Who's Driving the Purpose Driven Church? [Paperback]

James Sundquist (Author), Christi Killian (Editor, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren has become a Number 1 bestseller, and has been distrubuted to over180,000 pastors worldwide. Rick Warren's theology has infiltrated almost every Christian denomination. His teachings have come lake a flood into a city, in which no house is left untouched. Because of this, it is imperative that we test the spirits of his teachings to see if they are of God. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart form the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;...If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up int he words of faith and of good doctrine, where-unto thou hast attained. 1 Timothy 4:1,6

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Sundquist is the founder of Rock Salt Publishing. He wrote and produced two documentaries on the history of hymns and Christmas carols, for which he was nominated for a Grammy for Best Album Notes. James has a number of documentaries exposing the Purpose Driven Church and Church Growth Movement teachings and practices, and the infiltration of Carl Jung and psychology into the church in which he demonstrates these to be a clear and present danger to the church.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Bible Belt Publishing; 1 edition (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974476455
• ISBN-13: 978-0974476452
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, January 29, 2006

By 

Gregory A. Rittenhouse (Bellbrook, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Who's Driving the Purpose Driven Church? (Paperback)

Although I agree that Rick Warren is far over rated in these watered down times, I think Sunquist got a little carried away with some trivial points. Do I think Warren is a compromiser? Absolutely. Do I think he relies far too heavily on psychology? Without a doubt. Do I believe he is a new ager? I don't think I'd go that far, although he's obviously been exposed to it . I believe Warren loves the Lord and wants to do right, I just think he's got his priorities in a wad and he's got some lousy mentors.Although I understand where Sunquist was coming from, he gave the appearance of a conspiracy theorist in his attck of Warren. The book had some interesting points,but I'm not sure I would recommend it. In closing, I'm not really sure I understand how Warren's books got all the recognition they received. They aren't profound, they promote unscriptural methods, and to agree with Sundquist, they use a myriad of translations and para phrases to make a verse say what he wants it to say. What God's people need today is to stop reading all the garbage that's put on the shelves in these ecumenical book stores and get back to studying God's Word .

32 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Based on Incorrect Facts, March 1, 2007

By 

S. Myers (West Kirby, Wirral United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who's Driving the Purpose Driven Church? (Paperback)

This is the first time I've given a book the minimum rating.

I bought this book in the hope that it would help me consider whether the Purpose-Driven Life/Church is more 'secular philosophy influencing church beliefs' than 'the church bringing God's revelation to the world'. However, it quickly became apparent that the basis of this book is fundamentally flawed, as the author gets many basic facts wrong.

The problems can best be illustrated by looking at Appendix A, where the author contrasts 'Psychology' with the Bible. I'll describe the errors as they apply to Jungian psychology, as this is one of the main targets for the author in the book and is something of which I have some knowledge.

Example Errors
--------------

(1) Fear of the Lord
Point 1 of the appendix says psychology "counsels no fear of the Lord at anytime.." with the Bible teaching that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Yet Carl Jung wrote: "It is quite right, therefore, that the fear of God should be considered the beginning of all wisdom... Both are justified, the fear of God as well as the love of God" (Completed Works Volume 11, p419).

(2) Jung and atheism
Point 2 of the appendix says "Most founding fathers were atheists or humanists... including.. Jung" In fact, Carl Jung famously asserted his absolute knowledge of God's existence in a BBC documentary made shortly before he died. The atheist Richard Dawkins described Jung as believing in a "100% probability of God" (The God Delusion, p50).

(3) Body, Mind, Soul, Personality... and Spirit
Point 3 of the Appendix declares that psychology does not acknowledge the spirit in man. Yet Carl Jung's writings are packed with discussion of the spirit. Just in case you think that by 'spirit' he really meant 'mind', Jung wrote: "Spirit, like God... cannot be proved to exist in the external world and cannot be understood rationally" (CW 8, p 329). This clearly distinguishes spirit from mind/body/personality, all of which can be studied scientifically/rationally.

(4) Eternal Hope
Point 4 of the appendix contrasts psychology, as offering no hope for eternity, with the Bible that teaches us about our eternal destiny. But Jung's view was that "eternity..[is] the prerogative of the One God". (CW11, p493).

(5) The Holy Spirit
Point 5 of the appendix declares "Psychology doesn't even believe in the Holy Spirit". In contrast, Jung wrote: "the Paraclete [ie: Holy Spirit] is of the greatest significance" (CW11, p433), and "Since the Holy Ghost is the Third Person of the Trinity and God is present entire in each of the three Persons at any time, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost means nothing less than an approximation of the believer to the status of God's son." (CW11, p413).

The author goes on to make 35 points of comparison between Psychology and Scripture, and in regards Jungian Psychology I take issue with most of them. Please don't misunderstand me: I'm not saying that Jung's views should be taken uncritically by any means, he says many things that are highly controversial. But this book is based on straw man arguments.

The spirit in which it is written
---------------------------------
I felt very uncomfortable with the tone taken in the book towards Rick Warren. His name is used several times on most pages, when making points of criticism, giving it the feel of a sustained, personal attack. He is often placed in double-binds (eg: he is criticised for saying that Willow Creek back his programmes, because it is not the Lord's backing!).

Rick Warren is also labelled early on in the book as a 'heretic', which is a very serious charge. But he is then criticised for statements such as "meditation is focused thinking" and "your personal testimony is more effective than a sermon" and "faithfulness has always been a rare quality".

Are these really matters of fundamental heresy to which 1 Timothy 4 might be relevant? They seem to me to be merely disputable matters that fall into the province of Romans 14.

Conclusion
----------
The Purpose-Driven approach has pervaded the church so much that I think there is a need for a book like this to question and challenge what is happening. Unfortunately, whilst this book may contain fine-sounding argument, it does not contain sound argument, because of the many elementary factual mistakes.

106 of 143 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Researcher's Delight, April 20, 2005

By 

Steven Muse "ERWM" (Albany,NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who's Driving the Purpose Driven Church? (Paperback)

As a researcher I look for an author of a book or article to be able to document facts and present a clear picture of these facts in such a way that helps me to grasp a complete picture of the subject matter. James Sundquist has done this superbly as he reveals only the facts that can easily be proven by taking some time to do some simple research. He gives us a line by line description of the facts; much like expository preaching or teaching of the Bible, line by line. This is an excellent book for someone desiring to find out the real story behind the Purpose Driven Life; it is well written and well documented for any researcher to depend on for accurate information.

I know that Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life is a best seller and many people are thrilled with him but as Christians the Bible tells us that we are to test everything and compare it to the Word of God, even if the teacher is the most popular man on earth. Who's Driving the Purpose Driven Church looks to the root of the tree because if the root is rotten then the fruit will also be rotten and the tree is good for nothing and should be cut down. Where is Rick Warren's teaching coming from, the Bible or is it really being brought to us from the elementary principles of the world, New Age teachings or the philosophies of men? James opens our eyes to reveal Warren's questionable sources and all is not good.

I heartily agree with James assessment on the facts regarding the Purpose Driven Church and I would recommend this book for anyone who has read any of the Purpose Driven books, as a follow up, to see how the Purpose Driven Life stands up to the truth of the Bible, line by line as James Sundquist has done for us. This is one book you should have in your library!