The folks at "Fighting for the Faith" recently discovered that
Saddleback Church had a service where Rick Warren was teaching the importance
of "choosing the right team for your dream." Mention was made of
Billy Graham's ministry, since he had just recently died. After the last video
montage about Billy Graham played, Rick Warren told his audience the importance
of "fulfilling your dream-just like Billy Graham." After just a
minute of his pep talk, he tells everyone to listen to message of the next
song.
The worship team then performs the pop song "This Is Me,"
which Billboard Magazine describes as: "a beautifully uplifting tribute
to self-acceptance and self-love."
Here are some of the lyrics:
“I won’t let them break me down to dust
I know that there’s a place for us
For we are glorious
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I’m meant to be, this is me
Look out ‘cause here I come
And I’m marching on to the beat I drum
I’m not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me”
— Lyrics from the song "This Is
Me"
This bizarre
combination of a Billy Graham tribute and a self-exalting secular song is a
difficult and painful thing to watch. After the song ends, Rick Warren
takes the mic and tearfully pleads with the audience to not waste their lives,
and warns them not to live for the approval of others.
Wait, is this a church
service... or the plot of every Disney film from the past twenty years?
Watch this
edited version from the Saddleback Facebook page at your own risk:
