SPIRITUAL focus on books June 28, 2004 Issue

The Purpose–Driven Life—Is it enough?

By Meg Dendler

When a book on how to live a God–centered life hits No. 1 on The New York Times Bestseller List and sells over ten million copies in under two years, I sit up and take notice. And when a girlfriend from high school said that she loved poring over this same book, and newspaper articles discussing reading groups and overwhelming interest in it kept crossing my desk, I had to find out what was behind this fascination with The Purpose– Driven Life.

Rick Warren, the minister behind the "Purpose–Driven" phenomenon, is pastor of Saddleback Church, a Southern Baptist mega–church in Southern California with weekly attendance of more than 15,000. Warren is also the author of The Purpose–Driven Church, which has sold over a million copies in 20 languages and was selected as one of the "100 Christian Books That Changed the 20th Century."

Divided into six sections, The Purpose–Driven Life answers the question What on earth am I here for? by focusing on God's five purposes for each individual's life, saying that: (1) You Were Planned for God's Pleasure; (2) You Were Formed for God's Family; (3)You Were Created to Become Like Christ; (4) You Were Shaped for Serving God; and (5) You Were Made for a Mission.

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