"The Gospel According to Rick Warren"

Ingrid Schlueter (CWN):

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story on Rick Warren on Sunday, January 8, 2006 that tells us a great deal about the man who is changing the face of American evangelicalism. Here's an excerpt:

Warren predicts that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be one of the big enemies of the 21^st Century. "Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism-they're all motivated by fear. Fear of each other."

This remark is no surprise to Pastor Bob DeWaay of Twin City Fellowship in Minneapolis. DeWaay has just published a book that shines the spotlight on Rick Warren's brand of Christianity and its sobering implications for the church. The title of DeWaay's new book, Redefining Christianity: Understanding the Purpose Driven Movement describes what a growing number of Christians are seeing. Rick Warren has subtlety and critically changed the message of the Gospel.

In the forward to the book by Gary Gilley, author of This Little Church Went to Market and pastor of Southern View Chapel in Springfield, Illinois, writes,

"Bob (DeWaay) painstakingly shows that Rick Warren has done for the church what McDonald's has done for the restaurant industry. Unfortunately, the church is not in the hamburger flipping business. Applying franchising principles to Christ's church may result in outward success, but true success cannot be measured by simply reading the bottom line of 'nickels and noses,' buildings and programs. But there is a bottom line by which to measure the church: it is doctrinal integrity.

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