- Mar 28, 2005
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There has been a recent report of the wife of a member of Rick Warren's Saddleback church being battered by her husband in a fit of rage. She reported the incident to one of the church pastors, believing that the church would believe and support her. To her horror, that pastor went and told her battering husband that she had "gossiped" about him.
After that, the church refused to believe or help her. As well as that, they did nothing to discipline the wife batterer, but promoted him to lead the church choir!
When she saw that the church was not going to help her, she went to the police, and the husband was taken to Court and sentenced. As part of the sentence, he was not permitted to associate with her, and as a result, she could not attend church, because instead of standing him down from ministry, he remained prominent in the ministry team.
Incidentally, the Life Church, where he was part of the ministry team before he had recently transferred to Saddleback, immediately took him off their ministry list.
The wife was subsequently frozen out of the Saddleback Church and treated as if she was the villain.
After hearing this, I was disgusted that a "christian" church would do this to a domestic violence victim. Firstly, that pastor did not respect confidentiality, and if he was a professional counsellor working for any reputable counselling organisation, he would have been fired, and deregistered.
Also, the senior pastors of the church did not stand the wife batterer down from ministry, and this shows that the Saddleback Church, and Rick Warren supports wife batterers and does not discipline them, even though wife battery is a grievous sin which should be repented of.
For this reason, I no longer believe that the Holy Spirit is working with that church. I believe that He has been grieved, and the Saddleback church is now reduced to a man oriented bless me club that God has withdrawn from. And this will be the case until the leadership of that church repents and gives full support and protection to victims of wife batterers, and disciplines those who beat their wives. I wonder how many victims of domestic violence are still going to that church and who are afraid to disclose it because of the sinful, antichristian attitude of that church's leaders.
I will also add that I believe that a husband who beats his wife in a fit of rage is actually demonized by an angry, violent spirit of power and control. Therefore to promote a man like that into a position of ministry is allowing a demonized man to have a position of influence in the church services. Therefore, if the Holy Spirit has departed, then it could be argued that another spirit that is not of God is leading the worship on Sundays when that man is leading the choir.
I am now going to take my copy of Rick Warren's book Purpose Driven Life, rip it up, and use it as toilet tissue, because that is all it is good for in the light of the sinful practice of that church of which he is the founder and senior pastor.
Although it appears to have life, Saddleback Church is really a dead monument that the glory of God has departed from, and it will be a matter of time before the decline will show.
After that, the church refused to believe or help her. As well as that, they did nothing to discipline the wife batterer, but promoted him to lead the church choir!
When she saw that the church was not going to help her, she went to the police, and the husband was taken to Court and sentenced. As part of the sentence, he was not permitted to associate with her, and as a result, she could not attend church, because instead of standing him down from ministry, he remained prominent in the ministry team.
Incidentally, the Life Church, where he was part of the ministry team before he had recently transferred to Saddleback, immediately took him off their ministry list.
The wife was subsequently frozen out of the Saddleback Church and treated as if she was the villain.
After hearing this, I was disgusted that a "christian" church would do this to a domestic violence victim. Firstly, that pastor did not respect confidentiality, and if he was a professional counsellor working for any reputable counselling organisation, he would have been fired, and deregistered.
Also, the senior pastors of the church did not stand the wife batterer down from ministry, and this shows that the Saddleback Church, and Rick Warren supports wife batterers and does not discipline them, even though wife battery is a grievous sin which should be repented of.
For this reason, I no longer believe that the Holy Spirit is working with that church. I believe that He has been grieved, and the Saddleback church is now reduced to a man oriented bless me club that God has withdrawn from. And this will be the case until the leadership of that church repents and gives full support and protection to victims of wife batterers, and disciplines those who beat their wives. I wonder how many victims of domestic violence are still going to that church and who are afraid to disclose it because of the sinful, antichristian attitude of that church's leaders.
I will also add that I believe that a husband who beats his wife in a fit of rage is actually demonized by an angry, violent spirit of power and control. Therefore to promote a man like that into a position of ministry is allowing a demonized man to have a position of influence in the church services. Therefore, if the Holy Spirit has departed, then it could be argued that another spirit that is not of God is leading the worship on Sundays when that man is leading the choir.
I am now going to take my copy of Rick Warren's book Purpose Driven Life, rip it up, and use it as toilet tissue, because that is all it is good for in the light of the sinful practice of that church of which he is the founder and senior pastor.
Although it appears to have life, Saddleback Church is really a dead monument that the glory of God has departed from, and it will be a matter of time before the decline will show.