I must admit, I've never been a big fan of Rick Warren--the Hawaiian shirt wearing, cheesy joke telling, mega church pastor. I've never even had a desire to read The Purpose Driven Life. I guess I've just never been drawn to his expression of Christianity.
But I've grown to appreciate Pastor Warren for the ways he is helping the Evangelical community to bridge the gap between evangelism and social justice.
The other day I read an article in Relevant Magazine that featured Warren's work in Africa. In the article, Warren identifies what he believes to be the five biggest problems in the world:
1. Spiritual Emptiness
2. Corrupt Leadership
3. Extreme Poverty
4. Disease
5. Illiteracy and Lack of Education
I was really impressed with what Warren had to say about these issues. Commenting on extreme poverty he said, "The answer is not charity. When you give money away--when you give people things they could do for themselves--you don't teach them to do it for themselves. You rob their dignity, and you create victims. You create dependency and a 'what have you done for me lately' attitude. It actually removes initiative."
So what is Warren's response to the five "global giants," as he puts them? He says that Jesus gave us a model to defeat the world's biggest problems. According to warren, "[Jesus] promoted reconciliation, equipped servant leaders, assisted the poor, cared for the sick and educated the next generation." Those five tenants are put into an acronym to create the P.E.A.C.E Plan strategy.
For Warren, it all begins with the Church. With more than 2.3 billion Christian in the world, it's the largest "network" with the potential to combat the world's greatest problems. Moreover, the P.E.A.C.E Plan is an attempt at creating lasting, sustainable, solutions that help people stand on their own two feet and escape systems of injustice.
Warren admits the problems facing our world are huge. In response to the "global giants," he says, "It gives God honor when we try to do something that's impossible."
The entire article can be found online HERE
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3 comments:
This discussion reminds me of what the author of Hebrews says when he tells the recipients of his letter that they need spiritual 'milk' and aren't ready for 'solid food'. While I haven't personally read A Purpose Driven Life it seems to be a little like 'spiritual milk.' Rick Warren seems to be saying, "This was good for a time, but if all you want to do is read the same book incessantly, then you're missing the point. You're nourishing yourself with milk when your body craves solid food." Social justice, I think, is a huge part of that chewing on solid food. When I was in high school, I knew Christ wanted me to serve, but now I see more that God wants me to be an agent of change and an advocate for the disenfranchised.
Does that make sense?
Absolutely! I like the way you think, Suzanne. Warren even admits that for so long he didn't see the 2,000 verses that talk about caring for the poor. I don't know if he has another book deal in the works, but if he does, I have a feeling it would be more mature, embracing the larger scope of the Gospel--something meatier.
I like what he has to say. I'm impressed..
But I'm not sure what to think about his comment on poverty and charity. I agree, we should be teaching people to do for themselves. We should be getting to the root of whatever problems exist in their society, and helping them to help themselves up. But, does this mean that while they're working to do that, we don't help them along the way by giving money to feed them or clothe them or educate them?
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