The Purpose-Driven Life

Rating:
Summary: It's not about you.
Review: That's the way the book starts and it gets better from there.
This book will change your life, if you read and apply it to your daily life.
It changed mine - at a very difficult time.

Rating:
Summary: Great Overview , Good Discipleship Tool
Review: I have benefited from the ministry of Rick Warren since 1989. As a matter of fact, I went to his "Purpose Driven Church" seminar in Indianapolis in about 1995. Although I have carefully selected which of Warren's suggestions to use in our ministry here, I do have great respect for the man.

His new book, "The Purpose Driven Life," has been the number one best seller on the New York Times Best-Seller list, and seems destined to be used of God to both deepen believers and reach seekers.

If you have been through a meaty discipleship program (Campus Crusade, IV, Navigators), or are a well-read Christian, you might not learn anything new from Warren's book, but you will appreciate the concise way he deals with so many issues of the Christian life. I bought this volume to see if I might use it for discipleship or teaching.

The book is already becoming a fad in the evangelical community. Churches are teaching Sunday School lessons, doing 40 day programs, or coordinating preaching schedules with its chapters. I recommend this book DESPITE the fact that it is a fad (I usually detest fads because they are almost always shallow or lopsided). This volume, though very simple, is filled with meaningful content. It doesn't take you in depth into any subject, but presents an important overview and addresses the basics in each area. Since many believers struggle with seeing the big picture or the whole picture, this book will fill yet another void.

The five major purposes of the Christian life, as understood by Warren, include, "You Were Planned for God's Pleasure" (Warren is right on here), "You Were Formed For God's Family, You Were Created to Become Like Christ, You Were Shaped for Serving God, and, You Were Made for a Mission." These chapters are then subdivided, providing forty short chapters in all (the reader is encouraged to read one chapter per day). I especially appreciated his view that we exist to glorify God, and, although I disagree with some of his terminology, his perspective on worship is great.

This book would be wonderful to give a new believer, but it will also "bring to remembrance" important truths no believer should ever get over. The most basic truths are always the most important ones, and we should never leave them behind in the search for depth.

On the negative side, I have four gripes: (1) Warren uses some of the strangest Bible translations out there; I have a number of verses memorized that he "quotes," but the paraphrases are so far removed from the original that I cannot even recognize them; (2) Warren quotes or uses illustrations from religious people who are not evangelical, and readers may infer that he approves of their theological views (or that it really doesn't matter what you believe), (3) what Warren doesn't say can also be misleading. I appreciate his positive spirit, but he fails to qualify many of his teachings. For example, he emphasizes that Christians should stay put and not meander from church to church; however, he does not note important exceptions (e.g., bad doctrine or unethical leadership). I am not saying Warren would advocate staying in a bad church (he would not), but it sounds like he does advocate this because he of what he fails to say (the silence is deafening); and (4)he does not deal with learning to depend upon the Holy Spirit and what that means.

Warren is actually a Southern Baptist, and his doctrinal views align pretty well with many evangelicals, including mine. He has written a book that will be a powerful force for the kingdom in the days ahead. I encourage all Christians to pick up this book. Some will find it fills in gaps; others will find it "brings to remembrance" important truths; but, because of this book's major significance, we also need to read it as participants in the broader Body of Chirst.

This book would make a great gift, both for Christians and for those even somewhat open to the Gospel.

Rating:
Summary: Very Dangerous Book
Review: I read the book as part of a program our church recently completed. Many of the negative reviews are absolutely correct. The Oct. 30, 2003 reviewer was particularly right on the mark with specific theological problems.

Who knows Rick Warren's motive? Traditional bible preaching of fundamentals has floundered. Does that make it wrong or is that just a fulfillment of 1 Timothy Ch. 4:1-3. Give Warren a "A" for pragmatism: He wants to save souls but the only way to produce "sales" is to disguise the nature and characteristics of the product he is selling. (Did he once sell used cars? ) I am ready to vomit as I watch the evangelical church market the gospel as the world would. This appeals strongly to baby boomers who are just trying to compartmentalize another aspect of their selfish lives. (I am a boomer- by the way.)

What particularly galls me is Warren's use of Romans 12:2. In this verse, Paul states that Christians are not to conform to the methods and ways of the world but be separate from it. We are to do this with the renewing of our minds from the power of the Holy Spirit, not the powers of this world. Warren completely misses Paul's admonition no matter what version or paraphrase of the bible he chooses to quote. Warren spins verses throughout this book, frequently quoting key verses with the version that suits his particular argument at the time. Warren's church, Saddleback, is nothing more than a prime example of Madison Avenue marketing right out of the Harvard Business School. Warren loves to hint at quantitative success measures such as attendance, budget, and square footage. But God's success factors are God-centered worship and prayer, teaching the entire counsel of God's word to an unbelieving world, and faithfully telling the truth even if the world chooses to reject it. (John 6:60-69)

This best-selling book is very dangerous because it has more nuggets of truth than most books of questionable teachings. It is not so much what Warren teaches that is wrong but what is not presented. Christians who are newer or don't know their bible have no basis to refute Warren's teachings which contain truths but leaves out key Christian doctrines. Undiscerning Christians are buying into Warren's teachings because by worldly standards, his church is extremely successful. Even with some truths, Warren ends up teaching a different gospel (Galatians 1:6-10) because the offensive aspects of the cross and sin are deliberately ignored. The cross is meant to be offensive to seekers (1 Cor 1:18-31), yet Warren paints only the positive because God forbid, seeker "Saddleback Sam" may not come back and throw money in the plate next week. You will also notice Warren completely ignores Romans Ch. 1:18 - 2:29 since Saddleback Sam does not want to be preached to about his sin and depravity. Sam simply wants to accept God's provision for it (Romans Ch. 3-8) without any cost to himself. As a result, Warren quotes extensively from Romans Ch. 3 through Ch. 8 but doesn't want to offend Saddleback Sam by confronting him with the unpleasant message of Romans Ch. 1 and Ch. 2 that each of us are desparately wicked people who need to get right with God.

Ultimately, Warren's hypocrisy is best illustrated in his opening thesis that "Your life is not all about you." But Warren's marketing plan and church structure are the complete opposite of that. If it is all about a holy God, shouldn't we structure our churches around what God wants, not Saddleback Sam ?? Most evangelical church services (Warren's included) revolve around Saddleback Sam's desires for worship: short sermons full of examples and feel-good ancedotes but little scripture, and modern music sprinkled with banal, repetitive lyrics of Christian terminology and pop psychology. God's command for worship is far different: humility in our music, prayer, teaching the entire word, a loving but firm message of our need to repent and accept God's provision of the cross, and praying that the Holy Spirit will stir the heart of the unregenerate Saddleback Sam or Sally that may be sitting next to us.

I pray this "seeker-sensitive" phenomenon will be exposed as the apostasy that it is. It may have a sincere motive but you can't market the Blood of Christ like you can automobiles or laundry soap. To fill a church, Warren ends up changing the product. The Apostle Paul clearly says in 1 Cor Ch. 1 that the gospel message is foolishness to the unbeliever. That's why the seeker-sensitive churches disguise the gospel: Most Saddleback Sams would likely walk out if he was preached the complete true gospel. As it is, they read Warren's book and are placated with a modified gospel, cherry-picked with the positives and disposed of the negatives. Consequently, Warren's book is man-centered, not God centered, regardless how Warren will argue otherwise. You can't cherry-pick the bible, Rick !!

I completely support the evangelizing the unchurched. In fact, that is our command from the Lord himself. (Matthew 28:19.) But our evangelizing of Saddleback Sam must never, repeat NEVER, come at the cost of censoring biblical doctrines about the person and work of Jesus Christ and the sinfulness of man just because the teaching of these truths might offend someone or conflict with the belief system the world has taught them.

