At last count, there were about eight of us who hadn't read either one of Warren's two books, The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life. I know it is unlikely that we can all hold out much longer, so don't be ashamed if, even now, you have a copy of PDL in your stack of bathroom reading. I know the pressure is serious. Just do the best you can, and go down with your dignity...In "Forty Days of Purpose," we all buy the same book, and go through the ABCs together. Aside from being a rather sad testimony to the ineptness of the average pastor to convey anything of importance and the worsening ADD condition of the average church member, this is all fine, and I'm sure is helpful to many people. The time spent going over Warren's principles is better than watching reruns of "Everybody Loves Raymond," but it's hardly the arrival of the Great Awakening....
In fact, this is the first time in a while I've heard book sales so openly touted as a way of measuring the work of the Holy Spirit. With a straight face, we are supposed to believe that the sudden, unprecedented interest in Warren's books is a major move of the Holy Spirit, directing all of us to get purpose-driven and Saddlebacked...
Warren's first book was a popularization of the Seeker Sensitive principles that now live, like a virus, in the mind of thousands of formerly sane pastors. The book's success was attributable to a mild word-of-mouth and Warren's success in making the various premises of Willow-Creekism more palatable to established, traditional churches. With his missions and "soul-winning" backgrounds, Warren's PDC was a book you could give to the chairman of deacons to explain why it was really important to offend the senior adults, retire the organist and let the local rock-band play those Skynard licks in morning worship....
Hey that's kinda catchy!