Nearly as effective as that:

Evidently tired of the polite requests by decent people from across the nation asking him to kindly dis-invite Senator Barack Obama from the upcoming conference on AIDS/HIV at Saddleback Church, Rick Warren has attempted to answer the actions of my radio show, syndicated column, and my blog - now one full week before the AIDS conference is scheduled to take place. (Notice the disdain which he attempts to minimize our efforts of concern by referring to me as a "blogger...")

In an e-mail to the Saddleback faithful Warren sent this out yesterday...

Dear Saddleback Family,

Happy Thanksgiving. This weekend I'll announce the new giving commitments that are joining the rest of us in "EXTENDING THE VISION; For the Next Generation" PLUS

I'll be sharing a very personal message on " Living By Your Convictions."

When Kay and I announced the launching of the P.E.A.C.E. plan a few years ago, we both knew we could expect severe opposition coming from different angles. The P.E.A.C.E. plan empowers churches to do the 5 things Jesus did, and Jesus warned us, "People will do to you exactly what they did to me. They will do it because you belong to me, and they don't know the one who sent me." John 15:21 (CEV) Millions of Christians throughout history and around the world right now know that persecution is real.

We are in a spiritual battle for the lives of billions, so we expect opposition. The Bible tells us that " Satan is the accuser of the brethren." Unfortunately, sometimes Christians do Satan's job for him. They accuse and criticize other believers. I'm sure that makes Satan smile.

The Bible says it is foolish to spout off about issues before knowing the facts, but the Internet has made it very easy to do. God says, "He who answers before listening--that is his folly and his shame." Prov. 18:13 (NIV) God also says, "Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions." Prov. 18:2 (NLT)

Recently, 4 "bloggers" made accusations about my visit to Syria (between speaking in Germany and Rwanda). They based their accusations on a Syrian state press release! Of course, they had no idea what my motivation was, what I actually did and said, and the confidential results. But they attacked me anyway. Not a single newspaper carried the story, but several websites repeated the gossip without talking to me to get the facts. Most sites were already critical of The Purpose Driven Church and Life, and were just happy to have something else to attack.

Another blogger claimed I've invited Barack Obama to preach in my pulpit to the Saddleback congregation. Of course that is untrue. I'd never invite ANY politician to speak from the pulpit to our congregation. Never. The blogger got his facts wrong but he told everyone to call our church office and complain. Many of these people were quite rude and vicious to our receptionists this past week.

Next week, the Global Summit on AIDS and the Church will be held on the Saddleback campus. It is not a church service, but an international summit for pastors and world leaders. Leaders from churches, denominations, health, NGOs, Christian organizations, governments, businesses, and entertainment will meet together to discuss how they can work with churches to end AIDS. Participants will hear messages from Laura Bush, Sen. Bill Frist, Sen. Sam Brownback, Bill Gates, Bono, the doctor who discovered AIDS transmission heterosexually, Franklin Graham, the President of World Vision, the President of World Relief, the President of Compassion, and about 30 other speakers who are concerned about AIDS. Sen. Obama is one speaker at a conference which includes Republicans and Democrats, Christians and non-Christians, pastors, business leaders, and all kinds of races from around the world. Yet the vitriol and unChristlike slander was over the top.

This weekend I am teaching a message called " Living By Your Convictions" where I'll explain the 6 Biblical convictions that are the framework for all we do at Saddleback. This message will be released on pastors.com for free on Monday.

Of course, you friends know my heart, my motivation, and my 26 year track record. What matters to me is not pleasure..possessions...prestige...politics...power.. or popularity. I couldn't care less about these things. I care about bringing people to Jesus, and I will do whatever it takes to " Reach One More For Jesus" as my father's dying words instructed me. No criticism will ever stop me from doing that.

Like Paul, God has called me as a missionary to non-believing cultures, and he has opened doors in amazing ways to share the Gospel behind lines that pastors don't normally get invited to. Paul was willing to go anywhere and talk to anyone about Jesus. So was Billy Graham. So am I. I'd go into hell if I could bring some people out with me.

No matter where I've been invited to speak- to Congress, to the Davos World Economic Forum, at Harvard and Oxford and Cambridge, to the United Nations. to the Foreign Affairs Council, from Rabbis at the University of Judaism to Muslim leaders in the Middle East, from Urban Gays to Rural Cowboys - my message is unchanged:

We all need Jesus! Left or Right is irrelevant to me. I'm not a politician. I am a pastor, and my calling is to go "to ALL nations and ALL people " with the saving knowledge of Jesus.

I believe the Good News with all my heart and I want everyone to have the opportunity to respond to it - not just those who come inside the doors of churches.

I hope you'll join us this weekend, and I hope you'll email the message to others when we post it for free on Monday. I love you all! We're going to have a fantastic Christmas season together!

Pastor Rick

Ok, so I missed it. So he says he would never invite Obama, but then he says Obama is an invited speaker. See the truth of it is - I never used the word "preach." So while Warren is trying to move the goal posts - I can't let him do that unchallenged. Warren is either misinformed or he is being dishonest. I'm willing to grant him the benefit of the doubt.

But on this point I can't - he states that it was the "callers who called the church and complained" who were the rude and vicious ones. I have tens of thousands of listeners and readers who state it was the complete opposite. That it was Warren's staff who were rude. Even to the point of cutting people off and hanging up on them.

So to Pastor Warren, I am now - one week out from your conference - inviting you back on my radio show. I will link to the PodCAST and promote the transcript/archives of the conversation. I will be willing to pre-record, or go live at an hour of your convenience. I will then air the actual conversation - unedited and this is my promise and agreement in full.

Someone please extend to Warren a written copy of this invitation by printing it out from this page. His telephone number is 949.609.8000. The e-mail to the church is info@saddleback.com.

The clock is ticking...