Rick Warren’s Strange Bedfellows
by Carol Brooks
In Plain Sight
Amos 3:3 “Shall two walk together, except they have agreed?”
Or are we supposed to believe that Rick Warren is ignorant of the goals of every event he speaks at? The beliefs of everyone he shares a stage with or whose book he endorses?
Rick Warren and Peter Drucker
Warren’s mentor well known in the business world for Management techniques and business innovation is now recognized as the grandfather of the ‘mega-church' movement. But is he even a Christian?
Rick Warren And Dr. Ron Wolfson
jewishjournal.com says “Warren managed to speak for the entire evening [at a Jewish Temple] without once mentioning Jesus — a testament to his savvy message-tailoring”. Savvy message-tailoring or a testament to a man who is little more than a dangerous fool?
Rick Warren and Mitt Romney
When asked why Mormon leaders are involved in his pastoral training programs Rick Warren told USA Today: "I'm not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won't try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?"
Rick Warren and Sen. Barack Obama
Warren has invited Sen. Barack Obama to speak to the congregation of the faithful on Dec. 1, 2006. In doing so, he has joined himself with one of the smoothest politicians of our times, and also one whose worldview contradicts nearly every tenet of the Christian faith that Warren professes.
Rick Warren and The Syrians
Warren has traveled to and provided legitimacy to a hostile foreign government, presided over by a brutal fascist dictator who hates Jews, threatens Israel, subverts neighboring Lebanon, imprisons and terrorizes its own citizens and even kills them in massive numbers when they stand up in revolt
Rick Warren and The Templeton Foundation
“Templeton's beliefs are clearly expressed in his numerous writings: He is an evolutionist, pantheist, universalist, and has occultic views
Rick Warren Teams Up With Ken Blanchard
a man who so obviously promotes and believes in the benefits and use of mantra meditation, yoga and who has no trouble borrowing from Buddhism.
Rick Warren and The Emerging Church
Although Saddleback is not a direct participant in the movement, Rick Warren obviously approves of leaders Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball, Spencer Burke Etc.
Rick Warren and Catalyst
There seems to be no end to the list of dubious people Rick Warren will willingly share a stage with.
Rick Warren and Robert Schuller
There has apparently been some controversy regarding the connections between Rick Warren and Robert Schuller, with Rick Warren himself denying that he was mentored in any way by Schuller.. But Schuller tells a different story
Rick Warren and Leonard Sweet
In Leonard Sweet’s 24 Transitions For Moving Into The 21st Century, point reads as follows: From "Does it Make Sense" to "Was it a Good Experience?"
Bernie Siegel
Says this of his ‘spirit guide’ "All I know is that he has been my invaluable companion ever since his first appearance. My life is much easier now, because he does the hard work”
Warren Meets With Yonggi Cho
“Cho's teachings are an idolatrous mix of a little Biblical teaching with a lot of occult healing, prophesying, visualization, sorcery, and pagan mind techniques
Rick Warren Endorsed The Alpha Course
Leaders of the Counterfeit Revival demand the Kingdom now! — in this life, with all of its attendant material wealth, public accolades, physical health, and earthly power
Rick Warren’s tribute to John Wimber
This is the ecumenical, I love Mary, user of relics, guided imagery and visualization, believer in astral projection, "Zen" prayer techniques for meditation (i.e., Buddhism), and Jungian psychology John Wimber. Yup! The very same guy!
Rick Warren and The Minerva Awards
Pastor Warren seems to have little concern speaking at conferences highlighting awards named after Roman Goddesses, especially since he totally neglects to present the Gospel.
Rick Warren and The Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute web site defines it’s mission.. “Our core mission is to foster enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue.
Rick Warren and Henry Nouwen
Rick Warren says this about In the Name of Jesus by Henry Nouwen.. My wife, Kay, recommends this book: "It's a short book, but it hits at the heart of the minister
Three Questions for Rick Warren
Rick Warren and Peter Drucker
On May 23, 2005 Rick Warren was a guest speaker at the The Pew and Religion Forum, where he said
"Peter Drucker ... he's my mentor. I've spent 20 years under his tutelage learning about leadership from him." RW
And
“I read everything Peter Drucker writes. His book “The Effective Executive" is a favourite I re-read every year. Long before words like “empowerment” became popular, Peter was telling us that the secret of achieving results is to focus on your strengths, and the strengths of those you work with, rather than focusing on weaknesses. In fact, Peter says, making strengths productive is the unique purpose of organisation.
“… find out what others do well and help them to be able to do more of it. This is the key to effective businesses, effective churches, and every other effective organisation. Great organisations position people for success rather than trying to eliminate all their weaknesses. It's far easier to manage weaknesses than to eliminate all of them.” (BUILDING ON YOUR STRENGTHS - By Rick Warren)
The Drucker-Warren relationship may surprise many readers, but it goes back two decades, to when the young minister came to Drucker for advice. Under Drucker's tutelage, Warren's own success as a spiritual entrepreneur has been considerable. Saddleback has grown to 15,000 members and has helped start another 60 churches throughout the world. Warren's 2001 book, The Purpose-Driven Life, is this decade's best seller with 19.5 million copies sold so far and compiling at the rate of 500,000 per month.” (http://www.forbes.com/home/management/2004/11/19/cz_rk_1119drucker.html)
Although Drucker is supposed to be a ‘religious man’, he is well known in the business world for Management techniques and business innovation…
Peter Drucker has written 35 books in all: 15 books deal with management, including the landmark books The Practice of Management and The Effective Executive; 16 cover society, economics, and politics; 2 are novels; and 1 is a collection of autobiographical essays. His most recent book, Managing in the Next Society, was published in fall 2002. (http://www.peter-drucker.com/about.html)
Drucker advised Warren on the challenges of ministry and church building. This consultation is one Drucker and Warren have engaged in twice yearly for two decades”.
