The Second Reformation

The Second Reformation The Global Day of Prayer – Part Two By Sarah Leslie

Part 1: Global Day of Prayer

Skip down to “A
thousand points of light“

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“The first Reformation was about belief;
this one’s going to be about behavior.”  – Pastor Rick Warren,
May 15, 2005

“Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the
foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen
nothing!… Because, even because they have seduced my people,
saying, Peace; and there was no peace;  and one built up a wall,
and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar.”  – Ezekiel 13: 3,
10

On
May 15, 2005, Pentecost Sunday, the
Latter Rain apostles held a huge global prayer meeting. Believers filled
stadiums all over the world and prayed scripted prayers in unison while
watching others do the same via high tech satellite hook-ups.

A poster advertising the Global Day of Prayer (GDOP)
told us in advance what was supposed to happen: “On Sunday, May 15 The
greatest power known to man will be released.” If God’s people got together
and prayed with “one voice” in “one day” that God would “reveal His glory and
bless the nations of the earth.”

In the previous May/June 2005 issue of
Discernment Ministries newsletter we reported on the plans leading up to the
Global Day of Prayer. This report is a follow-up and an overview of the next
phase of activity. The reader should read Part 1 prior to reading Part 2 for
important background information. (The
Global Day of Prayer – Part 1)

To review, the GDOP was scheduled to happen in
three phases:

Phase I: May 6-15 was ten days of
organized prayer from the Day of Ascension through Pentecost.

Phase II: The actual Global Day of
Prayer, a global prayer event scheduled on Pentecost Sunday, May 15, 2005.
The GDOP itself is scheduled to continue yearly to the year 2010.

Phase III: “90 days of Blessing”
scheduled for the ninety days immediately following the
Global Day of
Prayer.

What happened on the GDOP?

Rick Warren of Saddleback Church spoke to a
gathering of 12,000 people in Dallas, Texas at the Reunion Arena for a live
broadcast of the Global Day of Prayer event. He was joined on-stage by Rev.
Jack Graham, T.D. Jakes, and other evangelical luminaries.

It is reported that the GDOP commenced in New
Zealand, and that mass prayer meetings were held on each continent, and in
each time zone, until the sun set in the U.S. Event organizers were hoping
for 200 million people worldwide to participate in the event. The exact
attendance is unknown. Some individual arena numbers have been issued in
press accounts. In the United States, by Tuesday, May 18th, it was reported
that 182 communities from 38 states and 1 overseas location held the event.
It is said that 149 countries participated.

A Second Reformation

The Global Day of Prayer appears to be a chief
mechanism for launching a “Second Reformation” in Christianity. The GDOP
provides a convenient vehicle to transition the church from the old order to
a new global order. Rick Warren is quoted as saying at the Global Day of
Prayer event, “The first Reformation was about belief; this
one’s going to be about behavior.”
(www.pastors.com/article.asp?ArtID=8280)
[emphasis added] An official press release from Saddleback Church states
that if “Christians mobilize to confront the five ‘global giants’ of
spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, poverty, disease, and lack of
education, it could spark a second Reformation.”

Believers during the First Reformation were
persecuted and martyred for holding biblical beliefs such as sola scriptura,
the priesthood of all believers and justification by faith. These core
doctrines can be found in the great writings of godly Christian men the past
500 years – men such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Matthew Henry, John
Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, and many others.

Latter Rain leadership has been openly
promulgating the necessity for a Second Reformation for well over a decade
now. It is sometimes referred to as the New Apostolic Reformation. C. Peter
Wagner, Luis Bush, Ralph Neighbour, Ralph Winter, Bill Beckham, Mike Bickle,
Lyle Schaller, Todd Bentley, Jim Goll, et al, have all written and spoken
about a new reformation. The Latter Rain’s Second Reformation is
characterized by a reversal of tenets of the First Reformation. It teaches
that revelation can supercede the Word of God, that believers must come
under apostolic leadership, and that works are necessary for the Kingdom.

