Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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64 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful, Practical, but Weak in Biblical Foundations, October 9, 2001
I find it hard to rate this book accurately. I have read few books that have been more helpful in the realm of practical church life. Warren skillfully presents a blue-print on how to grow a healthy in church in which the five purposes (which are presented Biblically) of worship, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and evangelism are held in balance. The steps to take are practical and clear. Add to that a plethora of helpful common-sense tips to improving logistics in working with both the visitors and members of your church. This book is full of helpful ideas.HOWEVER, the demerit of the book is its rather shallow Biblical basis. I believe that the five purposes Warren presents are biblical. I believe that the concept of moving people from membership to maturity to ministry to missions is biblical and very, very well developed. And I was impressed to see that Warren's church uses a church covenant and practices church discipline. I simply wish he had given a better biblical defense for these things. There are points where it seems like the author is taking Scripture out of context to defend a point - evidenced by his excessive use of paraphrases of Scripture. He should have used a literal translation and stuck to what the text actually says. I also highly disagree with Warren's approach to music. He probably goes a bit overboard on the seeker-sensitive side of things, although I admit many of the things he says are non-moral, non-biblical, common-sense issues. I was helped by reading this book. I have the sense to know that I can't apply everything Warren says in my own church culture and tradition, but there are some things any one can apply. I say, buy this book and read with discernment. As long as you don't make a Bible out of it, you will probably benefit greatly.
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46 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Razor's Edge, February 7, 2004
My recent reading infuriates me. The book is "The Purpose Driven Church" by Rick Warren. At times, my heart breaks as I consider the misleading, misquoting and misrepresentation of Christ and His Word. At other times, I am furious and amazed that a preacher with a doctorate (albeit from Fuller) can handle God's Word so cavalier. How daring to quote Christ out of context! How brazen to emphasize words that aren't even in the text! How bold to pick and choose particular translations to prove your point! All this is from a revered pastor of the largest church in America. I suppose I am at most times simply aghast.But at the same time, other portions of the book are touching and sincere. There is a palpable desire to reach the lost. This is why I believe this current pragmatic church movement - "reach the lost at any cost" coupled with "never criticize what God's is [sic] blessing" - is the razor's edge of Christianity. It is a watershed, but that doesn't make it novel. This episode reminds me of Sir Thomas Moore in A Man for All Seasons who realized that if you concede your beliefs, you lose your being. It reminds as well of Charles Spurgeon's battle with his United Baptists or Francis Shaeffer's battle with his heretofore-conservative Presbyterians. This is our defining moment. Yet at this moment, with the exception of John McArthur, most acquiesce while others remain mute - perhaps confused, perhaps uncertain. To be sure, there is a shrill wing that cries foul when Warren uses any translation but King James with shrieks of "Heretic!" I want nothing to do with them. And it may be too late anyhow. The pragmatic movement has formed deep roots - as textual criticisms and intellectualism did a century ago. The impact has already radiated through Christianity although the full affect on the Church is yet to be calculated. I fear it will be many millions. You may recall a gent named Charles Darwin, a little periodical called The Origin of Species and the ensuing shockwaves delivered and still felt to this day. For the pragmatists, their Darwin is Peter Drucker, expert business evangelist and marketeer. I don't recall the pivotal figure that drank in Origin and transformed Hyde-like into this hideous beast of Christio-modernism. But the hand and draught of pragmatism today is George Barna and Rick Warren. Barna is particularly astonishing. His own surveys reveal "just 38% of the adult public have confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior, [yet] 99% claim they will not go to Hell after they die. In fact, a majority of Americans do not believe that Satan exists and most adults are leery about the existence of Hell." Still, he has promoted a seriously watered down (if not devoid) Gospel that caters to unbeliever's "felt needs". Warren, who's book prompted me, genuinely desires to reach the lost. But he too has turned off the path, also "targeting" the "felt needs" of unbelievers all under the guise of a successful ministry. Would that Warren remember God's admonishment to Joshua: "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8) Would that he imitate Paul: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.... For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Co 1:17,2:2) Warren on one page claims to be drawing a line of which he will not cross - never compromising the Word - and pages later crosses the line and encourages you to come along for the ride. The subtitle of the book is subtly revealing: "Growth without Compromising Your Message & Mission." Notice it is your message and mission that is not compromised, not God's. And your message is left decidedly up to you. Warren's message is intentionally compacted into five "purposes" which he draws from a few passages in Scripture. No biblically based Christian would on the surface disagree with them - they are attractive, satisfying, and ring true. But they are intentionally weakly defined. So it should be no surprise that "hundreds of churches" from "dozens" of denominations have adopted this method and (presumably) purposes. It is easy, inoffensive, and energizing. It is pragmatic in the fullest sense of the word. It is pragmatic and successful. The book has sold over a million copies, his Saddleback church is packed with well over 15,000 "Saddleback Sam's and Samatha's" in attendance each week. He has launched a web site to "encourage pastors, ministers, and church leaders with tools and resources for growing healthy churches." Apparently everything Warren does has a purpose - and pastor.com charges for it. One wonders how honestly Warren wishes to help others when he charges $4 a sermon (and $4 extra for the accompanying PowerPoint slides). Even "Purpose Driven" is now a registered trademark. Pragmatic to the end, eh?