Drucker says
Drucker's concepts of man, society and church were ‘lab-tested' by pioneers of the mega-church movement. Mr. Drucker is now recognized as the grandfather of the ‘mega-church' movement.
So who is Peter Drucker?
“ Peter Drucker's parents were part of the Vienna Circle . The members met regularly to discuss philosophy, religion and society. This was a radical group of elite, affluent European intellectuals, who developed a new model of man and society. Many of their ideas were rooted in German mysticism. Young Peter Drucker grew up with an aptitude for philosophical analysis and he incorporated innovative social theories into his Systems Management ideas so popular today. His social theory is found in an article posted on his official website. The article is “The Age of Social Transformation”.
(www.christianquill.com/)
Did we miss something here? Why does a Baptist Preacher spend 20 years under the tutelage of a business man.. What happened to years of staying at Jesus’ feet? Wouldn’t that be all the knowledge and wisdom a pastor would need?
Not in today’s Market Driven Church which focuses is on what the consumer (Unchurched Harry) wants and thinks he needs, rather than on what God wants and what He says Harry needs. In other words, market-driven churches are built upon the foundation of polls, surveys, and the latest marketing techniques, instead of upon the Word of God. {TOP OF PAGE}
Rick Warren And Dr. Ron Wolfson
Who is Dr Ron Wolfson?
“… Fingerhut Professor of Education at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and a cofounder of Synagogue 3000. He is author of Hanukkah, Passover, and Shabbat, all family guides to spiritual celebrations; The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation into a Sacred Community; A Time to Mourn, a Time to Comfort: A Guide to Jewish Bereavement and Comfort; and, with Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, What You Will See Inside a Synagogue (all Jewish Lights). [http://jewishlights.com/Press%20Room/GodsToDoList.htm]
Rick Warren has endorsed [The other three endorsers are Rabbis] Dr. Ron Wolfson’s latest book, God’s To-Do List: 103 Ways to be an Angel and Do God’s Work on Earth with the following statement..
“This book is built on a great premise: Figure out what God does and then do that with other people! Simple but profound. I loved this book!”
—Rick Warren, author, The Purpose-Driven Life
Rick Warren’s endorsement of a book is hardly grounds on which to plunk down your $12.99 and this one is no different. In the following excerpts all emphasis has been added.
from the Introduction: God’s To-Do List
God has a To-Do List for you….. You are God’s partner. God needs you to continue the ongoing creation of the world….”
Wolfson then quotes Genesis 1:27 [So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them].
“Wait a minute. What does it mean to be ‘made’ in the ‘image’ of God?
It means that the spark of divinity is within you.”
In “God Needs You” he says
“Yet, even God realized that the world would need a very special presence, human beings who are literally infused with the breath-the spirit- of God to be the frontline caretakers of creation. God can’t do it alone. That’s why God created you”.
Rabbi Ron Wolfson and The “Jesus’ Man”
In June of 2006, Rob Eshman, Editor-in-Chief of the jewishjournal.com wrote an article entitled Jesus’ Man Has a Plan, in which he talks about Rick Warren speaking at Sinai temple “as part of the Synagogue 3000 program, which aims to revitalize Jewish worship” [emphasis added]
Some excerpts from the article
“The program’s leader, Rabbi Ron Wolfson, met Warren a decade ago and was influenced by the pastor’s first book, “The Purpose-Driven Church” (Zondervan, 1995). And to demonstrate what such a church looked like in action, Wolfson brought two busloads of synagogue leaders to Warren’s Saddleback Church in South Orange County to experience firsthand the pastor’s success….”
And
“…The other secret to his success is his passion for God and Jesus. Warren managed to speak for the entire evening without once mentioning Jesus — a testament to his savvy message-tailoring. But make no mistake, the driving purpose of an evangelical church is to evangelize, and it is Warren’s devotion to spreading the words of the Christian Bible that drive his ministry.
Good for him and his flock — and not so bad for us either. His teachings apply to 95 percent of all people, regardless of religious belief. As he put it to a group of rabbis at a conference last year — using a metaphor that might be described as a Paulian slip: “Eat the fish and throw away the bones.”
Warren told Wolfson his interest is in helping all houses of worship, not in converting Jews. He said there are more than enough Christian souls to deal with for starters.
The success of Warren’s second book, “The Purpose-Driven Life” (Zondervan, 2002), demonstrates his ability to turn a particular gospel into a universal one”.
Finally
“Similarly, Warren has leveraged his fame to bring attention to AIDS in Africa and other global problems. He said he’d just come from a photo shoot at Sony Studios with Brad Pitt and was about to meet overseas with the leaders of 11 countries in 37 days. While he was at Sinai Temple, his wife, Kay, was at the White House”.