Latter Rain is importing into the Church a phase
of transition which includes new core doctrines for the Second Reformation.
Many of these doctrines turn the Church back towards Catholicism and early
heresies. Other “emerging” doctrines infuse pure New Age esotericism. The
chart on page 6 will illustrate this transition.

Take note: there is a particular formula that is
being widely utilized to bring about this doctrinal transition to a Second
Reformation:

1.  DECONSTRUCTION of the old
“wineskin.” The believer is persuaded that the old doctrine or practice is
defective, ineffective, inadequate, or incomplete. Believers are taught that
the old understanding is counter-productive to building the Kingdom of God
on earth. Denominations and disunity are bad, stifling, and obsolete. This
is sometimes referred to as the old wineskin.

2.  RECONSTRUCTION (also called
“restoration”) of a new “wineskin.” The believer is presented with a new
method, a superior understanding, a more complete revelation, or new tools.
Believers are told there are unprecedented challenges facing the church in
this era and we must face these “giants” by living out our faith in a new
manner. This new way is often misrepresented as the “old” way of the
“apostolic” age. Key scriptures, especially from the book of Acts or the Old
Testament, are imbued with novel interpretations to justify the new
theologies.

Rick Warren has stated that the “second
reformation needs to change our behavior, not our beliefs”
(Ministry Toolbox #200).
However, the Second Reformation is about both beliefs and behaviors. Rick
Warren explained this transition process.

“Around the world, churches are in need of
transition. The 21st century is presenting church leaders with new
challenges and new opportunities. It appears that God is doing something
fresh and new in his church. Church leaders are evaluating the need for
change in their own congregations. Many are frustrated by the lack of
growth. Others simply want to get in on what God is doing. The central
question is this: How can we lead the transition from the church we are to
the church we want to be?” (Ministry
Toolbox Issue #205) [emphasis added]

A key doctrine of the Second Reformation is
dominionism. Believers are told that Jesus must return TO the church before
he returns FOR the church. And to make this happen, they must fulfill a
“Kingdom Mandate” to “advance” (in the military sense of the word) a visible
Kingdom of God on earth. This is also referred to as the Great Commission
“mandate.” These doctrines were explained in greater detail in Part 1 of
this report.

The Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan

Phase III of the Global Day of Prayer is
variously called “90 days of community transformation,” “90 days of
Blessing,” “90 Days of PEACE,” and “90 days of good works.” The Internet
links to Phase III of the Global Day of Prayer take one directly to Rick
Warren’s P.E.A.C.E. Plan.

But what are these “90 days” all about? What are
they supposed to accomplish? In fact, why piggy-back them onto the GDOP
event itself?

Visiting the various GDOP websites mentioned in
Part 1 of this report reveals that the third phase is all about “Becoming
the Blessing of Christ” by doing “good works.” These works include: “clean
up, painting, landscaping, moving furniture, assembling, light construction,
serving meals, working with children, organizing products, assisting
seniors, and performing basic household chores.”
(http://www.ubahouston.org/synapse/news/fullstory_public.cfm?articleid=21363&website=missionhouston.org)
“In Dallas, the projects include building homes with Habitat for Humanity,
cleaning up a South Dallas neighborhood, distributing school supplies,
painting nonprofit clinics, beautifying schools and reaching out to
prisoners.” [Registration required.] (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051605dnmetglobalprayer.b08b185d.html)

If simple “good works” were all that Phase III
of the GDOP is about, there would be much to commend and no need to write a
critical report. However, Phase III is actually a launching pad for global
transformation of church and society. Harvest Prayer Ministries reported
that the Global Day of Prayer was “the beginning of a worldwide effort to
transform the globe for the sake of Jesus Christ.”
(http://www.harvestprayer.com)
Christianity Today reported that “Christians cried out to God to transform
the nation politically, socially, economically and spiritually.”
(http://www.christiantoday.com/news/ministries/millions.across.the.world.join.in.prayers.on.pentecost.sunday/264.htm) 
But what does this mean?

