The Purpose Driven Life

[AndOne]

I think Rick Warren has missed the mark. God did not save us to give us purpose. He saved us so that we could glorify Him.

Worship is not one point out of five for the purpose driven life. It is the point.

 

[Elderone]

I think Rick Warren has missed the mark. God did not save us to give us purpose. He saved us so that we could glorify Him.

Worship is not one point out of five for the purpose driven life. It is the point.

As question 1 of the Shorter Catechism asks and answers:

Question: What is the Chief End of Man?

Answer: Man’s Chief End is to Glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

a. 1 Cor. 10:31: Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Rom. 11:36. For of him, and through him, and to him, [are] all things: to whom [be] glory for ever. Amen.

 

[Bulldog]

I agree. Here's a Reformed review of the book.

 

[Lutherrunner]

I agree. Here's a Reformed review of the book.

I only skimmed it, but it made some very valid points.....I had a fair amount of pressure to join a small study group from a non-denom bible church and my radar just kind of told me thanks, but no thanks......I'm very leary of the PDL

 

[Elderone]

I took a quick look at the above link and seeing Billy and Franklin Graham promoting the book immediately convinced me the PDL wasn't something I would be interested in either.

 

[billychum]

Would glorifing God be a purpose?

Billy <><

 

[ps139]

I only skimmed it, but it made some very valid points.....I had a fair amount of pressure to join a small study group from a non-denom bible church and my radar just kind of told me thanks, but no thanks......I'm very leary of the PDL

I had the same exact experience. If people are still leading study groups on it in 5 years, maybe I'll sign up. But there seem to be a lot of "fad" books nowadays, so I'm leery of them too.

 

[CoffeeSwirls]

I am beginning to question everything about Rick Warren. Here's a post from a friend about his recent involvement in Ladies Home Journal.

 

[GaelSong]

I bought the book but just couldn't get into it. May try again later.

 

[wobbly]

We 'did' it in church and our home groups for a month.

I agree that it seemed very American to this Aussie too. (eg "this isn't a book, its a journey".),

It certainly wasn't theologically perfect and that was pointed out from the pulpit, but we found that you could find a point in each chapter that made sense and focussed on living your life with the the eternal in mind rather than the earthly.

Martin

 

[Filia Mariae]

Worship is not one point out of five for the purpose driven life. It is the point.

 

[oworm]

I am beginning to question everything about Rick Warren. Here's a post from a friend about his recent involvement in Ladies Home Journal.

Strange paradox indeed! Now we have thw five points of "Warrenism"
1.Accept Yourself



2.Love Yourself



3.Be True To Yourself



4.Forgive Yourself



5.Believe in Yourself


"Thick with anthropocentric emphasis" as our good friend "Reformationist" might say

 

[Calvinist Dark Lord]

Strange paradox indeed! Now we have thw five points of "Warrenism"
1.Accept Yourself



2.Love Yourself



3.Be True To Yourself



4.Forgive Yourself



5.Believe in Yourself


"Thick with anthropocentric emphasis" as our good friend "Reformationist" might say

Doesn't it seem odd that the first Sentence (those who have actually read the book may feel free to correct me on this assertion if i am mistaken!) of The Purpose Driven Church reads "It's not about you...."?

This seems to me to contradict the opening assertion of Warren's previous book. Indeed, it all seems to be 'about YOU.

Forgive me, but i have stopped looking for consistency in Modern American Evangelicalism.

 

[CoffeeSwirls]

So if it's all about ME and worship is the point of Rick Warren, what should I conclude? Never mind what Warren claims. Look at what the logical message states. God is not a part of my life so I can find "What on Earth am I here for" He is a part of my life so that I may glorify Him and worship Him forever.

 

[Imblessed]

Hmm, interesting.

I steer clear of any "fad" book, regardless of what it is, and PDL is no exception.

I know our church uses some of Rick Warren's ideas, and had some small group studies on it, but the enthusiasm seemed to fizzle out REAL quick. It was kind of odd really, how, when it was "hot", the church jumped on it, but just as suddenly stopped talking about it. Maybe they saw the problems in it?

Really, I don't think it's a bad idea to try to get people to focus on what their purpose in life is. I think God has a plan for each of us, and we do have a "purpose"--and there isn't anything wrong with seeking out that purpose. But I haven't read the book, or even peeked at one, so I don't know what Rick Warren proposed, or suggests, so maybe i shouldn't be commenting....