In summary, the Apostle Paul had the right model for evangelizing an unchurched world in the Book of Romans. Was Paul's teaching popular? Didn't Paul end up killed by the Romans for preaching it? Warren makes the fatal mistake of apostasy of jumping to the good news of Romans Ch. 3-8 by ignoring the unpopular Romans Chapter 1-2. Sure, you can build a big church and draw a big crowd preaching that type of message. But has the gospel really been advanced when key parts are deliberately ignored?

Rating:
Summary: The proof is in the huge reaction
Review: Wow, if you've read a sampling of the reviews, you must realize that this book has shook the world like few others. That is the best testament to it's value. I cannot think of a book by a Southern Baptist minister that has had such impact, and most of the negative comments come from a view different than most Southern Baptist, as if the reader somehow expects it to show their worldview instead of his. Only thing wrong with it to me, a Southern Baptist from NY, is the use of bible versions that are not often true translations from the original languages. Would like to see more NKJ, and even the paraphrase NLT compared to others, though they usually did their job and forced me to think more deeply about the text. I recently told a pastor friend that I believed this book would be a Christian classic like "My Upmost for His Highest", but I just happened to finally look at my book's back cover and it looks like Bruce Wilkinson already made that perdiction:) If you want the perfect book keep reading the Judeo-Christian bible in whatever version. Let this book help you put your beliefs into action.

Rating:
Summary: Right Question - Wrong/Vugue Answer!
Review: The book has asked the right question. It is true why the intelligent human being in on earth... what for...
Eat... reproduce and die...
Life is too short as compared to the life of universe..
Life has should have purpose...

Am I born to grow... get loan from bank for the necessity of life and rest of life is dedicated to return the money...

This is not fair...

Where is the answer?
Let me say not . only Christianity... Why not see other religion... I find more convincing answer in other religion such as Islam...

Rating:
Summary: Solid Christian Read
Review: That The Purpose Driven Life, a flat-out sermonic work on how-to-live-the-Christian-life, should be a New York Times "number one bestseller" has dumbfounded about everyone. The publisher, of course, is left smiling. And, personally, my hope is restored in America. It's a big step up from Madonna's calendar and for that matter Bill O'Reilly's Who's Looking Out for You?
Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback megachurch in Lake Forest, California, is already famous for his influential The Purpose-Driven Church, together with Saddleback's seminars for church leaders. Now in The Purpose-Driven Life he presents forty bite-sized lessons on what life is all about, lessons that go down well and stick with the reader all day. The author is not shy. His first words declare: "This book is dedicated to you. Before you were born, God planned this moment in your life. It is no accident that you are holding this book." (5) He even asks us to covenant for the next forty days to read the book together with a partner by signing a contract. Chapter One is entitled "It All Starts with God"; it's first sentence, "It's not about you." (17) Warren has a winsome way of banging our heads. He begins as though the reader already is Christians, and he pretty much has us interested by the time he challenges us in Chapter Seven as to whether we have, in fact, believed in Jesus Christ. This is theocentric theology in its most persuasive form.
The next thirty-three lessons divide into five purposes for life that even fussy theologians can't argue. Purpose One: "You Were Planned for God's Pleasure"-worship, friendship with God. Purpose Two: "You Were Formed for God's Family"-community, belonging. Purpose Three: "You Were Created to Become Like Christ"-sanctification, defeating temptation. Purpose Four: "You Were Shaped for Serving God"-servanthood, humility, purposefulness. Purpose Five: "You Were Made for a Mission"-evangelism, world missions and concluding challenges. Group discussion questions for each section, along with aids for further study help launch the reader on her or his way. I find no serious flaws in this no-nonsense workbook about living a vital Christian life, whether one is high church or charismatic.
Nevertheless, a few criticisms may prove helpful. The use of fifteen different biblical translations gives one the feeling that the version that sounded most innovative was often included. To the book's credit, it is surprisingly dense with Scripture with over 700 references. At several places in the book promotionalism is evident, not so much of the author, but of the array of materials related to the organization. Finally, the book does affirm divine judgment but just barely; while the invitation to follow Christ is persuasive, a holistic reading of Scripture will suggest that it is not complete.
Another Amazon.com reviewer gushes, "The book is absolutely the finest, most well-written book I have EVER read, next to the Bible." For a practical Christian guide in our day, even given the hesitations above, I just about concur.

