Posted on 10/17/2003 3:39:51 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
TAMPA - It's been on Mary Norris Vincent's mind for quite some time.
``What is the purpose of my life?'' she wonders. ``I'm like a lot of people. We try this, we try that, and we're still not happy.''
The 65-year-old Sun City Center grandmother figures it's never too late to seek the answer to that timeless question.
So last weekend, she joined tens of thousands of Americans beginning a 40-day program of group discussion, worship, study and service to find her purpose and put it to work. Nationwide, members of some 5,000 churches - including nearly 40 in this area - have signed with the program.
The campaign is based on ``The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?'' (Zondervan, $19.99), the hot- selling Christian book by Rick Warren, a fourth-generation evangelical pastor from California who preaches in Hawaiian shirts and deck shoes, no socks. Sales haven't slowed since the book's release a year ago: It's No. 3 on the New York Times Best-Seller Hardcover Advice list, with more than 7 million copies sold. In July, Christian booksellers named it their book of the year.
``There's no doubt this book is changing lives,'' says Vincent, a member of Sun City Center United Methodist Church. ``I'm looking for it to help me change mine.''
The book espouses a Bible- based plan that's been embraced by members of the Oakland Raiders, NASCAR drivers and employees, Coca Cola executives, female professional golfers, Hollywood producers, President Bush and first lady Laura Bush. By year's end, more than 2 million people will have participated in the 40 Days of Purpose campaign, a figure that thrills Warren.
Not because it brings him fame, he says. Warren says he and his wife of 28 years, Kay, haven't cashed in on their newfound celebrity - no bigger house or vacation home. He still drives a Ford.
``I'm just a delivery boy for the message,'' Warren, 49, says in a phone interview from Lake Forest, Calif. ``I'm fulfilling my own life's purpose, which is to win one more soul for Christ.''
It's not that Warren isn't used to small missions exploding into larger-than-life experiences. He began his Saddleback Church 23 years ago with just two people in his living room. Now, the megachurch lists 15,000 baptized members and 72,000 visitors in its database. That growth prompted him to write his first book, ``The Purpose-Driven Church,'' another bestseller that was named one of the ``100 Christian Books That Changed the 20th Century.''
When ``Purpose-Driven Life'' sales escalated, Warren added up all salary he had earned as Saddleback's pastor and returned it. And he won't take any royalties from books purchased directly by churches.
Spreading The Word
``The Purpose-Driven Life'' is unabashedly Christian, touting ``five eternal purposes'' for life. They include worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism. Two of the book's most emphasized messages are in the first chapter: ``It's not about you,'' and ``You are here for God.''
Readers are encouraged to read a chapter a day for 40 days, then put the practicum to work in their lives. Some critics call it fast-food Christianity - a quick-fix approach for broken or lost spirits.
Darrell Fasching, a professor of religious studies at the University of South Florida, hasn't read the book, but isn't surprised by its success.
``I can see how this appeals to American cultural sensibilities,'' he says. ``When it comes to being transformed, we've got this pragmatic, technological bent. Provide a plan, show us how it works and give us something to do. And help us do it efficiently and fast.''
The 40-day program includes weekly meetings in small group settings of about 8 to 12 people. At Crosstown Community Church in Tampa, some 150 groups got under way this week. Tim Gregory, 48, signed on as a facilitator, inviting neighbors into his home to participate.
``My wife and I read the book together, and we loved it,'' says Gregory, a retired firefighter and stay-at-home dad to four young children. ``It was a great devotional time for the two of us. But we realized this wasn't for private consumption. This is for public display.''
So, the Gregorys followed one of the book's directives and became evangelists, opening their doors to residents down their block.
He wants to see more men consider the question.
``It's easy for us to get distracted when the Bucs are winning,'' Gregory says. ``We don't want to talk about purpose. We just want to talk about the next game.''
Going Global
Dave Speicher, an associate pastor at Crosstown and a group leader, discounts the notion that followers of ``40 Days'' just want easy solutions. They come together to ask the universal question, ``Why am I here?'' but they have do to their own soul-searching to find the answers. Once they do, Speicher says, ``the real work begins.''
``Then you have to spend the rest of your days really learning how to do it right,'' he says. ``I look at this book as an eye-opener, not a fix-all.''
Adult education teacher Marie Perrella, 53, also a Crosstown member, believes the book's popularity stems from Americans' devotion to material consumption.
``In the middle of it all, people still don't feel fulfilled. They've got their priorities all mixed up,'' she says. ``Just the title of the book is compelling. People are coming to terms that they want purpose, not just stuff.''
Every day, Warren says he's bombarded with e-mail, letters and voice-mail testimonies from people who say they've discovered their purpose. By year's end, the book will be printed in 20 languages, taking the message to a worldwide audience. From the beginning, it's been his goal to go global.
Warren says he constantly reminds himself this is God's doing, not his, with the saying ``Always being in the spotlight blinds you.'' Even being named ``America's most influential pastor'' by Christianity Today last year hasn't fazed him. In his own words, he prefers being the ``stealth evangelist'' in the shadows.
``If God gives you influence, you shouldn't use it for your own benefit,'' he says. ``Use it to benefit others. Remember, it's not about you.''
Reporter Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613.
For information on how to find a Bay area church participating in the 40-day program, go to TBO.com Links We Mentioned and click on Church Finder.
Michelle Bearden visits one of the programs on her ``Keeping the Faith'' segment tonight at 5:30 on WFLA, News Channel 8.
Hmmmmm.... :^)
To provide for the stay at home, ex-government, stay at home father of four. We keep digging deeper and deeper. We are doomed!
‘I am among you as one who serves’ (Luke 22:27)
"Albert Schweitzer was a man with a strong intellect, and great musical gifts. One day, he was reflecting on his fortunate life in Europe. He thought of his considerable mental facility, his many privileges in education and the arts. He asked himself: "Why do I have so much, while others do not?" he could only think of one answer: "I have been given these gifts in order to serve my fellow man." Then and there he vowed and ideal of service. Service became the law of his life. He went to Africa as a missionary doctor."
"Here is how he describes one moment in his years of service: "The operation is finished in the dimly lighted dormitory. I watch for the sick man to wake. Scarcely has he recovered consciousness, when he stares about him and exclaims again, and again, 'I have no more pain; there is no more pain.' His hand feels for mine, and will not let it go. Then I begin to tell him, and others there, that it is the Lord Jesus that has told the doctor to come here."
"The African sun is ... shining --- through the coffee bushes into the dark shed."
"But we, black and white, sit side by side, and feel that we know by experience, the meaning of the words, 'you are all brethren.' Would that my generous friends in Europe would come out here with me and live through one such hour."
Can be? I'd say you'd have to be. The "Thou shalt not steal" bit kind of rules out being a socialist.
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