I'm going to check out that link someone posted earlier about him....especially since I know that our church does use some of Rick Warren's ideas, etc....

p.s. just finished reading that link. Pretty scary. Seems Rick Warren has embraced commercialism. Sad, really. Imagine if Jesus had tried to make His message "palatable" to everyone...

 

[tigersnare]

Maybe it's just me, but the 2000 years the Church has been around, you'd think people would just look back and realize that God will keep doing what he has been doing and promised to do. Convert sinners, and raise and nurture his Church. For some reason, some people have it in there heads that through this book, or that book, or this method or that method God is going to do some big unprecedented "AWESOME" thing. Sure, just like he has been doing since the beginning, saving sinners like me.

 

[CoffeeSwirls]

I keep a few PDL factoids handy just in case our pastor decides to try that route. Thankfully, we are in a year-long study of the book of Revelation and are just now in the middle of the second chapter, so that won't be coming up for a while, if ever. One site that I would counter Warren's pastors.com with is 9marks.org, which has had a few things to say about PDL.

My Mother in Law read The Purpose Driven Life while she was lost in the Catholic church and developed a hunger for more protestant teaching, which made more sense than the works related faith she had understood all of her life. That led her to attend church with us, and she has grown beyond the teachings of Warren. For that reason, I try to be gentle. I do, however, see it only as a beginning step for someone to attend a church that does not share its teaching.

PDL is similar to the rags that cushioned Jeremiah's arms, while the sturdy rope pulled him from the well. Once the salvation is found in the real support, the rags can be discarded. I don't see it as a positive thing, mind you, but a good pastor can help someone remove the chaff from the wheat.

To throw some fuel to the fire, did anyone out there realize that Warren studied under Robert Schuller?

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren - "The Bible says, 'He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything.'"

Hour of Power (November 9, 2003) by Robert Schuller - "Yes, God is alive and He is in every single human being!"

Prescriptions for Living by Bernie Siegel - "God is in everyone and everything."

 

[Hark3N]

This is all very disturbing. Our church is just around the corner from starting a second "term" with PDL. Being a small-group leader it is going to be my duty to convey the book's message to my group.

The first time we did the course I did pick up some of the book's inconsistencies with the Bible. Being rather "lost" back then, it somehow didn't bother me, but looking back makes me very worried.

In the last few days the Lord have really started to work with me. I'm being forced to take a closer look at my live more than ever before (it might have something to do with the fact that I gave up on my vice, smoking, three weeks ago). What am I supposed to do about it? It troubles me to see our church buying into something like this.

Help would be appreciated.
BTW, I feel like(urged by God?) climbing a mountain. Somehow that always worked for the great men of the Bible.

 

[CoffeeSwirls]

I would start by telling your pastor that you support him in leading the church, just as God expects him to. If he asks what you mean, tell him that he is compitant enough not to need the instruction of Rick Warren. He is YOUR pastor, Warren isn't. God placed HIM in YOUR pulpit, not Warren. Also, I would let him know that you are interested in a mini-series of expository preaching. http://www.9marks.org has a great writeup about that, including the why's, how's and all the other facts.

Our church has, just this year, moved from topical to expository preaching, and I can say that the sermons are more powerful when the word of God leads the pastor's sermons, rather than the pastor picking and choosing verses that he likes to support his points.

But to summarize my advice for you, I'd reassure the pastor that you are confidant that the Lord can lead him toward a preaching style and a method of preaching that God desires for His church. The PDL movement is all about the numbers, and many pastors look at the attendence or the collection to determine their success. However, the Bible says that the way is narrow and tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil.

"...all Christians should stand up and tell it like they see it. Let the chips fall where they will. Don't worry if the public doesn't even agree with your most basic assumptions. Your job is not to win. Your job is not to control this society. Your job is to say what God wants said." - John Piper

 

[Hark3N]

Thanx for the advice. I will deffinately talk to our pastor. I also liked what you said about the numbers playing an important part in the campaign. It is not about how many people responded and attended the course, it's about how many got saved. So what if our church only grow by, say, a 100 people. If that 100 people burn for the Lord, they will be of much more worth than 1000 luke-warm people filling the chairs.

Thanx again, and God bless