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Summary: A excellent book for motivating the preacher/leader.
Review: Rick Warren has done a excellent job of sharing what has worked for him is his ministry.
This book will invite you to explore many facets of Church Ministry.
One must read this book carefully, what has worked in this ministry does not promise that the same will be successful in your ministry.
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Summary: Beware of the Purpose Driven Church! It is not what it seems
Review: On the surface, PDC looks innocent enough. But once the curriculum is implemented in the church, there are changes you didn't bargain for. The Holy Spirit is subdued, the church is run like a corporate business. (remember, God's ways are not our ways) The sermons are boring and similar to New Age thinking (everything is based on "how I feel"). People who don't like the changes (the spiritually-mature and Biblically-established Christians) are told to go with the program or get out! The church may grow, but the new converts are being taught only a 'positive' message. Sin, redemption, repentance are not mentioned. The whole Gospel is not preached. Please!DO NOT USE THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN CHURCH CURRICULUM IN YOUR CHURCH!
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Summary: The success and failure of The Purpose Driven Church
Review: Rick Warren did a good thing when he wrote The Purpose Driven Church. He says a lot in this nearly 400-page book and asks questions church leaders need to answer. But The Purpose Driven Church proves that asking the right questions does not necessarily lead to the right answers. While this book has a lot of good things to say about the concept of purpose, it fails in its methodology. Warren's pragmatic ideas regarding church growth, preaching, worship, etc, ignore the spiritual ramifications of what he is writing about. Before churches can truly grow spiritually, their leaders and members must have a change of heart even more than a change of habit, and only God can change hearts. Rick Warren, and indeed every church leader, needs to remember that. Despite any weaknesses of methodology, The Purpose Driven Church succeeds in pointing church leaders toward having a purpose, as well as giving them some good ideas and a solid framework for implementing one. Every pastor and church leader should read this book thoroughly and thoughtfully.
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Summary: The 2nd Bible of Evegelical Church's Ministry
Review: I am United Methodist Church Pastor for a local Korean congregation.
I was very exited from this book.
I think It was Lord's guidance.
Thank you for Inspired book.
I expect to publish continued Materials for local church leadership.
Rating: 
Summary: What's the source?
Review: I really wanted to like this book. My Dad is a pastor who has read the book and even used some of its techniques. I came in predisposed to liking it. However, I came away disappointed. I want to understand what a book is telling me about God and about Christ. It seems Pastor Warren would have us believe that if we do our part, God will do His part. God is not the source of our church activity, but us plus God is the source of our activity. A bit of human ingenuity and a bit of divine power and we have the perfect recipe for church growth. I would disagree. The Bible declares that apart from Christ we can do nothing. We cannot be fruitbearers apart from abiding in Him. This book would lead me to believe that we can bear fruit if we practice a set of guidelines. Warren leaves the impression that Christ is not the all in all from whom we have life, but a sidekick as we execute the plans that He has apparently given us in scripture. Granted that he may not believe Christ is a sidekick, but his book leaves this impression due to an inordinate (albeit apparently subconscious) emphasis on executing principles from our own power and strength. Biblical principles are absolutely true, but committing to Biblical principles in our own power results in failure. Abraham and Peter are blatant examples of people who attempted to do God's will their own way and both failed miserably. I fear people who read this book will commit themselves to principles and fail to realize that only Christ can live out these principles in their lives. So I have to ask, what's the source of church health/growth? Is it a set of principles or is it Christ?
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Summary: Cultism at its finest
Review: Rick Warren has managed to create a craze that is based on man's own desires rather than God's will. He encourages the watering-down of the gospel to appeal to his "Saddleback Sam" model of mankind. He encourages getting rid of church members who get in the way of "progress". He has attempted to push worldly culture into the church (1 John 2:16 and 4:5). This book only represents man's will, but pastors are starting to rely this worldly book as much as they are the Bible. The book is an interesting read, if you are interested in using Madison Avenue "marketing" techniques to "sell" the church. Do not sell yourself on this man's philosophies; use the Bible only as your guide to what the church is and should be.