Words can not express how tired I am of this man who claims to be a Christian pastor, yet can speak for the entire evening in a Jewish temple and not once mention Jesus. He wants to help all houses of worship but does not want to convert Jews. How precisely is he helping them then? Is his marketing expertise going to enable them to add to their congregations or perhaps raise more money? Wow! I guess Matthew had it all wrong when he said
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? [Matthew 16:26]
The article says that one secret to Warren’s success “is his passion for God and Jesus” I guess He is not passionate enough about the warning God and Jesus have issued to this world. Nor does he seem to be even dimly aware of how close to Armageddon we truly are. So he can manage to speak “for the entire evening without once mentioning Jesus — a testament to his savvy message-tailoring”.
You are savvy alright Warren and will have much to answer for on that final day when souls you could have saved are sentenced to death.
[The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7]
{TOP OF PAGE}
Rick Warren, Mitt Romney and The Mormons
It is a fact that the "40 Days of Purpose" and other church growth and leadership materials produced by Rick Warren are aggressively marketed to Mormons and others outside Christian orthodoxy. When asked why Mormon leaders are involved in his pastoral training programs Rick Warren told USA Today:
"I'm not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won't try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?" [Source]
Say WHAT? Mormonism...a "denomination" and “non-essentials” such as the identity of Jesus Christ, godhood for mankind or the route to eternal salvation??? [See Section on Mormonism]
Clearly, Warren doesn't KNOW or doesn't WANT to identify Mormonism as non-Christian. Either way, what USA Today didn't report is that Rick Warren is helping train Mormon leaders to more effectively present a false religion to the world - a false religion that has led millions of lost souls to an eternal Hell.
Now, we find listed alongside a Mitt Romney promo video on the popular YouTube website that one of his favorite books is listed as...you guessed it,The Purpose Driven Life. [Source]
It is the only religious book he mentioned (Hummmm, in May 2007 Romney listed the Bible and Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard's tasteless novel "Battlefield Earth" as first and second on his list of "must reads." [Source]
As you ponder the correlation of Warren and Romney, also note this quote: "...we are a religious people... We are a purpose-driven people..." Governor Mitt Romney, Union Leader, March 19, 2006
The point is that Warren can't or doesn't care to identify that Mormonism is cultic and NOT in any way orthodox Christianity and Romney doesn't seem to discern anything from Warren or his book to make him think that the Purpose Driven Philosophy is incompatible with Mormonism! Both Christians and Mormons should scratch their heads in wonder. The line between truth and error continues to blur...or simply just disappear altogether - exactly what the Scriptures foretell of for the end-days. [Eric Barger. The Common Ground of Rick Warren & Mitt Romney] {TOP OF PAGE}
Rick Warren, The Templeton Foundation and The Power of Purpose
Adapted from A Bridge over other Waters by Let Us Reason Ministries
The Power of Purpose, Sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation, is a world-wide essay competition with the theme "The Power of Purpose" with total grand prizes of $500,000 and the grand prize of $100,000. There is no entry fee. Essays should be no more than 3,500 words in English, entrants are to be 18 years of age or older. “The award-winning essays in this competition will be selected by this distinguished panel of judges, all of whom have exemplified throughout their lives and careers a strong and unmistakable understanding of The Power of Purpose.
The Templeton web site says
“In day-to-day life, we encounter men and women who seem driven by something outside of themselves, whose commitment to their profession or volunteer activities, their community, or their cause seems to rise above the necessary, above the possible, above even the human. Indeed, we say that in such people we see “the divine spark.”
Many religious traditions, both Eastern and Western, subscribe to the idea that there is something of God’s presence in each of us. Even for the growing number of people who describe themselves as spiritual, but not necessarily religious, there is a certain attachment to this concept of the divine spark. It is the sense that our lives can be guided from within by something more important than our simple survival, something not merely intellectual either, something in our souls.” http://www.templeton.org/powerofpurpose/about.html
“ Few have done as much to promote a sense of unity among the world's religions than John Marks Templeton. Templeton has become world renowned for offering a million dollars as his annual prize from his religious research center that is dedicated to develop progress in religion.
The Council for a Parliament of World Religions promotes inter-religious dialogue and plans for the world's “spiritual future by having government institutionalize a global ethic.” I have heard that Sir John Templeton serves on the Parliament of World Religions board of trustees, and while I have not been able to confirm this, it is known that the Templeton Foundation has been one of the the financial contributors to the Parliament. The Media Transparency Site lists a donation of $47,500 over two years (1999 and 2000)
Additionally The Templeton Foundation has also made several substantial donations to the Association of Unity Churches. The Unity Church website has this to say...
Q What are the basic tenets of the Unity teachings?
A “... Jesus was a special person in history who expressed perfection and thereby became the Christ, or Jesus Christ. He was a Teacher who demonstrated the importance of thoughts, words, and deeds in shaping the life and world of the individual”
Q Do Unity ministry teachers believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ?
A Yes. Unity church leaders teach that the spirit of God dwelt in Jesus, just as it indwells every person; and that every person has the potential to express the perfection of Christ, as Jesus did, by being more Christ-like in everyday life.
Q What are Unity's distinctive characteristics?
A “Unity students are encouraged to align with the spirit of the Christ within for personal guidance and direction that will best enhance their spiritual growth....”
Templeton also donated a sum of $50,000 to First United Church of Christ in Northfield MN, which says on their site
“Through the years, other groups such as American Indians, Afro-Christians, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Volga Germans, Armenians, and Hispanic Americans have joined with the four earlier groups. In recent years, Christians from other traditions, including the Roman Catholic Church, have found a home in the UCC, and so have gay and lesbian Christians who have not been welcome in other churches. Thus the United Church of Christ celebrates and continues a broad variety of traditions in its common life”.
