If you don’t subscribe to Christian Worldview Network yet, I encourage you to check it out for yourself. They have articles, video and audio from some of the most respected Christians around the world. They are continuing an examination of Rick Warren and The Purpose Driven Church Movement. Today, they listed a video from Comedy Central of Rick Warren being interviewed by Stephen Colbert. I encourage you to check out here:
Link: Rick Warren on Comedy Central
In addition, Brannon Howse, the Founder of CWN, has a radio show that looks more in depth at Rick Warren and his beliefs/methods. Here is the latest radio program taking a look at the Topic: “Are Christians that oppose the emergent church, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen and others being unloving and unchrist like? What is the price of unity? Can we get along and go along with those that are contrary to Biblical truth? Are we required to call someone before we publicly talk about what they have publicly written and said? “
See Radio Program here:
http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com/radio-show-episode.php?EpisodeID=4362
I also encourage you to check out Lighthouse Trails Research, which has a large resource of information on false doctrine from popular “christian leaders”:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?s=rick+warren
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/peaceplan.htm
Let us test everything and cling to what is good. We also have a responsibility to care for our flocks, because Scripture is clear that in latter days, people will have "itching ears" and subscribe to whatever brand of doctrine they want, irrespective of biblical truth.
For the Fame of Jesus alone.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
John Piper Response to "A Common Word between Us and You"
Muslim Clerics and Christian Response
A group of 138 Muslim Clerics originally wrote back in October “A Common Word Between Us and You” to foster conversation between Christian and Muslims about "Loving God and Loving People". In Response to this document, over 300 Christian Scholars, Pastors, Missions Leaders, and Organizations published their own document through the Yale Center for Faith and Culture to outline some of this Common Ground. These names include:
Bill Hybels, Tony Jones, Brian McLaren, Joseph Cumming, Robert Schuller, John Stott, Rick Warren, and Fuller Theological Seminary, to name a few.
A few months after this original document, "A Common Word Between Us and You", John Piper has released a video response to this Christian document on his Blog, DesiringGod.org/Blog, expressing both disappointment and surprise over it:
"I just want to register publicly a disappointment with this document, in fact a profound disappointment with the way that it is worded and surprised that some of the people that signed it, some of my friends who signed it, who i would have thought would be more careful in what they lend their support to because what's missing from this document is a clear statement about what Christianity really is and how we could come together to talk with muslims from our unique, distinctive, biblical standpoint."
More Links about "A Common Word Between Us and You"
MUSLIM Introduction to "A Common Word Between Us and You":
http://Acommonword.com
CHRISTIAN Response to "A Common Word Between Us and You": http://www.yale.edu/faith/abou-commonword.htm
http://www.acommonword.com/lib/downloads/fullpageadbold18.pdf
JOHN PIPER Video Blog Response to Christian Response:
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1032_a_common_word_between_us/
More Articles on JOHN PIPER:
http://missionaryroad.com/tag/john-piper/
JUSTIN TAYLOR Blog Response to John Piper Video:
http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/01/piper-on-common-word-and-response.html
ISLAMIC MAGAZINE Article about "A Common Word...":
http://www.islamicamagazine.com/Common-Word/A-Common-Word.html
CHRISTIANITY TODAY Response to "A Common Word...":
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/octoberweb-only/143-42.0.html
More on Rick Warren:
http://missionaryroad.com/tag/rick-warren
A group of 138 Muslim Clerics originally wrote back in October “A Common Word Between Us and You” to foster conversation between Christian and Muslims about "Loving God and Loving People". In Response to this document, over 300 Christian Scholars, Pastors, Missions Leaders, and Organizations published their own document through the Yale Center for Faith and Culture to outline some of this Common Ground. These names include:
Bill Hybels, Tony Jones, Brian McLaren, Joseph Cumming, Robert Schuller, John Stott, Rick Warren, and Fuller Theological Seminary, to name a few.
A few months after this original document, "A Common Word Between Us and You", John Piper has released a video response to this Christian document on his Blog, DesiringGod.org/Blog, expressing both disappointment and surprise over it:
"I just want to register publicly a disappointment with this document, in fact a profound disappointment with the way that it is worded and surprised that some of the people that signed it, some of my friends who signed it, who i would have thought would be more careful in what they lend their support to because what's missing from this document is a clear statement about what Christianity really is and how we could come together to talk with muslims from our unique, distinctive, biblical standpoint."
