During my first year as senior pastor, fights broke out in our church over end-times theology. I do mean fights. Fists weren't thrown and faces weren't slapped, but there sure were a few conversations that came pretty close to that. People were shouting at one another down hallways and hollering up and down stairwells. One man in particular was more of a problem than the rest, but several others had to be told to settle down, too.
Some individuals approached me and said that I needed to confront this from the pulpit. Others said that they were excited to hear me preach on the coming of Christ, and this provided the perfect opportunity. I felt like that would make the problem worse.
When I was in high school, I watched a church split over different opinions concerning when the rapture was going to occur. All that was being proposed was that the church remove from its membership requirements that a person had to believe in a pre-tribulation rapture in order to become a member. Some thought that was just flat-out damnable heresy. No pre-tribulation rapture? How dare you! And the church split. I was not going to cause such a rupture in my own church.
So one Sunday, I took about ten minutes at the end of a sermon to address the recent string of controversy. I shared from Acts 1:7-8 when Jesus told his disciples, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
"The point is this," I told my congregation: "When the disciples wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus turned the conversation back to evangelism. There are more important things that we need to focus on right now, Jesus said. And that's what I'm saying to you. There's a time and a place to talk about the end-times. But right now, we have more important matters to discuss."
About a year later, we were finishing up Colossians and my plan was to move right into 1 Thessalonians. I was already beginning to feel convicted because I knew a study of 1 Thessalonians, chapters 4 and 5 in particular, meant that we'd be talking about the end-times and the Day of the Lord.
One day I was watching videos on YouTube, and a video popped up featuring Purpose Driven Life motivational speaker Rick Warren -- that walking, talking Rolodex of happy-verses in multiple translations who often sounds like he's never read a single one of those Bible verses in context in his entire life. Lo and behold, from Rick Warren's mouth came something that sounded really familiar:
"'It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' When the disciples wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus quickly switched the conversation to evangelism. He wanted them to concentrate on their mission to the world. He said in essence, 'The details of my return are none of your business. What is your business is the mission I've given you. Focus on that!' ...If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy."*The top of my head tingled. My face went flush. And just like that, I knew I was wrong. When my words were sounding like Rick Warren's, I realized I needed to go back and figure out where I'd messed up.
I went to my archives and dug up the audio from the sermon where I'd told my congregation we weren't going to talk about the end-times. I went back to Scriptures like Obadiah and Matthew 24 and 25. I talked with trusted friends. I repented before the Lord. Then upon starting our study in 1 Thessalonians, I apologized to my congregation. I misled them to believe teaching about the end-times was not important.
It is very important. It is our hope, the resurrection of the dead, the coming of his kingdom, the restoration of all things, the end of all evil, the final judgment, the wedding feast of the Lamb, the fulfillment of the promises of God! How could we not look forward to that day? How could we not want to talk about it? Though there are those who want to argue, the Apostle Paul said to encourage one another with such words (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
Not only did we talk about it while studying 1 and 2 Thessalonians, we've been talking about it ever since. The Bible tells us that part of gathering as the church means stirring one another to love and good works, and encouraging one another as the Day of the Lord draws near (Hebrews 10:24-25). Concerning his return, Jesus said, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes" (Matthew 24:45-46).
So that's how I learned something from Rick Warren. I also learned that the way we handle conflict, particularly regarding doctrine, is not by ignoring it or telling everyone else to ignore it. It must be confronted. We can avoid conflict over doctrine in our churches by teaching sound doctrine in our churches! At the most recent Shepherd's Conference, John MacArthur called for a return of the pastor-theologian to the pulpit. It is important to know sound doctrine, and to teach it. There's no part of the Bible we shouldn't be teaching.
Lest anyone think by this anecdote that I strive to be Warren's opposite, I very rarely listen to him apart from the times I stumble across something of his or he makes headlines by saying or doing something ridiculous. I will occasionally listen to a sermon by a false teacher or read one of their books so I can know how to defend my flock. It's part of my job description as a pastor (Titus 1:9). But I don't listen to false teachers as a model for what I shouldn't be.
My model for preaching and teaching is Christ. The other teachers I learn from also dearly love and carefully handle his words -- whether living men such as Baucham, Chandler, Dever, Mohler, Washer, or those who have gone home such as Edwards, Lloyd-Jones, Schaeffer, Spurgeon, Whitefield. I need help understanding the deep truths of God's word, and these are just a few of the men who have helped me.
I must admit that I've also learned from teachers like Warren who grossly mishandle the word. If I start to sound like them, I've gotten off track somewhere. I need to repent and rightly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). I hope he learns from his faults, that he repents of his false teaching, and comes to love the sound words of the Lord Christ.
*That excerpt is taken from Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life. I was not able to find the video where I heard Warren say that, but it was virtually identical.