Analysis of Rick Warren's Letter ...
Analysis of Rick Warren's Letter to Lighthouse Trails in 2005
Important Note: The email that Rick Warren sent to Lighthouse Trails Publishing on May 31st contained many statements that are untrue. Our intention here is not to focus on George Mair's book but rather show that the contents of Rick Warren's email cannot be taken seriously.
Links to other information are in Red.
Related Information |
Warren: "Mair says I have one child, a daughter. FACT: I have
3 grown children, two married and one grandchild!"
Our Findings: Mair never said that Rick Warren has only one child. He said:"In
December of 1979, Rick and Kay Warren packed their belongings
into a U-Haul and headed west with their baby daughter" (p.
70, A Life With Purpose). And again the same thing
on p. 74: "Rick explained that he had just moved from Texas
with his wife and infant daughter..."
Warren: "Mair says that New Age Minister Norman Vincent Peale was
my mentor! FACT: I've never met Mr. Peale and never even read
any book he wrote! It's a total fabrication!"
Findings: Nowhere in Mair's book did he say that Peale
was Warren's mentor. He did say that Dr. Criswell, who wrote the
foreword to Purpose Driven Church, was Warren's mentor.
Mair: "The First Baptist Church of Dallas was, of course,
run by Rick Warren's mentor, the Reverend W.A. Criswell"
(p.
103, A Life With Purpose).
Warren: "Mair says that televangelist Robert Schuller helped "found"
Saddleback Church! FACT: This is impossible! I have never even
had a private one-on-one conversation with Mr. Schuller - ever!"
Findings: Mair never said that Schuller helped "found"
Saddleback Church. He said these comments: "One of the early
participants in the Schuller Institute was Bill Hybels of the
Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois. Later, another participant
would be Rick Warren of Saddleback Valley Community Church"
(p.
109, A Life With Purpose). Mair also said: "The
need for more clearly defined answers first came in 1980, the
year that Rick moved to Southern California and started Saddleback.
With the help of Reverend Robert Schuller in nearby Garden Grove,
other area churches, and some volunteers, the Warrens managed
to start doing services in rented classrooms and other places"
(p.138, A Life With Purpose).
Warren: "Mair says I've hired New Age Guru Ken Blanchard to train
leaders for us. FACT: This simply isn't true! ... I haven't hired
Ken Blanchard to do anything."
Findings: First of all, Mair never called Ken Blanchard
a New Age Guru. Secondly, while Rick Warren did not use the word
"hire," he did say that Ken Blanchard had "signed
on" to help implement the peace plan and help train leaders
and the people at Saddleback. See
more, including video clip of Rick Warren.
Warren: "Ken [Blanchard] is a new believer - a new creature in Christ."
Findings: According to Ken Blanchard's autobiography (We
Are the Beloved, written by K. Blanchard—1994) and an audio interview, Ken Blanchard became a Christian in the late eighties. Ken Blanchard refers
to the time after he wrote One Minute Manager as the time
he began finding God. Rick Warren refers to that time in his sermon where he announces that Blanchard has signed
on. Also see
the transcript for the 2003 Lead Like Jesus conference with
Blanchard and Warren, where they discuss their working relationship,
the Peace Plan and when Blanchard became a "believer."
Warren :"He [Ken Blanchard] should not be held accountable for
statements or endorsements he made before he became a Christian.
And he's just learning now."
Findings: Ken Blanchard's statements
and endorsements are as recent as January 2005 when he endorsed
New Age promoter, Jack Canfield's new book, Success
Principles and June 2005 when he endorsed In
the Sphere of Silence. Once again, please note that Blanchard
became a Christian 20 years ago. (See table
of other Blanchard endorsements.)
Warren: "That's why - ONE
TIME ONLY - I agreed to be one of a dozen Christian speaker's
at a conference on Leading Like Jesus in Birmingham, Alabama."
Findings: This particular conference that Warren speaks
of took
place in 2003. However, a second
conference took place six months
later. Warren was one of the speakers, but he did it through
a video presentation. Yet in his letter to us, he is using deceptive
wording and making it look like he only participated in the event
once (having actually only physically been there once) but actually
participated twice. This statement would give a person the understanding
that the only time Rick Warren has had any association with Blanchard
was at this one conference. What he did not say was that this
summer he will also be sharing a speaking platform with Blanchard
and Bill Hybels at the Leadership
Summit 2005. They will be broadcasting to over 50,000 leaders
throughout North America in 100 different cities. And he did not
tell the reader that he is a member of the National
Board for Blanchard's Lead Like Jesus organization. Please
note New Age promoters on the Board include Mark Victor Hansen
and Laurie Beth Jones.
Warren: "Why didn't you follow Jesus' instructions in Matthew 18
and come to me first?"
Comment: Matthew 18 does not refer to the matters in the
church that are in the public forum. Rather it refers to the personal
offenses (or a sin) between two people. Any knowledgeable Christian
should be aware of this. An example of such a situation can be
found in Galatians 2:14: "But when I [Paul the apostle] saw
that they [Peter and Barnabas] were not straightforward about
the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all [publicly]..."
(More
on Matthew 18.)
Warren: "I'm sure you understand that the more well known a person
becomes, the harder it is to stay current with everyone who is
using your name for their purposes. For instance, Zondervan publishers asked me to write a commentary on an 'Emerging Church' book, although I am definitely not a part
of that group."
Findings: This statement is suggesting that Rick Warren had no control over
Zondervan's decision to use his commentary, and he once again
omits certain information. Rick Warren not only wrote sidebar
commentaries throughout Dan Kimball's
book, The Emerging Church but also
wrote one of the forewords.
Warren: "If you read that book, you saw that I
often disagreed with the author in my sidebar commentary.
But when the book came out-it had my name paired with Brian McLaren's
on the cover!"
Findings: In the book, The Emerging Church, we found 17 sidebar commentary
statements by Rick Warren. Only one was a disagreement
and a weak one at that: Dan Kimball was talking about people who
didn't like churches that looked like Wal-Marts but preferred
buildings with beautiful architecture. Rick
Warren's sidebar commentary is: "I wouldn't be so tough
on those plain churches that look like Wal-Marts. It is usually
a matter of today's economics." Rick Warren did not often
disagree with the book. On the contrary other comments Rick Warren
makes throughout the book include: "This book is wonderful."
"This book can show you how" [to build bridges]. "Thank
you so much for sharing your background, Dan.... Go for it."
"This is so important." "An outstanding chapter,
Dan!" A few times he offered suggestions but showed no disagreement.
On the contrary.
Warren: "If I had known that Mr. McLaren was asked to be a commentator
too, I would have declined, because I have some major disagreements
with his views of the so-called "emerging" movement."
Findings: The fact that Rick Warren tells us here that he
wouldn't have even put his name on this "wonderful"
book had he known that Brian McLaren was a commentator too seems
preposterous. Brian McLaren not only had numerous sidebar commentaries
AND also wrote a foreword for the book, but
his name was mentioned in the text as well. Plus, Dan Kimball's
acknowledgment page thanks Rick Warren and others for taking time
to read the book first. While Warren may not have seen McLaren's
commentaries when he was going over the manuscript, it is hard
to believe he would not have seen the book in its final form for
approval prior to printing. The question must then be asked, what does Rick Warren really think about Brian McLaren and the
Emerging Church?
