The "Seeker Sensitive" Church Movement and the Book,

The Purpose Driven Life  by Pastor Rick Warren

    When I served as a support team member of the Walk Across America in  2004 (see elsewhere on the website) like the other team members I saw the widespread influence of the "seeker sensitive" movement of growing churches in American Christianity.  As we entered many cities and town across the land we’d see on signs outside churches, or on the newspaper religion pages of those towns, that congregations of different denominations considering or already adopting this approach to growing churches.     The movement may be the most influential in American Christianity in at least 50 years.        

    The most prominent promoters of this thinking are Pastors Bill Hybels of the Willow Creek Community Church in the greater Chicago area and Dr. Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church in southern California.   A book important to this movement is The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren.   Ideas in this best-selling book and his related work, The Purpose Driven Church, are central to the movement.  Why is a new idea on growing churches important to America?   Because this country’s founding was directed by God and its most influential early settlers were Christians coming here to worship as they believed they were commanded and to spread the redeeming message of Jesus Christ.  Whatever strengthens or harms the church affects the nation.  Ultimately, we are led correctly or astray not so much as by our political leaders but by our Christian pastors.   Thus,  our survival and blessings --- or our destruction --- originate from how we see God,  the Christian faith,  and how we practice it.

   The seeker sensitive movement is influencing churches beyond America, and it has likely been considered or adopted by your church.  I have found serious problems with The Purpose Driven Life.  As a former pastor and one who’s participated in various kinds of evangelism and street ministry, like Pastor Warren, I too, want people coming to a saving knowledge of Christ and obedience and church membership.  But I believe his approach to the Christian life and church is subtly leading us to another Jesus, one not of the Gospels. I read his book, compared his Scriptural quotations with four different English translations, and looked up a few key words in the original Greek.   Tell others about this article.  others. – Jim Phillips, santurcejibaro1971@yahoo.com

I. Theological

My biggest theologial problem with Warren is his superficial treatment of salvation.  I doubt if a lost person picking up this book could learn enough of their sin and the holiness of God to be saved.

We learn we need to be saved first from knowing that God is holy and we’re not. Holiness is the primary attribute of God.  The third of the Bible’s 66 books, Leviticus, is essentially devoted to God’s holiness.  That attribute appears in many ways thoughout Scripture.  In Rev. 4:8 four living creatures who are at God’s throne in heaven are said to say "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty…" day and night.  Notice they don’t say, "God is love" or "God forgives," both of which are true. But nowhere in this book does Warren say "God is holy."   Now think about that… that has huge implications.  Warren mentions God’s "inherent glory" on p. 54, but that’s not quite the same thing!  Holiness denotes among other things that man should have a healthy fear of God, and that unless God takes the initiative to approach man, man isn’t worthy to, or able to, approach God.  Remember, God warned Moses that any man seeing God’s face would die.

I see a big problem here …. this lack of holiness I anticipate will set the stage for Warren to change his theology to later assign man a value not given him in Scripture.

Okay.   In a book of 319 pages, Warrens’ explanation of salvation appears chiefly on pp. 34, 37, 58, 118, and 228.   That’s not a lot.   Now if one’s not truly saved, then God can’t instill a purpose in his life, for the carnal man doesn’t understand spiritual things, I Cor. 2:14, nor can he be led by the Holy Spirit as the Spirit would guide a believer, lacking spiritual wisdom and discernment.

Nowhere in the book does the concept of repentance appear as necessary or helpful for salvation.   Well, now… what does Scripture say?   In two of the four gospels, the word "repentance" appears in the first recorded sentence out of Jesus’ mouth after His baptism and wilderness testing as we see in Matthew and Mark.   Thus the concept was important to both Jesus and the gospel writers.

