Customer Reviews

The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission

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I guess I love the tapes so much that I thought this book was going to be like THE PURPOSE DRIVE; our reasons for being here. I just love those tapes..I really cannot figure out what the author wants me to know in this book. It is different from his other writings; in that, his message is not clear.

"Yes," I understand the purpose of the church, but what does the author want me to know about its purpose.

If the purpose is "fellowship" what type? He mentions discipleship, make it plainer please. His message wants me to think about a "healthy" church; in what way??? I mean how can people build a church without their donations, and attendance, etc. That's all they know. And Rick Warren does not tell me how to replace this with something specific.

In reading the previous review I concluded that there will be differing reactions to this book based on the readers' perspectives on the Bible and the need for Jesus in individual lives. Rick Warren is an evangelical pastor who believes that the Bible is absolutely true and accurate and that everyone needs the presence of Jesus Christ in his or her life. His Saddleback church congregation is (contrary to many modern Christian churches) focused on reaching those who have no history of faith in Jesus. I believe Rick does an excellent job in his discussion of effective ways that Saddleback uses to reach out to these folks. He is quick to point out that different congregations with differing demographics or area of the country will have to take these factors into consideration. He uses the five purposes which are the foundation for his book, The Purpose Driven Life, to show how Saddleback approaches worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism. Surely there is something here that any pastoral team can use to identify the needs of their congregation and plan for meeting those needs. The only negative that I felt as I read the book was my reaction to the author's references to other mass-marketed resources he has written, but if you can look past those references (you are not required to buy any of them) then there are plenty of nuggets here for pastors and church leaders.

Here it is, Rick Warren's latest Purpose-Drivel ® Corporation's latest marketing ploy. The insistent promotion of the Purpose-Drivel ® Life is nothing but an affront to Christian decency and blasphemous attack on Jesus. So far, the Purpose-Drivel ® Corporation's resin cross, also created to pad Warren's Disney-esque Church hasn't shown up on Amazon but it IS available for viewing on his publisher's site. This latest book makes a mockery of Christianity and should not be considered by anyone who is truly intent on seeking God's grace. Remember, Rick, "the meek shall inherit the Earth!"

I was saddened but hardly surprised to read the mocking and somewhat childish review -- bashing, The Purpose Driven Church (review titled, Compromising God...). Missing from that review is even one example of how Rick Warren supposedly compromises the Bible in any way. As a pastor and graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary I was thrilled to read a book that makes the heart of Christ for His Bride (the Church) so understandable and applicable for the everyday Christian.

The mark of an excellent teacher is one that can take the complex truths of scripture and say them in a way that is understandable to the masses yet 100% uncompromising to the Word of God. Rick did just that. Truly, I am hard pressed to find anything in the book that was biblically off base.

To the negative reviewer I would say - remember, there was a time several hundred years ago when people were burned alive for translating the Bible from the original languages (Hebrew and Greek) and even Latin, to modern day (at the time) English. Hopefully, you're grateful for the Bible you have. If so, you have men of conviction and courage (like Rick Warren) to thank for it.

Excellent quick start to the book of the same title. It has a similar feel to the Purpose Driven Life CDs. It certainly whet my appetite to want to read the book ASAP.