The Irony of Rick Warren: "It's Not About You!"

Irony has a habit of presenting itself when you least expect it. I came across this diatribe (justified) by a South Carolina state representative who is himself a "Rev." He invokes Rick Warren in taking Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina to task about refusing the Stimulus money offered to the state. He does it in a very well-written and powerful way:

Rev. Joseph Neal, The State:

Author and pastor Rick Warren begins his transformative book, The Purpose Driven Life, with a simple statement: “It’s not about you.”

As Gov. Mark Sanford engages the General Assembly in political gamesmanship over accepting federal stimulus dollars, his actions should prove to South Carolinians that despite his words to the contrary, it’s not about you.

Don’t be confused. Whether or not the governor accepts the money has nothing to do with the potential impact on you, your family or your quality of life.

So, to the more than 4 million residents of our state, it’s not about you.

To the 1,000 to 6,000 public school teachers facing layoffs if the money is rejected, it’s not about you.

To the hundreds of thousands of school children facing larger class sizes, fewer gifted and talented course offerings and fewer textbooks and supplies, it’s not about you.

To the business owners who rely on state government or the workers it employs to survive, it’s not about you.

To the 241,000 residents currently unemployed, it’s not about you.

Even to the 601,868 of you who voted for Sanford in the 2006 general election, it’s not about you.

And especially to the 170 members of the General Assembly, it’s not about you.

The rest is HERE.

Ironic? Yes. A pastor quoting Rick Warren to chastise a Republican governor. Yes, it is a twist of fate. But it brings out another aspect of the Warren story.

Rick Warren: It's not about you.

This man has been all lover the place trying to cast himself in a better light after Proposition 8 and the Presidential Inauguration. "I'm not anti-gay."

But, Rick, it's not about you.

Warren's Big Excuse: "THE DOG ATE IT!"

Or the equivalent thereof!

Rick Warren couldn't give a believable excuse for late homework!

You can read the whole aide-written excuse HERE. Besides giving a hole-ridden excuse, the email received by the producers of This Week show that he also has a staff of complete idiots.

“Easter weekend is like the Super Bowl for a megachurch like Saddleback; this year they were expecting upwards of 43,000 to attend 43 service venues and locations offered at 13 separate service times, requiring an intense several weeks of preparation by the pastor and his team."

Comparing church services to football is one helluva stupid way to start a letter like this. What it really says: "43,000 people were expected to see our oh-so-popular pastor perform!" And who was so stupid to get him so tightly booked that it would have been amazing if he HADN'T come down with something!

"My understanding was that Dr. Warren’s condition was related to fatigue and exhaustion — which affected his voice — exacerbated by inhalation of fumes from the newly refurbished (but still drying) pulpit used in the televised services the previous night."

Even the pulpit thinks he's a liar! And what's with the "I'm-covering-my-ass-by-saying-'my-understanding-was'" bit? Either Warren was sick or he wasn't.

"After initially informing George Stephanopoulos of his inability to pre-tape on Saturday, I put him directly in touch with his chief-of-staff after doctor consultation to pursue the remote possibility of an early [Sunday] AM pre-tape. That turned out to not be a possibility as he had to cancel half of his sermons today, though he was able to preach several of the six services at which he was scheduled to preach.

Hmmm. Let's see. He couldn't pre-tape on Saturday, couldn't pre-tape on Sunday, but Stephanopoulos' producers screwed up and scheduled him LIVE on Sunday anyway? The ABC team didn't just pick the "moments before" comment out of thin air, did they? Or is Warren's staff calling ABC's staff liars? That's rich! Did he cancel out on the show or the pre-tape? Cancellation of a pre-tape is not "moments before."

I was looking forward to the opportunity for him to clarify his position with Messrs. Stephanopoulos and Huckabee (the latter with whom he was to interview live at 2:45 PM EDT on Saturday) to reframe the picture for television viewers the way we had been trying to do on a per-inquiry basis with print outlets by sending out the statement below:

Then comes the ubiquitous one-man-one-woman 5000 years, blah, blah, blah. "...reframe the picture..." A rather nice turn of phrase meaning: damage control.

Doesn't wash. None of it.

Rick Warren on Easter Sunday: Playing Games

Something's Up - Besides Me!