Another clue for the prominence of repentance by Jesus was the public perception of His teaching and preaching.  Note that in Matthew 16: 13,14, Jesus asks His disciples who the people believe Jesus is.  The disciples reply that some believe Jesus to be John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or another of the prophets.   In other words, His preaching was seen as "hard preaching", centering on the call to repentance often heard in the words of those mentioned prophets.   No seeker-friendly foolishness was found in those white hot gospel preachers.   In likely their first preaching assignment as told in Mark, note the disciples’ approach to preaching; "They went out and preached that men should repent." (Mark 6:12, NASB).   Here they followed Jesus’ instructions and example.

Warren’s first mention of repentance is on p. 105 as part of worship, not conversion or salvation. His definition of repentance on p. 182, more than halfway through the book, is just that it’s a "change of mind." But that’s not all that repentance is! We get most of our understanding of repentance from two Greek words, metanoeo and metanoia.   They tell us that a frequent, if not vital, part of repentance is an abhorrence and deep sorrow for one’s own sin.   If you have ever led someone to salvation in Christ you’ve likely seen this in at least many cases. Furthermore, repentance connotes an obvious and often striking change of lifestyle, seen soon after conversion.   But you don’t see that in Warren’s definition.

So what does Rick Warren say salvation is in this book?   To his credit he quotes John 14:6 and says that man must make a decision about, must respond to, or must do something about Jesus, as on p. 34.   Well and good!   And on p. 118 and elsewhere, he correctly tells us not everyone is a child of God.   Ya gotta be saved!   Also well and good!

But on p. 58 he says to be sure you’re saved, all you need to do is "receive and believe." Here we have a head on collision with another problem.   The English term "believe" doesn’t carry the force or depth of the concept of belief unto salvation as we see in biblical Greek.   Biblical Greek used five different words, some different, some closely related, to convey the concept.   The most important is pisteuo, (#4100 in Strong’s numbering system) meaning to be firmly persuaded, to entrust, to believe in the character of God, and to continue believing.   This is the word "believe" we see in John 3:16 and Rom. 10: 9, 10, for example.   As used in the Bible the word "believe" was life-changing. But in modern English we can say "I believe I can get the best buys on tires at Wal-Mart," but then as we drive there we’re persuaded that Goodyear has a better deal and we change our mind and buy Goodyear tires.

Remember, part of the definition of pisteuo is believing in the character of God.   No one in the Bible ever had a casual encounter with Jesus! People walked miles, for days, just to see and hear Him.   They pressed through packed crowds to touch him, and Temple police stopped dead in their tracks to listen to Him, forgetting they were to arrest Him.   But remember, if Warren’s God isn’t holy, you can get away with a casual belief in God!

Another reason it’s so imperative to define the biblical concept of belief is how others came to a saving faith in Christ after meeting Him.   Look at Nicodemus in John 3, Zaccheus in Luke 19, the woman at the well in John 4, and even Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9. None were described as having repented, but again, pisteuo connotes a life-changing belief possible by the unique character, power, and authority of Christ.    They weren’t saved by any casual belief!   That just doesn’t come across in either Warren’s use of "belief" or how we use it in 21^st century dumbed down, hip-hop "uh… whatever… " America.   But Rick Warren is a skilled communicator with 20+ years of ministry experience and is well capable of delineating fine points of differences in Greek words to the American mass public…. if he wanted to.

And there’s more on being saved, and from Jesus Himself.   We forget that Jesus had four requirements for being saved:  1. To repent, as we see in Mt. 3:2 and Mark 1:15; 2. your righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, Mt. 5:20; 3. you must be converted (here we get back to repentance again) and become like children, Mt. 18:3, and 4. you must be born again, John 3:3.   Well, if Jesus said it, I’d better pay attention to it. But unfortunately Pastor Rick essentially skips over these; just one paragraph defining "born again" in a 319 page book would easily have been possible and very helpful.

