Movement .
Bob DeWaay has received many e-mails over the last two years from people concerned about what has happened to their churches since they became Purpose Driven. This book will explain what has happened, why it has happened, and how a Purpose Driven church is different from a Bible-centered, Gospel church.
Excerpt from Redefining Christianity:
"Jesus said, 'If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you' (John 15:19). Not even the greatest marketing genius can change this without redefining the church. Seeking the approval of the world is precisely what the Purpose Driven movement is all about."
During this interview, we will also discuss Rick Warren's P.E.A.C.E. Coalition and how, according to Pastor DeWaay, there is nothing distinctively Christian about it. As Pastor DeWaay puts it, "The claim that the church can have a second reformation using processes that do not even need Christians as leaders is very alarming."
Audio interview available through here:
http://sharpens.blogspot.com/2008/06/mp3-available-here_05.html
or directly to the mp3 audio here:
http://mp3.sharpens.org/ISI/20080605ISI.mp3
What about pastor Bob DeWaay's recent attendance at Rick Warren's conference at Saddleback in May 2008 and Mr. DeWaay's audio comments of that visit and his meeting with Rick Warren personally? Bob DeWaay is a critic of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven methods and messages and he records his insights of that visit to Saddleback and his time with Rick Warren in audio format here:
Bob DeWaayâ
"In the last three years, Iâ
This column by Warren may be technically correct for the most part.
HOWEVER,RICK WARREN, ROBERT SCHULLER AND BILL HYBELS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RESULTS OF THAT PEW RESEARCH POLL THIS WEEK!
When 57% of Evangelicals, so-called Evangelical "Christians" say they are not sure that "theirs" (Jesus) is the ONLY way to Heaven, Houston and New Jerusalem, we have heap big problem!
Here is your fruit for over a decade of Seeker-Sensitive gnosticism, WillowCreek, Saddleback and Co! How are you going to answer Jesus on Judgment Day?!
When some "christians" think it is okay to vote for a universalist unitarian like Barack Obama, who is unapologetically pro-abortion, it tells us Orthodox Christians, that your congregations had their ears tickled, their Starbucks cups full and their rock bands groovy.
Even so, COME LORD JESUS!