Warren at Piper Conference-"Nothing happens till somebody starts dreaming
From Mike Corley's Expositor:
A great commentary at the website of Sola Sisters, concerning the message given by Rick Warren at the recent Desiring God 2010 conference hosted by John Piper. Warren was not able to attend the conference personally but rather submitted a video message. I will offer my comments on a future post.
But this is not the yielded life of a true Christian as taught in Scripture….coming up with big dreams and then looking for God to give us the "go juice" to accomplish what we desire. In thinking this way, we create an idol in our minds of a "God" who is reduced to being the "power in our engines" and the dog that jumps through the hoops of our choosing. No, the way we come to the Lord is with our hands open, humbly submitting our dreams, plans, wants, and desires to His perfect will (Matt 6:10).
In closing, let me put forth the troubling idea that, thanks to Dr. John Piper’s Desiring God 2010, a whole new audience is now being exposed to Rick Warren’s particular brand of Christian narcissism…..with Dr. Piper’s stamp of approval. And so I’ll ask a question I’ve asked before: how far from orthodoxy does Rick Warren have to fall before Christian leaders will begin to "mark him out" and separate from him (Romans 16:17) – rather than continuing to give him a platform for teaching and preaching? Apparently, to Dr. Piper’s mind, we’re nowhere close.
You can view the entire message online at http://desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/the-battle-for-your-mind.
Again, I ask the question, what has been the opinions of the other speakers at the conference, Albert Mohler, R.C. Sproul, Thabiti Anyabwile and Francis Chan? Have they made any comments about Warren’s invitation to the conference and his message?
I'm hoping that some of the speakers denounce the message given at the conference as well. Christians are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ for His glory (Romans 8:28-30). Christ is the gospel and anything that does not point us to Christ and instead onto ourselves must be rejected. Changing the gospel into a man-centered 'promise' that we are able in and of ourselves earn God's favor is not the gospel at all. Not to mention, Warren's holding himself up as the example of someone who "is pulling it off" when it comes to sanctification is not a testament to the fruits of the Spirit being produced in his life. Rather it is a testament to his Pelagian theology by his trust in his own ability to pull it off.
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