Purpose-Driven® Church, The

Rating:
Summary: Poor Ecclessiology Demonstrated
Review: As I began this read, I was immediately aware that his choice of Scripture quotations would constantly be switching English translations, usually using the poorest of them, i.e. The Living Bible, TEB. Therefore, I immediately started jotting down next to Warren's a solid translation, e.g. NASB, and found considerable doubt being shed on Warren's whole premises for "the purpose driven church" as he postulates it.

The church is not purpose driven to recruit more people for the pews, it is for the purpose of saving souls, of justification. This Warren, many would argue, is exactly what he writes about, but the truth be known, it is anything but this. Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ's gospel must be at the core and center, and it must have prominence and dominance over everything else. Warren permits and promotes other needs to circumvent and override this.

Then as the kicker, he even relates that copying what Saddleback has done is not to be followed, that it won't work in every other setting. What is going on here? Where is the assurance that if we preach and teach the truth of God's Word purely that He will bless? This is shame and shamble of this whole movement to consumerism and leadership by sayings and principles that are not Biblical. Check them out in a good English translation, such as New American Standard. Better yet, find yourself a pastor who can work in the original languages (Hebrew and Greek) and he'll tell you that NASB is head and shoulders superior to the ones Warren puts all his case upon.

The church of Jesus Christ needs only turn to its Lord and continue to faithfully proclaim His desire: that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the peoples (Luke 24:47). That and only that message clearly and purely proclaimed in all the church will and can grow the church and God's kingdom.

Rating:
Summary: Saddleback Sam: Soul or Customer?
Review: As the book which launched the celebrity of a California "mega-church" Baptist preacher, this includes all the elements needed to get an instant readership in our paradoxically technocratic but fanatical times-a simply stated, pop-culture-anecdote-laden, "can't miss" manual that promises "sure-fire" results-very much a management-theory treatise in religious garb. But in fact, Warren is merely distilling and condensing much of the ink spilled from the 1970s onward in both mainline and evangelical Protestant circles (chiefly the former) when declining worship participation and actual membership set off alarms, thereby prompting the creation of a sort of cottage industry within theological seminaries and denominational bureaucracies-the "church growth" phenomenon.
So Warren is not so much a pioneer as he is a popularizer. Whether the popularity of the book indicates a growing concern on the part of the average church member about the subject or, rather, the growing power of aggressive personalities in many pulpits who intimidate their parishioners into dealing with the subject can likely never be proved.
And it becomes sadly apparent that his lifestyle-oriented evangelistic tactics cannot really be dissociated from his conservative evangelical theology and ideology. One signpost of this is the final sentence in the second paragraph in chapter 9, "Who Is Your Target?": "Bringing people to Christ is too important a task for us to have such a casual attitude toward it." As most people well know, the demand to "win souls for Christ" usually crowds out other legitimate concerns in evangelical settings. And what is more, the burden is placed upon human effort in persuading people to accept the Gospel and/or join the church, with little or no reference to the role of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we have a classic statement of Pelagianism, works righteousness.
Continuing with the premise that "there is not a local church anywhere that can reach everybody. Because human beings are so different, no single church can possibly reach everyone," we have the first in a set of commonplaces, ideas which are so much accepted at face value that no one bothers to examine their validity. The reason Warren espouses those particular views is that his heritage is sectarian; that is to say, he conceives of a particular congregation being self-sufficient and complete in itself, not necessarily needing the guidance or fellowship of other churches, even those identical in practice and outlook. His seeming embrace of "diversity" is in fact a mask for a more basic homogeneity, as it is all but certain that he does not approve of widespread theological dissent within a congregation. All is pragmatic, in other words.
Then, the analogy of radio stations makes clear his views about much of American life as matters of preference. One gets the notion that Warren regards demographics as sacred, as something that cannot be questioned. His five categories on page 163 (age, marital status, income, education, occupation) are followed by an emphatic, unequivocal declaration: "Each of these factors will influence how you minister to people and how you communicate the Good News." For an evangelical, Warren astonishingly does not bother to subject the criteria to "biblical" proof-texting. What that means is that he can proceed with formulating his methods, his "how", without a truly constant and frequent reminder of the "why".
Should "Saddleback Sam" (pages 169-172) really strike anyone as very different from a "Joe Six-Pack" or other fantasy-ideational constructs that corporate managers populate their very lives with daily? Did it ever occur to Warren that Sam might in fact not be among God's elect? Could not one imagine that Sam is none other than the rich young ruler who rejected Jesus' demand that he sell his possessions (Matthew 19:16-22) or even the wealthy man who left Lazarus outside his gate to die? (Luke 16:19-30) The fact that Warren does not broach the matter indicates one thing to this writer: Sam is a customer, not the "lost soul" that revivalists of an earlier day would have perceived.
Further, the remaining chapters of the third part of the book are predicated upon locating as many Saddleback Sams in a church's neighborhood as can be found and essentially resorting to a marketing strategy indistinguishable from, say, promoting a new nightclub. Just add a little pious language and much "seeker-friendly" language and it becomes quite appetizing. But is it nutritious? Does it really strengthen one for taking up the cross and foregoing the convenient, the pleasing, even the safe? (Mark 8:34-36)
All in all, Warren and the moguls of the mega-church movement basically betray their collaboration with the dominant culture: winning is everything, the ends justify the means ("law" is acceptable, but not a disciplined ethics), the church must prove God's majesty by gaining influence among the "principalities and powers" (hence the rise of not only the Religious Right as a partner in the coalition that presently governs the U.S., but the pathetic and feeble attempts to emulate their success by white liberals and African-American preachers). America's true religion is not Christianity, really; it is the mythology of "success". And much of what passes as "Bible-believing" these days is mainly a projection of the values of our late-capitalist (it must be stressed that we are not talking about the ethos described by Max Weber), consumerist ideology upon the institutions and myth-structures of historical Protestant churches. If the historic churches offer any resistance, then new ones may be built without any guilt.
In summary, the few valuable insights Warren affords about method, which mainly concern targeting and promotion are not original; they mainly serve to justify natural tendencies of an institution to perpetuate itself-why does one need to spend money on a book just to have a sounding-board for things one plans to do anyway? Likely the answer is "everybody's doing it."

