Purpose Driven Mystical Ecumenism

The Christian Post recently ran an article, Churches Debate Popular Purpose-Driven Model. The topic of the article centered on the "age-old debate of Christian tradition versus cultural relevance" (a comment that trivializes the reality that this is a spiritual attack on The Word of God.)

The Christian Post article featured a photo of Rick Warren speaking at Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea on July 14, 2006 for a Purpose Driven Church Conference. Sounds unremarkable, as these conferences run at high volume. But it isn't what's happening, it is where it's happening; at Yoido Full Gospel Church, home of Global-Mega Pastor Paul Yonggi Cho.

Why would an alleged SBC Pastor align himself with a man who says "that when Paul spoke of the "inner man," he was actually referring to his fourth-dimensional power to visualize things and incubate them into life."
Dr. Peter Masters states, "He does not explain why Paul fails to say one word about this himself, nor why Christendom has had to wait 2,000 years before this should be revealed through a personal revelation from God to Dr. Cho. Paul (David) Yonggi Cho's teaching is a system of mind over matter (or rather, imagination over matter).He frankly admits that it is a "Christianized" version of precisely the same methods practiced by Buddhists, exponents of yoga, and the followers of other pagan, mystical and occult systems."

David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, provides the following "Cho claims that he received the call to preach directly and personally from Jesus Christ, who supposedly appeared to him dressed like a fireman." ("Paul Yonggi Cho," Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements). Cho teaches that God promises healing and prosperity for every believer. In fact, he considers this part of the gospel. The church's web site presents a "five fold gospel" -- the gospel of regeneration, the gospel of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the gospel of divine healing, the gospel of blessing, and the gospel of the advent.

The CP article also highlighted the omni-denominational impact of Warren's church growth model. On the local front, Baptists and the Evangelicals are not the only folks impacted by Purpose-driven, but so are Roman Catholics. Matt at catholicsphere.com writes:

"This is not simply blending church and everyday life, but rather transforming church into the ordinary and “everyday”. While relevance is good, this model goes further than that, to a level where society practically transforms the church instead of vice versa...Instead of seeking to be like society, we need to distinguish ourselves from it. That was the model that worked in the early Church and it transformed a society of decadence, violence and impurity in a way that the religious model of the day could not do..."

Hosea 4:6
6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.