More Links about "A Common Word Between Us and You"
MUSLIM Introduction to "A Common Word Between Us and You":
http://Acommonword.com
CHRISTIAN Response to "A Common Word Between Us and You": http://www.yale.edu/faith/abou-commonword.htm
http://www.acommonword.com/lib/downloads/fullpageadbold18.pdf
JOHN PIPER Video Blog Response to Christian Response:
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1032_a_common_word_between_us/
More Articles on JOHN PIPER:
http://missionaryroad.com/tag/john-piper/
JUSTIN TAYLOR Blog Response to John Piper Video:
http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/01/piper-on-common-word-and-response.html
ISLAMIC MAGAZINE Article about "A Common Word...":
http://www.islamicamagazine.com/Common-Word/A-Common-Word.html
CHRISTIANITY TODAY Response to "A Common Word...":
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/octoberweb-only/143-42.0.html
More on Rick Warren:
http://missionaryroad.com/tag/rick-warren
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
GO TO MISSIONARYROAD.COM
I have moved to a new blog site called Wordpress to combine all stories, life, community etc...I will no longer be posting on this site...
Check it out here:
http://www.missionaryroad.com
Thanks for visiting!
Ken
Check it out here:
http://www.missionaryroad.com
Thanks for visiting!
Ken
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Principles for Evangelism
I stumbled upon this blog from Pulpit Magazine: The Online Magazine of the Shepherds’ Fellowship, using technorati.com, which tags particular topics to search blogs across the globe.
This article gives some great practical advice on being a witness and sharing your faith. I hope it encourages you on your journey.
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2007/06/19/794/
Let's keep fighting the good fight of faith, fixing our eyes on Jesus, demonstrating compassion for the lost, and sharing Christ in God's Power.
Ken
This article gives some great practical advice on being a witness and sharing your faith. I hope it encourages you on your journey.
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2007/06/19/794/
Let's keep fighting the good fight of faith, fixing our eyes on Jesus, demonstrating compassion for the lost, and sharing Christ in God's Power.
Ken
Saturday, June 23, 2007
What team are you on???
This is a new ministry I ran across that I hope encourages anyone that wants to become more equipped to share their faith:
http://www.evangelismteam.com/
"Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold. I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."
John 4:35
We have all been called to the harvest. Our commission is to "Go..." Too often we sit back and wait for the lost to come to us when it is our duty to reach out to them. Jesus said "...go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled." What Jesus did not say was "invite sinners to church and wait for the pastor to share the Gospel with them."
Although this is quite a heavy topic and offends people within the church building, we must listen to the infallible words of Scripture. Jesus told us that "the harvest is truly plenteous, but the laborers are few, therefore pray for the Lord of the harvest." Why would Jesus tell us that the laborers are few if every Believer was fulfilling the Great Commission?
With over 6 billion people in the world, less than 16 %* are considered to be Christian. Never has the harvest been so plenteous and the laborers so few. According to an Evangelical magazine, only 2% of what we commonly call "Evangelical" Christians actively share their faith. Nearly 2000 years ago
http://www.evangelismteam.com/
"Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold. I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."
John 4:35
We have all been called to the harvest. Our commission is to "Go..." Too often we sit back and wait for the lost to come to us when it is our duty to reach out to them. Jesus said "...go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled." What Jesus did not say was "invite sinners to church and wait for the pastor to share the Gospel with them."
Although this is quite a heavy topic and offends people within the church building, we must listen to the infallible words of Scripture. Jesus told us that "the harvest is truly plenteous, but the laborers are few, therefore pray for the Lord of the harvest." Why would Jesus tell us that the laborers are few if every Believer was fulfilling the Great Commission?
With over 6 billion people in the world, less than 16 %* are considered to be Christian. Never has the harvest been so plenteous and the laborers so few. According to an Evangelical magazine, only 2% of what we commonly call "Evangelical" Christians actively share their faith. Nearly 2000 years ago
Thursday, May 24, 2007
How are you reaching "THE CITY"?
Tim Keller wrote a great article on the importance of reaching the 3 largest cities in America in order to not only change culture but also affect the world and our lives.
http://theresurgence.com/tim_keller_2002_a_biblical_theology_of_the_city
SUMMARY
* Reach the city to reach the culture. Protestant (evangelical) Christians are the least urban religious group and thus have the least impact culturally. Three kinds of people here affect the future: a) elites, b) new immigrants, c) the poor. The single most effective way for Christians to 'reach' the US would be for 25% of them to move to two or three of the largest cities and stay there for three generations.
