What will Rick Warren be paid for his trip/preaching/teaching?
 

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what should he be paid you mean just doing it for the lord isn't enough. we should be laying up souls in the heavens not looking for riches down here god supplys the rest for us as long as he can eat an have shelter 1 soul for god will save tens of thousands more after thats why we do it not for money but for jesus. Rick Warren hears the Lord and i pray for god to protect him in this situation and gives him guidance and protect those who are hidden christians and that not one hair on there head nor one ounce of any bodys blood be shed and that there is a great revival in there land including Kim Jung Ill that he see gods love and mercy and repent and become one of gods children and finally have peace for there land>>> Amen>>>
 

I'm sure being paid is the last thing on Rick's mind as it should be for anyone who can possibly do it without hurting other God-given responsibilities in their lives.
 

Go for it Rick.
you, and your ministry team, will be in my prayers.

God bless,
Cristi
 

As long as Mr. Warren can deliver the Word of God and not some edited, watered down version of propaganda that would suit Kim Jong Il, there is every reason he should go. Very few Western preachers would ever be invited to preach in the DPRK, so any opening should be seen as direct intervention by God unless it is engineered by North Korea merely as a PR stunt. Regretably, I too fear that North Koreans bold enough to attend Mr. Warren's crusade will be persecuted after the world has stopped watching. We Christians should blanket the people with prayer after the event as well as praying for a softening of Kim Jong Il's heart before the event.
 

I pray, that GOD is the one in this case, who said to Mr. Warren: "go."
 

Who's to say that this is not a Jonah situation? The people of Nineveh were notorious but once Jonah fullfilled his assignment to preach repentence to the city they all repented and were saved from destruction. Who's to say that Rick Warren is not a modern day Jonah? that when he preaches in Korea the people will repent, stop their plans for nucelar attack and come into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
 

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To the previous poster: Rick Warren does preach the entire Gospel every week at Saddleback, here in California. I know. I attend there weekly. But for the brainwashed "christians" that think no one else is a Christian but themselves, go ahead and think that he's not serving the Lord like you are. Right?

The author of this article is right. We don't need some government's approval to preach the Gospel. Great article.

I thank the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who died for MY sins and rose again and saved me from hell, and I thank Him for Rick Warren's ministry, that He has used immeasurably. I don't thank Him for the sad, sad people that come along and can't stop criticizing Warren. I suppose Satan is to be "thanked" for that.

Garrett
 

I think that we as a nation have lost the desire for true evangelism. We have gottten far too comfortable in our air-conditioned carpeted churches while we sit back and wait for sinners to walk through the door. All of our focus is on those already saved and very little emphasis is put on winning people. We sent a postcard or we tell or congregataions to bring a friend but do we relly pursue the lost with the same passion of Jesus Christ. Many of us have never been next door to a neighbor let alone across an ocean. The graet commission is a command and not a suggestion and it was written for all and not a select few. Many of us don't go because we can't see the benfit to us. Our churches don't gain any new members (tithers or workers) so we leave the work to a dedicated few. What ever happened to "Go ye?"... We as christians can be so subjective and shallow when it comes to preachers going places and whether or not they get compensated and yet we are always looking to put ourselves in a better finacial situation. We are more concerned with Rick Warren's motive rather than the motive of God. We can be masters of tearing down the very stucture that supports us. Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work out and that God gets the glory from all things, yes even our selfish intentions.
My concern is not that Rick Warren was invited or that he goes, my prayer is that he is put in the midst of the unsaved for the purposes of bringing them into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. I am praying for the heart of the dictator to be turned and I hope you will join me in this prayer.
 

It seems obvious to me that the repentance-less "gospel" that Warren embraces has brainwashed the Saddleback folks most of all.

Going to North Korea to preach will be easy for Warren. Just continue to keep the Cross out of sight and tell them to concentrate on their purpose.
 

Any time a "high profile" leader goes somewhere, there is a danger that the message will be eclipsed by the messenger. I'm sure that God has people who are already in North Korea, working underground and out of the public eye... people for whom this sort of publicity would almost certainly be lethal. Whether or not Rick Warren's visit is beneficial, inffective, or even detrimental remains to be seen.