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One Lutheran's perspective, April 18, 2006
Rick Warren, the pastor at Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, California, writes The Purpose-Driven Church in an effort to help other parish pastors. This is essentially a presentation of how Saddleback began, grew, and how it is governed. Through this presentation, Warren hopes the local pastor will be able to glean information helpful for restructuring his own ministry to create healthier, growing, goal-oriented churches. My overall impression is lukewarm. Warren comes across in this book as an incredibly faithful, caring, mission-oriented Christian, yet also displays glaring weaknesses in his doctrinal understanding-he is certainly no brilliant theologian. From these personal strengths and weaknesses stem the strengths and weaknesses apparent in both Saddleback Community Church and The Purpose-Driven Church.
In the realm of practical theology, Warren excells; the reader can glean many useful principles and techniques. These range from simple acts like using high-wattage lightbulbs and minimizing "dead time" in services to a purposeful analysis of how gifted you are at reaching particular demographic groups (young couples, educated African-Americans, etc.). Most helpful for this reader is Warren's continual emphasis that the church structure must be normed and guided by its evangelism-centered mission statement; Warren shows that as his church grew (and changed), the mission continually guided Saddleback's decisions. This reader very much appreciated seeing the principles outlined in Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and Hyrum Smith's "What Matters Most" applied in a mission-oriented church setting.
Not all in The Purpose-Driven Church was helpful, however. As mentioned previously, the strengths and weaknesses of Rick Warren are reflected both in his book and in his congregation, and the most glaring of his weaknesses is his heterodox theology. Unfortunately, much of what Warren advocates and establishes-indeed, Saddleback's mission statement itself-is build upon weak theology. Warren's lack of Biblical understanding is evident in his outrageous statements that the pastoral office is not divinely established, but was invented by Roman Catholics (391) and the statement that the early Church "...didn't have altar calls because...there were not aisles to walk down and no altars to come to!" It is clear that Warren reads his own ideas into Scripture.
Beginning with a particular theory or practice, then purposefully looking for Biblical passages to give this subjective theory objective Scriptural support is a tactic regularly employed by Warren. This is further seen in the fact that he uses seven different Bible translations and paraphrases to present proof-texts and word studies. In doing this, he not only "puts the cart before the horse," but he also confuses Scriptural mandates, practices Scripture forbids, and adiaphorous practices. He often presents an adiaphorous program in existence at Saddleback as "Biblically-based" and goes on to show that Scripture commands this particular practice; by its nature, this implies that differing practices un-Biblical-foolish at best and sinful at worst.
A second area that is problematic for the Lutheran community is Warren's tendency to confuse Law, Gospel, Justification, and Sanctified living. In fact, these concepts are so confused that this reader found himself hard-pressed to unravel Warren's treatment of these in any meaningful way. According to Warren, Church membership and Christian identity is not tied to faith and baptism, but is rather tied to good works-specifically educational classes and written promises to tithe, study the Bible, and engage in acts of service. Warren goes so far as to say that "If you're not having regular fellowship with other believers you should seriously question whether or not you are really walking in the light." It is certainly not helpful for a Lutheran to motivate his parishioners into acts of service by questioning their justification or using guilt-inspiring references to the Law, or deny them membership into the congregation until they promise to engage in particular acts of sanctified living.
Finally, a pastor may find Warren's consumer-driven approach to decision making problematic. While it is proper to give Warren credit for relying heavily on his mission statement, especially in the area of outreach, one can similarly fault him for relying too heavily on popular secular opinion and "meeting perceived needs." Warren tends to rely on popular public opinion to norm his church and not theology enough. But again, Saddleback reflects Warren's personal strengths (social and personal analysis) and weaknesses (theology).
I am hard pressed to make a recommendation either way. Its practical strengths merit a wide readership but its theological weaknesses are shameful. Check out "Twelve Keys to an Effective Church" by Kennon Callahan instead.
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