II. Hermeneutics – the art and science of biblical interpretation

Okay, if you’re going to write a theological book in a responsible, accurate way, you start with a serious evaluation of different translations.   Which would be best to use?   We can say there are "three kinds of Bibles, " namely paraphrases, dynamic translations, and formal translations on the market.   A paraphrase, such as The Living Bible, will serve you for serious Bible study as well as the following directions to get to Chicago from Texas: "Well, dude, go north, man, you know, it’s in Illinois."   A paraphrase isn’t for a serious biblical communicator but only for the seriously lazy.   Now a dynamic translation (NIV, New Century, and others) will tell you: "Take such and such highways through certain states, and in about so many hours you’ll enter Chicago."   But if you are really serious about just where you turn and how long it’s really going to take you, you get a formal translation (KJV, NKJ, NASB, and the new one from Ligonier Ministries, the Reformation Bible).   Dynamic translations get the main point across and are useful; formal translations are word-for-word, and alone contain the precise meanings and nuances of biblical words and concepts so often needed.   Mark Twain once said, "The difference between the right word and almost the right word is the difference between a lightning bug and lightning bolt."   Pastor Rick has used 15 paraphrases and different translations in his book but relies mostly on paraphrases and dynamic translations.   Shaky ground, already, there, Rick.

I can almost forgive that.   But what I can’t forgive, and what continually astounds me, is how he rips verses out of context.   Humorist Will Rogers was said to have never met a man he didn’t like; Rick Warren just about never met a biblical context he could stand. Warren has a great many biblical quotations in the book.   Now some were taken from the correct context, but I counted 27 very questionable or flat out fraudulent choices of context.

Some of the more gruesome: 1. On page 76, he says, "God is looking for people like Noah in the twenty-first century – people willing to live for the pleasure of God.   The Bible says, ‘The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who are wise, who want to please God.’"   Now this is quoting Psalm 14:2. But that’s not the main meaning of Psalm 14!     In the New American Standard Bible it reads, from verses 1-4: " The fool has said in his heart there is not God.   They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.   The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.   They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."   And the New Century Version and NIV, both dynamic (remember, a little looser) translations, say the same thing!   That no one is looking to please God, but Warren’s choice of context says the opposite!

2. Chapter 19 talks about building intimacy, or depth of fellowship among fellow believers in our local church; Warren titles this chapter "Cultivating Community."   He begins the chapter by saying that James 3: 18 says, "You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor."   But compare that rendering with KJV, NASB, and even the New Century, and again, the context has nothing to do with "building community," but in telling us what spiritual wisdom is!

III. The Bad Spiritual Bedfellows of the Seeker Sensitive Movement.

1. Those you associate with tells something about your beliefs.   A New York Times 2/8/06 article announced that Pastor Warren was among 86 prominent evangelicals joining to fight "global warming."   Yes, Christians are to be responsible stewards and we all want clean air and water.   But who are those environmental chums of Warren’s?   Pamela Wong, editor of Concerned Women for America’s Family Voice,      (www.cwfa.org/articles/10157/) tells us this coalition of evangelicals is funded with a $475,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.   Some recipients of the Hewlett’s funding in the past have been: International Planned Parenthood, $739,000 in 2001- 003 to the Naional Abortion Federation, a trade group of abortionists; The Abortion Access Project, which trains medical students to committ abortions, and others.   If you check political allies of abortionists you will often eventually see radical environmentalists, homosexuals, wiccans, and other fun fellows.   The Pastor’s staff could easily have checked this out.

2. In a 2/1/06 www.christianpost.com news report, seeker pastors Bill Hybels of Chicago’s Willow Creek Community Church, perhaps the godfather of the movement, and Pastor Rick announced plans to join others (Samaritan’s Purse, Catholic Relief Services, and more) to fight HIV/AIDS.   But the plan would be funded by a $15 billion Bush administration grant. Some of you with ministerial experience know that eventually government control follows government benefits and grants.   Could it just be that government grants will later silence any possible gospel message in a Warren-led AIDS/HIV fight?   Now could there just be an undue spiritual alliance with this world?   A certain wariness of government would be healthy here.