However, there is something else that I would take a bit of an issue with: Warren is quoted as saying:
Regardless of politics, I will go anywhere I am invited to preach the Gospel.

I'm not so sure that I believe this. High profile leaders have been invited to go to many low-profile places, and couldn't seem to find the time in their schedules to accomodate this. Money might not be the issue for Warren and others, but then again, money can't buy the kind of publicity that this sort of trip will generate.
 

I think that we as a nation have lost the desire for true evangelism. We have gottten far too comfortable in our air-conditioned carpeted churches while we sit back and wait for sinners to walk through the door. All of our focus is on those already saved and very little emphasis is put on winning people. We sent a postcard or we tell or congregataions to bring a friend but do we really pursue the lost with the same passion of Jesus Christ. Many of us have never been next door to a neighbor let alone across an ocean. The great commission is a command and not a suggestion and it was written for all and not a select few. Many of us don't go because we can't see the benefit to us. Our churches don't gain any new members (tithers or workers) so we leave the work to a dedicated few. What ever happened to "Go ye?"... We as Christians can be so subjective and shallow when it comes to preachers going places and whether or not they get compensated and yet we are always looking to put ourselves in a better finacial situation. We are more concerned with Rick Warren's motive rather than the motive of God. We can be masters of tearing down the very stucture that supports us.
Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work out and that God gets the glory from all things, yes even our selfish intentions.
My concern is not that Rick Warren was invited or that he goes, my prayer is that he is put in the midst of the unsaved for the purposes of bringing them into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Let us examine our motives and how we treat those whom God has elevated to see if the issue is theirs or if we have some homework to do in our own hearts. I am praying for the heart of the dictator to be turned and I hope you will join me in this prayer.
 

Billy Graham did the same thing with the Soviet Union some years ago. And his comment was, "they think they are using me, but I am using them." Billy was severaly criticized for doing it.

I am confident of Billy's gospel. Anytime I've seen him or his son, Franklin on TV...they are masters of the sound bite plan of salvation. And they give it several times in each interview.

My prayer will be that Rick will be bold about the plan of salvation. If he can learn from Billy and Franklin Graham about using his popularity to get the message across...sometimes people have to get used to the attention so that they can settle into being most effective.

I'll be praying the Acts 4 prayer that they prayed at in the early church..."Lord grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak thy Word.".
 

I'm sure that the North Korean Christians are well aware of the possibility of persecution. It isn't a surprise to them. So if they choose to go hear Rick they will know the possibility of what might happen.

We've been praying for the persecuted church for some weeks now in our prayer group at church...as well as North Korea. Before any of this with either Rick or the missles came up.

The Holy Spirit knows the future and people have prayed with no knowledge before things have even transpired.

Thank God for the help of the Holy Spirit in prayer.
 

I heard Franklin Grahman comment on North Korea on CNN last week. And, of course, with Franklin it was all about getting the gospel out several times even in that interview.

I respect that. The whole purpose of having such a prominent place is to get the message out.

My prayer for Rick is that he will get the gospel out in the opportunitites that he has. I will have to agree, that thus far, the number of times I've heard Rick on TV here in the U.S. I really haven't heard him preach the gospel like Billy and Franklin do.

I've been disappointed, but also realize that this venue is new to him..he's human. But how hard is it to give a 3 sentance overview of God's plan like the Graham's do? But he does need to get it and utilize every opportunity to clearly and concisely get the message across.

I can say these things, because I regularily pray for Rick. We are in the same "family".

Whatever the motives behind the North Korean visit....the gospel being preached is what matters! It is our responsibility to pray.
 

Here are my thoughts, in no particular order (which is normal for my thoughts):

Why would persecuted believers risk discovery in order to hear someone "preach the gospel?" Since they are "believers" it makes sense that they have heard, believed and experienced the ongoing renewal of the gospel already.

But I am sure that many of them, like many of us will flock to hear Rick Warren. Not so much because he has the Words of Life, but because he's a celebrity. And as an earlier post pointed out, they make the choice knowing the possible consequences.

Rick Warren's celebrity is precisely why so many of us think we have the right and the duty to tell him how to live his Christian walk. Lots of people think that because Tom Cruise or Brittney Spears or "Brangelina" are in the public eye, we have the right to tell them how to sit on a couch, how to drive, where and how to have a baby and raise a family.

