Spiritual “Breathing”
The following entry is an excerpt from chapter 6 of In the Name of Purpose: Sacrificing Truth at the Altar of Unity by Tamara Hartzell. This is an in-depth critique of Rick Warren’s promotion of what is called Spiritual Formation: “One way [to ‘pray all the time’] is to use ‘breath prayers’ throughout the day […]
“A Whole New Species of Church Is Emerging”
The following post is an excerpt from Chapter 22 of In the Name of Purpose: Sacrificing Truth on the Altar of Unity by Tamara Hartzell. This new on-line book is a comprehensive and in-depth look at the nature of the purpose-driven movement. Chapter 22 is entitled “A Radically Different Kind of Church” for “the New […]
PSEUDO-MISSION: Meditation
“The first move is to hear from the heart and to think deeply about what you hear. ‘All who have ears to hear,’ Jesus said, ‘let them hear.’ Hearing in this deep way means more than listening: it means thinking, and more than thinking. It means rethinking everything in light of the secret message. As […]
PSEUDO-MISSION: Inclusivism
We could talk about the inclusive tribe of God, for example: in a world of increasing tribalism, continually threatened by intertribal warfare and genocide, God is creating a barrier-breaking tribe that welcomes, appreciates, and links all tribes. This inclusive tribe isn’t an in-group that makes other tribes into out-groups; rather it’s a “come on in” […]
PSEUDO-MISSION: The Global C.H.U.R.C.H
“I believe that faith, ethics and morals play an important role in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” Dr. Warren continued. “I am not a scientist, a medical professional or activist. I am a pastor, whose motives are different. I love people, and I have a Savior named Jesus who said, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”(Saddleback press […]
PSEUDO-MISSION: Syncretism Ethics & Moral Facades
“By putting the issues of poverty and social justice atop his agenda, Warren would like to cross religious and political fissures. ‘I’m a bridge builder, not a divider,’ he says. Last summer, working with Bono and his antipoverty group, DATA, Warren called upon his network of pastors to urge President Bush to spend more on […]
PSEUDO-MISSION: The Road to Syncretism
“And that’s what God is doing today, He’s calling people out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know […]
PSEUDO-MISSION: A “one size fits all” social gospel
“Have you met with the Pope?“Not yet, but I hope so. That would be my prayer. You know one of the greatest thrills of my life is when Pope John Paul II died, the CNN reported than [sic] on his nightstand was a copy of the “Purpose Drive Life” in Italian. He was reading “Purpose […]
PSEUDO-MISSION: Rick Warren’s 3-legged Church
“There are five giant problems in the world… Spiritual emptiness is the No. 1 problem, egocentric or corrupt leadership is the second biggest problem. No. 3 is poverty. Half the world lives on less than US$2 a day, one billion people live on less than a dollar a day. Fourth is disease—all kinds of diseases. […]
PSEUDO-MISSION: Barna, Propaganda & Spiritainment
“Those who manipulate the organized habits and opinions of the masses constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of the country…. It remains a fact that in almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are […]