Templeton is also linked to some very important and wealthy people that have been known to be involved in Globalism, both politically and religiously.
“Templeton's beliefs are clearly expressed in his numerous writings: He is an evolutionist, pantheist, universalist, and has occultic views. His writings display a rejection of the God of the Bible, Christ as the only way to God. He claims that heaven and hell are states of mind we create here on earth that truth is relative, and that Christianity is no longer relevant today as it was in Christ’s day”.
In his own words
“God is billions of stars in the Milky Way and He is much more …Time and space and energy are all part of God …God is five billion people on Earth…God is untold billions of beings on planets of millions of other stars …God is the only reality… God is all of you and you are a little part of Him” (Templeton, Humility, p. 37-38.)
According to Templeton, “progress” is needed because the; world's scriptures (including the Bible) “were written … [by] men whose minds were limited by cosmologies long since discredited.” Nor does the Bible accurately record the words of Christ, because those who reported them “could write clown only what they understood … [as] ignorant and primitive…”
“Templeton has been noted for saying “I am hoping to develop a body of knowledge about God that doesn’t rely on ancient revelations or scripture (the bible)… The main purpose of the Templeton foundations is to encourage enthusiasm for accelerating discovery and progress in spiritual matters” (the Humble Approach p135-139).
“No one should say that God can be reached by only one path” (The Humble Approach pp. 46,55).
To say that God cannot reveal Himself again in a decisive way [through other Messiahs] …seems sacrilegious...” (Templeton, Humility, pp. 48,53.)
So what has all this to do with Rick Warren?
Just this... Rick Warren is one of five judges to determine the winner in the Power of Purpose Essays. Along with Hugh Delehanty Editor in Chief, AARP Publications (A practicing Buddhist), Marian Wright Edelman Founder and President- Children's Defense Fund (Co-authored a book with Alison Wright who wrote The Spirit of Tibet: Portrait of a Culture in Exile and the photographer for A Simple Monk: Writings on His Holiness the Dalai Lama) and Paul Davies (Professor of Natural Philosophy also lectures to religious organizations around the world. He has had meetings with the Pope and the Dalai Lama and frequently debates science and religion with theologians). http://www.templeton.org/powerofpurpose/judges.html.
Which brings us to question one.... While people have the right to believe whatever they want, What is a ‘Christian’ leader doing on this panel. He does not seem at all uncomfortable with the New Age beliefs that has not only been promoted by Templeton in the past, but are being promoted on the same website.
Furthermore
The 2004 Grand Prize winner was August “Augie” Turak who wrote ‘Brother John’.
“Brother John is the true story of how the author’s contemplative retreat at a Trappist monastery turns both magical and terrible when a simple monk offers to share an umbrella on a cold and rainy Christmas Eve. This simple act of loving-kindness proves almost more than he can bear, and becomes the catalyst for a gut wrenching re-evaluation of life, love, and the terrible yet fascinating nature of God”. See Winners
“While Brother John is his first attempt at serious writing, he is no stranger to religious, philosophical and/or spiritual themes. Turak founded the Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation, an interfaith non-profit, 15 years ago to help students at Duke, NC State, and UNC find a deeper and more spiritual purpose to their lives” .
About the Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation...
The Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation (www.selfknowledge.org) is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization that encourages people to consciously develop their own personal, moral and spiritual values and to live according to them. The SKSF creates experiential learning programs and social contexts within which people can explore the deeper questions in life, developing intellectual understanding and personal character in a quest for the life worth living. [Source]
The same website also says
“In 1973, Turak met a man who would change his life forever. His name was Richard Rose, and to the untrained eye, he was just a simple, West Virginia farmer. But Rose was much more. A voracious spiritual seeker since childhood, Rose had dedicated his life to finding God. He traveled the nation, looking for individuals, spiritual groups, and books that might have answers. At twenty-eight, in the late 1940s, he had an Enlightenment experience while meditating. He first impulse was to share his new knowledge with others, but in the conservative atmosphere of the era, he knew he would be taken for a madman, so he stayed quiet. When the spiritual movements of the 1960s and 1970s began, Rose saw that he finally had an opportunity to teach.
August Turak was one of his first—and best—students. For five years, Turak studied under Richard Rose. Did he realize at the time that his life would never be the same?”
And
But Turak's true love is the time he spends teaching university students involved in the Self Knowledge Symposium (SKS). Since founding the SKS in 1989, Turak has worked with thousands of university students on a strictly volunteer basis. Teaching students how to integrate spiritual values into their everyday lives based on his own experiences, Turak's students have gone on to successful careers in such varied professions as law, business, medicine, engineering, teaching, the armed forces, non-profit work, research science, and countless others.
Good Going Rick Warren
By the way
“It was Norman Vincent Peale who called Templeton “The greatest layman of the Christian church in our time” (found on Jacket of Discovering the laws of Life, 1994). This he attributed to a man who is an evolutionist, universalist, pantheist, a non-Christian and even against Christian doctrine. How is this possible?
Templeton and his New Age views were first introduced to the church by none other than Robert Schuller in 1986. Schuller put Templeton's picture on his Possibilities Magazine front cover. In it he wrote, “The Christ spirit dwells in every human being whether the person knows it or not nothing exists except God” (Possibilities, pp. 8-12, Summer 1986).
