“…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 original Post of “Woe.” was on August 25, 2009. Edits and additional comments are explained at the end of the original post.
**Update: this post has been previously attached to a site that claims I am a CC ‘member.’When I wrote this post I was attending a CC and had for years, this is no longer true as of June 2010.**
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; however, 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 yoked 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 yoked 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 lose 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.
My Appeal to 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.
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.
“Thank you Greg for preaching at 4 of the 6 services at Saddleback.” Rick Warren.
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:
[The following sites are not an endorsement nor am I in agreement with the sites cited.]
Christian Post August 13, 2009 ♦ ANS August 19, 2009 ♦ Greg’s Images Twittered live from 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]
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 psalmsNational 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 yoked 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
The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.
Matthew 18
7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
1 Timothy 4
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.
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 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith 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 see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
**Update** 4-27- 2010
Finally a ministry with tons of connections comes out with a warning on what I’ve already expressed in this article and many countless others have been trying to express for years now~ better late than never:
Calvary Chapel Alert: Calvary Chapel Albuquerque (Skip Heitzig) Hosting New Age Mystic Leonard Sweet
(but let’s be clear this isn’t the first year he’s invited Leonard Sweet! AND it’s not that Chuck Smith doesn’t know about it or other CC Pastors…)
Post Primary Commentary: Below are my thoughts now in 2012, three years after the infamous embrace at Harvest August, 17th 2009.
The site above with a line through was Moriel, they disabled that link so it’s useless to have it up; and they never warned about Rick Warren’s connections to Greg Laurie or his visit in 2009 and embrace with Chuck Smith Sr.Further above in this post was a group of links to articles outside of my own blog posts who have written about Rick Warren; those sites I disabled the links to because I DO NOT support, endorse, or agree with those sites any longer. It has come to my attention over the years that those who placate and remain silent on truly exposing those within Calvary Chapel, who’ve enjoyed decades long employment and ministerial support, are just as guilty as perpetuating the lie within Calvary as the ones they claim to “expose;” namely Rick Warren.
Since this post in 2009 not one major discernment site reported on this union (Warren/Smith/Laurie). In fact since the Harvest 2009 20th Anniversary there has been much more leaven within Calvary Chapel and since then the failure of the major Discernment Sites and “Discernment Ministries” to expose the true and very real deception inside of Calvary Chapel has become over abundantly clear and pervasive. Those who expose Calvary Chapel and their fake discernment ministries that keep them afloat giving the appearance of a discerning church are the ones who are laboring and getting attacked from the CC machine. There is a vast and broad network within the Calvary Chapel “Movement” that crosses denominational divides. The Baptist Churches are involved too and I would venture to say that many of the “Emergent Churches” who have been declared the Devil incarnate by the organized controlled Discernment Ministries were really birthed out of the CC movement and the early hippies who saw CC moving toward Yuppeidom rather than staying “true” to their “emerging” styles in the early 70′s. This article “Woe” cost me nothing to post; I was an unknown blogger who had to send out mass emails to my friends and family to get readers. Now I don’t bother anyone with when I post a new article; however, I do have some more readers today than I did in 2009, but I am still very much an unknown. I do not have “secret” information; I do not know the upper echelons of Calvary Chapel. I do not work with anyone within Calvary Chapel or their subsidiaries. I am one person, with a heart for the body of Christ and I pray that those who are entrapped by the snare of the false teachings of CC and their organized discernment ministries will make their way out.
John 10: 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