In researching Phase III of the GDOP, one can
quickly reach the cynical conclusion that the whole event was a huge
publicity stunt to launch the next phase of Rick Warren’s agenda – the
Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. Sincere prayer warriors around the world were
interceding with the scripted, dominionist prayers of the GDOP:

• “Let Your Kingdom be established in every
  nation of this world so that governments will rule with righteousness and
  justice,”

• “Give us wisdom and insight in every sphere
  of life,”

• “May Your blessing bring transformation
  amidst every people on earth,” and

• “Empower the Church to be transformed…”

Meanwhile leaders were busy putting flesh on
these prayers with a brazen agenda to literally transform the Earth.

The use of the term “sphere” in the second
prayer listed above is precise and intentional. “Sphere” is a term that was
first utilized by the Coalition on Revival (COR) in the 1980s to describe
seventeen “spheres” of life and ministry. These “spheres” were to be
infiltrated and taken over as part of a dominionist political and spiritual
Kingdom mandate. The spheres of ministry include law, government, economics,
business, education, media, health care, church, family and others. The term
“sphere” is sometimes referred to as “domain” or “gate” by Latter Rain
leaders.

COR has been described as a “melting pot for
Charismatic Dominionists and Reconstructionists” by Al Dager in his book
Vengeance Is Ours: The Church In Dominion.2 These eclectic dominionists
believe that the ends justify the means, and they will form alliances with
anybody or anything that appears to be working towards the “Kingdom” on
earth. As a result, key doctrines of the First Reformation become further
eroded and even abandoned.

Rick Warren referenced several “spheres” (termed
“pieces”) on June 11, 2003, when he delivered a speech to the Washington
D.C. Hope Tour. In this speech he presented the vision for his P.E.A.C.E.
plan.

“So, at Saddleback, we are going to try a
little experiment…. So we’re going to try out ONE approach to dealing with
the AIDS crisis, and once we figure out what works, we’ll create a template
that can be used by thousands of other purpose-driven churches…. Our
objective is the global glory of God. As I’ve thought about this, it seems
obvious that we all have different roles to play. There is an educational
piece. There is a media piece. There is a government piece. There is a
community development piece. There is a relief piece. My question has been,
“What is the local church’s role? What is our responsibility?”

The dominionists teach that restoration occurs
as believers serve as stewards of this world, taking back what belongs to
God. Believers are to bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth and enforce the
dominion and authority of heaven upon everything evil. The spheres are a way
to channel this mandate.

“Whatever It Takes”

Rick Warren has stated, “It’s time for the
church to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer.” (http://www.pastors.com/article.asp?ArtID=8310)
This new emphasis on “good works” does not appear to be encumbered by
Christian ethics, normal restraint, or traditional doctrines. At a recent
Purpose-Driven conference Warren stated, “The P.E.A.C.E. plan will be a
‘revolution’ for global Christianity,” and “I’m looking at a stadium full of
people who are telling God they will do whatever it takes to establish God’s
Kingdom ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’” (http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20603)
[emphasis added]
Notice the phrase “whatever it takes” and the word
“revolution.” This type of aggressive Latter Rain “transformation”
terminology is increasingly showing up in mainstream evangelicalism.

For example, a prayer organization in Orlando,
Florida, headed by Vonette Bright of Campus Crusade, stated in its
“Guidelines for Transformational Prayer, “As a city we are beginning the
process of whatever it takes to see our city transformed. We are
doing it intentionally. The city must seek God….

(http://www.visionorlando.org/PrayerNotes/Guidelines%20for%20Transformational%20Prayer.doc)
[emphasis added] To underscore the dominionist mandate to transform the
world, these Guidelines call for “Intentional Prayer.”  

“These are prayers that look for God Himself
to come and transform the entire city… to redirect the city to the God given
purposes for that specific community….

