More Than A Purpose, An Evangelical Response to Rick Warren and the Megachurch Movement [Paperback]

Marshall Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 2006

Are you dissatisfied with The Purpose Driven® Life? Have you read Rick Warren's bestseller and wondered, "Is that all there is?" If you feel like something is missing from Rick Warren's best-selling books, The Purpose Driven® Life and The Purpose Driven® Church, you are not alone. Evangelical leaders are beginning to voice their concerns about the seeker-sensitive model of ministry. In More Than a Purpose, Dr. Marshall Davis · Documents what evangelical leaders are saying about the megachurch movement. · Explores the origins of Rick Warren's approach in the Church Growth Movement and Robert Schuller's gospel of self-esteem. · Examines the theology of Warren's Saddleback Church and finds that it falls short of historic Christianity. · Exposes the market-driven methodology and philosophical pragmatism of The Purpose Driven® Church. · Shows how the entertainment model of worship has taken over evangelical churches. · Reveals how New Age spirituality has influenced the beliefs and the practices of The Purpose Driven® Life. · Challenges Christians to recover the essentials of evangelical Christianity that will restore integrity to the twenty-first century church Dr. Marshall Davis is an ordained Baptist minister with thirty years of experience as a pastor. He holds advanced degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He presently serves as a pastor in western Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Pleasant Word-A Division of WinePress Publishing (May 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414106637
• ISBN-13: 978-1414106632
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,475,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read response to the PDL., June 20, 2006

By 

Dufflepud - See all my reviews

This review is from: More Than A Purpose, An Evangelical Response to Rick Warren and the Megachurch Movement (Paperback)

I have grown up in a solid Christian environment and I knew after reading "The Purpose Driven Life" was that something was not right. "More Than a Purpose" answered a lot of my questions. It shows how Rick Warren has been influenced by the Norman Vincent Peale/Schuller brand of Christianity. It shows how/why biblical teaching isn't a big part of the mega-churches. I also understand a little bit of why many of my friends liked PDL - it is a Christian flavored self help book. It also described how spiritual consumerism and personalization has affected the megachurch and evangelicalism.

In showing the deficiencies of the PDL and the megachurch movement, "More Than a Purpose" also clearly presents the gospel and a true picture of Christianity. This book is an excellent critique of The Purpose Driven model, the megachurch movement as a whole, and the state of modern "evangelical" Christianity in these United States. It also provides direction as to how the church can get back on track.

It is straight forward, easy to read and not beyond the average lay person.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On the mark, October 1, 2007

By 

Stuart Bloom (Earlville, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: More Than A Purpose, An Evangelical Response to Rick Warren and the Megachurch Movement (Paperback)

For those of us who have read Warren's books and come away with the feeling that we had just encountered "Gospel lite: tastes great, less filling," but couldn't pin down exactly why, this book hits the mark exactly. It won't, however, convince the Warrenites, who have so embraced the Warren brand that they are unwilling to open themselves to the real message of Jesus Christ - which includes suffering, confession, repentance, and atonement, none of which you'll find in Warren's ad campaigns.

28 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Davis vs. Goliath, June 3, 2006

By 

Theophilus - See all my reviews

This review is from: More Than A Purpose, An Evangelical Response to Rick Warren and the Megachurch Movement (Paperback)

Rick Warren is pastor of the largest Baptist church in the United States and author of the international best sellers The Purpose-Driven Life and The Purpose-Driven Church. Marshall Davis is pastor of a small Baptist church near Pittsburgh and this is his first book, setting up a "Davis vs. Goliath" confrontation.

Mr. Davis contends that the Gospel presented by Mr. Warren is deficient. "In Warrenism there is no genuine commitment to Christ because the genuine Christ has not been preached and the way of salvation has not been explained." The teaching of Rick Warren, Mr. Davis asserts, is "Gospel lite: tastes great, less filling."

Such assertions might draw a debate, especially from the millions worldwide who testify to the positive effect of reading the Warren books, but this next observation will be met with a chorus of amens: "The American Christian has gone from being a disciple to being a customer, from being a follower of the Lord Jesus to being a consumer of a spiritual commodity." In this new marketplace, Mr. Davis says, entertainment has replaced worship in the public gatherings of Christians.

The antidote, he contends, is a fresh attention to evangelism, worship, theology and ethics. It's a good read on a timely subject.

- Book Review, Dallas Morning News