So now we see Rick Warren who learned from Robert Schuller who introduced Templeton. My how the circle is unbroken” {TOP OF PAGE}
Rick Warren Teams Up With Ken Blanchard!
From A Report by Lighthouse Trails Research Project
While Rick Warren is gearing up to train a billion people, unbeknownst to many he has also teamed up with New Age and contemplative promoter, Ken Blanchard. In November 2003 Rick Warren gave a sermon (I watched the video clip on his site) outlining his upcoming Global PEACE Plan and said
"Ken [Blanchard] has signed on to help with the Peace Plan, and he's going to be helping train us in leadership and in how to train others to be leaders all around the world. In fact, he was here this week and I've asked him to just give a little video greeting"
(Incidentally the sermon in which Rick Warren introduced KB to Saddleback
has since been taken off his site.)
However The Leadership Summit 2005, convened each year at Willow Creek Community Church and hundreds of satellite sites across North America with a goal of “making the world-class leadership training of The Leadership Summit accessible and affordable on a worldwide scale on an annual basis.”
Almost 160,000 people have attended The Leadership Summit since its inception almost 10 years ago. And Summit 2005 will be our first global event, with more than 100 sites in North America, plus locations in 12 other countries. Only through God's grace…! It's with great pleasure that we announce part of the 2005 speaker line-up...” (www.willownet.org/news/story.asp?id=NF01102004)
And then proceeds to name Rick Warren, Bill Hybels and Ken Blanchard. So it seems that the Warren/Blanchard partnership is alive and doing well, with Blanchard speaking to thousands of Christians around the world.
So What is all the fuss over Ken Blanchard about?
There is countless evidence to show that Blanchard sits on the New Age/mystical/contemplative bandwagon. While this in no way proves that Rick Warren supports or endorses either New Age beliefs or any form of Eastern Religion or Philosophy, the question still has to be asked... What is a so called Christian leader doing in any kind of alliance with a man who so obviously promotes and believes in the benefits and use of mantra meditation, yoga and who has no trouble borrowing from Buddhism.
Additionally Ken Blanchard is about business all the way.
The Brisbane Graduate School of Business carried the following information in their 2004 Newsletter. (The same information is carried on the University of Ulster site) The conference, to be held on November 12 in the University of Ulster’s Jordanstown campus was carried to the Convention center in Brisbane via simulcast (a contraction of "simultaneous broadcast").
I believe this conference was carried via satellite to 95 cities around the world and another one is scheduled for December 2005, (this one will include Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright)
On the event front, QUT and the BGSB have signed on to be the host university for the largest Leadership event of 2004, the worldwide simulcast titled ‘Living Leadership’. Keynote speakers via simulcast include Donald Trump, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jim Collins, Peter Drucker, Russell Simons and Ken Blanchard. This event will be on October 21 at the Convention Centre. We will keep you posted on this event. We believe this association will send strong signals about our expertise in the leadership field, but also our willingness to be involved in innovative new ways of educating the Australian business community. (Emphasis Added). (For more about Mikhail Gorbachev see Men Who Run The World and other articles in that section)
Among the many books Blanchard has written there does not seem to be one with a ‘Christian’ theme and certainly nothing about Jesus.. Some of his books are listed below
The Heart of a Leader and Leadership by the Book (with Bill Hybels and Phil Hodges).
Big Bucks! and High Five! (with Sheldon Bowles and Whale Done).
Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships (with Jim Ballard and top SeaWorld trainers Thad Lacinak and Chuck Tompkins).
The Power of Ethical Management with Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
Raving Fans : Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service (with Sheldon Bowles)
Big Bucks! and High Five! (with Sheldon Bowles, described as “a successful entrepreneur, New York Times and Business Week best selling author, and noted speaker, who turned a small manufacturing plant into a multimillion-dollar business. Sheldon now shares his hard-won knowledge of what works and what does not...”
While Blanchard himself is characterized as “A prominent, gregarious, sought-after author, speaker, and business consultant, Ken Blanchard is universally characterized by friends, colleagues, and clients as one of the most insightful, powerful, and compassionate men in business today. (premierespeakers.com. All emphasis added)
Please make NO MISTAKE. Ken Blanchard was not hired as a spiritual help. He was hired to ‘Grow’ the church. To use efficient but worldly methods to make the church more ‘successful’. It’s business, businessmen and more business all the way. Why else would you take on a man who has been immersed in business for years, has written many books about business, who shares speaking platforms with other motivational speakers, who co-authors book with other entrepreneurs and who’s knowledge of Jesus seems to be pretty paltry.
Again.. we have NOTHING against business per se, but it HAS NO PLACE IN THE CHURCH.
Ken Blanchard and Lead Like Jesus
Perhaps one of the best known programs broadcast (also called a celebration) by CCN is Lead Like Jesus, which was co-founded byKen Blanchard and Phil Hodges in 1999.
