I have never belonged to a Baptist church, but when I was an "unbeliever" who became open to exploring Christianity, I went to SBC churches first because I wanted to hear a no-holds-barred Christian message and the SBC, rightly or wrongly, has a reputation for delivering this. The animosity many non-Christians have toward the SBC is based on its history of asserting the Bibilical truth even when it's unpopular.
If considerations like this were limited to the choice of a name for a church it would not be a serious matter. However, the Purpose Driven Church approach (I attended a PDC seminar in the 90's, so I have heard the ideas firsthand) is based on building the majority of the church's practice and ministry around the felt needs of unbelievers. I don't believe that this is wise. The whole seeker sensitive approach, a la Willow Creek, (and I know that Warren is not affilitated with Willow Creek) reminds me of Spurgeon's sermon, "Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?"
My own church bases its services around traditional hymns, expository preaching (teaching through a book of the Bible, sometimes line by line) and readings from the Scriptures and the Reformed confessions. In other words, we do absolutely nothing which would currently be defined as "seeker sensitive." Nonetheless, the church is growing steadily. If we continue to grow at our current pace we will be SRO on Sunday mornings in a year or two.
I acknowledge that our growth appears to come from committed Christians who are leaving other churches which they consider too liberal or fad driven, rather than from new converts to Christianity. However, I believe in what we do because people deserve access to churches where there is theological depth and weight, and room to grow beyond initial conversion. In addition, I am skeptical about how many real conversions take place in churches that do not directly confront people with their sin and need for redemption.
Freepers who are interested in serious discussion about this and other issues in the evangelical church might be interested in Modern Reformation magazine.
www.modernreformation.org
Well some of the more fundamentalist types don't like Rick Warren's book but it seems to get the message across enough. A gay friend of mine was reading it and tossed it over his shoulder because it was 'too religious'.
Sounds like a great church. That's a rare combination these days. Our church used to be like that. The preaching is still good, and the confessions are still there, but they have started chipping away at the music.