* Reach the city to reach your region and the world. a) Region. You can't reach the city from the suburbs, but can reach all the metro area from the city. b) World. The return of the 'city-state'. The cities of the world are now linked more to one another than to their own states and countries. Each major city is a 'portal' to the other major cities of the world.
* Reach the city to reach your own heart with the gospel.
* In the city you'll find a) people that seem 'hopeless' spiritually, and b) people of other religions or no religion and of deeply non-Christian lifestyles that are wiser, kinder, and deeper than you. This will shock you out of your moralism and force you to either finally believe the gospel of sheer grace, or give it up altogether. You may get top marks on justification by faith alone, but functionally, believe salvation by works. The city will show this to you as nothing else will.
* In the city you will find that the poor and the broken are often much, much more open to the idea of gospel grace and much more dedicated to its practical outworkings than you are.
* You should eventually come to see that you need the city more than the city needs you.
http://theresurgence.com/tim_keller_2002_a_biblical_theology_of_the_city
SUMMARY
* Reach the city to reach the culture. Protestant (evangelical) Christians are the least urban religious group and thus have the least impact culturally. Three kinds of people here affect the future: a) elites, b) new immigrants, c) the poor. The single most effective way for Christians to 'reach' the US would be for 25% of them to move to two or three of the largest cities and stay there for three generations.
* Reach the city to reach your region and the world. a) Region. You can't reach the city from the suburbs, but can reach all the metro area from the city. b) World. The return of the 'city-state'. The cities of the world are now linked more to one another than to their own states and countries. Each major city is a 'portal' to the other major cities of the world.
* Reach the city to reach your own heart with the gospel.
* In the city you'll find a) people that seem 'hopeless' spiritually, and b) people of other religions or no religion and of deeply non-Christian lifestyles that are wiser, kinder, and deeper than you. This will shock you out of your moralism and force you to either finally believe the gospel of sheer grace, or give it up altogether. You may get top marks on justification by faith alone, but functionally, believe salvation by works. The city will show this to you as nothing else will.
* In the city you will find that the poor and the broken are often much, much more open to the idea of gospel grace and much more dedicated to its practical outworkings than you are.
* You should eventually come to see that you need the city more than the city needs you.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Scripture to know the way, show the way, and contend as cultural warriors for the Truth
I read Driscoll's blog recently, and he shared about a conference where JI Packer spoke about the importance of the Scriptures in showing others "The Way" on their journeys. I found some great insights both for evangelism purposes and reaching out to a lost culture in need of Jesus.
Driscoll's Blog Post
Packer began by reading Psalm 119:97–104, which says, "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts get understanding; therefore I hate every false way."
He then went on to explain how, through Scripture, God speaks truth that is transcultural and transgenerational and therefore for all people, times, places, and circumstances. He explained that Scripture is ultimately about the person and work of Jesus and is therefore sufficient because Jesus Christ is sufficient. He then continued by explaining how Scripture is sufficient for three realities:
1. Scripture is sufficient for truth about God, the world, and ourselves. To support his point Dr. Packer quoted Jesus' own prayer that God's Word is Truth from John 17.
2. Scripture is sufficient for teaching. To support this point Packer quoted Jesus' instructions to Peter in John 21 to feed His sheep.
3. Scripture is sufficient for trials and the dark and difficult seasons of life. In support of this point Packer spoke of the encouraging ministry of Scripture from Romans 15:4.
Speaking of the current cultural condition in the West, Packer said that our age is secular in that it is religion-centered without any real concern about whether one's religion is true or one's God is correct. To combat this trend, he reasoned, Christians should use the previously listed three functions of Scripture to know the way, show the way, and contend as cultural warriors for the Truth as fellow travelers along the way to Jesus.
To establish the historical transition in the Christian approach to Scripture, he then briefly traced an important series of changes. For the majority of its history, the Church has seen Scripture in a way akin to Jesus in that both are divinity expressed through humanity. The Bible was considered to be divine revelation of God speaking to us through human authors, so the Church perceived itself as needing to humbly live under the truthful authority of Scripture.