“After studying both the theory and practice of leadership for more than 35 years, I have found that Jesus is the greatest leadership model of all times.” Ken Blanchard [Co-founder, The Center for Faithwalk Leadership and Co-author, The One-Minute Manager]
“The stated purpose of the conferences is to help people become leaders by following the leadership habits of Jesus Christ. The purpose is not one of evangelism, but rather teaching the traits of Jesus to help others achieve personal success…” [See More]
Blanchard Wrote the Foreword to Franz Metcalf's What Would Buddha Do in the Workplace? ©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 ... Yogananda and the Dalai Lama”. —Ken Blanchard, foreword
"Buddha points to the path and invites us to begin our journey to enlightenment. I ... invite you to begin your journey to enlightened work." —Ken Blanchard, foreword
"As a follower of Jesus I believe He is the truth and the way. So I look for my inspiration from Him as documented in the Bible. And yet, in our company we have people of all faiths as well as people who center their faith in the goodness of human beings. As a result, many of our people would delete my morning messages if they thought I was only coming from a Christian perspective. So I look for inspirational messages from a variety of sources besides Jesus. Our folk get to hear words of wisdom form great prophets and spiritual leaders like Buddha, Mohammed, Moses, Mahatma Gandhi, Yogananda, and the Dalai Lama....
"Throughout this book, 'Buddha's insights and words help us create a kinder and gentler workplace. Jesus would approve. ...
"Buddha points to the path and invites us to begin our journey to enlightenment.... K.B."
Ken Blanchard and the Hoffman Quadrinity Process
From A Report by Lighthouse Trails Research Project
The Hoffman Institute... offers The Hoffman Quadrinity Process and other programs designed for you to release the negative conditioning that has limited your life. ...more than 50,000 participants worldwide report gaining access to untapped resources of power, wisdom and creativity.". (emphasis added)
"The SPIRITUAL SELF is the pure non-programmed, non-mediated aspect of self that is positive, pure, open presence, yearning to embody our larger, true nature in this world. Our SPIRITUAL SELF is resonating in harmony with the Universe.
Ken Blanchard is on the Board of Advisors of an organization called the Hoffman Institute (home of the Hoffman Quadrinity Process). For those of you who may wonder what exactly the Hoffman Quadrinity Process is, we turn our attention now to a 2003 book named, The Hoffman Process written by Tim Laurence, the present director of The Hoffman Institute. I don't even think words can fully describe the disturbing anti-biblical message in this book. But to see Ken Blanchard's name on the inside endorsement page nestled in between Sonia Choquette (a third generation psychic), Margot Anand (a tantric/mystic sex teacher), and staunch New Ager, Joan Borysenko, is an utter disgrace.
In both the book and the Hoffman Institute web site, Ken Blanchard states, after having taken the course himself, that: "The Hoffman Process brings forth spiritual leadership in a person. It made my spirituality come alive." (emphasis added)
Let's look at a few quotes in Tim Laurence's book to gain a perspective on the spirituality of the Hoffman Process.
· "'I asked my friends up above. They always have the right answer," he replied, referring to his spirit guides that, as a psychic healer, he often consulted."-Tim Laurence, speaking about the Hoffman Process founder, Bob Hoffman, p.15.
· "Many traditions around the world focus on the breath as a link to the divine. -- Indeed, it is used as the focus of the Buddhist practice called Vipassana, or 'insight meditation.'" (Also see pages 89 and 299 of Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life for his explanation of breath prayers.)
· "You can use a short meditation to remind yourself of this connection to all others in this world of ours. - As you breathe, feel that breath coming from your core essence." p. 207.
· "When you are open to life, you start noticing the divine in everything." p. 209.
Additionally
Ken Blanchard has either written the foreword or placed his endorsement on the front or back cover to Mind Like Water by Jim Ballard, What Would Buddha Do At Work by Frank Metcalf, The Corporate Mystic by Gay Hendricks, The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success by New Age leader Deepak Chopra, and Death and Letting Go by clairvoyant Ellen Tadd.
Robert Scheinfeld is the author of a book called The 11th Element. Scheinfeld, a man who boasts of going through the AVATAR program, teaches in his books and seminars a concept that within every person is an invisible network and an inner intelligence or Inner CEO. Of this invisible network, Scheinfeld says, "That network links all of us together at the unconscious level and stores information on what everybody is doing all over the planet."
(The Avatar course, was written down by Harry Palmer, an educational psychologist, in 1986. He says it was created out of ‘perceived need' and that he wanted to give people tools to better handle the difficulties of life. The tools and techniques delivered in the course, he says, were IN consciousness and may have always been there, just waiting to be discovered. If it weren’t for all the people who have meditated, read about and explored consciousness, perhaps the tools would not have been discovered exactly when they were ? birthed from a floatation tank in the stillness of his own living room!.. Section 1: The journey begins in the written and spoken word. This tests the relationship of Master/Student. is there empathy and a matching of vibrations? A Brief Description of Avatar)
Ken Blanchard makes no secret of his admiration and trust in Scheinfeld's theory. On the back cover of Scheinfeld's book, Blanchard says: "The 11th Element teaches you the valuable skill of asking for assistance from your 'Inner CEO' to improve your decision making."
Ken Blanchard’s latest endorsement is of a book called In the Sphere of Silence, by Vijay Eswaran, about which he says
“Effective leadership is more than what we do; it starts on the inside. Great leaders are able to tap inner wisdom and strength by cultivating the habit of solitude. This book is a wonderful guide on how to enter the realm of silence and draw closer to God.”]
However Vijay Eswaren says this on his site
“The Sphere of Silence, if it is practiced properly, is a very powerful tool. It is not just oriented to any one religion, it is universally accepted and practiced by almost all faiths on the planet. It is through silence that you find your inner being”. (See Author’s Message).
InPlainSite Note: I have heard the excuses made that Ken Blanchard 1) Was a very ‘young Christian’ at when he endorsed all of the above, or 2) Didn’t know better. Neither one of which holds any water. If he endorsed the above material before he became a Christian he should publicly refute all his endorsements just so that people will know where he stands. And only a fool or hypocrite of the first order will embrace Christianity and then publicly endorse a book that claims Buddha has something to teach us. In which case what is Rick Warren doing signing up someone who has all the discernment of two fleas without any.
