Riding God's Wave:The secret of Rick Warren's spectacular success.

[Liberal_in_LA]

Riding God's Wave:The secret of Rick Warren's spectacular success.
By Alan WolfePosted Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, at 7:12 AM ET

The same paradox applies to his flock. Saddleback Church is located in one of the most prosperous regions of the country, and those who attend it, in sharp contrast to the evangelicals of the William Jennings Bryan era, are educated professionals living in gated communities. The secret to Warren's success is that he found people responsible for their own success in life and convinced them that it was all due to God.

http://www.slate.com/id/2233184/pagenum/2

[Hannah Bell]

1. Secret of Warren's success = deep-pockets/connected backers & PR machine.

[TankLV]

7. with a heaping of homophobia...

Fuck Warren and ALL his supporters...

[WCGreen]

2. Entrepenerial churches that make itokay to be a success....

Elmer Gantry....

[ProdigalJunkMail]

13. since when is it not ok to be a success? n/t

[WCGreen]

14. It's the all the stuff good old Jesus talked about back in the day about the

rich man getting into heaven, the money changers, the whole idea of worldly trapping becoming as important as the spiritual side of Christianity.

That is what I am referring to. If was Paul who saw that success in material ways would attract more people. It's Paul's version of christianity that stresses the material rewards. Jesus was a traditional prophet who stressed spiritual growth.

That is the mixed message that I see drives a lot of devote Christians away from these entrepreneurial types, the Benny Hynes of the world, the Rex Humbards and Pat Robertson who give spiritual cover for those who practice predatory capitalism six days a week and spend a couple of hours wallowing in their "goodness" of spirit that bothers me.

But hey, to each his own.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

18. the people you mention by name are shysters...not entrepreneurs

Jesus never said a word about not being successful. he did certainly talk about letting your money become more important than your salvation and for that it is tough for the rich man to enter heaven. i know plenty of people who are wildly successful who are also wildly generous with their money...i think that they should have little trouble getting to heaven...assuming their is one.

sP

[Kutjara]

3. Don't ignore the "gated communities" aspect, either.

Those who feel the need to physically separate themselves from their fellow humans have usually already separated themselves mentally. It's s small step from there to feeling exceptional and "chosen."

[autorank]

4. k*r That's a great pitch

Now that you mention. Can't be me, must be goD! For over a few Franklins for Rick.

[Skittles]

5. Warren's success is the same reason as Jim Jones' was

lots and lots of stupid, stupid people

[ClayZ]

6. K and R

[Le Taz Hot]

8. Personally, I prefered Reverend Ike.

MUCH more entertaining and was just pretty much up front about his reasons for preaching. (Boomers will know who I'm talking about.)

[Fumesucker]

9. Yeah, but Reverend Ike didn't get a speaking gig at a presidential inaguration..

That this fucking charlatan got to give an invocation at Obama's inauguration chaps my nads big time. I'd a whole lot sooner seen Reverend Ike do it than Rick fucking Warren.

And no, I'm not gay.

[Le Taz Hot]

10. Well, back then the fundamentalists

were relegated to the lunatic fringe portion of society -- where they belonged. NOW they're given an invitation to speak to the invisible man in the sky at the presidential inauguration. One doesn't have to be a member of any particular group to advocate for civil rights and equal protection for ALL citizens.

[Fumesucker]

12. That was the point I was trying to make..

"One doesn't have to be a member of any particular group to advocate for civil rights and equal protection for ALL citizens. "

:hi:

[lapislzi]

15. I'll take an honest huckster over a charlatan any day.

I respect candor over chicanery and deception. You want my money? Just ask! I'll either say yes or no.

[saltpoint]

11. Warren appears to be a successful business man but I don't think much

of his spiritual creds.

In fact the two are almost contraindicating.

[AllentownJake]

16. The prosperity Gospel

Not to be confused with the real Gospel.

[Blue For You]

17. Mythology has always been a very lucrative business.

Especially for those living in "gated" communities. ;-)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. A perfect mesh with right-wing politics

"If you're successful, it's because God loves you. If you're not successful, it's because you don't have enough faith or because you made bad choices earlier in life."

The old Puritan myth.

Actually, Jesus said that our fate in life has nothing in particular to do with our virtue. He cites what must have been a famous disaster at the time, the collapse of a tower in which several people were killed, and he asks rhetorically whether those people were any worse than anyone else.