Take a very careful look before you leap.
A large number of people from assemblies are reading an influential and impossible-to-ignore book called The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren. Here are some figures about the book:
• It received the Book of the Year Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 2003 and 2004.
• It has spent more than 70 weeks on The New York Times’ best-seller list.
• It has sold more than 17 million copies worldwide in just three years.
• Currently in the UK it is selling more than all the other top 10 books combined on the Christian bestseller lists.
The author, Rick Warren, is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Now with 16,000 in attendance each weekend, and over 50,000 names on the church roll, Saddleback is one of America’s largest and best-known churches. Warren’s influence is staggering. His e-mail “ministry tips newsletter” reaches some 83,000 church leaders weekly. More than 250,000 pastors and church leaders from over 125 countries have attended Purpose-Driven Church seminars in 18 languages.
Warren’s previous book, The Purpose-Driven Church, sold over one million copies in 20 languages. Winner of the Gold Medallion Ministry Book of the Year, it is used as a textbook in many seminaries, and was selected as one of the 100 Christian Books That Changed the 20th Century. Now, in connection with The Purpose Driven Life, over 12,000 churches from all 50 states and 19 countries have participated in a program known as “40 Days of Purpose.” Many of these churches have reported that it was the most transforming event in their congregation’s history. Hundreds of pastors have written or called, saying, “Our church will never be the same” and “This is the greatest thing that has ever happened in our church.”
What are the concerns? In brief, Rick Warren is an ecumenical leader. His “church growth” philosophy overthrows many non-negotiable principles held dear among assemblies.
But what of the book itself? It is unsound in many parts and unless the reader is very well grounded, it could easily have an influence in the wrong direction. The best evaluation I have seen can be found on the following two pages:
www.svchapel.org/Resources/articles/read_articles.asp?id=1
www.svchapel.org/Resources/articles/read_articles.asp?id=2
The author of these critiques, Gary Gilley, has written an excellent book called This Little Church Went to Market which is an examination of the Church Growth Movement in the U.S. His look at Warren’s second major book is an incisive and helpful work which I commend to all brethren concerned for the welfare of assemblies.