A Purpose Driven Plan

A PURPOSE DRIVEN PLAN
Commentary by Roger Oakland

http://www.understandthetimes.org/

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Have you noticed that Christianity is undergoing a major transition? “Purpose Driven” pastors are producing “Purpose Driven” churches that are filled with “Purpose Driven” believers.

Further, the gospel message that reminds man their need for a Savior has been replaced by the idea that the kingdom of God can be established on earth by human effort. Why is this?

Christianity has always undergone times when new ideas, trends or fads are promoted in the name of Jesus Christ. While proponents of these ideas claim they have discovered a new formula or plan that will produce a new and better brand of believer, we must always test these ideas authored by man with the Scriptures.

In the past, many genuine believers have been led astray, believing that the “new enlightenment” was the ultimate answer to the world’s problems that had previously been hidden in the Bible until recently uncovered or rediscovered.

However, the Bible commands that faith in God must be based on the Word of God. When man’s word does not line up with God’s Word, we should always stick with God’s Word.

History reveals this has not always been the case for many sincere professing Christians. Numerous are the examples of spiritually shipwrecked churches and families who followed spiritual leaders who led unsuspecting believers away from the Scriptures.

The latest plan by a man that is sweeping the world has already attracted thousands of pastors who are influencing millions of Christians. With the advent of modern technology, this is the first time in history that a single man has the means to market that plan on a global scale in a short period of time.

Of course by now, you know that I am referring to the Purpose Driven P.E.A.C.E. Plan. I also know that when I express my concerns about this plan I will be bombarded with countless number of critics who will not agree with what I am saying.
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Can Contemplative Spirituality Be Dangerous?

Called emerging, emergent church movement, and emerging church spirituality, this post-modern way of doing church is causing people to question the validity of its teachings. Simply put, many emerging church teachings are rooted in Contemplative Spirituality, which comes from the East.

But just what is Contemplative Spirituality and can Contemplative Spirituality be dangerous? This we seek to examine, not in a spirit of contention, but grace, humility and love. (1 Thess.5:21; Phil.1:8-11)

We recommend the following research sites for a closer look at emerging, emergent church movement, and emerging church spirituality.

At these sites you can also find info about contemplative spirituality, spiritual formation movement, contemplative teachers and teachings, contemplative movements, etc.

Emerging Church - Discernment Research Archives
Apprising Ministries Archive
Critical Issues Commentary Archive
Deception In The Church Archive
Herescope
Kjos Ministries Archive
Let Us Reason Archive
Lighthouse Trails Archive
Lighthouse Trails Topical
One Truth Ministries
Understand The Times Archive

Resources
Books, DVD's, Glossary, etc.
Revival or Return To Darkness DVD
Books and Authors: Buyer Be-a-ware!!!
Critical Issues Commentary - Bob DeWaay
Discernment Tool Kit at Deception In The Church
Discernment POWER Search

We exhort you to examine contemplative and emerging church spirituality and test it in the light of the Word of God. Researching the real foundations of contemplative emerging church spirituality may shock you. We have spent many hours examining the teachings and practices in this movement and have found that they ultimately lead to what we call Contemplative Emerging Church Deception.

Obey Jesus and "let no man deceive you."

Do what the Bible says,

"Test all things; hold fast what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil. "
1 Thes.5:21

Apostasy Continues To Exponentiate!

Greetings once again!

We hope and pray our readers are reading their Bibles too. Because apostasy in these last days continues to exponentiate!

Amidst working through more emails, we have received some very encouraging letters and also some very sad ones too. Periodically people will share their own stories about how their churches are embracing contemplative spirituallity, New Age mystical techniques, yoga, etc.

People also share about how their church leadership frowns upon them as they ask why the church is not teaching the Bible, but instead Rick Warren's book. We have recently posted more articles regarding these dangers of these things at our SRN Blog and our Contemplative Emerging Church deception Blog. These two articles help shed a bit of light on what Bible believers are up against nowadays

• pseudodidaskaloi' - The Cut & Paste Hermeneutics Of Rick Warren and The Gnostic by Jacob Prasch, Moriel Ministries, 12/14/06

BIBLE BUTCHERY - How To Make God’s Word Say Whatever You Like And Ignore What God Said It Actually Says - The Cut & Paste Hermeneutics Of Rick Warren and The Gnostic Interpretation Of The Parables By Brian Maclaren & Peter Tsukahira
www.moriel.org/articles/discernment/church_issues/pseudodidaskaloi.htm emerging church

• How to Know When the Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging in Your Church http://www.understandthetimes.org/commentary/c54.shtml

I have also received correspondence from a Christian who got into alternative therapies, new age healing, and Kundalini [yoga] arousal. Although he is a Christian, his life has been dramatically affected by occult influences. This ought not to be.