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Rick Warren and The Emerging Church
Warren obviously approves of the Emerging Church movement (although Saddleback is not a direct participant in the movement.). Rick Warren was a contributing writer to Dan Kimball’s book The Emerging Church and his web site also features the Innovative Church Conference saying
“The 2003 Innovative Church Conference will feature Brian McLaren, founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church in the Washington, D.C. area. Brian is a prominent voice on postmodern thinking and church growth. He is also the author of several books including The Church on the Other Side and the revolutionary book, A New Kind of Christian”.
[Also See Warren and McLaren and Warren and Kimball]
Therefore one assumes, in light of Rick Warren’s written endorsements of the two men and their books, that he has, to all intents and purposes, read (over and above the parts he authored) The Emerging Church by Kimball and, at the very least, The Church on the Other Side and A New Kind of Christian” by McLaren that he speaks of on his site. One has to further presume he is familiar with their beliefs. So what do the leaders of the Emergent Church Think, Believe and Recommend
Spencer Burke promotes contemplative and emergent philosophies, and is considered to be one of the more popular emerging church ministries. And yet, evangelical leaders such as Rick Warren, given their endorsement of the Ooze. Of the Ooze, Rick Warren states that The Ooze website is, "one of the best online communities related to post-modern ministry." (Source) This means that pastors around the world will likely recognize the Ooze as a trusted source for spirituality. [From Lighthouse Trails research]
"I stopped reading from the approved evangelical reading list and began to distance myself from the evangelical agenda. I discovered new authors and new voices at the bookstore-Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen and St. Teresa of Avila. The more I read, the more intrigued I became. Contemplative spirituality seemed to open up a whole new way for me to understand and experience God. I was deeply moved by works like The Cloud of Unknowing, The Dark Night of the Soul and the Early Writings of the Desert Fathers." —Spencer Burke, The Ooze [Source]
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Rick Warren and Catalyst
Both Rick Warren and Erwin McManus are scheduled speakers at the Oct 2007 Catalyst Conference. Interestingly Warren has been billed as a “Global Humanitarian and Influencer” on the Catalyst web site. which says...
“Creating FORWARD THINKING church leaders that will serve as change agents in our culture. Catalyst is THE leadership filter for what's next in the church. Catalyst over the last 8 years has helped define a look, created a feel and mixed up a substance for young church leaders.
This growing movement is all about leadership, innovation, creativity and constantly changing the process. We are intent on shaping the next generation of church leaders, presenting the next big ideas, practices and content that will redefine our generation of leadership....
Sadly all these big words leave out the fact that Scripture (I Timothy 3) already gives us the criteria for a church leader.. and ‘the next generation of church leaders’ are as bound by the Bible’s definition as the church leaders of thousands of years ago. Perhaps they should consider following the Bible’s guidelines instead of redefining them. Incidentally 1 Tim makes six references to sound doctrine.
Another Catalyst featured speaker, Patrick Lencioni, is also a scheduled speaker on the The Lead Like Jesus October 19th 2007 simulcast. [Lead Like Jesus wasco-founded byKen Blanchard and Phil Hodges in 1999] The Lead Like Jesus site advertises the coming October 19th 2007 simulcast as having an all star cast. [See Article on McManus and Mosaic]
A fourth speaker will be Injoy’s founder John Maxwell who was once pastor of a small church in Hillham, Indiana. Studying the “correlation between leadership effectiveness and effective ministry” John founded one business which ultimately led to ‘INJOY Stewardship Services’. He resigned his pastorate in 1995 to devote full attention to ISS, seeing “greater potential in the thousands of lives that could be reached through INJOY…”, He speaks frequently for several high-profile organizations such as Promise Keepers, Focus on the Family, Sam's Club, Chick-fil-A, Mary Kay, and various Fortune 500 companies. Joel Osteen hired Injoy as consultants to transform the Compaq Center (home to the Houston Rockets) to a $70 million, 21st century worship center. [Details]
Included also is Andy Stanley, son of Charles Stanley and senior pastor of North Point Community Church, a megachurch in Alpharetta, Georgia. In 2006, Andy Stanley was voted the 13th most influential Christian in America by The Church Report. Andy Stanley is author of Choosing To Cheat (Foreword by John Maxwell). His book Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future carries the following endorsements..
"It's obvious that what Andy Stanley has to say in Next Generation Leader comes straight from the gut of someone who is in the leadership game and is winning at it" [Bill Hybels Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church.]
"Andy Stanley offers a fresh perspective on ageless truths that will be of enormous benefit to today's leaders and to future generations." [Patrick S. Flood. Chairman and CEO, HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation].
Again... besides the fact that this has to be the billionth book on ‘leadership’ why is a so called Christian book, written by a senior pastor of a large church endorsed by a businessman? The answer is very simple. Today’s church knows nothing of separation from the world, but seeks the approval of the world by integrating and ingratiating itself wherever possible.
Rick Warren and Robert Schuller
There has apparently been some controversy regarding the connections between Rick Warren and Robert Schuller, with Rick Warren himself denying that he was mentored in any way by Schuller, so consider the following..
Rick Warren uses a recommendation by Schuller at the start of his book, “The Purpose Driven Church.”
