Rating: 
Summary: A Spiteful God?
Review: I am currently reading The Purpose-Driven Life and do not know if I will finish it. At this point, I am skimming through it as opposed to reading a chapter a day as recommended. Although it does offer encouragement regarding focusing your life on what is truly important--the spiritual--I am not comfortable with the author's vision of God. Early on the reader is told that God controls all the details of our lives and at one point the reader is advised that if they are not working whole-heartedly on their relationship with God, God may choose to bring them pain as a means of calling them back. Having experienced many senseless tradgedies in my life, I choose to believe in a God who is crying with me when tragedy, pain, and evil strike. I don't believe that God causes pain at will or allows it to happen. I believe that our human condition accounts for these struggles and God wants nothing more than to provide comfort in such situations. I do believe that we owe our full commitment and attention to the loving presence of God, but beyond that I cannot accept the author's premises. If you do not believe in a God who allows tragedy for some purpose unknown to us, you may have a difficult time finishing this book as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book, But?????
Review: I agree mostly with the critics of the book in the reviews I read. But I still recomend this book as a worthy read. Yes all the information is in the bible, but those are the only books about Christianity that are worthy to read. Yes he uses multiple translations. So I would recomend writing down the scripture reference from the end notes before starting to read each chapter. Then looking up the scripture in the King James or the New American Standard Bible or the New English Bible or as the last resort the NIV. More work but a critical read will be more edifying in the end more benificial in your Christian walk. I also keep in mind to work for God's Will and building the Body of Christ as a whole. Do not let your end goal be the local church you serve. Serve the local church as a way to build the whole Body of Christ. Work for the whole Body as a way to worship God. A distinction each of us has to work through with the help of the Holy Spirit. Yes I hope most readers of this book move unto the meat written by John MacArthur, Erwin Lutzer, and RC Sproul, but I do not recommend any new Christian start with these authors either. Please check out R.C. Sprouls Book: The Souls Quest for God. I wrote a review of that publication.
Rating: 
Summary: This has got to be a bad joke...
Review: This book is a freaking train wreck.It's got enough truth in it to make it a near-perfect counterfeit of the message of Jesus. I'd never recommend it to anyone. In fact, I'd strongly counsel believers to leave it on the shelf in the stores, untouched entirely. It's like one of those sickening Robert Kinkade paintings (the painter of light) in a book...just too much sugar. I felt like I was reading a little desk-top calendar chock full of happy little platitudes designed to be some manner of a Christian DayTimer. It was just...laughable. Basically, it thinks it's The Diving Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard. That's graduate level Christian material. Defenite required reading. Purpose Driven Life? Merely a 'toy' book. You want something a bit more serious and real? Go to www.watchman.net
Rating: 
Summary: Rick's an eccentric, but GREAT guy
Review: I only want to say this for anyone who has critical things to say about this book 1) tens of thousands of lives have been changed, and God is pleased with this book. 2) rick doesn't take a salary, but is now using the proceeds to pay back all the churches who have ever paid him a salary. So plugging his materials is NOT greedy. That's it. Enjoy the text.
Rating:
Summary: Purpose Driven Life;What on Earth Am I here For?
Review: This by far is the most needed book for the Chritian Church today. So many in the world today are confused and doubt that they were created for any real purpose,much less by a loving Creator who is still very actively bringing His plan about for each of us.