     “Every city/nation has been called by God
for a specific role to play towards the fulfillment of His Son’s prayer, “Give
me the nations for my inheritance.” So each city must arrive at its God
given purpose, timing and strength to contribute to the overall purpose of
God for the nation. (Acts 17:26-28)
Nations are called to seek God and find
Him (as a nation) and His purposes for them.” [emphasis in original]

Even the Southern Baptists now teach it. “The
greatest hindrance to the gospel is the unwillingness of Christians to make
a ‘whatever it takes’ commitment to the one who commanded them to make
disciples of all the nations,” said Southern Baptist International Mission
Board President Jerry Rankin at a church in Plano, Texas in 2003.
(http://www.pastors.com/article.asp?ArtID=4094)

Workplace Apostles

In Part 1 of this report we mentioned that
partnering with business was an essential feature of the GDOP and we listed
some key leaders and their websites. Many of these organizations are also
linked with Africa. In analyzing the preliminary data from Phase III of the
GDOP, it is apparent that business leaders will step up to the plate and
take center stage in advancing the “Kingdom of God” on earth.

C. Peter Wagner, who is credited with concocting
much of the transitional doctrine for the New Apostolic Reformation (Second
Reformation) announced last year that there is a new type of apostle. He
calls this entity a “workplace apostle” and he was forced to dramatically
alter ecclesiology (the definition of what constitutes a “church”) in order
to justify these new apostles. Workplace apostles will have authority over
the “spheres” – religion, family, education, government, media, arts, and
business. Wagner stated, “We need to be fully aware of the two strategic
gates for the advance of the kingdom of God that will be opened through the
ministry of apostles in the workplace.” Gate number one, he says, is “social
transformation.” Gate number two is the “transference of wealth.” (http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/arise.html)

Examples of the African
template

Pope Benedict XVI, in one of his first acts as
pontiff, told the international community to become “more involved in
helping solve the problems of the African continent.” (http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05050120.htm)

“The official rollout of P.E.A.C.E. will focus
on the small country of Rwanda in eastern Africa,” according to a report on
Saddleback’s 25th anniversary celebration
(http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=20603)
Rick Warren has been involved in the transformation of Africa for a number
of years. In 2003 he formed a partnership with Turn the Tide, an
organization established by Bruce Wilkinson. Wilkinson’s recent book The
Dream Giver talks about the “Giants” that need to be overcome.3 These two
men intend to overcome the “Giants” in Africa with the help of John Maxwell,
George Otis, Graham Power (credited with originating the GDOP idea),
Alistair Petrie, Ed Silvoso, and many other Latter Rain leaders and
organizations.

When Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of
Rwanda, spoke at Saddleback Church on April 17, 2005, he spoke of a new
partnership between the church, his government and business. “Rwanda is
interested in forging business relationships with people in this country,
and we will be more than happy to tell you about the investment
opportunities that are available,” he said. (http://www.gov.rw/government/president/speeches/2005/17_04_05_saddleback.htm)

Bruce Wilkinson is connected with an
organization called Bridges International Development (BID) out of Broken
Arrow, Oklahoma. This organization seeks to build “an infrastructure for
sustainable development” in Africa that “includes utilizing government, NGOs
[non-governmental organizations, ed.] and business.” BID’s “spheres”
include: “Orphans, Relief & Aid, Women, Agriculture, Health Care,
Environment/Energy, Economic Growth, Transportation, Communication
Information Technology, Good Governance/Accountability and Education.” BID
is seeking corporate partners to invest in Africa for the purpose of
“community transformation” by creating Community Empowerment Centers fitting
USAID criteria. (http://www.bridgesid.org)

In other words, they are bringing in corporate business interests alongside
the Gospel. How one can perform this activity without compromising the
integrity of the Gospel is not addressed. In fact, most workplace ministries
insist that they have only the finest of intentions. Scriptures that come to
mind include: I Thess. 2:4-5; Titus 1:10-11; and Rom. 16:17-18.

Another organization working in Africa is called
equip. Their first venture to South Africa took place in April 2003.

“A South African team has pioneered the “host
country” elements of equip. We will partner in other countries in the
future. Our goal for each venture is to mobilize 10 consultants from a
sending country and 10 from a host country to work together to re-purpose 10
corporations in 10 days. Together we experience The power of 10. Our goal is
that all spheres of societies will be transformed, starting with business,
so that the Kingdom of God is extended to God’s glory.”