Sadly, many leaders in churches nowadays think it is a New way of doing church to integrate Gnostic mysticism and ancient rituals into church services, including chanting, praying with crystals, centering prayer, visiaulizing Jesus, incense, candles, venerating images and icons, walking labyrinths, etc.

A simple reading of Jeremaih chapter 7 and 8 reveals what our Holy God thinks about mixing pagan religious practices with the worship of the One true God - Jehovah - Jesus Christ!

Beware friends, New Age Gnosticicm and Ancient Mysticism re-labeled for Christians is not of the God of Holy Scripture! We understand that post-modern leaders want to reach out to poeple, but this is Christian chicanery - artful subterfuge, Trojan Horsism, masquerading as "true worship".

Rick Warren "Explains" Himself

Rick Warren "Explains" Himself by Sandy Simpson, 11/25/06

I got this email from a friend of our ministry. He spotted it on the web. Rick Warren's letter is in italics.

From: "Pastor Rick" pastorrick@saddleback.net
Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2006 12:53:56 -0800
Subject: MESSAGE THIS WEEKEND!

Dear Saddleback Family, Happy Thanksgiving. This weekend I'll announce the new giving commitments that are joining the rest of us in "EXTENDING THE VISION; For the Next Generation" PLUS ... I'll be sharing a very personal message on "Living By Your Convictions."

If by "living by your convictions" Warren is speaking of "doing what is right in (his) own eyes" (Judges 17:6) then he is a proper authority to speak on that subject. If by "living by your convictions" he means living in accordance to the Word of God, then I can't see how he could POSSIBLY be a good person to preach on this subject. Rick Warren and his whole program of Dominionism have NOTHING to do with our mandate as Christians to be light and salt in the world. Who told Rick to brag in his P.E.A.C.E. plan that we can "overcome" five of the biggest problems of the world? “Our goal will be to enlist 'one billion foot soldiers for the Kingdom of God', who will permanently change the face of international missions to take on these five “global giants” for which the church can become the ultimate distribution and change agent to overcome Spiritual Emptiness, Self-serving Leadership, Poverty, Disease and ignorance (or illiteracy)." (http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05040087.htm) The only time the problems of poverty, disease and ignorance will be "overcome" is in the Millenial Kingdom by Jesus Christ Himself. For now we will always have the poor with us (Mark 14:7), disease has and will continue throughout the history of the world and through the Tribulation, and ignorance is a universal problem, especially among those who twist Scripture like Rick Warren. (2 Pet. 3:16). Self-serving leadership? Need I say more? ...

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Can Rick Warren Change The World?

Can Rick Warren Change The World?

by Sandy Simpson, 8/21/06

With the recent rash (and I use that word physically) of Rick Warren appearances all over the TV networks, touted as the man who is going to save the planet, I have finally reached my maximum saturation point. I just want to address one statement that Warren made on Fox, though I could go into his appearances and what he taught in ultimate detail as I have in the past. But this one statement is more than enough to illustrate that Rick Warren is trying to change the world through his use of diaprax and his INCREDIBLE lack of discernment.

“I would trust a pastor or a rabbi of a synagogue or an imam of a Muslim mosque more then I would trust a government or NGO.” (Can Rick Warren Change the World? Fox Video – video time 2:15 Aug.19, 2006 Fox News).

Six points ...

(1) The title of the show on Fox was "Can Rick Warren Change the World?". Rick Warren does not have a mandate from God to change the world. Christians have a mandate to preach the Gospel and disciple all nations, being light and salt to the world. We do NOT have a mandate to fix the problems of the world, to take over the NGOs of the world, nor should any Christian make that boast. Yet Warren makes those boasts over and over again in a variety of ways. He is simply following the agenda of his mentor C. Peter Wagner who has been teaching this Latter Rain/Dominionist agenda to a whole generation of Fuller Seminary graduates like Warren, stating that Christians must "overthrow the governments" of the world.

http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/dominionismexposed.html http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/arise.html

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