Rating:
Summary: Good overall picture of Christianity--I had 2 criticisms
Review: The Purpose-Driven Life focuses on helping readers answer the question, "What on earth am I here for?" Warren sets out to help readers become the people that God wants them to be. He elaborates on five truths to answer this question of why we are here. According to Warren, we exist for the purposes of worship, ministry, evangelism, fellowship and discipleship. He states that in fulfilling these roles on earth, we find and fulfill our purposes. This is a comprehensive book about how to live the Christian life successfully. It discusses most of the major themes of The Bible. Warren cites over 1,000 scriptures in the book. He rarely makes a point without quoting from the Bible. The messages of the chapters are relevant for new and mature Christians. The book is formatted in 40 chapters. Warren suggests readers study a chapter a day for 40 days, so that the reader can take time to reflect and meditate on each chapter's lesson. Each chapter ends with a main point to consider, a scripture to remember and a question to answer. I found these questions to be thought-provoking and meaningful. This book is an excellent tool for study groups to read and discuss. It emphasizes the importance of Christian character development and of becoming an active member of a community of believers. Warren provides reasons and practical ways for the reader to serve others inside and outside the church. For a church wanting to develop individuals excited and prepared to do ministry, promoting studies of The Purpose-Driven Life would help to meet this objective. Warren concludes the book by addressing each person's mission within the church and world. He also includes an appendix with further questions to initiate discussion among readers. In citing 1000 scriptures throughout the book, Warren uses 15 different Bible translations interchangeably. He explains that all translations have limitations and that he uses various translations to present scriptures in a fresh way. The references for the scriptures he quotes are in endnotes, so I was continually turning to the back of the book to discover the version and verse of a scripture. To a minor extent, I think this undermines the integrity and flow of the book. I always try to keep in mind when reading a book like this that the author's opinions are not infallible like the Bible. I say this because there are a few times while reading this book when I disagreed with an opinion of Warren's which was stated as a fact. Readers should keep in mind that opinions of Christian authors are debatable and not gospel. I don't think these two criticisms detract much from the value of this book. Warren writes that "The purpose of your life fits into a much larger, cosmic purpose that God has designed for eternity. That's what this book is about." In The Purpose Driven Life, Warren has written indefatigably about this purpose, and I think reading it will help you identify and fulfill your purpose.
Rating:
Summary: LIFE CHANGING, EYE OPENER
Review: This book woke a person up inside me that had pretty much been hidden away for many many years. Rick Warren writes a book that you can actually understand everything in it. He takes you step by step on a 40 day journey that will change your life forever and for the better. I learned so many things about God, the church, relationships, family life, etc. that I never knew before. It has changed my life for the better. I highly recommend it. Especially for those of you that don't think that you need God or church in your life. I was one of those people myself.
Rating:
Summary: Give it your best shot and give the rest to the Creator
Review: I loved every page of this book because it strengthened my connection with the Creator. As a result of reading this book, I feel purposeful and fully alive. I also strongly recommend Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self because it showed me how to accept what is out of my control, release it to the Creator, and then make the MOST of everything in my control. We all need this combination to make the most of life!
Rating:
Summary: The Purpose Drive Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?
Review: This book is a #1 New York Times Best Seller, a well-deserved position. The book is broken down into 40 chapters because as the author says, "40 days was a spiritually significant time period throughout the Bible: Noah's life was transformed in 40 days; Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai; Jesus was empowered by 40 days in the wilderness," and so on. Each chapter begins with two Bible verses and then the author states his case, using numerous and varied Biblical verses throughout to support God's design for us. Each chapter ends with with a "Point To Ponder," which for the first chapter is "It's not about me." Then it is followed with a "Verse to Remember" which for Chapter One is "Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him." Colossians 1:16. And finally we are given a "Question To Consider" which for Chapter One is "In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?" We are led in this manner throughout the 40 chapters, always being given a "Point to Ponder," followed by a "Verse to Remember" and finally a "Question To Consider." The message throughout the book is that earth is the training ground and eternity the final destination, so lets make the best use of our God-given time and talents right here and right now. I am so grateful for a man of God who repeatedly conveys to us that we are here for God's purpose, and not the other way around. As the author says, "God's ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development." Lord willing, starting next week, our church is going to use this book for study during our fellowship breakfast hour. I highly recommend your making this book a core part of your daily devotion, or getting your church to organize a group study using A Purpose-Driven Life as its text.
Rating: 
Summary: A worthy effort.....
Review: I actually have mixed feelings about this book. I love the concept of the book more than I love the content. I found it to be a bit cliche-ish, which got tiresome. Plus I would have liked to see the verse references in the same place as the verses, rather than listed at the back of the book. I soon grew tired of flipping back and forth and quit looking for the reference. But the reason I was looking for the reference in the first place was because of Rick Warren's use of liberal paraphrases which made Scriptures unrecognizable to me. I enjoyed reading them, but I don't feel this book was the place to use them. I think the content of the book would have been better substantiated with the use of an actual translation, not various paraphrases, and limited verses from translations. I also found that the journal gave more pages than necessary for each chapter, and I found myself wondering what I was supposed to write on all those pages. There were a few statements that didn't agree with, but I don't expect to agree with EVERYthing in a book. This is a good book, a worthy effort on the part of Rick Warren, and a worthwhile read, but truthfully The Pursuit of Holiness had more impact on me than this book did. It challenged me to live "a life of purpose" more than the book of that title did. Still and all, I'm glad I purchased and read the book, and would probably still recommend it to others, especially new believers.
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