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Summary: "Buy It, Study It, Highlight It, Share It, and Apply It"
Review: Rick Warren is considered, in my opinion and among my church planting colleagues, to be one of the fathers of the modern-day church planting movement. If you are a pastor, church planter, church leader, or simply a layperson in your church, this book should be one of your primary textbooks for developing a healthy, growing church. His overarching premise is that the church is healthy only when it is carrying out its designed purpose based on the scripture, more specifically, the Great Commission and the Great Commandment in the New Testament. Rick discusses the importance of creating and embracing a clear vision statement, identifying your core values, and developing strategies to lead the church to accomplish its purpose. Moreover, he stresses the necessity of identifying your unique community, discovering their needs, and strategizing to meet those needs. However, let me warn you that this book could transform the way you DO church and set you free to think outside of the traditional church box. Warren has his critics, but one only has to look at Saddleback Church, the church he planted in 1980, to see that the principles he endorses are true. The church has grown from 1 to 15,000 over the course of two decades and is continuing at a phenomenal rate, but the interesting fact about their growth is that the church is reaching an unchurched society instead of merely adding members from other churches. So, in conclusion, buy it today, study it, highlight it, share it, and apply the principles in the book for a growing healthy church!
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Summary: Modern Church Ministry
Review: Rick Warren has done an excellent job of reviewing his strategy and plan for the growth and expansion of Saddleback Church. This model, which worked extremely well in Southern California, is a good model for, Southern California. Warren is quick to point out that churches have to adapt this model to fit their settings, and this, I agree is very key. This book had a feel of modernity to it, while we are living in a postmodern world. I congratulate Rick Warren for what he has done in Southern California, and in his book. Rick's personal story is very inspiring, more so than any model he presents. Rick shows how following the call of God can lead to great things. The particularly poignant story of how he met a famous pastor from Dallas who prayed for him and told him he had big things to do as a Pastor is a great testimony towards how God works in this world. Thanks Rick for sharing your story.
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Summary: What's The Purpose
Review: Did Jesus really have bricks and mortar, denominations and traditions in his heart when he envisioned his glorious, victorious, overcoming Bride, prevailing against the gates of hell? I don't think so. The church is bigger than that building with a belltower and a cross. Rick Warren went looking for some answers as a student. God honored him with some straightforward answers...why do we do what we do...what is the purpose? Any church can seek God as to THEIR unique purpose. This purpose then becomes a benchmark against which we measure everything we do. It either supports the purpose, and we do it, or it goes against it, and we drop it. Warren is careful to warn readers about taking PDC as a "cookbook". It is NOT one-size fits all. Warren teaches on a much more basic level than "follow this recipe". The principles he teaches may be applied to any church or situation. Saddleback works, because it is Saddleback. Saddleback would fail in other parts of the country, and miserably. Warren would be the first to tell you. Don't buy the book if you want to build a second Saddleback! Buy it, pray over it, absorb what Rick is saying, and then seek God for your own Purpose. That's the essence of Warren's timely message. Thank God for leaders like Warren who are willing to think outside the box, and question just what is this "church thing" all about! _Purpose Driven Church_ can change your thinking, and your ministry, if you approach it correctly.
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Summary: Contemporary yet very Biblical
Review: I must say that I was very impressed with this book. I've always felt the way this author has so eloquently expressed in his book. A breath of fresh air for me. This is truly a biblical based,love inspired, spirit driven way to have church. Many misguided Christian critics who've grown up in a traditional church environment may be tempted to criticize the author because he does things a little different. They may say this "Purpose Driven" Church is not being "Spirit Driven". Let me assure you that nothing is further from the truth. You'd be hard pressed to find anything in his book that is contradictory to Scripture. As a matter of fact this book is very Scripture oriented and is the most Scritpure based way to run a church than I have ever seen. To those traditionalists out there that defy change in there churches because it is the way it has been done forever, let me leave you with some scripture that sums up the whole attitude of this book. "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone." You see todays traditional church has neglected the most important aspect of the church today, and that is love. The church has done a real good job of doing the actions of a "good Christian" by tithing, preaching against abortion, gays and all the rest, but neglected loving. This whole book is about love! Rick says "Having a great commitment to the great commandment [to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself] and the great commission [to reach out to others and disciple them] will grow a great church". This book will teach us to love people into the kingdom, and it works. My church is a "Purpose Driven" church and we are reaching out to many that the other traditional churches would condemn right out of their doors. Jesus had more words of condemnation for the religious leaders of His day than for the sinners. He loved the sinners without condoning their sinful lifestyles. This book gets back to the ministry of Jesus Christ and that is to love the people back into the kingdom. Come on church, let us take off the yoke of traditionalism that have bound us for so long. Many of the rules we have made for our churches do not come from God (e.g. dress your "Sunday best", read the KJV only, women wear dresses only, play only traditional hymns and not contemporary etc.) but come from men. Remember what Jesus said in Mark 7:8 "8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." Let's get out of the "Pharasee" mode and into the "Love all, Serve all" mode. Rick Warren does a fine job redirecting the church to the right direction.
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