3. In a 2/21/06 news release, Light House Trails Research (www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blanchardreport) reports that "…well known professing Christian author, speaker and business guru, Ken Blanchard, who has ties with Rick Warren, Bill Hybles, David Jeremiah and other Christian leaders… " had said he’d drop the New Age teaching previously but has instead continued.   According to this story, Mr. Blanchard has written the forewards or book jacket endorsements of several New Age books and participated in their seminars. Some examples: Ken Blanchard wrote the foreward to Franz Metcalf’s What  Would Buddha Do at Work?:  2001;  "I look for inspirational messages from a variety of sources besides Jesus.   Our folks get to hear words of wisdom from great prophets and spiritual leaders like Buddha, Mohammed, Yogannanda and the Dalai Lama."   Mr. Blanchard wrote the foreward to Jim Ballard’s Mind Like Water  "Jim Ballard’s wonderful book, Mind Like Water… I hope that you and countless other readers will find in Mind Like Water some ways to calm your consciousness."    From the book: "I signed up for the yoga meditation lessons… founded by Paramahansa Yogananda … I had evidently reached a level of consciousness beyond the usual … I continue to consider meditation far and away the most important thing I do." (Yes, Christians can and do meditate but with some differences.)   -- Jim Ballard, Mind Like Water, pp. 77, 78.   In this book, Ballard teaches breath prayer, visualization, mantra meditation, and a number of other practices to enter the altered state of consciousness.

Well, okay, but are there other ties between Warren and Blanchard?   According to the Light House Trails website, yes: 1. Attending a Leadership Summit in 2005 were Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, and Ken Blanchard; 2. the same three recorded a "Lead Like Jesus CD Set"; 3. they also were in the Lead Like Jesus 2003 and 2004 conferences, and other ties are found on the website.    Pastor Rick Warren’s New Age ties may not be pronounced but subtle.   But you are often eventually influenced by the company you keep.

IV. Was Jesus seeker-sensitive?

A dominant theme of seeker-sensitive churches is to downplay or altogether avoid sin, topics, or even images that might cause discomfort or offense to a non-Christian visiting a church.   The music, style of dress by those in the service, and décor of the church sanctuary are informal.   More thoughts on the seeker-sensitive movement vs. biblical Christianity:   Was Jesus seeker-sensitive?     People dealt with Jesus for different motives and He treated them differently, but He was not seeker-sensitive.   In Mt. 8:28- 34, Jesus expelled many demons from a man in the Gadarenes area, and sent them into a large herd of pigs.  The pigs all rushed over a cliff and drowned, thereby hitting the nearby village a big economic blow.   The townspeople came out and saw how the demon-possessed man had been cured and what had happened to their pigs.   Instead of rejoicing they begged Jesus to leave.   And He did, without trying to reason with them.   He gave them one shot, they rejected Him, and then He left them alone.

It is unfortunate but true that the gospel is divisive.    Jesus tells us in Mt. 10: 34- 36 that it will divide even the members of a family or of the same household.

In Mt. 19: 16- 22 a rich young ruler came to Jesus, asking the serious question of what he must do to inherit eternal life.   Jesus told him, after discussing first obedience to the law, that he must then go and sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor.   The young man reluctantly rejected this and left Jesus.   Did Jesus run after him, asking him to reconsider or offering a compromise?     No, Jesus let him go.   Jesus gave him one shot, presenting the gospel on His terms, and it was rejected.

On at least one occasion Jesus was invited to a banquet hosted by the rulers and Pharisees.   Normally, the guest of honor a such a gathering would be on good behavior and be complimentary to his host.   Jesus never showed a mean spirit, but in using the banquet as a teaching opportunity He minced no words in condemning his hosts and their practices.    You likely could have heard a pin drop if you’d been there.   His disciples later pointed out that He’d offended his hosts.    Jesus had known that very well.   Did He offer a compromise or spin on what He said?   No.