J. Scott Horrell

Rating:
Summary: With a God like this, who needs a devil?
Review: There is some good material in this book. There is not much, if anything, that is exciting, or new revelation, but it attempts to put people into a rational and functional frame of walking with the Lord and serving in the local church. It seems to be addressed to new believers or marginal church members, or even to "seekers," who may be considering Christianity.

There are a few passages that I found less than satisfactory from a biblical perspective. For this reason, I would not recommend the book for new or impressionable believers, who have not yet developed the capacity to "spit out the pits," when reading Christian literature.

My major objection is simply that the book expresses a hyper-sovereignty theology that blames bad things on God; whereas, the truth is that God is a good God and the devil is a bad devil. For example, Warren quotes the poet Russell Kelfer on page 26:

"No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so;

But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into his likeness you'd grow."

Pages 42-43: "Life on earth is a test... You will be tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and even senseless tragedies." Warren equates tests with temptations, refining, and trials, but James says clearly that God does not tempt anyone.

Page 50: "It is a fatal mistake to assume that God's goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance." Actually, III John 2 tells me that the Lord desires Gaius (and hence, all believers, since God is not a respecter of persons) to be prosperous and in health, even as his soul prospers, that is, in addition to the prosperity of his soul. Deuteronomy 28:11 says that the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods. Goods are not just spiritual blessings, but material things!

Page 98: "Pain is the fuel of passion... It is God's way of arousing us from spiritual lethargy. Your problems are not punishment; they are wake-up calls from a loving God."

Page 109: "God often removes our feelings so we won't depend on them. Seeking a feeling, even the feeling of closeness to Christ, is not worship." This is obviously true, but the context could be misleading to a new believer, who may decide not to press in for closeness with the Lord, due to such a strong warning. In my opinion, Warren should be encouraging people to move into the presence of God and experience the heart of worship, rather than urge such caution. What is there to be so nervous about? Draw nigh unto God, and He will draw nigh unto you.

Page 110: "Tell God exactly how you feel... Unload every emotion that you're feeling." Page 154: "Use prayer to ventilate verbally. Tell God your frustrations. Cry out to him. He's never surprised or upset by your anger, hurt, insecurity, or any other emotions. So tell him exactly how you feel." I have heard this all my Christian life: Have a little talk with Jesus, tell Him all about your troubles, etc. Then I found out about praying the Word. It depends on whether you want to gripe, whine, moan, groan, and complain like the Israelites in the wilderness, or get a solution to your problem. The answer is in the Word of God, not whimpering. Warren even suggests using Job as a model (page 110), when he prayed, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away." This is yet another case of blaming God.

Page 194: "We learn things about God in suffering that we can't learn any other way... Problems force us to look to God and depend on him instead of ourselves." So, should we pray for many more terrible problems to come our way--so that we'll really really for sure depend on the Lord? If God's will is for you to be sick and suffer, then you should not go to a physician or take medicine, since you will be working against His divine will for you!

Page 195: "Because God is sovereignly in control, accidents are just incidents in God's good plan for you. Because every day of your life was written on God's calendar before you were born... God's plan for your life involves all that happens to you--including your mistakes, your sins, and your hurts. It includes illness, debt, disasters, divorce, and death of loved ones." These are actual quotes from the book! Aren't you glad that God has such a wonderful plan for your life? This is extreme Calvinism. It is hard to believe that it is still around today, but this kind of theology is still very popular. With a God like that, who needs a devil?

