Humility Personified

Okay, that title isn't accurate. Unless of course you've realized by now that I tend to write with just a touch of sarcasm. I'm up a little late tonight and was poking around on Twitter. Strangely enough, even though I "follow" Rick Warren on the social networking site, I never actually looked at his profile until tonight. Keep in mind that, in the world of Twitter, things have to be kept brief. But Warren still finds a way to tell us how, ahem, awesome he is:
Champion of planters/pastors/worship ldrs. Cheerleader/mentor for next gen leaders. Tell me-I’ll follow u. Trained 400,000 pastors in162 nations. Loves doubters 

Ah yes, Rick Warren the "champion," the "cheerleader." Uh-oh, did anyone else just get a bad visual of Warren waving poms poms and yelling "Go, God, Go"? And he's trained 400,000 pastors in 162 nations. Hm, interesting. All that Gospel and he still couldn't bring himself to speak the Truth plainly and boldly in front of the Islamic Society of North America last Spring? I hope he isn't training those future pastors to be just as cowardly and politically correct! But never fear, Rick Warren is always busy working on his next big thing. Next up is his Radicalis conference. Check out the scheduled speakers and be discerning. Check out the ten "Individual Learning Experiences" that will be presented and be afraid. Apprising Ministries reports more:

RICK WARREN RADICALIS

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Dec 1, 2009

Well ok, it’s not so much that Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren himself is any radical, but he does want to make sure you know that his next generation seeker-sensitive boyz sure r. I’m sorry about being plain; you see, I don’t have a keyboard that can reverse the letter r to be more rad.
However, today via the mass email “Chat Live With Pastor Mark Driscoll tomorrow, December 2 about Radicalis,” Warren announces that we can, “Chat live with Pastor Mark Driscoll” tomorrow at 11AM West Coast time. Warren then tells us that we’ll “learn more about what [Driscoll will] be speaking on at Radicalis this February.”
According to Rick Warren one can “ask questions and interact with this dynamic pastor and Christian leader.” The speakers for Radicalis, “10 Conferences in One,” include familiar names around the “seeker” driven section of the man-centered Church Growth Movement like Andy Stanley, Perry Noble, Kerry Shook, and now Mark Driscoll.
We’re told that the “Radicalis Experience” at Saddleback Church promises to be one of “Absolute Surrender, Sacrificial Lifestyle, Authentic Christianity… A Radical Experience” which is why:

Rick Warren and his team invite you and your team to attend Radicalis, February 9-12, 2010… Radicalis is a unique hands-on, comprehensive experience that will enhance each member of your team’s role in your church and build and inspire them to serve God in your community and the world. Rick Warren, the Saddleback Team and leading national pastors will challenge, develop, and expand your vision to be a moving force for God in today’s world.
They’ll help you understand the paradigm, learn the process and build relationships for expanding your ministry. They’ll enlarge your understanding of what “church” and “ministry” mean to enable you to affect positive, purposeful change for God. (Online source)

Here’s an idea; save your money, and spend the time you’d waste at Radicalis in prayerful study of God’s Word instead. I know it’s hard to believe, but in it you won’t find Rick Warren, or his team, these big “name” man-centered preachers, or any of the pragmatic good ol’ American business saavy Warren et al dispense; and believe it or not, God has still managed to grow His Church anyway.
There’s a vision for you to catch…