This organization unabashedly talks about
“kingdom building business exploits,” “using business as a platform for
expanding the kingdom of God in the future,” and becoming a “Kingdom
Capitalist.” equip uses a model with specific “outcomes” including “new
definitions of success,” “funds flowing,” “society-changing initiatives,”
transforming “10 spheres of society,” and a “kingdom worldview.”

“The larger context is being part of God’s big
plan to have people from every “tongue, tribe and nation” worship him. Our
starting point is business, and we will selectively springboard from this
into other domains where our teams have gravitas and a calling. This goes
beyond ‘conversions’ and ‘seeing people saved.’”
(http://www.repurposing.biz)

The International Christian Chamber of Commerce
(ICCC) is “releasing business people into the walk of God’s Kingdom.” ICCC
is mobilizing and networking “Kingdom entrepreneurs, executives, and
government leaders into the purposeful, strategic, global Kingdom
initiatives underway in our day.” Their vision “calls for a world-wide
network of committed businesspeople in contact with each other, exchanging
ideas, products and services.” (http://www.iccc.net)

Bill Gates of Microsoft has “contributed 4.1
billion dollars to programmes tackling HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and
other diseases over the past five years.” Over the next five years the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $28 million to this cause.

Gates said governments needed to stimulate
private pharmaceutical companies to invest in research on diseases that
affect the world’s poor by providing funding to ensure developing nations
were able to buy the resulting drugs. (http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=15419)

Perhaps C. Peter Wagner will soon call Bill
Gates a “philanthropic apostle.” Indeed, it once seemed curious that the
Gates Foundation once employed Christian Right activist Ralph Reed, but
possibly he was an outreach into evangelical partnerships in Africa. Gates
has been criticized for narrowly targeting with his funds only those
activities that would benefit pharmaceutical companies. It is apparent that
there are economic trade-offs for Gates, as the pharmaceutical industry is a
major purchaser of computer technology. Africa is also a wide open market
for computers.

When Rick Warren’s small group mission trips go
to  Rwanda to combat AIDS, they will find International Planned Parenthood
already involved in some of the same “spheres” of concern. Planned
Parenthood is “partnering” with other entities to gather data, develop a
strategic plan, change public opinion about sexuality, and improve service.

(http://ippfnet.ippf.org/pub/IPPF_Regions/IPPF_CountryProfile.asp?ISOCode=RW)

The world’s biggest abortion provider was founded by Margaret Sanger, who
held extremely racist views. There is every reason to be distrustful of this
group.

Rwanda is also currently the target of a massive
national grassroots assessment process known as the Participatory Poverty
Assessment. “International and particularly local NGOs, trade unions, the
private sector and church based organizations will all be key in reviewing
the data collected by the PPA and other survey data.” Surveys, data,
assessment, focus group results, and status reports will be fed into a data
analysis process so that support strategies can be developed, forecasting
can be performed, linkages created, stakeholders enlisted and solutions
proposed.
(http://www.minecofin.gov.rw/poverty_reduction/)

One could wonder  whether Bill Gates’ Microsoft computers will be providing
the storage capacity for this massive  data collection.

It is entirely conceivable that Saddleback
mission trips to Rwanda will be a joint cooperative effort between
government, corporate (business), private and religious interests to
transform the country. Rather than spreading the Gospel, American volunteers
may be assisting in the conducting of surveys, meeting with governmental
officials, and databanking the results. One short term mission entity is
developing standards for comprehensive debriefing, on-field re-entry
preparation, and post-field follow-up and evaluation to identify unresolved
issues. It is conceivable that some missionaries, with a great deal of zeal
to spread the Gospel, may need comprehensive deprogramming to grapple with
the resulting cognitive dissonance. They may have just been sent on a
mission trip that had nothing to do with the Word of God and everything to
do with being political/corporate emissaries.
(http://www.stmstandards.org/standards-7.php)

The ONE Campaign

On June 3, 2005, Rick Warren wrote:

“Dear co-worker in Christ,

    I have a simple request – but it could determine
whether millions live or die.

   You’ve probably read in the papers about “The
ONE Campaign: To Make Poverty History” that’s been endorsed by a wide
coalition of folks from all across the faith and political spectrum….

