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Technorati“For many unbelievers, the barrier to salvation is not the credibility of Jesus but our own lack of credibility and love for them,” Warren stated.
The megachurch pastor highlighted the evangelism strategy of the apostle Paul, who said “I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.”
“[T]his is the foundation text of our purpose-driven evangelism,” Warren stated, referring to 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, “and as a result, we have baptized over 20,000 adult believers in the past ten years.”
He added, “One reason so many churches are stagnant is that their evangelism strategy is either unbiblical, unworkable or both. They believe Jesus' message but they ignore the Jesus model of ministry and mission!”
Warren concluded by emphasizing the need to build bridges to influencers in secular culture including those in academics, business, military, sports, health care, media, prisons, entertainment, other faiths, and government.
“If we are to experience a spiritual revival in our culture and if we want to fulfill Jesus' Great Commission in the world, we must build bridges to all of these, and more,” Warren stated.
“We build bridges of love - from our hearts to hearts of even those who hate us - so that Jesus can walk across,” he concluded. “You cannot win your enemies to Christ. You can only win your friends.”
On Saturday, Warren told a crowd of some 8,000 Muslim Americans that he was not interested in interfaith dialogue but in interfaith projects.
“Talk is very cheap. You can talk and talk and talk and never get anything done. Love is something you do,” Warren maintained. “It is something we do together.”
While recognizing his religious differences with the Muslim crowd, the Southern California preacher called on the members of the two largest faith communities in the world to not only figure out how to live in peace and harmony with each other, but also to find a way to work together for the greater good without compromising each group’s convictions.
He also touched on the controversy surrounding his appearance, saying that those who walk down the middle of the road get hit in two directions.
“Actually, it is easier to be an extremist of any kind because then you only have one group of people mad at you," Warren added.
Warren, the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., was the only Christian invited to speak at Saturday’s evening main session, which organizers described as the “cornerstone” of the convention. Other Christian leaders were invited to speak at the smaller sessions during the July 3-6 event.
Rich Buckley »
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