Read my Comments on Dr. Piper addressing his decision of choosing Rick Warren: HT

Latest News : HT

I’m sure most of the reformed folk out there (the ones not living under rocks or in caves), have caught drift of one of the most startling issues for the year of 2010, “John Piper inviting Rick Warren of Saddleback church to keynote at the Desiring God National Conference of 2010″. Yep.

First news seemed to come from: SharperIron

SharperIron has confirmed with Jonathan at Desiring God in Minneapolis that Rick Warren is among the speakers for the 2010 Desiring God National Conference. There will be more details explaining the invitation from DesiringGod.org in the near future.

UPDATE: This URL will provide further information as it is available.

Confirmation from the Apprising Blog: HT

My friend James Sunquist had emailed me here at Apprising Ministries to say that he had spoken with a woman named Ruth at Desiring God and that she did tell himRick Warren is slated to speak at DG 2010.

I’ve just now gotten off the phone with her myself. She was very kind and she did inform me personally that:

“We are confirming that Rick Warren is a speaker, yes.”

Guys from the IDOTG blog commented and inflamed the issue bigger with their comments: InDefenseoftheGospel

John Piper hosts and endorses the ministry of Mark Driscoll who has preached at Robert Schuler’s Crystal Cathedral and is notorious for his disgraceful filth speech in the pulpit. Now Piper adds Rick Warren to his approved list of keynote speakers. No one can understand or explain why Piper embraces Rick Warren except Piper himself. This is a huge disconnect from what Piper writes in his books. One must question that Piper believes what he writes in his own books.

Visited 5ptsalt.com today and saw some helpful news from Joel Taylor: HT

Dr. Piper will be hosting an “Ask Pastor John Live” session via Desiringgod.org tonight at 7.pm CT. where he will , perhaps, maybe, hopefully address the issue of inviting Rick Warren to speak at the DG 2010 National Conference.

Tune in and ask your questions here.

And finally, some good insight and alarm from Ingrid Schlueter from the CrossTalk blog: Found [here] • HT

It has been confirmed that Rick Warren will be a speaker at the prominent Desiring God 2010 Conference. According to Jonathan Parnell at the offices of the conference, John Piper reportedly met Rick Warren at the funeral for Ralph Winter, and that is how the invitation came about.

Jonathan Parnell was quick to tell me that Dr. R.C. Sproul and Dr. Al Mohler would also be speakers, as if to assure me that things couldn’t get too out of hand with them there. It appears that Rick Warren is going to be given the opportunity to respond to charges that he is non-doctrinal in his messages. Parnell told me that Rick Warren is “more doctrinal” than he appears. That would be news to untold numbers of Christians who have seen their churches abandon the biblical Gospel by jumping on the Purpose-Driven bandwagon.

Additionally, one wonders exactly what doctrine undergirds Mr. Warren’s latest outrage, his involvement with Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation and its “North American offensive”, as Blair put it, with a purpose of “Uniting all faiths.” That would be the doctrine of anti-christ.

Whatever Piper’s thinking is, it is plain that inviting Rick Warren to speak at his conference, giving him prime time to manipulate hearers and present himself as just another misunderstood leader, is a serious mistake. Piper’s years of credibility as a trustworthy minister of Gospel truth are being undermined by this decision. I was one of several who were personally invited to Saddleback by Mr. Warren to speak with him in a private meeting last year. The PR offensive was clever, but it failed. Warren rests not, day or night, in his attempts to bring his critics on board and end the troublesome dissent that always plagues him. To win over Piper and his followers would be a victory indeed.

Piper has also announced that he will be leaving on sabbatical on May 1. Hopefully, he will have time before he leaves to address the likely fallout from this decision. It is not a small thing.

Everywhere we see signs of the falling away talked about in Scripture. It is a warning to all of us to be sober and vigilant, because our adversary walks around, seeking whom he can devour. We need the full armor of God daily and to use our shield of faith and our Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. We also need to pray for discernment in this hour when so many, including leaders, are losing theirs.

And if you can’t wait ’till the Official response from John Piper, here’s John Piper talking about inviting Rick Warren back in February: HT

Back in February, Pastor John had already mentioned and explained why he invited Rick Warren to the conference this fall while speaking in California at Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church.

Listen to it here:

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Brethren, let us all invest time in prayer at this most crucial time. For if one as Rick Warren is to be accepted by Dr. Piper and the Desiring God organization as one to be “doctrinally sound”, it will surely inflict a great deal of damage to the reformed community that is under the care of the DG ministry and those following Dr. Piper, and in the worser case cause a greater obscurity to the clarity of the Gospel message presented by the Reformed faith in general and damage the credibility of the same.

And let us remember that the issue with Rick Warren is not with his attractiveness in speech or his genius in pragmatism. The main issue with Rick Warren, which I desperately pray that Dr. Piper would come to see, is the absence of the Gospel in his message.

If upon reading more of Jonathan Edwards, Rick Warren would come to a radical reformation, then I rejoice! But if not, and such words are but to pander to the reformed sensibilities of one like Dr. Piper, then I pray the Lord be faithful to keep those who are His and not let them fall into this pit of infidelity against the Gospel of Christ.

I have not much patience with a certain class of Christians nowadays who will hear anybody preach so long as they can say, “He is very clever, a fine preacher, a man of genius, a born orator.” Is cleverness to make false doctrine palatable? Why, sirs, to me the ability of a man who preaches error is my sorrow rather than my admiration.

I cannot endure false doctrine, however neatly it may be put before me. Would you have me eat poisoned meat because the dish is of the choicest ware? It makes me indignant when I hear another gospel put before the people with enticing words, by men who would fain make merchandise of souls; and I marvel at those who have soft words for such deceivers.

“That is your bigotry,” says one. Call it so if you like, but it is the bigotry of the loving John who wrote—”If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

—C.H. Spurgeon

Read the rest here: [link]