Today I was up early to catch Rick Warren's Easter Sunday appearance on George Stephanopolis' program, This Week on ABC. I wanted to see how Warren would sidestep Stephanopoulos' questions about Prop 8, lies, etc. If it had been Chris Wallace on Fox, I wouldn't have gotten up so early. If it had with anyone on Fox, I wouldn't have programed my alarm/TV to wake me up at 8 AM on Easter Sunday morning simply because we all know that absolutely NO probing questions would have been asked. That's what Fox is famous for: generic questions lobbed gently to conservative guests. Conservative guests ONLY.

Minutes before the show, I signed on to my email and, in a Google Alert, read this:

Pastor Rick Warren, after making apparently contradictory statements about his stance on a gay-marriage measure, canceled an Easter Sunday appearance on ABC’s “This Week” just “moments before the scheduled interview,” host George Stephanopoulos told viewers.

Stephanopoulos said Warren’s representatives said the best-selling evangelical author was “sick with exhaustion.” The host told viewers that he wished the pastor a speedy recovery.

Warren’s appearance would have given him the chance to clear up his claim last week on CNN’s “Larry King Live” that he “never once … gave an endorsement” to California’s Proposition 8, a successful November ballot measure that banned gay marriage in the nation’s largest state.

Pissed. Both of us: me and George Stephanoupolos. GS did the right thing, the cool thing: he wished Warren well, then immediately slid into a hostage situation on the news.

Just about everyone in the media has a code of ethics and consideration which is: "Don't EVER cancel at the last minute." It's just as bad as being a "no show." Scrambling to cobble together a program at the last minute is a nerve-wracking affair. GS was probably clenching his fists underneath his desk while he wished Warren a speedy recovery.

Recovery from...what? Sorry, but "sick with exhaustion" is rather lame. Warren and his staff knew he had a hectic schedule and surely Warren knows his limitations. Then again, the bad dye job cold have affected his brain.

Just a thought.

And Happy Easter To ...

THE KIND OF PEOPLE JESUS CHRIST HUNG OUT WITH!

Here's to all of us outcasts, heathens, pagans, pigs, hookers and general demon spawn. If it weren't for us, the world would be boooooring!

The two videos below are irreverent, but fun. Who knows, maybe Christ would have liked it that way!

The first was professionally produced and has been around for several years, but hey, it's Easter! The second was one I produced myself: not quite as sacrilegious (the end might be construed as such), but it was fun putting together. I apologize for its production values (very grainy), but just kick back and enjoy the human condition! And the cat condition. And the dog condition. And the drag condition. And any other condition you can think of!

HAPPY EASTER!!

But Not To Christofascists!

By now, everyone knows my take on organized religion: it's responsible for some of the world's greatest pain and suffering. So I'm wishing everyone a Happy Easter in the name of an unknown and unknowable creator, celebrating the life that was given us and the rebirth we see upon the earth and within ourselves.

Please read the post below if you haven't already done so. Yes, it's rambling and fairly blasphemous in it own way, but I can't stress how much hypocrisy is practiced during holidays, especially by Christofascists.

I'll try to be back on Monday (probably with updated notes on Rick Warren). Until then, have a safe and wonderful Easter. And enjoy the post and the images I've been able to cobble together for this Easter season!

Now THAT'S (Christian) Entertainment! Pt 1: Bunnies and Blasphemers

We've made a religion of entertainment
and an entertainment of religion.

What is THE most overtly blasphemous day of the year? Halloween, where kids dress up as witches and ghouls instead of honoring the souls of the dead? Maybe Christmas, which is so commercialized our entire retail industry depends upon it? No, neither. For my money it's Easter. You can place a gift or even a Christmas tree beside a Nativity scene, but it doesn't seem as incongruous as pairing an egg-laying rabbit beside a holy man hanging bloodstained on a cross.

