Following up on an earlier tip from my friend John Chisham, last night Apprising Ministries told you that Leadership Network’s propped-up Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren is apparently slated to be among the speakers for the Desiring God 2010 National Conference. Interestingly enough Phil Johnson would tweet:

Sounds like an early April Fools joke: http://bit.ly/9nSwdZ (Online source)

Even though I don’t know him personally, I have quite a bit of respect for Phil, who works closely with Dr. John MacArthur; and from what I’ve heard, MacArthur is good friends with Dr. Piper. So, I didn’t approach this subject lightly; however, when I followed the link over to Sharper Iron I saw this short post was done by Greg Linscott:

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… (Online source)

Now I’ve had the chance throught the years to speak with pastor Linscott a few times via email and have known him to be very credible; and so, I decided to go with this story. Later as I monitored Intel along the Net I would be led to the In Defense of the Gospel blog of Lou Martuneac, whom I don’t know, who informed us:

Earlier this month I requested and have now received written confirmation from Bethlehem Baptist Church (BBC) that John Piper invited and will host Rick Warren as a keynote speaker at his (Piper’s) 2010 Desiring God conference.

The source from BBC said Desiring God will, “…eventually be posting registration instructions and conference details, including a video from John Piper on why he invited this year’s speakers,” including Rick Warren. (Online source)

This would be corroboration, with both sources reporting as eyewitnesses, that DG and BBC had personally conveyed this information to Linscott and Martuneac respectively. Hardly reporting this in anger, or outrage, because after five years of rather prominent online apologetics and discernment ministry very little upsets, or surprises, me anymore.

As a former Roman Catholic and as an ordained Southern Baptist pastor I simply brought out a couple of my concerns about Rick Warren. He’s unquestionably a product of Leadership Network, itself a cancerous outgrowth of the semi-pelagian (at best), and highly ecumenical, Church Growth Movement that is already at odds with much of Reformation theology.

Rick Warren, as arguably the most prominent minister in the largest allegedly Protestant denomination in the US, actually has taken a stand against the Reformers in his openly welcoming the Roman Catholic Church; and this despite their own—never repudiated—anathema of the very Gospel of Jesus Christ itself.

I also mentioned that Warren is openly recommending the corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism perpetrated as so-called Spiritual Formation (SF) by Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster, along with his spiritual twin SBC minister Dallas Willard, that’s now slithering deeper into also pretending to be Protestant mainstream evangelicalism.

Those are facts I report rather dispassionately concerning Warren because the main thrust of my labors in the Lord along the Internet Front of this spiritual Vietnam Truth War is focused on the sinfully ecumenical Emerging Church, also launched by Leadership Network, and which continues developing into a full-blown cult of a new version of Progressive Christianity.

I happen to think Leadership Network‘s a spiritual toilet bowl and to paraphrase one of its up-and-comers Dr. Ed Stetzer: I’m not going to argue with full-of-themselve$, think they know-it-all, church “experts” propped up by man-pleasing entities like Leadership Network. It’s like wresting with a pig– you both get dirty, but the pig likes it.

Which brings me to Outrage over Rick Warren and John Piper on the Same Stage by LN’s Todd Rhodes, where he opines:

As Dan Rather would say, some people are ‘madder than a rattlesnake trying to bite a fencepost’ that John Piper has been invited Rick Warren to speak at the annual Desiring God Conference. In fact, Ken Silva even gives Leadership Network (whom I work with) a shout out in the process:

It seems that Leadership Network’s propped-up Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren, who teaches the apostate Roman Catholic Church is part of the Body of Christ and openly promotes anti-sola Scriptura Contemplative Spirtuality/Mysticism, will be a featured speaker at Piper’s Desiring God conference this year.

It’s not enough that Ken doesn’t like Rick Warren… he pulls Leadership Network into the fray as well.  Oh well… (Online source)

But as I explained in the combox of Rhodes’ screed:

“Ken doesn’t like Rick Warren”

Oops, should read: Ken doesn’t like what Rick Warren teaches. I don’t know Rick, so I have no way to know if I’d like him personally.

Now, just maybe my friend and fellow Christian Research Net contributor Steven Macasil is right in what he says in his post Rick Warren To Speak At John Piper’s Desiring God Conference at his Biblical Thought.com blog here:

John Piper’s video about why he chose to have Douglas Wilson at last year’s conference stirred up some good discussions on whether the Federal Vision theology Wilson promotes is biblical or not. Perhaps John Piper will keep with tradition and do another series of videos about why he chose this year’s panel, including Rick Warren.

If so, then perhaps it too will stir up discussion of whether or not Rick Warren’s theology and overall vision is biblical. (Online source)

Now that would be a discussion worth revisting.

See also:

SBC PROTESTANT PASTOR RICK WARREN DOUBLE-MINDED ON THE REFORMATION AND ROMAN CATHOLICISM

DAN SOUTHERLAND AND CULT-LIKE HOSTILE TAKEOVER TACTICS OF PURPOSE-DRIVEN/SEEKER-DRIVEN CHURCH TRANSITIONING

RADICAL APOSTATES, RICK WARREN AND PETER SCAZZERO

SOUTHERN BAPTIST PASTOR RICK WARREN AND SADDLEBACK CHURCH OPENLY RECOMMEND CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM

SADDLEBACK CHURCH PASTORS USING ROB BELL TEACHINGS

DR. ROD ROSENBLADT CALLS RICK WARREN’S MAN-CENTERED THEOLOGY “ROMAN CATHOLIC”

THE DRUCKERITES MUST ISSUE A SAFETY RECALL FOR THEIR “EMERGING CHURCH” PRODUCT LINE