However, the enlightenment, which he called "a movement of spiritual darkness," then so elevated human reason that it became the arbiter of truth and the final authority on all matters. The result was skepticism which led to naturalism and a corresponding suppression of the work of God the Holy Spirit as the illuminator of Truth. Subsequently, those who were considered the experts on Scripture were no longer humble people filled and led by God the Holy Spirit to live a life of love in obedience to Jesus, but rather rationalistic modern critics of both Scripture and the supernatural. According to Packer, the sad result of such subjectivity, where there is no truth but rather only one's opinion, is that my opinion only matters to myself. Tragically, as Francis Schaeffer predicted, subjectivism leads to despair because if there is no Truth and no answers to the great and perplexing questions about life beyond my own subjective opinion, then hope is forever buried.
In contrast to this, Packer encouraged God's people to continually return to the Scriptures to humbly ask what God would have to say to His people through His Word by the ministry of His Spirit about His Son. He then closed with three final exhortations:
1. The hope of our glory must always lie beyond this world and to nurture that hope a reading of the Puritan Bunyan's book Pilgrim's Progress is essential.
2. Total and continual immersion in the Psalms is exceedingly good for the soul and too infrequently practiced.
3. Studying the lives of those who faithfully handled God's Word is helpful and Charles Haddon Spurgeon and Martyn Lloyd-Jones must be included at the top of that list.
Excerpt from http://www.theresurgence.com
Driscoll's Blog Post
Packer began by reading Psalm 119:97–104, which says, "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts get understanding; therefore I hate every false way."
He then went on to explain how, through Scripture, God speaks truth that is transcultural and transgenerational and therefore for all people, times, places, and circumstances. He explained that Scripture is ultimately about the person and work of Jesus and is therefore sufficient because Jesus Christ is sufficient. He then continued by explaining how Scripture is sufficient for three realities:
1. Scripture is sufficient for truth about God, the world, and ourselves. To support his point Dr. Packer quoted Jesus' own prayer that God's Word is Truth from John 17.
2. Scripture is sufficient for teaching. To support this point Packer quoted Jesus' instructions to Peter in John 21 to feed His sheep.
3. Scripture is sufficient for trials and the dark and difficult seasons of life. In support of this point Packer spoke of the encouraging ministry of Scripture from Romans 15:4.
Speaking of the current cultural condition in the West, Packer said that our age is secular in that it is religion-centered without any real concern about whether one's religion is true or one's God is correct. To combat this trend, he reasoned, Christians should use the previously listed three functions of Scripture to know the way, show the way, and contend as cultural warriors for the Truth as fellow travelers along the way to Jesus.
To establish the historical transition in the Christian approach to Scripture, he then briefly traced an important series of changes. For the majority of its history, the Church has seen Scripture in a way akin to Jesus in that both are divinity expressed through humanity. The Bible was considered to be divine revelation of God speaking to us through human authors, so the Church perceived itself as needing to humbly live under the truthful authority of Scripture.
However, the enlightenment, which he called "a movement of spiritual darkness," then so elevated human reason that it became the arbiter of truth and the final authority on all matters. The result was skepticism which led to naturalism and a corresponding suppression of the work of God the Holy Spirit as the illuminator of Truth. Subsequently, those who were considered the experts on Scripture were no longer humble people filled and led by God the Holy Spirit to live a life of love in obedience to Jesus, but rather rationalistic modern critics of both Scripture and the supernatural. According to Packer, the sad result of such subjectivity, where there is no truth but rather only one's opinion, is that my opinion only matters to myself. Tragically, as Francis Schaeffer predicted, subjectivism leads to despair because if there is no Truth and no answers to the great and perplexing questions about life beyond my own subjective opinion, then hope is forever buried.
In contrast to this, Packer encouraged God's people to continually return to the Scriptures to humbly ask what God would have to say to His people through His Word by the ministry of His Spirit about His Son. He then closed with three final exhortations:
1. The hope of our glory must always lie beyond this world and to nurture that hope a reading of the Puritan Bunyan's book Pilgrim's Progress is essential.
2. Total and continual immersion in the Psalms is exceedingly good for the soul and too infrequently practiced.
3. Studying the lives of those who faithfully handled God's Word is helpful and Charles Haddon Spurgeon and Martyn Lloyd-Jones must be included at the top of that list.
Excerpt from http://www.theresurgence.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