    This summer, at the G8 conference, our nation
has a historic opportunity to lead the world by showing a visible and
significant commitment to the fight against global poverty, hunger, and
disease. In early July, President Bush will gather together with leaders
from the world’s eight wealthiest nations in Edinburgh, Scotland, to discuss
these very issues – especially in Africa….

    What can we do? For the past two years, I’ve had
4,500 of our Saddleback members quietly testing a prototype of our global
P.E.A.C.E. Plan in 47 countries. It is a strategy for small groups in
churches to show compassion. Once we have the template perfected, we’ll
share it with every church that’s interested….

   Join me and other evangelical leaders in an
open letter to President Bush….

   All I need you to do is e-mail me back at
rick@peace.gs giving your name and title and I’ll add your name to the
list. Also you can visit
www.one.org for more information

The ONE Campaign is “a new effort by Americans
to rally Americans ONE by ONE to fight the emergency of global AIDS and
extreme poverty… through a diverse coalition of faith-based and anti-poverty
organizers….” David Brooks of the New York Times, in a recent editorial (May
26, 2005), called this organization a “nexus of a vast alliance between
socially conservative evangelicals and socially liberal N.G.O.’s.” ONE’s
goal is one percent of the U.S. budget and raising other funds
internationally.

Bono, of the rock group U2, has taken center
stage in promoting ONE, halting a concert to plug everyone into a cellphone
“thousand points of light” to sign up with ONE. Evangelical luminaries
associated with this group include Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, John Stott,
Chuck Colson and others. According to one news account,

“Last year a version of this left-right
pincer helped get an Africa trade bill through Congress, liberal development
types made common cause with churches and the business lobby…. So the Bush
folk are pretty much surrounded. Even though they’ve already launched two
major Africa initiatives – the Millennium Challenge Account aid effort and
the president’s initiative on HIV – it’s a pretty sure bet that in the
run-up to the G-8 summit and the U.N. gathering, the Bush administration
will have to do another something…. Announcing bold pro-Africa initiatives.” [Registration
required]
 (http://www.ajc.com/wednesday/content/epaper/editions/wednesday/opinion_244932c38406526700d5.html)

On its official website ONE states: “ONE links
directly to the international effort to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals.” It is outside the purview of this report to delve into the UN
Development Goals, but this fact raises serious ethical questions about the
ability to conduct authentic and traditional Christian evangelism.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that wonderful and moving
stories will come out of the darkest recesses of interior Africa in the
years to come. One can still retain hope that the mission trips to Africa
will be simple and humble acts of mercy and compassion. But keep in mind
that the stories may be highly undocumented – particularly unverified
“transformation” miracle accounts like those of George Otis.

The “Kingdom transformation” of the African
continent appears to fit the radical goals of a one world government. It
also appears to be a bold maneuver to create a new market for corporate
interests. It is a flagrant attempt to export the “Kingdom theology” and
worldview to this undeveloped area of the world. Sadly, the missionaries and
organizations who are working the fertile soil of Africa are claiming to
represent US – evangelical Christianity! They claim that their version is
the truth. Rick Warren brazenly asserts that his plan is “God’s Plan.”

When the G8 countries meet they will likely
increase funding because they have been lobbied by Bono, Rick Warren and
ONE. The World Bank will soon release more money to Africa. Bush will soon
announce a global AIDS coordinator. Bill Gates has committed a large sum of
money. Will a portion of this vast ocean of money end up in the coffers of
Rick Warren and the Latter Rain dominionists? After all, the false prophets
have “prophesied” an outpouring of funds for years. Won’t it be presented as
“providential,” that God is now pouring out the monies because the church is
becoming “aligned” to the new structure and successfully “advancing His
Kingdom” on earth? The reader has every right to be cynical.

“Buy the truth and sell it not…”  (Prov. 23:23)

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Endnotes:

1.  See report on cell churches available from
Discernment Ministries.

2.  This book is available from Discernment
Ministries.

See
chapter 11 of Deceived on Purpose by Warren Smith, available from
Discernment Ministries.

© 2005 by Sarah Leslie.  

See also 

A Blinding Darkness

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