A week or two ago a friend sent me a blog that was critical of John Piper for inviting Rick Warrant to his conference. This morning I stumbled on a blog I that responds to the criticism. It’s a bit long, but touches on some of the issues in the article. You'll find the response at


http://adrianwarnock.com/2010/04/unity-in-diversity-warren-piper-and-new-word-alive/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AdrianWarnocksUkEvangelicalBlog+%28adrianwarnock.com%29&utm_content=Twitter

I watched a YouTube video over the weekend, of John MacArthur criticizing Warren. I’ve also seen MacArthur’s articles and book critical of the Charismatic movement, “Charismatic Chaos”. So many of these books, critical of the Charismatic movement or of large churches such as Saddleback, major on minors and seem to be intent on bringing division in the body of Christ. Paul addresses these kinds of issues in 1 Cor 1:10 and following, and Gal 5:15. And the final word is Jesus Himself, and found in Mark 9:38-40.

I wonder how many people who criticize Rick Warren for “watering down the gospel for the sake of numbers” have ever actually heard him preach. I have heard him, and he preaches hard for 45 minutes to an hour, with his message intertwined by special music or drama to emphasize his point. I don’t believe anybody who has actually heard him can say he is “watering down the gospel.” And those whom I know personally, who are part of Saddleback, are on fire, full of Jesus, and have a stable Biblical understanding.

I can’t but wonder about the motives of some of the critics. Do I agree with everything Rick Warren teaches? No, I do not. Nor do I agree with everything Oral Roberts taught, or Ken Hagen taught, or Kenneth Copeland teaches, (or John MacArthur, Adrian Rogers, Charles Stanley, Charles Capps, et al). But I respect them and their ministries, and the fruit of their labors. And I’m going to major on the majors and not major on the minors, as some are doing. There’s a lost world, and too many people are focusing on those things that divide rather than unite to close the gates of hell.

I'm not saying we should embrace a message of heresy. But let's look again at Mark 9 and I Cor 1 before we take any more shots at our own soldiers.

Anyway, that’s my two cents worth.