Priorities in dealing with Churches that are changing
to Purpose-Driven Churches
Thanks for the questions that have been emailed, first of all. For all the questions that you have
there are thousands who read here, who have the same question.
There are at least 3 issues:
1) the issues of the spiritual wellbeing for your
family,
2) the issue of any Biblical obligation you may have to the Pastor, and
3) the issues that you would have towards
your friends and
the rest of the congregation.
It is the job of the Husband to lead his family towards spiritual maturity and
wellbeing. I sometimes say that husband are great leaders, if they have a great
amount of encouragement from their wives. IT is very confusing for men these
days, (whether it should be or not), and this issue is one of the more confusing
ones.
Part of the trouble is that the PDL churches don't appear - initially to have a
problem. That turns out to not be true (at all), but its not an obvious problem
at the beginning.
Then there is the issue of spotting the particular problem. Just because you can figure out
that there is a problem, does not mean that you can figure out just what the
problem is (at first). Then, the question becomes how to explain this to your family, your
friends, and those in church.
But the bottom line remains that for the great majority, the PDL/PDC structure
substitutes a marketing approach that diminishes the theological clarity of the
individual church for a marketing approach that vacates the power of God right
out of the church.
It is not coincidental that Rick Warren's plan marries two main worldviews: the
"diminished-capacity" spirituality of Robert Schuller (who is a new
ager and denies that Jesus is the Christ as well as original sin) - with the
marketing techniques created by Peter Drucker, one the marketing gurus of
applied mass marketing techniques.
In the process, the church looses its theological center and its theological
fervor. However it often makes one interesting gain: the requirement that
members fill out covenants or lists of personal information, that end up being turned over to
organizations that are Outside of the local church and are to be computerized.
You do the math.
Still, it would be good to study some of the issues and try to
gain some theological clarity so that you can explain to others, what the
Biblical grounds are for opposing this. There are some websites that address
this, but most of them are running to catch up. Rick warren and his new
indoctrinators are very slick.
We are not against professionalism, only against False Teachings.
You should still try to clarify your views, both to your friends and to the
pastor. Maybe you should think of putting something for yourself down in
writing, so that you can be sure that you retain clarity - if there is a need
for that. You may find out that there are some in the church who agree with you.
Having said that, it is wise not to wait for others to approve of your decision.
Seeking God in this day and age is not very popular.
======
We have not addresses the issue of Covenants a lot: The short answer is BREAK THEM
!!!
This is like breaking an oath to a cult. (the Church is not the cult: Its the
behavior and Warren Network - that is).
Disobedience to men...in order to be obedient to God, that's gotta be something
you can be proud of.
And don't encourage them by giving them more funds.
Keep the Faith.
Recommended Booklist in dealing with PDL/PDC Issues
We can only hope and pray that many more people will wake up to the dangers of the Purpose Driven life Model. We would encourage you to visit our webpage to learn how you can contribute to this discussion by sharing your stories and experiences with us at this page.
For any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us at xofcbooks@yahoo.com .
http://simplyagape.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_simplyagape_archive.html
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