Rick Warren. The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Zondervan, 2002.
This could be a dangerous book. Getting people to think about the purpose of their lives is a dangerous business. Of course, some would say that just getting people to think is dangerous. Thinking often produces ideas, motivation, and conviction. Those things may be acted upon. Dangerous stuff.
One of my churches fairly well insisted that we use this book as a group study. Not only that, but that we advertise the study and invite the community in to study with us, especially since none of the local Baptist churches had done it as a church-wide study. We did, and found some of our local Baptist neighbors as loyal in attendance as our most loyal Methodist members. The book has a built-in following.
But the study came with a personal warning. I was warned that the pastor of a large metropolitan UM church in the area, one with a large local TV presence, had not only forbidden the teaching of this book in his church, but had taken great pains to boast that he was calling every UM pastor whose church was studying it to inform them that the teaching within this book was contrary to Methodist doctrine. My answer was that this did not appear to be a very Methodist attitude, or at least a very Wesleyan way of handling it. We would examine it, use it as a discussion point, and see with what we agreed and disagreed. You know, wheat and chaff approach -- Wesley's method of using others' books (along with plagiarism).
It took us a year to get through the study. There were some things with which we disagreed. To me, Pastor Warren's ideas often bordered on the idea of fate, once and always determined and unchangeable. Mostly however, the book is a call to belief and action, especially action manifested as service toward others. Dangerous stuff, indeed, but nothing harmful. Quite the opposite.
Personally, I think the book is rather like someone described Bruce Wilkinson's The Prayer of Jabez: the books says a lot more, and better, than the prayer. I believe those who are wondering why they are alive will find in this book a signpost pointing toward the way. God will sort out the rest.
3/23/05