Rick Warren’s Foray Into the United Nations

To All:

I am returning to a discussion of an issue in the ministry of Rick Warren who is Senior Pastor of the Saddleback Church and founder of the Purpose Driven movement.

A few days ago, former Saddleback staff member and Rick Warren apologist, John Brown, decided to address/defend the various concerns many have raised with the ministry and methods of Rick Warren.

You can view the list Warren’s errors and offences, which I posted in my blog. Read Purpose Driven’s Compromise of Scripture.

John Brown, as his first choice, opted to defend #6 on the list, which is:

Warren redefines ministry in terms of social activism. Alan Wolfe of the Wall Street Journal says, "Historians are likely to pinpoint Mr. Warren's trip to Rwanda as the moment when conservative evangelical Protestantism made questions of social justice central to its concerns."

Warren's Global Peace Plan for "Purpose Driven Nations" includes involving himself with the UN, Council on Foreign Relations, etc. in order to rid the world of "poverty, disease, and illiteracy" by forming entangling alliances between churches, secular businesses, and governments. This is an agenda completely foreign to the Great Commission and the NT church as laid out in Acts and the Pauline Epistles.

Brown’s opening attempt at justifying Warren’s egregious error and methodology can be read at another blog site in a thread I titled, The Gospel According to Warren. You will need to go to and read Brown's post #263.

I found it ironic that Brown wrote,

“And consider what Warren says himself in an interview in October 06 and decide for yourself if what he says is practical and Biblical or not.”

Brown asks you to consider whether Warren’s method "is practical and Biblical or not." Biblical? In Brown’s post of the Warren interview there is not even a single passage of Scripture cited! Nor in Brown's follow-up comments does any reference to Scripture appear.

Warren and Brown take a low view of Scripture and when they do use Scripture it is often twisted to fit their pragmatic needs. [Later, and only after my encouraging Brown to cite some Scriptural justification for Warren's foray into the UN, does he cite passages that he believes justifies coopperative efforts with the UN as if this is an acceptable substitute for carrying out the Great Commission as it is defined in the Bible.]

Brown misses the thrust of my reaction to Warren’s involvement with the United Nations, governments, etc. And this should come, as little surprise because the main thrust of my concern is a biblically based concern. Because Brown takes a low view of Scripture he prefers argumentation from reason and logic whether or not it is biblically based. This is consistent with Warren's pragmatic methods and misuse of Scripture.

It is no wonder Brown avoided any discussion or citation of Biblical principle, because there is none that justifies Warren’s social gospel. Since neither Warren or Brown offer any Biblical basis for what Warren does with the UN, lets look again at my note on Warren’s foray into the UN’s approach to meeting the world’s needs:

“Warren's Global Peace Plan for ‘Purpose Driven Nations’ includes involving himself with the UN, Council on Foreign Relations, etc. in order to rid the world of ‘poverty, disease, and illiteracy’ by forming entangling alliances between churches, secular businesses, and governments. This is an agenda completely foreign to the Great Commission and the New Testament church as laid out in Acts and the Pauline Epistles.”

The Lord Jesus Christ gives us the Great Commission, for example,

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen,” (Matthew 28:19-20).

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth,” (Acts 1:8).

As a missionary in South Africa I did what I could to meet the physical needs of individuals as I had opportunity, but that is not the purpose for which God called me to Africa. That is not what I was sent to do or the thrust of my ministry in South Africa.

It is no secret the UN engineers, promotes and funds programs that are antithetical to the Bible (see below). There is nothing inherently wrong with building hospitals and providing for the physical needs of mankind, but that is NOT the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), and certainly does not replace and is no substitute for the Great Commission.

The thrust of my concern is that Warren’s method may be misinterpreted as though this is a model and example of how we are to fulfill the Bible’s Great Commission.

Warren aligns himself, speaks to, and cooperates with these UN based organizations.

Warren aligns himself and cooperates with the UN that seeks to “rid the world of ‘poverty, disease, and illiteracy’.” It must also be noted, however, that through his cooperative efforts, Warren aligns himself with the same UN that seeks to “rid the world” of unborn infants through their murder while still in the womb.

Brown’s answer to whether or not there is justification for cooperating with the UN, in spite of their pro-abortion agenda was related to another person this way,

“There are many organizations that we all deal with daily, perhaps unwittingly, that do things that are not good, even immoral. But if we can enlist those organizations to do good should we avoid them?”

Just as Rick Warren does, Brown takes a low view of Scripture. He considers the biblical mandates for separation from unbelievers and apostasy (2 Cor. 6:14-17) an obstacle to be sidestepped for the sake of cooperation with organizations like the United Nations to “do good.” This, of course, means one must agree to disagree over the problem of abortion to work together. An agreement Rick Warren wholeheartedly enters into with John Brown’s enthusiastic support.


LM

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