In Christianity Today, Warren’s wife was quoted as saying, "When we came to that institute, we were blown away." How God has blessed him. And today Rick Warren is blessing millions of people. (http://www.hourofpower.org/booklets/bookletdetail.cfm?ArticleID=2570).
During his last year in seminary, [Rick Warren] and Kay drove west to visit Robert Schuller's Institute for Church Growth. "We had a very stony ride out to the conference," she says, because such nontraditional ministry scared her to death. Schuller, though, won them over. "He had a profound influence on Rick," Kay says. "We were captivated by his positive appeal to nonbelievers. I never looked back"… Imitating Schuller, Warren walked the (then unincorporated but fast-growing) town of Lake Forest, asking what kept people from going to church. (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/012/1.42.html).
In Schuller’s words
We are the home of the world's first Church Growth Institute, -launching the mega-church movement in the 20th century. Tens of thousands of pastors, including famous graduates Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Bishop Blake, Walt Kallestad, and Sundo Kim of Korea, were mentored here.
(http://www.hourofpower.org/Jubilee/who_are_we.cfm)
"I launched the megachurch movement through the Institute for Successful Church Leadership in 1970," he said, referring to his annual pastors conference at the Garden Grove church. "There were no megachurches 32 years ago--we were the closest thing to it."
(http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_8_119/ai_85106545).
What has been accomplished already through this church is phenomenal because of the dedicated members and friends we have. I see the results today of the Institute for Successful Church Leadership which we dared to launch 35 years ago and it is still going strong. Here ministers are inspired to believe in their dreams and to present the good news of the gospel in positive terms. And some of those students are well-known. Bill Hybels now pastors the largest church, I think, in the United States, the Willow Creek Community Church. Bill has often said that there probably would not be a Willow Creek Church if he hadn’t been able to come to our pastor’s institute here. I’m so proud of him. (article numbered 1783).
Robert Schuller is probably one of today’s most apostate leaders. Consider the following from Bible Discernment Ministries..
“Schuller's false teaching is an extremely serious matter in light of his wide influence. His is the most popular religion television broadcast in America. His books sell by the millions. He appears with presidents. His "self-esteem Christianity" has been adopted by multitudes. These believe they are Christians and attend churches; but in reality, they worship a false christ and follow a false gospel. Robert Schuller and his mentor, the late Norman Vincent Peale, are two of the key culprits in promoting this error.
Schuller reinterprets the doctrines of the Word of God to conform with his self-esteem philosophy. His Christ is a Jesus who provides men with self-esteem. Schuller's gospel is the replacement of negative self concepts with positive ones. To Schuller, sin is merely the lack of self-esteem. To Schuller, the greatest evil is to call men sinners in a Biblical fashion and thereby injure their self-esteem. Schuller is a universalist who believes that all people are the children of God. His goal is to help each person understand and enjoy this "fact." Bottom line, Schuller's message is that there is no need for one to recognize his own personal sin, no need for repentance, and no need for the crucifixion of self. In fact, concerning the latter point, Schuller teaches just the opposite philosophy -- that self is to be exalted -- which is nothing less than an outright denial of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: (See Articles on Self Esteem, sin and repentance on this site)
(a) Personal Sin?: "What do I mean by sin? Answer: Any human condition or act that robs God of glory by stripping one of his children of their right to divine dignity. I could offer another complementing answer: Sin is that deep lack of trust that separates me from God and leaves me with a sense of shame and unworthiness. I can offer still another answer: Sin is any act or thought that robs myself or another human being of his or her self-esteem" (Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, p. 14). In a 10/5/84 letter to Christianity Today, Schuller wrote, "I don't think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and hence counterproductive to the evangelism enterprise than the often crude, uncouth, and unchristian strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition" (cf. Romans 1:18-3:20).
(b) Repentance?: In response to a question from Paul Crouch on Crouch's TBN 12/8/87 television show, concerning critic's claims that Schuller doesn't preach repentance, Schuller responded, "I preach repentance so positively, most people don't recognize it" (cf. Ezekiel 18:30-32).
(c) Denial of Self?: One of Schuller's books, Self-Love: The Dynamic Force of Success, took Eric Fromm's humanistic self-love teachings and brought them into the church. In Self-Esteem: The New Reformation (Word Books, 1982), Schuller teaches that: (1) the church's problem is that it has had a God-centered theology for centuries, when it needs a man-centered one; (2) we're not bad, merely badly informed about how good we are; (3) it would be an insult to the integrity of any human being to call him a sinner; and (4) "Jesus knew His worth; His success fed His self-esteem. He suffered the cross to sanctify His self-esteem and He bore the cross to sanctify your self-esteem. The cross will sanctify the ego trip" (p. 115) (cf. Matt. 16:24). (See attached reports for more analysis and quotes from Self-Esteem: The New Reformation) [Schuller further amplified this latter thought on the 8/12/80 Phil Donahue Show; Schuller said, "Jesus had an ego. He said, 'I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.' Wow, what an ego trip He was on!"]
Schuller is also an ecumenist
"I met once more with the Grand Mufti (a Muslim), truly one of the great Christ-honoring leaders of faith. ... I'm dreaming a bold impossilbe dream: that positive-thinking believers in God will rise above the illusions that our sectarian religions have imposed on the world, and that leaders of the major faiths will rise above dotrinal idiosyncrasies, choosing not to focus on disagreements, but rather to transcend divisive | 
Prophecy