Rating:
Summary: The Razor's Edge
Review: My recent reading infuriates me. The book is "The Purpose Driven Church" by Rick Warren. At times, my heart breaks as I consider the misleading, misquoting and misrepresentation of Christ and His Word. At other times, I am furious and amazed that a preacher with a doctorate (albeit from Fuller) can handle God's Word so cavalier. How daring to quote Christ out of context! How brazen to emphasize words that aren't even in the text! How bold to pick and choose particular translations to prove your point! All this is from a revered pastor of the largest church in America. I suppose I am at most times simply aghast.

But at the same time, other portions of the book are touching and sincere. There is a palpable desire to reach the lost. This is why I believe this current pragmatic church movement - "reach the lost at any cost" coupled with "never criticize what God's is [sic] blessing" - is the razor's edge of Christianity. It is a watershed, but that doesn't make it novel. This episode reminds me of Sir Thomas Moore in A Man for All Seasons who realized that if you concede your beliefs, you lose your being. It reminds as well of Charles Spurgeon's battle with his United Baptists or Francis Shaeffer's battle with his heretofore-conservative Presbyterians. This is our defining moment. Yet at this moment, with the exception of John McArthur, most acquiesce while others remain mute - perhaps confused, perhaps uncertain. To be sure, there is a shrill wing that cries foul when Warren uses any translation but King James with shrieks of "Heretic!" I want nothing to do with them. And it may be too late anyhow. The pragmatic movement has formed deep roots - as textual criticisms and intellectualism did a century ago. The impact has already radiated through Christianity although the full affect on the Church is yet to be calculated. I fear it will be many millions.

You may recall a gent named Charles Darwin, a little periodical called The Origin of Species and the ensuing shockwaves delivered and still felt to this day. For the pragmatists, their Darwin is Peter Drucker, expert business evangelist and marketeer. I don't recall the pivotal figure that drank in Origin and transformed Hyde-like into this hideous beast of Christio-modernism. But the hand and draught of pragmatism today is George Barna and Rick Warren.

Barna is particularly astonishing. His own surveys reveal "just 38% of the adult public have confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior, [yet] 99% claim they will not go to Hell after they die. In fact, a majority of Americans do not believe that Satan exists and most adults are leery about the existence of Hell." Still, he has promoted a seriously watered down (if not devoid) Gospel that caters to unbeliever's "felt needs". Warren, who's book prompted me, genuinely desires to reach the lost. But he too has turned off the path, also "targeting" the "felt needs" of unbelievers all under the guise of a successful ministry. Would that Warren remember God's admonishment to Joshua: "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8)

Would that he imitate Paul: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.... For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Co 1:17,2:2)

Warren on one page claims to be drawing a line of which he will not cross - never compromising the Word - and pages later crosses the line and encourages you to come along for the ride. The subtitle of the book is subtly revealing: "Growth without Compromising Your Message & Mission." Notice it is your message and mission that is not compromised, not God's. And your message is left decidedly up to you. Warren's message is intentionally compacted into five "purposes" which he draws from a few passages in Scripture. No biblically based Christian would on the surface disagree with them - they are attractive, satisfying, and ring true. But they are intentionally weakly defined. So it should be no surprise that "hundreds of churches" from "dozens" of denominations have adopted this method and (presumably) purposes. It is easy, inoffensive, and energizing. It is pragmatic in the fullest sense of the word.

It is pragmatic and successful. The book has sold over a million copies, his Saddleback church is packed with well over 15,000 "Saddleback Sam's and Samatha's" in attendance each week. He has launched a web site to "encourage pastors, ministers, and church leaders with tools and resources for growing healthy churches." Apparently everything Warren does has a purpose - and pastor.com charges for it. One wonders how honestly Warren wishes to help others when he charges $4 a sermon (and $4 extra for the accompanying PowerPoint slides). Even "Purpose Driven" is now a registered trademark. Pragmatic to the end, eh?

Rating:
Summary: Useful and thought provoking even for clergy of other groups
Review: Review of Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Church.

Wow! I wish I had had access to this book long ago - like in seminary!

I have long said that if we "do church well" then people will want to come. It is sick churches that keep people away. I also always knew intuitively, if not put it into my ministerial practice, that challenge and growth of the core membership was the key to growth in numbers. Warren has it right on - what kind of congregation can one have when the purpose is not clear? (And we ministers know the answer: confusion and conflict.)

Warren has done us a service in organizing his principles thoroughly and showing us how he applied them in his situation. Thoroughness around an organizing principle! Congruence between intention and action! YES!

Useful and thought-provoking even if one does not agree with Warren's theology. (He's Southern Baptist.) I studied this book with a clergywoman colleague who is a United Church of Religious Science minister who, like me, has also founded and grown congregations. We both found ideas to improve our future work.

Encouraging. I recommend it to client congregations and ministerial colleagues. Good enough to buy on the most limited clergy salary!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book. Easy Read
Review: These days, the average reader is innundated with books that promise to grow their church overnight. Every day a new author publishes a book with a program that all but guarantees you immediate growth from a small country church to a mega-church.

This book isn't like that. Instead of composing a book full of programs to increase the number of people in your church, Rick Warren addresses the real reason many of today's churches aren't growing: Too many churches today are wallowing in a lack of direction and purpose. In this book, Rick Warren explains why direction is important, the process of setting a vision for your church, and how to sell that vision to your church members.

Through this book, Rick Warren will teach you how to increase your church's impact without compromising what you stand for.

This isn't a book for pastors only, but for anyone interested in seeing their church improve their impact, and make a difference in the world. Make this the next book you read.