I have read the book, and I am part of a church who uses a staff structure model with only slight variations from the Purpose Driven Church model. I read a great blog entry by Brandon who also linked an entry by Jay on the author Rick Warren. Here is what he had to say.
"I'll admit openly, I never jumped on the Purpose Driven LIfe, 40 Days of Purpose bandwagon. Not that it was a bandwagon, I just happened to think of that word. People would ask all the time, have you read Purpose Driven Life...bla, bla, bla...I would always say yes. I mean I could quote the first sentence of the book, doesnt that count for anything? I knew about Rick Warren. I knew that he wore these killer Hawaiin shirts to church. I do, in all honesty, believe that there was a lot of good that came from 40 days of Purpose, and the book Purpose Driven Life. I have no doubt in my mind about it. I own the book. Maybe I'll read it sometime. Why am I saying all this? I dont really know to be very honest with you. I do know that I was reading Jay's blog and saw a side of Rick Warren that impressed me. I had heard a couple of the things, but I do believe they are worth sharing. Jay had the chance to fly to Washington this past Monday for a diddy with some pastors and Rick Warren. He(Jay) shared some great insight from his day in Washington, and I just wanted to post some things that really made me respect Rick Warren a whole lot more. Rick is not only talking the talk, but he is walking the walk.
"Here is an exerpt from Jay's blog:
On this generosity note, you need to know some things about Rick...
he lives in the same house he has lived in for the last 14 years
he drives an old Ford truck
he doesn't have a second house, an airplane, or a boat
he pays for all of his trips to speak, train, teach, etc.
has not taken a salary from Saddleback in years...and paid back every dime the church paid him from its inception
he and Kay "reverse tithe"...they live off 10% and give away 90%
The strongest statement Rick made all day was at the end of this discussion:"I'd rather die than embarrass Jesus Christ.""God doesn't anoint churches, programs, strategies, and buildings to accomplish His purposes. He anoints people to accomplish His purposes."Rick, Thanks for setting an example and practicing what you preach. Now, if you'll excuse me I need to go find my Purpose Driven Life book.
Nice work Brandon... point taken
Thanks Milo for the post. We should grab some coffee sometime man, I'd love to hang out and chat.
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