“…Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”Luke 12:1-3
The Shift has Begun. The time for secrets and whispered alliances has become publicly known. The object of grievance for many who love Calvary Chapel and all that it once stood for has been affirmed. For all those who were called “Head Hunters, Heresy Sniffers, Contentious, and slanderers” they may now have some level of confirmation that their discernment wasn’t wrong, but a true child of God who has the “gift” of discernment takes no pleasure in seeing what was once ‘the warning’ come to pass. Many people who are in the camp that believe Rick Warren is doing a work of God think that all of us are simply fanatic and fearful to ‘change.’ No. I accept Change. What I do not accept is heresy, lies, and false teachers. I will start in the order of the men that are in the picture above.
Greg Laurie.Greg is the Senior Pastor of Harvest Church in Riverside California. For those of you who don’t know the relationship of Greg Laurie and Rick Warren has stemmed over twenty years. According to Rick Warren himself, in a short clip taken backstage at the Harvest Crusade 2009, they have had a cyclical relationship with each others flock {see video below} . Greg Laurie has taught classes at Saddleback church and has done other projects in conjunction with Rick Warren. Greg’s relationship with Rick Warren has not been a secret in the Calvary Chapel circles. Many pastors have approached Greg Laurie over the years and attempted to rebuke him in love about his unequally yolked partnership to Rick Warren. Each time Greg asserted himself as someone who had been ’sent to minister’ to Rick Warren. Over the same amount of years pastors have attempted to rebuke Rick Warren in love and to warn him about his own unequally yolked fellowship with those in the Emergent Church Movement and many other false gospels. Rick Warren too has justified himself and refused to repent of the heresies he has taught. I know that many people are going to be hurt by this news of Pastor Chuck Smith, Greg Laurie and Rick Warren appearing together on the same platform in “one accord.” For many who have called Calvary Chapel their home church the possibility of such once sound men of God (Laurie & Smith) appearing with an obvious wolf in sheep’s clothing (Warren) seems absolutely inconceivable. However, the truth of the matter is that is exactly what has happened. I have done many posts on this blog and my other blog related to the Heresy and Leaven that Rick Warren has introduced into the Evangelical, Christian, movement. This post is not so much to warn you of Rick Warren as it is to warn you about the dangers occurring inside Calvary Chapel. Rick Warren’s leaven has infiltrated Harvest church for years, it has filtered into smaller Calvary Chapels, and with the stamp of approval that Chuck Smith has now given it, the Leaven and Heresy that is Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life has come to roost in Harvest and Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.
Chuck Smith.Chuck is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and known as one of the key persons of influence of the Jesus People Movement. Honesty I know very little about the ‘Jesus people movement.’ I have attended Calvary Chapel the length of my entire walk with Jesus Christ and never once cared to look into when or why this ‘movement’ started. When I had entered in to this ‘fold’ I had felt I was getting clear biblical teaching of God’s word. And I was. The Calvary Chapel of the past has changed dramatically. What Pastor Chuck started all those years ago has become an extended family that has grown up generations of Christ loving, God fearing people. Today however, with the acceptance of one of the most dangerous false teachers, Rick Warren, Calvary Chapel has much to loose and little to gain from yoking itself with Purpose Driven heresy. As I stated before, Rick’s relationship with Greg has not been kept in isolation, many people have known of this, however the fear that the ‘leadership’ from the top…ie, Pastor Chuck Smith, to accept Rick Warren’s heresy and to condone it has tipped the scale. Many people in the Emergent Church movement have been waiting for the day that Chuck would ‘accept’ Emergent and Purpose Driven as a movement that not even Chuck could deny it’s power to move people. However, simply because people are moved emotionally and spiritually deceived into a spiritual ‘experience’ does not make that a move of God.
In 2006 Chuck Smith himself released a positional paper that denounced the Emergent Church, however today he is by his actions denouncing the very stand he took only some three years ago. Today the rebuke doesn’t seem to come, however I trust the Lord is working out His perfect will even as it appears that evil is prospering. It must be said that today Chuck is only expressing publicly what he has held as true privately for a long time. I can say that because many sheep have been stumbled by his actions to shield and protect Greg Laurie and Greg’s relationship with Rick Warren. There have been events that have caused people to stumble that have been hosted by CCCM, and other “Calvary Chapel Pastors” over the years. It has been years. This didn’t happen over night. Senior Pastors from the biggest to the smallest Calvary Chapel on the Directory KNOW what has been going on. They have had overt warnings, they’ve had whispered concerns expressed by critically hurt sheep and have denied to address the problem of the leaven that is Rick Warren and his blasphemous counterfeit gospel. So, Pastor Chuck Smith, with all due respect to what you’ve done in the past, what you are doing now and what’s been happening for some time is stumbling and scattering the flock that God entrusted to you and countless other Calvary Chapel Pastors….hence my title, Woe.
(Jeremiah 23).
8. The great confusion that exists in the divergent positions of the Emergent Church results from their challenging the final authority of the Scriptures. When you no longer have a final authority, then everyone’s ideas become as valid as the next person’s, and it cannot help but end in total confusion and contradictions.
There are those who say that Emergent movement has some good points, but so does a porcupine. You are better off if you don’t get too close!-
Chuck Smith, 2006
Rick Warren. I’ve said enough.
Articles from my blogs on Rick Warren:
Rick Warren & Tony Blair ♦ Warren’s New Social Gospel bible ♦ Rick Warren catapults Obama among ‘Evangelicals’ by hosting a ‘conversation’ with Obama and McCain at Saddleback Church ♦ Rick Warren’s Flip Flop Morality; is he For Marriage or Gay Unions? He can’t decide ♦ Did you know Warren is a Southern Baptist? Even they speak out against his false teaching! ♦ Rick Warren’s Interfaith Prayer at Inauguration called on the name of Isa, Jesus of Islam! ♦
Articles on Rick Warren from Other Sites:
Olive Tree Ministries, Understanding the Times, Slice of Laodicea , Crosstalk, Prophesy News Watch, Joel’s Trumpet, Eric Barger, Lighthousetrails, OneNewsNow
References to Warren at Laurie’s Harvest Crusade:
Christian Post August 13, 2009 ♦ ANS August 19, 2009 ♦ Greg’s Images Twittered live from Harvest 2009 ♦ Back Stage Twitter video Chuck Smith with Rick Warren Harvest 2009 ♦ RT (re-tweet) of Rick Warren’s comment about Greg Laurie speaking at Saddleback ♦ Official Harvest Crusade 2009 Video Sunday, Chuck Smith introduces Rick Warren @ 10:47 min ♦ National Worship Leaders Conference 2009, Greg Laurie [the sites listed are reference points they do not represent sites that I endorse but are merely used to provide further information]
NWLC 2009 Reggie M. Kidd did a segment entitled: “Showing the Story with the Ancient Church” the main topics included:
In this seminar, we take up the biblical basis for the unity of Word and Table in worship that emerged in the early church. We introduce four important texts for understanding ancient future worship.
We look at three, practical legacies of ancient worship:
• the reading of Scripture,
• the Eucharistic prayer,
• the chanting of the psalms
National Worship Leader Conference 2008, Skip Heitzig Calvary Chapel Albuquerque
You must understand who the speakers are at these events (Research Leonard Sweet), what they believe, and teach to understand the implications. There are people who become stumbled because they believe some on the ticket to be ‘men of God.’ Some of these ‘men of God’ have taught on other types of heresy, or false doctrine, yet still are unequally yolked and keeping company with darkness.
The Answer to the Question. You may be asking yourself right about now, “What does this all mean?” What am ‘I’ implying by voicing all the things that have been said in this post? Am ‘I’ calling Greg Laurie and Chuck Smith, heretics, false teachers, false prophets…? God’s word answers that for you.
2 Peter 2
1But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
2Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;
3and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
1 Peter 5
1 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,2shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;3nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.
Matthew 18
7“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!8“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.
9“If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.
10“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.11["For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
1 Timothy 4
1But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,2by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,3men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.4For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;
5for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.6In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.
Another Question Answered. “What then should you do?” Are you a Pastor of a Calvary Chapel?
My answer to a Pastor, If you are a shepherd, If you are not a ‘man of God’ because so many can call themselves that, but you are a God Fearing man, then seek the truth for yourself. Test all things. You have been warned repeatedly by now by the Holy Spirit to be careful of winds of doctrine. Warn your flock and stop fearing man…and start fearing God.
Do you attend a Calvary Chapel? My Answer to you if you are attending a Calvary Chapel and all of this is ‘news’ to you, TEST. Test all things. Test the Spirit. Test what is being preached and taught in your church against the WORD of God. I recently commented to a friend if people tested all ‘Pastors, Speakers, Authors, etc’ against the true Word of God then there wouldn’t be a need for ‘Discernment Ministries.’ There has been volumes of warnings out on Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life, Emergent/Emerging Church, Dominionist Theology, Mysticism, Ancient Future Worship, etc. The hour is late and there is little time to go through all that is now masquerading itself as ‘light’ in this world…but by all means try to do your own homework. Do not take anything of what I’ve said in this post or any other for that matter without holding it up to see if it’s true.
2 Corinthians 6
16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
“I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM;
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.17 “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord.“AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN;And I will welcome you.
18 “And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.
One Last Answer to the broken hearted out there who is grieving and mourning for the truth in matters….
All this has shown me is that there is no one righteous, no not one, especially myself! I make no claims to be more holy than the next person. I know that nothing good dwells in me and that I am a chief sinner. One thing I do know is that God is doing a continuing sanctification and by the Blood of the Lamb alone am I saved! Rejoice brother and sister in the Lord, for the time is near and the times are proving themselves to be the last days that our Lord Jesus Christ has spoken of. I know there is a remnant out there. I know there are people who love Jesus Christ Messiah and seek to do His will. Let us focus our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ, SON of the Living God! Our faith is bound up in Jesus Christ and none other!
Ezekiel 33
6 ‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’
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Sincerely,
Walter