As many of you may remember, Rick Warren announced his P.E.A.C.E. Plan to Saddleback church in November 2003. During that sermon, he said that New Age sympathizer Ken Blanchard had “signed on” to help with the peace plan. Then in 2005, Lighthouse Trails came out with a report titled: Rick Warren Teams Up With New Age Guru Ken Blanchard! Rick Warren wrote to us after that and denied that Blanchard was going to be working with him on the P.E.A.C.E. Plan. He also told us that Blanchard was a new Christian insinuating that is why he has consistently endorsed and promoted the New Age for twenty years.)
However, when Warren told us these things, he knew they weren’t true. How do we know that? Take a look at this transcript of a conversation Warren and Blanchard had at the 2004 Lead Like Jesus conference:
Rick Warren: “So, we’ve come up with a little plan called the peace plan. You and I are working together on this….Now, that’s why I’m here, why are you here?”
KEN: Well, Rick in the back said, “You know, Ken, let’s start a revolution.” I guess that’s why I’m here, but I never anticipated being here. I mean, this is the last place in the world, you know, in front of a bunch of faith people. ‘Cause I wasn’t even in the game. I had turned my back on the Lord. I didn’t like what I saw in churches, and Margie and I said forget it and all and then all of a sudden The One Minute Manager came out in 1982 and that was so ridiculously successful that even I had trouble taking credit for it.
RICK: You knew it wasn’t you.
KEN: I mean it was absolutely ridiculous. My friend, Phil Hodges, who helped me start this whole movement came to see me, ran with me down the beach, while we were running in those days, and said, “Ken, why is this thing so successful? Do you think you’re a better writer?” Do you think you’re smarter than anybody?” I said, “No, Hodge, I think God’s involved.” And he said “Oh, thank God.” And God started sending me this team, Bob Buford, Norman Vincent Peale, and Hybels, All kinds of people started coming after me. I finally joined up in 1987-88 and turned my life over to the Lord.
Now read the excerpt from Rick Warren’s letter to us (May 31, 2005):
Rick Warren: “Ken is a new believer- a new creature in Christ. He should not be held accountable for statements or endorsements he made before he became a Christian. And he’s just learning now. 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. I wanted to support this new believer, and I do not apologize for that.”
RW: “A couple of years ago – Ken volunteered to go on a PEACE trip with one of our teams to Africa for a week. (He has not be able to do that yet) I announced Ken’s desire to go in a service – but maybe that’s where someone got the idea that we had hired him. It was right before the only time I spoke at his conference. I haven’t seen Ken since 2003.”
RW: “I haven’t hired Ken Blanchard to do anything.”
The questions must be asked, Why was Rick Warren working with Ken Blanchard, an Eastern meditation proponent, on the global P.E.A.C.E. Plan, and why did he lie and cover up this fact?
And the bigger question, why do Christian leaders continue supporting Rick Warren?
Related Information:
Our audio, video and transcripts collection of Rick Warren’s sermons and talks.