Prophet of Purpose: The Life of Rick Warren (Hardcover)

~ Jeffrey L. Sheler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Arguably the most influential evangelical in America, Warren gets full biographical treatment by Sheler, former religion writer for U.S. News & World Report and author of Is the Bible True? Sheler leaves no rock unturned in Warren's life and uncovers much about what drives the founder and leader of the 22,000-member Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif., who has trained pastors in a network of 10,000 churches in 162 countries. In offering a behind-the-scenes look into the making of a megachurch and its pastor, Sheler paints in rich detail Warren's boyhood and family life—including such personal episodes as a tragic honeymoon and his depression. The author is careful to show diverse opinions about Warren, including those who believe the pastor, initially very green in international relations, allowed himself to be used by interests that oppose U.S. foreign policy. Sheler includes the story of Billy Graham's blessing and his apparently passing the mantle of America's pastor to Warren. For Americans who believe that's an important role, this book is a vital biography to have on the shelf.
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Review

“Jeffery L. Sheler writes a powerful biography of one of the greatest Christian leaders of the century. Anyone who reads Prophet of Purpose: The Life of Rick Warren will be challenged and inspired by the difference one life can make if it’s lived on purpose. Rick Warren’s vision and friendship inspired me to start Woodlands Church on God’ s purposes.” — Kerry Shook, Senior Pastor of Woodlands Church and author of the New York Times best-selling book One Month to Live

“This book is a wonderful gift to all of those folks who know Rick Warren only as one of our most articulate and influential religious leaders. Jeff Sheler shows us a very human husband-father-pastor whose own very personal purpose-driven life is all the better because of doubts and set-backs experienced along the way."— Richard J. Mouw, President of Fuller Theological Seminary

"Jeffery Sheler illuminates the journey Pastor Warren has taken from his childhood in Ukiah to the Saddleback Church. Sheler seamlessly tells the story not just of how Warren built his church and became a bestselling author, but how he became a moral voice on global poverty, HIV/AIDS and global climate change, issues that should call everyone from the faith community to get involved. A compelling read about a man in the middle of so many of the issues of our time." — Senator John F. Kerry

"Prophet of Purpose is essential for anyone who wants to understand America's most prominent pastor and the tectonic shifts on the religious landscape he represents. Sheler's detailed account of Warren's background carries great explanatory power.” — David Neff, Editor-in-chief of Christianity Today

“Engaging and fair-minded … [Prophet of Purpose] allows the reader to appreciate just how remarkable Warren’s rise to prominence really is.” – Alan Wolfe, Director of the Bois... --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Religion (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385523955
• ISBN-13: 978-0385523950
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #413,559 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Reverent Look at the Reverend - Needs More Analysis of Warren's theology, December 11, 2009

By	Marc Axelrod (Potter, Wi USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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I thought this was book was great, very interesting and compelling all the way through. Jeffrey Sheler discusses Warren's parents and his father's call into the ministry. He portrays Rick as a charming child from the get-go, a child who always had a flair for the dramatic and who always had an awareness of the divine.

You will follow Rick into high school and to the time he dedicates his whole life to serving Christ. You will follow him into pulpits across California, and you will marvel at the opposition he gets from his own pastor, who does not think that Rick should be licensed as a minister (the home pastor literally tosses the license at Rick across the pews!).

Rick rushes into engagement and marriage to Kay Lewis, and the book is frank about the discord in his marriage and how he put $1500 on a Mastercard to pay for the counseling that saved his marriage.

You also read about the rare disorder that causes Warren to pass out or get dizzy whenever he has adrenaline rushes. Yet God's grace was sufficient for him through the years he ministered in the pulpit.

You also read of the starting of Saddleback, the rapid rise and growth of the congregation, the struggle to acquire land for his church to build a sanctuary/campus, and the stress associated with all the changes.

Sheler also covers the fabulous success and influence of Warren's books: The Purpose Driven Church and especially The Purpose Driven Life. He also discusses Warren's assuming the mantle of evangelical influence that Billy Graham once had in America.

Sheler also writes of Warren's critics from the left as well as from the right, and those who opposed him praying at President Obama's inauguration.

The book was fabulous, but more needed to be mentioned about Rick's theology and hermeneutics. One of the major criticisms of Warren's sermons and books is how often he takes Scripture verses out of context and how he uses biblical paraphrases that say what he wants the text to say rather than what the text probably says. Rick wrote a valuable resource on Bible study methods, and it is occasionally astonishing to see how he departs from these methods in his own sermons and writings.

More should have said about Warren's understanding of the gospel. John Macarthur and others have noticed that in the one place that the Purpose Drive Life mentions the gospel, nothing is said about repentance, little is said about the shed blood of Jesus Christ to wash away our sins, and very little is said about the significance of Christ's resurrection and ascension. In short, Sheler ignores the considerable consternation that some have about Warren's watering down of the gospel message.

In spite of this, I still thought the book was great, and a biography of this great Christian pastor was long overdue.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview of a tremendous pastor, November 30, 2009

By	T. Garrison (Gresham, Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I enjoyed Sheler's book on Rick Warren especially seeing how Warren's church background and ministry involvement as a teenager were formative in his vocation as a church planter and pastor. Rick Warren and I share the same birth year and we are both pastors and as I read the book I reflected on my own life and ministry during the same time period. I heartily recommend this biography to students of American religious history and those especially interested in the evangelical movement.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative book, November 23, 2009

By	G. Bellofatto (South Hamilton, MA) - See all my reviews

This is a very informative book about the life of Rick Warren. He is an extremely popular, influential, and controversial person not just in the evangelical Christian world, but also in politics, humanitarian work, etc.

Sheler certainly addresses some of the controversies surrounding Warren's initiatives (such as his booked trip to North Korea, the trip to Syria, the inauguration prayer, etc.) I found, however, that this book shied away from the controversy surrounding some other initiatives--especially The Purpose-Driven Life. While Warren is repeatedly described as the leader of American evangelicalism, it doesn't address the fact that many American evangelicals have serious issues with the theology portrayed in The Purpose-Driven Life and his methods of church growth. Nor does the book go any further with the Southern Baptist connection outlined in the beginning of the book.

A bit more detail in some specific areas would have made this book a more even biography. I do recommend this book, however, to anyone interested in seeing the bigger picture of how Rick Warren came to be the prominent figure he is in the world today.