“There is always a danger in being the 28th speaker in a conference,” said Rick Warren during his speech today at Pope Francis’s marriage conference. “What’s left to say?”
Apparently plenty, as Warren’s speech—which he said he wrote from scratch the night before after yesterday’s speakers covered his previously prepared main points—was “probably the first time ever the synod hall resembled a revivalist meeting,” tweeted David Quinn, an Irish Catholic columnist. The Saddleback Church senior pastor reportedly received a standing ovation following his remarks defending marriage between a man and a woman.
“As Christians we seem to be known more for what we’re against than what we’re for. I want to change that,” said Warren. According to his prepared remarks obtained by CT, he explored why Hebrews 13:4 commands that “marriage is to be honored by everyone” and laid out an “action plan” for conference attendees. In true evangelical form, his eight steps are in mostly alphabetical order:
Affirm the authority of God’s word
Believe what Jesus taught about marriage
Celebrate healthy marriages
Develop small group courses to support marriage
Engage every media to promote marriage
Face attackers with joy and winsomeness
Give people confidence
Teach the purposes of marriage
“It is a myth that we must give up biblical truth on sexuality and marriage in order to evangelize,” said Warren in his conclusion, which noted how Saddleback recently baptized its 40,000th adult convert. “In the end we must be merciful to the fallen, show grace to struggling, and be patient with the doubting. But when God’s Word is clear we must not—and we cannot—back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide from the truth…Read More
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