The Purpose Driven Life

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The Purpose Driven Life (2002) is a devotional book written by Christian author Rick Warren and published by Zondervan. The book has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for advice books for 174 weeks (as of May 2006). The book offers readers a 40-day personal spiritual journey, and presents what Warren says are God's five purposes for human life on Earth.^[1]

Since September 2002, over 30,000 congregations, corporations, and sports teams across the United States have participated in a "40 Days of Purpose" emphasis. A May 2005 survey of American pastors and ministers conducted by George Barna asked Christian leaders to identify what books were the most influential on their lives and ministries. The Purpose Driven Life was the most frequent response. The Purpose Driven Church, Warren's previous book, was the second most frequent response.^[2] The book has sold over 24 million copies (as of October 2006).^[3]

After hostage Ashley Smith read Chapter 32 to her captor Brian Nichols (who shot four people in Atlanta on March 11, 2005), the book hit number one on several religion and advice best-seller lists - including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Publishers Weekly. Smith admitted in her memoirs that she had also pacified her captor with crystal methamphetamine.^[4] Smith says Nichols had her bound on her bed with masking tape and an extension cord. She says he asked for marijuana, but she did not have any, and she dug into her illegal stash of crystal meth instead. Smith says in her book that as the night wore on — after Nichols had snorted some of Smith’s meth — she tried to win Nichols’ trust by talking about her faith in God and relating to him her personal stories.

Content

The book is intended to be read as a daily inspiration, with each of the forty short chapters read on consecutive days. Each chapter contains a personal application section at the end with a "point to ponder," a verse to remember, and a question to consider over the course of that day. Rick Warren described his book as an "anti-self-help book." The first sentence of the book reads, "It's not about you,"^[5] and the remainder of the chapter goes on to explain how the quest for personal fulfillment, satisfaction, and meaning can only be found in understanding and doing what God placed you on Earth to do.^[6] The book's 40 chapters are divided into six major sections, with the following titles:^[7]

• What on Earth Am I Here For?
• Purpose #1: You Were Planned for God's Pleasure (Worship)
• Purpose #2: You Were Formed for God's Family (Fellowship)
• Purpose #3: You Were Created to Become Like Christ (Discipleship)
• Purpose #4: You Were Shaped for Serving God (Ministry)
• Purpose #5: You Were Made for a Mission (Mission)

Each of these is meant to build on the previous - that is, Warren wants the reader to see that each purpose is sequential and foundational for the next step.

Criticisms

Another common complaint is that Warren fails to present the evangelical Christian gospel accurately--failing to accurately represent the nature of sin, repentance and hell and the blood sacrifice of God's son Jesus as the means to be forgiven by God for sins and allow man to have a relationship with God.^[8] Some critics accuse him of absolving his readers of moral responsibility by making Satan into an all-pervasive godlike figure contrary to both orthodox theology and psychological soundness,^[9] while others contend that when citing Scripture, Warren jumps from one Bible version to another, cherry-picking whichever paraphrase or translation supports whatever point he attempts to convey.^[10] However, this common practice is defended by some and is not the issue many make it out to be. ^[11] Yet another common complaint pertains to Warren's statement that "Whenever God wanted to prepare someone for his purposes, he took forty days"^[12]--a claim which critics affirm to be both overly broad and contradicted by Scripture.^[13]

• We were planned for God’s pleasure, so your first purpose is to offer real worship.
  
• We were formed for God’s family, so your second purpose is to enjoy real fellowship.
  
• We were created to become like Christ, so your third purpose is to learn real discipleship.
  
• We were shaped for serving God, so your fourth purpose is to practice real ministry.
  
• We were made for a mission, so your fifth purpose is to live out real evangelism.

This long-anticipated book is the life-message of Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church. Written in a captivating devotional style, the book is divided into 40 short chapters that can be read as a daily devotional, studied by small groups, and used by churches participating in the nationwide 40 Days of Purpose campaigns.