Going back to this article mentioned in the last post, I was outraged when I read the following statements:

Some pastors learn how to make their churches purpose-driven through training workshops. Speakers at Church Transitions Inc., a Waxhaw, N.C., nonprofit that works closely with Mr. Warren’s church, stress that the transition will be rough. At a seminar outside of Austin, Texas, in April, the Revs. Roddy Clyde and Glen Sartain advised 80 audience members to trust very few people with their plans. “All the forces of hell are going to come at you when you wake up that church,” said Mr. Sartain, who has taught the material at Mr. Warren’s Saddleback Church.

During a session titled “Dealing with Opposition,” Mr. Clyde recommended that the pastor speak to critical members, then help them leave if they don’t stop objecting. Then when those congregants join a new church, Mr. Clyde instructed, pastors should call their new minister and suggest that the congregants be barred from any leadership role.

“There are moments when you’ve got to play hardball,” said the Rev. Dan Southerland, Church Transitions’ president, in an interview. “You cannot transition a church…and placate every whiny Christian along the way.”

What a poor attitude. Number one, it shows the pompous arrogance in the fact that these people really believe that they are never wrong and that people who disagree are to be seen as enemies that need to be eliminated. Gee, this is not a new concept, the pentecostals/charismatics have used this type of strategy for many years before people like Rick Warren and the people at Church Transitions, Inc. popularized it.

Number two, see the ‘corporate’ mentality at work here. This is like two emplyers colluding against a person from the start trying to keep track of the person to turn stigma into stigmata.

This thinking is not only dangerous, but also ungodly and needs to be stopped now before the church further turns into a corporate entity.