The Purpose Driven Trojan Horse-Your Fired-Getting Rid of Faithful Bereans Purpose Driven Style.

First of all I want to preface that I want you to read all the articles and links I post-search the scriptures to see if what is stated is true, ask the Holy Spirit to led you into all truth about everything posted here. If you find that it is not backed up in scripture-regect it totally. People would say that entertainment (what Rick Warren calls music) is a gray area in the Bible. I say it is not. The Bible teaches us not to be of the world. It actually states that if you are a friend of the world you are a enemy of God. That goes for entertainment, television and bringing man made business practices into the church. As Rick Warren does duplicating the wordly efforts and business practices of Peter Drucker.
http://user.txcyber.com/~wd5iqr/tcl/drucker.htm
note that this is from Forbes magazine the Homepage For The Worlds Business Leaders
http://www.forbes.com/management/2004/11/19/cz_rk_1119drucker.html



So what does it mean to be a faithful Berean? It simply means you read the Bible for yourself to see if what someone is saying is true.
I grew up in the Catholic church. I went to Catholic grade school and high school. I recieved a wonderful education but in all my years in school I was never encouraged to read the Bible for myself. Now I am not saying that the Catholic church believe only a elite few can really be lead into all truth and thats why they have a Magesterium.
Magisterium
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 85 states that authentic interpretation of the Word of God is entrusted to the living Magisterium of the Church, namely the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter. Catholic theology places the authoritative interpretation of scripture in the hands of the corporate judgment of the Church rather than the private judgment of the individual.
The Bible however contradicts this belief in the verse i started the post with.

Well does Slick Rick believe that we should have faithful Bereans in the church?
All I can say is that is Ricks man made purpose driven movement, in the five tasks Rick proclaims that Christ ordained for his church to acccomplish. No where do I find in Ricks five purposes a statement encouraging believers to study the Bible for themselves to see if what Rick says is true.
Its just not there folks.

Ricks quote about Catholics
"And, you know, growing up as a Protestant boy, I knew nothing about Catholics, but I started watching ETWN, the Catholic channel, and I said, "Well, I'm not as far apart from these guys as I thought I was, you know? "
Check this whole article out
http://pewforum.org/events/index.php?EventID=80
(Spoiler alert have a barf bag ready when you read this, Warrens constant bragging will make you want to puke)

So does Warren want you to read the Bible for yourself and how do they plan to eliminate you from your own church on purpose?
Lets see if bringing Bibles to church to see if the speaker is stating what is true is practiced at Ricks own church Saddleback.
Here is a exchange between a friend of mine who talked about his recent trip to Saddleback and Purpose Driven Poster boy (unofficial spokesman for Rick Warren) Richard Abanes (sounds like Adonis according to Richie).
(Sorry here- trying to fill my sarcasm quota for this post in one sentence)
Here is the exchange-
HILL'S #1: I learned if you take your Bible into the service you will be greeted immediately by an associate pastor, asking how your trip to California has been.
RESPONSE: Obviously, this is a sarcastic jab at Saddleback—and it's not true. I do not get instantly greeted as an out-of-towner just because you have your Bible. My goodness, people. Clearly, Hill is making reference to the fact that few people bring their Bible's with them to Saddleback. And yet we actually have a poster at Hill's blog who wrote: "Pretty bad when you look like a tourist if you have a Bible."I suppose it's possible that someone very observant might have wondered if Scott Hill was a visitor because he had a Bible, but it's not likely. Even if such a thing actually DID happen, exactly where does it say in scripture that in order to PROVE how holy you are, or PROVE how godly you are, or PROVE how much you know the Word of God, you must actually be toting around a glimmering Bible with you at church so everyone can see it? Sounds rather prideful to me and for some people might be an external sign of holiness. I saw this ALL THE TIME at Calvary Chapels—hey, man, if you had your Bible with you, you were part if the "IN" crowd, but no Bible got you dirty looks like "Oh, what's wrong with him?" or "Hey, she has no Bible, she might be trouble." Puh-lease.Here's a thought—how about actually LIVING what's inside the Bible and letting your faith be seen THAT way, rather than just making sure you're carrying a Bible at church (James 2:18 ). When/where did the physical act of carrying a Bible to church become the mark of Christianity??

Anyway come to what ever conclusion you like. I don't think Slick Rick and his gang want you looking to Gods word to see if what they say is true.

So if you are a faithful Berean are they going to be out to get you once your church has been assimilated by the purpose driven Borg. Or is resistance truely futile?
here is a definition of the Borg for those of you who do not watch Star Trek.

The Borg are a race of cyborgs in the Star Trek fictional universe. 'Borg' is simply short for cyborg. They are known both within and without Star Trek fandom for their relentless pursuit of that which they wish to assimilate or acquire, their rapid adaptability to almost any form of defense, and their ability to continue functionally after what may seem a devastating or even fatal blow as if nothing at all had happened, and as such have become a powerful symbol in popular culture for any seemingly unstoppable force against which "resistance is futile".

Sorry to use a secular term but it surely fits Rick (Locutus) Warren-

Here are some tidbits from Chuck McAllister "
"How to transition an established church "
(my rant-Look at that title folks does that reek of arrogance and make ya mad. What if the established church was established on Gods Word?-not the Book of Rick. Chaos can only follow.)
anyway here are the quotes
Start a gradual worship style transition (This was number one on the list-not pray and seek God, but the focus is on changing the music-just insert the word entertainment here when PD people say music-refer to my article on Ricks low view of music. Changing good God honoring music into music that entertains unbelievers is going to upset folks who want to worship God in spirit and in truth).
next quote-
"Possibly, you will face challenges from staff, particularly those who were present when you arrived. You must deal with those swiftly and decisively, preferably putting those issues to rest before you start the transition process. It will mean dismissing staff if they do not "buy in" to the transition. "
(To me this says the churchs transistion is no longer open to discussion and it doesnt matter if you think it stacks up with Gods word or not. And if you don't buy in "your fired".)
Next quote
"You must remember that the transition will not please everyone - that would be impossible. Do not abandon your vision to appease a person or even a group of persons who choose to leave. God will send other leaders to take their place. "
(Notice the focus is on your vision. Self centered-not God centered. And if your vision doesnt jive with Gods word-yes you will be sent other leaders. Will they be sent from God? Not a chance. And with the focus on changing music being the most important thing here I can with authority say that this vision is not from God because it does not align with scripture-again when they say music invert the word entertainment which is focused on man's pleasure not focused on pleasing God.)
Next quote
"However, the transitioning church cannot be seeker-driven, seeking to exalt the seeker above Jesus Christ. Only Jesus deserves the honor of our focus in worship and life. As He is exalted, He will draw men to Him. The spiritually minded members of your church will understand this.
( this may seem to dispute the point Im trying to make but I know from reading literally hundreds of pages on what these folks say against what they actually do constatly,contradict's what they publically state- check this link for further explaination http://fide-o.blogspot.com/2005/07/seeker-gymnastics.html)
next quote
". It is essential that the church purpose reflect the five purposes of a New Testament church: Worship, Discipleship, Fellowship, Evangelism, and Ministry. "
(Keep in mind this is what Rick Warren thinks are the five purposes of a New Testament church is. Within these five purposes stated in Rick Warrens book Purpose Driven church does it encourage you to read and seek God for yourself in the Bible.)
next quote
"One of the major problems in many transitioning churches is the monthly business meeting. As part of the structure change, it is important to move the church away from the need to vote on everything and to trust their leaders to make certain decisions. For those churches finding it difficult to implement an annual business meeting, one alternative is to transition to quarterly business meetings with the idea that you will later move to the annual business meeting."
(Top down managment-your opinion and feedback is not important-what more needs to be said here-again refer to articles I have posted on the Shepherding Movement and Bob Mumfords gang of five)
Next quote
"The senior pastor must assume full responsibility to hire or fire staff.This alleviates the need for a personnel committee and helps the staff understand how the chain of supervision operates. The church does not vote on either the establishment of a staff position or who occupies that position. Each staff member is evaluated on the anniversary of their arrival on staff, and the pastor determines the raise they will receive for the next year. The staff raises are divided into two parts: a merit raise and a cost-of-living raise, with a total percentage cap that is written into the budget. "
(This is not a biblical view because the church was run by elders -plural. Many churches I know have a exectutive or associate pastor who does the actual elimination of staff so the head or senior pastor does not have to look like a bad guy. Even though the word may have come and for sure it needs senior pastor apporoval.Many big companies are run like this-the New Testament church however was not run like this. People have decided that the ways of man are better than the ways God has taught in his word.)
Final quote-
"The senior pastor assumes responsibility for the overall vision and direction of the church."
(Sounds like a pope to me)

The average pay for a worship leader these days is between 19 and 40 thousand per year. I know in our church this includes a generous vacation with pay. This pay is also for churches between 700-5000.
Our church alone pays out over a million in salaries to staff.
In the big entertainment centers like Lakewood, Willow Creek and Saddleback Im sure its more.
Its big business with church these days and many families are dependent on the church because they work for the church.
Do you think someone will make waves if their salary is online?
So with the Church Growth Movement yes your numbers will increase( because of the entertainment and show you provide) but so will the bondage of not checking the scriptures to see if what is being spoken aligns with the word of God.

Here is the article I quoted from in its entirety. I would encourage you to read the whole thing(make sure I didnt take anything out of context). And then balance that with whats actually being done in Purpose Driven and Entertainment centers they call church these days.
You need to decide for yourselves what this movement really is. I have already decided.
The article
http://www.pastors.com/article.asp?ArtID=4702

Here is also a link to Chuck McAllisters church-check the fruit and see for yourselve is it mandriven and wordly or God centered. I encourage you to chech both links for yourself.
http://www.crossgatechurch.com/templates/eas06gr/details.asp?id=21521&PID=267663
http://www.crossgatechurch.com/templates/eas06gr/details.asp?id=21521&PID=267467