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 PrintableVersion The purpose driven churchTHE PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH Originally, George Verwer sent me this book to review. I confess to an inward groan - another 'how to do it' book from the US which should be sunk in the Atlantic as it would have no hope of cultural transfer to the British scene. I was wrong. For penance, a sceptical reviewer can do no better than order five copies to pass on to other church leaders and put a three line whip to read it. The book is easily absorbed. The reader is coaxed down a familiar path and persuaded what to do. Much of the advice is logical, reasonable and actually not that innovative. It leaves the reader asking why he didn't see that, think it through and put it into action! For those who claim not to have the time to peruse 400 pages, the publishers have boxed key statements. The reader could hop from one of these to another as though they were a series of stepping stones. However, this would be a shame - the whole book deserves consideration. Dr. Warren is the senior pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church, California. In the opening chapter, Warren tells his reader how he moved to a rapidly developing area in Orange County with a determination to plant a church. The goal was to grow by evangelistic endeavour, not transfers from other churches. His mentor and inspiration was W.J. Criswell of First Baptist Church, Dallas fame. On praying for Warren at the outset, his mentor predicted that the young pastor would found a church twice as big as his. Happily, Dr. Criswell cannot be lined up for stoning with the false prophets; Warren's congregation now numbers 10,000 per Sunday! Five sectionsEach of the book's five sections is crafted to take the reader from one pillar of Warren's church growth philosophy to the next. Thus after giving us the 'Big Picture', he moves to diagnosing growth. This leads into the heart of his teaching and to a 'how to' section. 'Becoming a purpose driven church' is both the heart of his thesis and the heartbeat of the book. He examines different emphases found among America's churches. Warren applauds 'seeker-friendly services' but adds: 'The church should be seeker sensitive but it must not be seeker driven.' This makes his philosophy for growth vary from what is usually churned out by the church growth movement. Warren clings on to the purpose-driven concept with tenacity. Churches that have levelled out or slipped back must engage in restating their objectives. 'Redefine what God wants to do in and through your church family,' and he bluntly asserts that the local church leadership should periodically 'clean house' and 'abandon programmes that have outlived their purpose'. His pragmatism marches in step with Scripture. 'It isn't our job to create the purposes of the church but to discover them.' These are located in the two 'greats' set down by our Lord; the great commandment and the great commission - loving God, loving our neighbour leads into discipling, baptising and teaching. Warren cites his own church's purpose statement: 'To bring people to Jesus and membership in his family, develop them to Christ-like maturity, and equip them for their ministry in the church and life mission in the world in order to magnify God's name.' The third main section is devoted to reaching out to the community. He lampoons the facile approach of some local churches who seem to exist for themselves and take no risks. He quotes no lesser authority than a Peanuts cartoon! Charlie Brown was practising archery in his backyard and instead of aiming at a target, he shot an arrow at his fence, walked over and drew a target around it. When Lucy asked why he was doing it, Charlie remarked: 'This way I never miss!' The point is too sharp to be humorous. Alas, it is not often a discipline of British evangelical churches annually to step back and prioritise goals. In distinguishing objectives, a local church should define what group of people within the community it is trying to reach. No one church - however large - can meet the needs of the whole district. Other churches, sharing the same faith, but with different emphases and ethos should be respected. Naturally, Warren argues that larger churches have a number of advantages. They are not so threatening to the newcomer who may want to be anonymous. Also, they can develop a variety of services aimed at the differing needs of people. The author strongly recommends engaging in a community survey (we have attempted it). It can be an eye-opener and, as a spin-off, has the advantage of relaxing the householder. Warren believes that the ministry of Jesus was need-orientated. He was concerned about what he could do for people - and even asked the question himself. 'I didn't meet a single person who said: 'I don't go to church because I don't believe in God.' Rather, the response was: 'I believe in God, but I don't think the church has anything I need.'' He comments that most of the unchurched aren't atheists: they are misinformed, turned off or too busy. Although his findings would need some modification in the locality with which I am familiar, there is an extraordinary similarity. When, for example, we asked local schools and headteachers what we could as a church do for them - the response was incredible. Different kinds of musicWarren mischievously hammers his point as he deals with music. He asks which average non-churchgoer (90% of the population in the UK) sits down at night and listens to an organ. And when they do sit down, they don't usually opt to sit on a piece of wood akin to a park bench! The author takes us on a brief tour of the history of church music - citing Benjamin Keach (Spurgeon's predecessor), who tried to shift a non-singing church to a singing one - (that was a sort of equivalent to the present charismatic/non-charismatic divide) and did a deal to have one hymn per month at the communion service! The point is sustained. Each era has its own bastion of conservatism and we must not let the unbiblical, unchallenged opinions within the church prevent the message of the church getting out in an intelligible way to those who do not generally go to the church! Warren uses a spread of music at his services from western to rock, and dissents from the view that the seeker-sensitive service should not involve visitors in singing. He also enforces a 'three minute rule' for his membership: 'After the service, members only talk to people they have not previously met.' His chapter on 'preaching to the unchurched' is worth the price of the book - full of good, common sense. How much we preachers need to unlearn in order to make our message intelligible to the non-churchgoer. The most helpful section in Warren's thesis is on mobilising your church. He has two chapters entitled 'Turning attenders into members' and 'Turning members into ministers'. The succinct headings speak for themselves. As his members appreciate the responsibility to minister within the community, he encourages them to sign a covenant. In it, they make a pledge to 'a daily time with God, a weekly tithe to God and to be part of a committed team for God'. The 'team' stands for one of the multitude of ministry groups to which each member should belong. Committees in church life should be reduced to a minimum. (At last someone has dared say it!) 'Committees discuss it but ministries do it.' Doing it is what church is all about. One is grateful to Rick Warren for isolating the need and urging us into activity. If I had the resources, I would place this book in the hands of every British pastor. Tony Sargent,
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