V. Holiness, Discernment, Wisdom, and Spiritual Gifts: Set Aside and Thus Never Used.

In Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, God is never mentioned as being holy. The word holiness appears, but only in the context of God making men holy, though Warren never defines what holiness is. Wow!   If God’s not presented as holy, how are we to take the command in both the OT and NT to be holy?   Holiness is important to sanctification and to discernment.

This leads to a lack of discernment in important areas.   Discussing church music, on p. 66 Warren says, "There is no such thing as ‘Christian’ music; there are only Christian lyrics.   It is the words that make a song sacred, not the tune. There are no spiritual tunes.   If I played a song for you without the words, you’d have no way of knowing if it were a ‘Christian’ song."

Pastor Rick, if you carried this just a very little bit further, then you’d have any kind of music in the sanctuary     Always, always, always, consider the spiritual source of a teaching, movie, government program, or, yes, even of music.       More than one form of music has been born in, and largely supported by, bars, nightclubs, and even brothels (the latter the case of Scott Joplin, the originator of ragtime music, who for some time made his living as quite literally the house piano player in a brothel.)

Pastor Rick needs to talk to composers, arrangers, and musicians themselves.  They, playing different forms of music, can tell you that music can be, and sometimes is, composed, arranged, and played sensuosly.   Look at the lyrics of country music, rock, and blues and see throught the years references to adultery, drug use, fornication, paganism, suicide, and more.   These references are part of the spiritual source of the music.   Compare the pleasant, harmonic structures of some forms of music letting you to pay attention to the lyrics and then listen to the overly loud, frantic, blistering forms of other music and ask yourself, was that done "decently and in order?"   Could I hear and reflect on what was said?       Talk to musicians and they will tell you much about the spiritual power of their work.

No definitions of either sanctification of spiritual gifts are found in The Purpose Driven Life. No spiritual gifts are listed, not one, and though there is disagreement in the body of Christ about some aspects of spiritual gifts, I believe we all can say that they are legitimate and should be used.   But if God wants us to find a purpose for our lives, wouldn’t He use spiritual gifts?   Wouldn’t He tell us how sanctification, which is a part of discernment, is then a part of wisdom, so needed to direct us toward "our purpose"?   But Warren’s book doesn’t get into these topics at all.

VI. The Overall Thrust of The Purpose Driven Life

Much could be said here.    The overall tone and direction of the book is subtly man-centered.    Pastor Rick sees man more as how man sees man, not as how God sees man.   In not saying God is holy, and in not quoting, for example that before Christ and without Christ we are God’s enemies, (Rom. 5:10), and in not explaining how only Christ could render a sufficient sacrifice, the gap between God and man in Warren’s view isn’t sometimes all that large.   While written for the mass market, The Purpose Driven Life is still a theological book and its thrust is to benefit man.

On page 136 Warren says that God "… created the church to meet your five deepest needs" which he goes on to explain.   And so much of the seeker movement is for man. Now much of what he says about how the church should do and be is correct, but the scale tips just a little bit too much to enhance man.

Finally, this year a new trend in church growth has been reported, the Emergent Church Movement. (See Light House Trails Research for more.)   Its leaders are quoted in newspapers (Dallas Morning News, for example) as saying they don’t even know what the church should be. It’s still "emerging."   Oh.   Well, that’s just peachy.   If they don’t know what "church" is, how will they know whenever they may get there?   But it began with the soothing, slickly packaged nuances of the seeker senstive movement whose foundations we see in this book and elsewhere first.   First, individudals are led astray from God.   Then the church.   Where is our ability and willingness to discern?   If the pastors stray, what becomes of the sheep?   And the nation?   Why, and how on this good green earth, have so many pastors, the spiritual guardians of their flocks, promoted this?