Pages 274-277: "Our weaknesses also prevent arrogance. They keep us humble... Our weaknesses increase our capacity for sympathy and ministry... Honestly share your weaknesses... When Satan points out your weaknesses, agree with him." Well, this takes the cake. I don't want to agree with the devil. Let the weak say, "I am strong."

Rick Warren is pastor of Saddleback Church, a Southern Baptist mega-church in southern California with weekly attendance of more than 15,000. The book has 40 short chapters are intended to be read over 40 days' time, giving readers small pieces of his purpose-discovering program to chew on. Many churches, even in the Tulsa area, are using this book in a program of 40 days of reading the book and then discussing it in small groups. As I said earlier, there is some good material here, if one can spit out the pits.

Have a happy day!

Rating:
Summary: Christian Commercialism at its best
Review: Trying to horn in on the "self-help" books of the 80s & 90s, Warren has created the ideal polyester Christian book. He does not have a congregation of 15,000, he has a brain-washed mass that also believes that Dr. Phil "really, really likes" them and that Jerry Springer is the anti-Christ (but listen to him secretly). His idea of scholarship is simply copying from a dozen different Bible translations to spew forth his "new-and-improved" (extremely vague) ideology of "Follow me and be saved." This is tent-revival preaching for the computer age.

Rating:
Summary: Truly a life-changing book
Review: I spent the first 33 years of my life as an atheist. I didn't believe in God, or Jesus, or any of that stuff - and I didn't WANT to believe. I was the last person on earth who was every going to be one of those weird, bible-thumping Christians! Then, in 2001, God decided it was time to reel me in once and for all. I went kicking and screaming, but somehow He got through to me. I joined a church and a bible study, and read just about every book I could get my hand on. (The "Case for..." books by Lee Strobel were particularly enlightening.)

Now it's two years later and my church has started the 40 Days of Purpose campaign. I'll admit I was skeptical. How could one book, one campaign, change my life and that of so many others? Was I really going to find my purpose? And if I did, what was I going to do with it?

Yes, there are criticisms of Rick Warren's book - some of them, no doubt, well-founded (especially if you are a longtime Christian). But Rick's ultimate message should not be ignored, no matter WHAT translation or paraphrase he uses, or how much money he's making off the book, or how big his church is. Because the message is not Rick Warren's, it's God's. Rick just has a great way of putting it into plain English that makes it easy to apply to our own lives. Reading this book, I find myself inspired to read my bible even more, and learn all I can about God and His purpose for my life.

Our church is using this book to help our congregation grow spiritually, and to inspire those who perhaps are still seekers who have not yet found Christ. To those who belittle seeker-friendly churches (the common word the naysayers like to bandy about is "mega-churches") I ask you: is YOUR church's congregation growing? How many people has YOUR church brought to Christ in the last year? Do your church's sermons inspire people, or put them to sleep? When was the last time most people at your church even picked up a bible outside of Sunday mornings? Maybe if the so-called "real" Christians picked up this book and, instead of picking it apart, really applied it to their lives and their churches, they would understand what Christianity is really about: it's about saving people.

Rating:
Summary: Not Impressed
Review: I bought this book on a recommendation from a friend. I was pretty excited to read it after reading the introduction, and even the first day. But as my 40 days wore on, i got tired of the way Rick Warren repeats himself, refers constantly to his church (Because they do everything RIGHT, obviously) and the way he is always plugging his other products (the Purpose Driven Life Journal, The Purpose Driven Church, etc.)

Soon after i started reading the book, my church started doing the 40 days of purpose campaign... complete with videos featuring Rick Warren himself who actually prays on the videos.

Overall, I really didn't like the book. I got a little bit out of it, but not really anything new that i couldn't have gotten straight from the Bible itself... and by that I mean a TRANSLATION of the Bible, not a Paraphrase (the message) which Rick Warren is SO fond of using.