Well let him answer the question.
A portion of an interview with Rick Warren that was conducted by Modern Reformation Magazine and appears in the Jan-Feb 2004 issue.
MR: Does the "Forty Days of Purpose" campaign reflect any particular theological stance or is it theologically neutral?
RW: It is impossible to be theologically neutral. However, it is possible to love, respect, and appreciate the ministry of godly brothers who have theological differences with you. On earth we "see through a glass darkly" so we all need a large dose of humility in dealing with our differences. God's ways are awesome and far beyond
human mental capabilities. He has no problem reconciling the supposed theological conflicts that we debate when ideas don't fit neatly into our logical, rational systems (Isa. 58:8-9).
Theologically, I am a monergist and firmly hold to the five solas of the Reformation. It's pretty obvious from the book that I believe in foreknowledge, predestination, (see chapter two, "You Are Not An Accident") and, especially, concurrence -- that God works in and through every detail of our lives, even our sinful choices, to cause his purposes to prevail.
Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) is one of my life
verses.
But rather than categorize myself with a theological label, I want to be known -- like Jesus -- as "a friend of sinners" and -- like
Paul -- as simply "a servant of Jesus Christ." In the past sixteen years, God has allowed me the privilege of helping encourage and
train over 300,000 evangelical pastors from a wide spectrum of denominations and 137 different countries. (I am aware that some of
my Reformed brothers believe that only they have the right to legitimately be called "evangelicals," and I playfully disagree.)
It's been fascinating to see how people interpret my book through their own theological lenses. On the same day this week I received an email from a Presbyterian brother accusing me of "being an
Arminian" and another email from a Lutheran brother criticizing me for being "too Calvinistic!" I just remind myself that even Jesus
could not please everyone, and I refocus on living for an audience of One.
I'm a fourth-generation Baptist pastor. My great grandfather was led to Christ by Charles Spurgeon, attended Spurgeon's college,
and was sent by Spurgeon to America to pastor. So I guess God predestined me to be a Baptist! I would ask readers for grace in three areas:
First, the book contains much of what I believe, but it does not contain ALL of what I believe about any particular doctrine. I actually removed over 400 pages of material that I wrote, but
decided not to include. Exhaustive studies exhaust people. The book is a devotional, not a dissertation.
Second, the book is not intended to be a systematic theology. Saddleback's systematic theology is another book called Foundations.
It is a nine month doctrinal course, written by Pastor Tom Holladay and my wife Kay, for our congregation. To my knowledge, Saddleback
may be the only church in America that requires a nine month systematic theology course for anyone who wants to serve on our staff or as a lay leader in our church. Over 5,000 members have
completed Foundations in the past ten years, and we have over 3,000 more members studying the course right now. Saddleback members are
doctrinally astute.
Third, the book is about the Christian's walk, not justification. I did include a simple call to Christ in case unbelievers picked up
the book (which thousands have). But to know my full view of the doctrines of grace, you'd need to have heard my two year, verse-by-
verse exposition through Romans. We've gone through Romans twice since I started Saddleback.
A portion of an interview with Rick Warren that was conducted by Modern Reformation Magazine and appears in the Jan-Feb 2004 issue.
MR: Does the "Forty Days of Purpose" campaign reflect any particular theological stance or is it theologically neutral?
RW: It is impossible to be theologically neutral. However, it is possible to love, respect, and appreciate the ministry of godly brothers who have theological differences with you. On earth we "see through a glass darkly" so we all need a large dose of humility in dealing with our differences. God's ways are awesome and far beyond
human mental capabilities. He has no problem reconciling the supposed theological conflicts that we debate when ideas don't fit neatly into our logical, rational systems (Isa. 58:8-9).
Theologically, I am a monergist and firmly hold to the five solas of the Reformation. It's pretty obvious from the book that I believe in foreknowledge, predestination, (see chapter two, "You Are Not An Accident") and, especially, concurrence -- that God works in and through every detail of our lives, even our sinful choices, to cause his purposes to prevail.
Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) is one of my life
verses.
But rather than categorize myself with a theological label, I want to be known -- like Jesus -- as "a friend of sinners" and -- like
Paul -- as simply "a servant of Jesus Christ." In the past sixteen years, God has allowed me the privilege of helping encourage and
train over 300,000 evangelical pastors from a wide spectrum of denominations and 137 different countries. (I am aware that some of
my Reformed brothers believe that only they have the right to legitimately be called "evangelicals," and I playfully disagree.)
It's been fascinating to see how people interpret my book through their own theological lenses. On the same day this week I received an email from a Presbyterian brother accusing me of "being an
Arminian" and another email from a Lutheran brother criticizing me for being "too Calvinistic!" I just remind myself that even Jesus
could not please everyone, and I refocus on living for an audience of One.
I'm a fourth-generation Baptist pastor. My great grandfather was led to Christ by Charles Spurgeon, attended Spurgeon's college,
and was sent by Spurgeon to America to pastor. So I guess God predestined me to be a Baptist! I would ask readers for grace in three areas:
First, the book contains much of what I believe, but it does not contain ALL of what I believe about any particular doctrine. I actually removed over 400 pages of material that I wrote, but
decided not to include. Exhaustive studies exhaust people. The book is a devotional, not a dissertation.
Second, the book is not intended to be a systematic theology. Saddleback's systematic theology is another book called Foundations.
It is a nine month doctrinal course, written by Pastor Tom Holladay and my wife Kay, for our congregation. To my knowledge, Saddleback
may be the only church in America that requires a nine month systematic theology course for anyone who wants to serve on our staff or as a lay leader in our church. Over 5,000 members have
completed Foundations in the past ten years, and we have over 3,000 more members studying the course right now. Saddleback members are
doctrinally astute.
Third, the book is about the Christian's walk, not justification. I did include a simple call to Christ in case unbelievers picked up
the book (which thousands have). But to know my full view of the doctrines of grace, you'd need to have heard my two year, verse-by-
verse exposition through Romans. We've gone through Romans twice since I started Saddleback.
)