Our hunger for entertainment doesn't even care how the rabbit entered the picture, just so long as it IS there along with marshmallow peeps, colored eggs, elaborate baskets covered in an abundance of cellophane, Easter egg hunts and rollings. Easter is also characterized by new clothes and elaborate hats. The hats are especially blasphemous: early Christian services required women to cover their heads simply because beautiful hair and/or elaborate hair styles were symbols of vanity. Enterprising milliners got back at this attack on women by designing coverings more elaborate than any hairdo.

exchange at Saddleback Church blog:

Posted by Devan 4/9/2009 7:03:00 AM

Hi how are you I liked how you said I might need to go buy a new dress! I just wanted to ask what days have a easter egg hunt for the children and will they need to bring a basket I also wanted to know if Rick was going to teach on thur,fri. and if all the tents will be like the gosphal, Thank you enjoy your spring break.

Posted by Bonnie 4/9/2009 9:19:00 AM

Hi Devan, The easter egg hunt will be at the 10:00 AM service that we are holding at Trabuco High School. Doug Fields will be speaking at that service. Rick's plans are to speak at as many services on the main Lake Forest campus as his voice will hold out. The Tents and other venues on our campus will offer a variety of worship styles. You can check out the all the services times at www.easteratsaddleback.com.

And at all costs, we MUST be entertained.

REMEMBER THE THEME OF THIS SERIES:

We've made a religion of entertainment and an entertainment of religion.

Alright, who's to blame? Department stores? Television? All the media? Advertising? Secularism? Is it all part of America's "crass commercialism"?

How about religion itself? WTF? "Christianity in America is the VICTIM!" Sorry, but I don't think so.

Of course, that attitude makes me look obtuse and anti-Christian. If people want to see me in the same light as a dreaded "pagan" or "heathen" or "atheist"...so be it.

I prefer looking at a larger picture through the lens of history. Mankind has always had a love of ritual during worship. And that love of ritual has given birth to ... more ritual...and ritual robes...and ritual temples...and cathedrals with frescoed ceilings...and passion plays...and more ritual.

Think of it this way: while Christ told us that the best place to pray was alone in a darkened corner of our house, we don't consider prayer to be worth much unless someone else is with us. And we LOVE to pray in front of others! And we LOVE to be in a place where preachers can "inspire" or even bore us simply because we are showing others that we are religious.

We don't ever admit that all of our religious experiences are entertaining, but they are. The preacher can be "uplifting" or "stalwart", the interior of the church can be "inspiring" or "focusing" (sleek and without distraction), the hymns can be "melodious" or "transcending." And if the preacher isn't "thought-provoking", the church interior isn't "breathtaking," the hymns aren't "spiritual" then we blame them for our boredom and think of reasons why we weren't entertained.

Entertainment is comfort in the midst of pain and it's certainly distracting enough from whatever troubles we have. When we enter a "house of worship" we EXPECT to feel transported to a different world where we can commune with God. And the way to make a person feel that transportation is... entertainment.

Some say "inspiration" while I say "entertainment." BFD.

Just a thought.

Another Bully, Another Death

He suffered taunts and threats from other students who made fun of him, insulted the way he dressed and called him gay since he began attending in September, she said.

Bullies. You can't live with them, but you can certainly live without them. Yet they keep on...and on...and on. If we were bullied, we were told by our parents "Well, that's life." Sometimes our parents intervened, but that was only in extreme cases. After all, shiners were part of growing up. When I cried to my mother that I was being bullied by a kid on our block all she said was, "Well, for crissakes, stand up for yourself!"

Yeah, we survived.

But some kids didn't. We never heard about them, of course. Stories of child suicide were hushed up very, very quickly. But now, parents of casualties and suicides are speaking out against the bullies of neighborhoods and school grounds.

SPRINGFIELD [Mass.]- Two days after the worst day of her life, when she found her 11-year-old son had committed suicide by hanging himself, Sirdeaner L. Walker said on Wednesday she wants the bullying to stop.

She found Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanging by an extension cord on the second floor of their 124 Northampton Ave. home Monday night after he had endured another day of taunting at New Leadership Charter School, where he was a sixth-grader, she said.

"I just want to help some other child. I know there are other kids being picked on, and it's day in and day out," said Walker, 43.

Bullying is boys against boys, but girls participate too. Anyone who is "different" and vulnerable is fair game.

So happens to victims and bullies? Victims as adults suffer from depression and poor self-esteem, while 60 percent of bullies in grades 6-9 had at least one criminal conviction by age 24.

And what about the bully pulpit?

Just a thought.