If I happened to live under a chair in the auditorium at Saddleback I still would not attend church meetings there. I would not identify with that ministry, for many reasons, none of which should matter to anyone else.

Nor would I presume to criticize Rick Warren, for I have no standing to do so. I am not a financial supporter. I am not a leader in his church or denomination. I am not close to him as friend or advisor. I am not a member of the Godhead and I don't pretend to hear God's whispers for Rick Warren. Let him work out his own salvation in the way in which he chooses. If I were close to him and had reservations about anything he does, I would tell him IN PRIVATE.

I do not allow jealousy for his "success" to prompt me to either mimic his methods or condemn them.

I wish we all could echo the anonymous posting above and pray for boldness for Rick Warren (wherever his celebrity status takes him) and the church in Korea. Oh, and for ourselves as well.

After all, it's a lot easier to blog a criticism of a celebrity than it is to tell our neighbor about Christ.
 

I praise Jesus for His finished work on the cross! And in that do I rest. I don't rest in my feeble "repentance". The Lord knows the heart.

All these foolish critics of Rick Warren? Go do something worthwhile for the Kingdom of God, then come talk to us. Otherwise, shut your useless lips, like the book of James says to. Christians, hah!
 

Now there's a "real" Christian attitude toward other Christians.
 

Quoted: "Now there's a "real" Christian attitude toward other Christians."

Unlike all the other condemning posts criticizing Warren, whom they don't even know nor attend his church? Hypocrite. Welcome to the Pharisees.
 

Excellent article! The editor succinctly and persuasively puts forth the argument for why Rick Warren or anyone else who is given the opportunity should seize it! Any amount of Light that can be brought into that dark country is worthwhile!
I appreciate your insightful, thought-provoking takes on current issues in the news! Keep it up!
 

Get some light into that darkness!!
 

I agree with Tritones in that if Rick preaches a salvation message in North Korea it will be by and large for the non-believers.

As for me, that's who I'd want attending!

Becaues once we are born again we really need to grow in the Word and hear preaching that will help us mature...and that is not hearing preaching again and again on how to be born again.
 

God gives all of us opportunity in life. Some more than others.

May each of us be faithful to use that opportunity to the fullest!

That's why, I believe, we should put our efforts into praying for Rick that he will "speak the Word...with boldness."

I'd want people praying that for me!

Remember Billy Graham was highly criticized for going to the former Soviet Union to preach. He was faithful, however, to "speak the Word".

May Rick use this opportunity in the same way and have wisdom to see past his "celebrity" as God's "opportunity" and purpose!
 

Go, Rick! Go, Saddleback! Go, PDC! I too, as a minister of the Gospel, am weary of the "critics" of Rick Warren and the phenomenom that God has raised up in the midst of our very lethargic and critical religious America.

I have attended conferences at Saddleback. I have met the staff members. I have worshipped in that sanctuary with the Saddleback congregation.

Rick and Saddleback are to be commended, honored, and promoted for the "spark" of revival that they have wrought in this 21-st century America of selfish, me-centered religion -- particularly within the ranks of evangelicals.

May God's blessing be on Rick as he enters the North Korean nation with the Good News that Jesus Christ saves ALL who will call on Him!
 

May the Lord be honored and the Kingdom further advanced in North Korea, even in the midst of persecution. Whether through Rick Warren, a so-called "celebrity," or an unknown Bible study teacher from a small church in Texas, may the Koreans learned God's saving grace and turned to His loving embrace.
 

Look at that darned Rick Warren..... He eats with sinners!

Guess it's not the first charismatic religious leader to do it!
 

Our Lord said, "GO ..." without any qualifications. When is the Church, and the American chuch going to realize that its mission is directed by our KING rather than any American foreign policy.

A Canadian Mission Worker in France. Glen GOOD
 

I want say as christians we should learn more to pray more about issues before we talk about them.I believe this a golden oppurtunity will definitely impact N.korea more than ever anticipated.Jesus' intruction is that whereever we invited for the gospel we should not turn it down. We need to prya against any manipulation/agenda/attack by the kingdom of darknees(the real enemy)
The Truth is matching on