Comments on: iMonk 101: “Mr. Spencer, How Would You Like Your Crow?”

By: Jon S

Jon S — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:25:43 +0000

I used to frequent a BLOG that saw Warren as the anti-something to Christianity. Of course it was not nice of me to push back on these people who love to push back on everyone else… .

From a purely theological perspective…I have found his books to be shallow…. but I think your right his heart is investing more time in people than most of his critics and we are not out to create religious think-tanks.

Of course now that he was at Obamas inaugaration these rant and rave BLOGS have more ammunition than ever before.

Keep it up Rick Warren!!!!

By: internetelias

internetelias — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:14:13 +0000

I ‘double-dog’ dare ya to read some of my posts at internetelias.com. My interpretations of scripture are different to the masses….but, hey…that’s a good thing.

Peace

Carolyn

By: internetelias

internetelias — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:10:43 +0000

Steve…Persons sitting under the teaching/preaching of Rick Warren or any other pastoral teacher/preacher can blame his/her lack of knowledge of Truth’ on the preacher. Christ is to be the shepherd. But some Christians prefer the ‘fast food drive through’ rather than searching scripture to see ‘whether those things be true.’ can’t stand at the pearly gates and say, ‘It’s Rick Warren’s fault.’

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:10:42 +0000

I am not a Southern Baptist, so there are a number of things about him that I find mildly comical or offensive — I’m sure he would find me odd or pitiful in a variety of ways.

I have found his books to be peurile and childish….so what.

If all you have to work with are the books and the public pronouncements of Mr. Warren, then you don’t have the full story. Having lived thru the attempted *Warrenization* of a church, my chief complaint is Mr. Warren’s wholesale advocacy of, and practice of, DECEPTION.

The deliberate and ruthless misleading of parishioners, especially the elderly, I find to unconscionable, yet that is precisely the methodology advocated by RW. He is a two-bit, cheesy Machiavel who justifies the means with the ends. Check out the seminar materials from years gone by.

As you well know, Michael, church governance can be a rough and nasty business. RW lowers it even further.

So when RW’s smiling face pops up yet again on Larry King you may see the African missions, etc; I see old folks bounced out of their churches as part of the “program” and a sizable “folk wandering” of Christians shocked and disillusioned by the shallowness of Warrenism and outraged by the outright pastoral lies foisted upon them as God’s Shepherds carefully followed the seminar script.

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:36:56 +0000

It really pained me to see my gay friends attacking Obama for letting Warren do the prayer. You hate to see “liberals” suddenly be so intolerant.

I think Obama hit a home run with his selection of Warren. If the right wing and the left wing are both angry at him, it must mean he’s doing something right!!

By: Brandon

Brandon — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:08:16 +0000

I can’t say that I’m a fan of Warren’s theology and views on church, but in comparison to a lot of other preachers out there, he certainly exceeds them. And especially of the type who are in the limelight.

His Invocation was as good a prayer as it was a bridge being built between “conservatives” and “liberals” from my P.O.V. in Australia. The man doesn’t deserve any beat up for the work he does for God and if he does get beaten up by conservative talk radio and the conservative blogosphere, then God help us all.

By: dumb ox

dumb ox — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:35:11 +0000

I’ve heard the stories of how hurricane force winds can drive normally harmless objects through telephone poles. That is my take on Warren. His overall message is fine, but the power of his influence drives those seemingly insignificant errors deep into a church’s culture and psyche. Billy Graham wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t dominate not just a church but every church in a major community like Warren has – from Sunday school, to sermon, to small group to the observation of Lent. There’s no escape. And little is left to balance it. And in my case, when my son is taught a Warren-ism in youth group, I have to work really hard to undo it. I don’t have a DVD teaching series that I can put up on the jumbotron for him to watch.

It’s big-box Christianity; wanting something more than what is on the two-story shelves is treated as nit-picking. It’s easy to feel powerless. One man thousands of miles away can control so much.

Warren is far better than Osteen, Copeland, or Spong. He’s far better than even some of my favorite theologians. But my church would never let an Osteen or Spong book through the front door, but because of his influence, Warren is everywhere. Maybe it’s just a case of Rick Warren burn-out.

By: joe

joe — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:21:28 +0000

Great post. On the comments about Wright, I can’t say I think it was all Fox fanning the flames. There is a lot of hate and resentment and racism in some quarters of the black Church, and whites react with just as much hostility and resentment towards it. That doesn’t mean much of the Black resentment is not justified. If just means hate generates hate. And when you are motivated by anger it is all too easy to fall off the Righteous Anger bandwagon and into som variation of hate.

By: Bob Sacamento

Bob Sacamento — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:13:28 +0000

Thanks for this piece, Michael. Some balance on RW is something evangelicalism desperately needs. He is neither a heretic nor a latter day prophet. I don’t think he is at all in the same league as the leaders who first defined evagleicalism, but he is head and shoulders above most well known preachers today. My two cents.

By: internetelias

internetelias — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:44:04 +0000

Caucazhin, I’m sure grateful that it ‘rains on the just and the unjust.’ God commands that we do good for evil. In His infinite mercies, abundant blessings continue to rain on people world wide. While we can’t prevent persons who choose to have legal abortions, we can turn our fervency, energy, and discussion to more productive outcomes. If we simply visit(relieve their suffering) the orphans, homeless children, abused children, hungry children, and the aged children in their afflictions….God will smile. He grieves deeply over the hurts of the children who live and suffer in the here and now.