Purpose Driven

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Purpose Driven is a term coined by Rick Warren to name the philosophy which focuses one structuring life, family, career, and church around five purposes which Warren identifies in scripture as having been given by Jesus Christ: to know and love God (worship), to love others (fellowship), to grow spiritually (discipleship), to serve others with your talents (ministry) and to share the Good News (evangelism).

Contents

[edit] Purpose Driven Statement of Faith

The Purpose Driven statement of faith is as follows:

  • God is bigger and better and closer than we can imagine.
  • The Bible is God’s perfect guidebook for living.
  • Jesus is God showing himself to us.
  • Through his Holy Spirit, God lives in and through us now.
  • Nothing in creation “just happened.” God made it all.
  • Grace is the only way to have a relationship with God.
  • Faith is the only way to grow in our relationship with God.
  • God has allowed evil to provide us with a choice, God can bring good even out of evil events and God promises victory over evil to those who choose him.
  • Heaven and Hell are real places. Death is a beginning, not the end.
  • The church is to serve people like Jesus served people.
  • Jesus is coming again.

[edit] Purpose Driven Life

See main article: The Purpose Driven Life

The Purpose Driven Life is a popular Christian self-help book which leads readers through a 40-day course, presenting Warran's beliefs regarding the scriptural revelation of God's intention for humanity. He outlines the five purposes that he has identified, which are listed above in the introduction of this article.

[edit] Purpose Driven Network and the P.E.A.C.E. Plan

Purpose Driven Network is a network of over 400,000 Christian congregations around the world with churches and synagogues from over 200 denominations, including Protestants, Catholics, and Jewish synagogues. The movement emphasizes intentionally structuring a congregation around the five purposes listed above. It originated at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, under the leadership of Warren, its founding pastor.

The network has grown rapidly since 1985. Its leaders intentionally kept its profile low, preferring to work out of the spotlight, though the success of The Purpose Driven Life published in 2002 appears to herald a change in direction. Today, the focus of the Purpose Driven Network is to empower local congregations to carry out their mission with a strategy Warren calls the global P.E.A.C.E. Plan: Plant churches, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation. Over 4,500 Saddleback members have served in 63 countries testing prototypes of the P.E.A.C.E. Plan.

[edit] Criticism of the Purpose Driven Movement

A variety of controversy has arisen regarding whether the Purpose Driven materials are in accordance with Biblical teaching. Common themes of the criticism attracted by the Purpose Driven Movement and its publications include:

  • Abuse of scripture: Rick Warren appears to "cherry-pick" translations of the Bible in order to support a point he is trying to make, which may not be in keeping with the original intention of the scripture.[1]
  • A focus on the individual: Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life does not give adequate emphasis on what some see as the Church's collective responsibilities, focusing instead on the desires and responsibilities of individual people, presenting the Gospel in a deceptively modern and appealing light.[2]
  • Market-driven mentality: This individualist message seems designed to appeal to non-Christians who may be interested in becoming Christian "Seekers". This Seeker-driven emphasis may be motivated more by church desire for increased congregation size, leading to increased tithe revenue.
  • Brand marketing: Not only does the book appear to be designed to be a best-seller, but a large range of Purpose Driven branded goods are available, many of which appear to have no spiritual value and to exist only to make money from the Purpose Driven brand.[3] [4]
  • Dangerous spiritual practices: Warren advocates prayer methods seen by some as dangerous or occultist.[5]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rick Warren: Three Primary Concerns
  2. ^ The Gospel: A Method or a Message? How the Purpose Driven Life Obscures the Gospel
  3. ^ The Purpose Driven Hostage by Paul Proctor
  4. ^ Exposing the Flaws of a Fad-Driven Church by Phil Johnson
  5. ^ A collection of articles on Rick Warren; see Rick Warren and Contemplative Prayer

[edit] External links

[edit] Bibliography

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