Modern March | a Christian blog

Rick Warren at Desiring God 2010 and why it’s awesome.

Posted: 01 Apr 2010 07:30 AM PDT

Rick Warren is simultaneously one of the most scrutinized and most respected Christian leaders on the planet. Love him or hate him, just about everyone has an opinion.

It has been recently announced that John Piper has invited Warren to speak at the 2010 Desiring God National Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As expected, there has been outrage about this announcement from Piper-loving Calvinists.

“How could John Piper invite HIM?”

“I knew John Piper would compromise and sell-out eventually!”

It’s all hogwash.

The fact is, Rick Warren is one of the most amazing Christian leaders we have and will ever see and has handled his prominent role amazingly. Here’s why I love Warren and agree with Piper’s choice:

Warren has been front and center on major television networks and on his own Twitter standing tall against abortion (tweet here), homosexuality (video here), and many other “hot button” issues for Christians. He has also poured much of his own money and time into fighting global poverty, AIDS, and illiteracy.
He has given council to presidents, world leaders, and innumerable pastors. This is something any Christian should do if given the opportunity.
Speaking of presidents, Warren has been brutally criticized for praying at Barack Obama’s inauguration. I’d argue that he took a very Biblical stance when agreeing to do so because we are called to pray for our leaders. He did not and has not endorsed Obama, but he did the right thing in praying for him on such a massive stage.
His book, The Purpose Driven Life, is an all-time bestseller and has been criticized for its lack of theological depth. I would argue that it’s supposed to be shallow because it’s obviously aimed at seekers and those struggling with or trying to grasp the basics of Christianity. I don’t think he wrote this book with systematic theology in mind.
For those of you worried about his theology, I’d say to be careful not to judge so quickly. In an interview with Modern Reformation, Warren specifically labeled himself as a monergist which means that he is essentially a Calvinist with a little tweaking. Just because he hasn’t written a book on doctrine, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it.
As far as his money is concerned, check this out: he stopped taking a salary from his mega-church in California, repaid his 25 years of salary, and gives away 90% of his earnings.

Of all the ways Warren has been attacked, I find it impossible to nail down a reason to insult him aside from pretty preferential arguments. He stands on conservative Biblical truth on massive public stages, he lives a life of faith and service, and is more than theologically sound enough for Piper-chronies (like myself).

Here is Piper’s explanation for inviting Warren to DG 2010: