Purpose Driven or Scripture Driven? - Way of Life Literature
Purpose Driven or Scripture Driven? - Way of Life Literature Purpose Driven or Scripture Driven? - Way of Life Literature
Saddleback model? From our understanding of the planwhich was clearly spelled out at the seminar, the followingmust occur in order to transform a traditionally-styled churchof any size into one that can boast dramatic growth:• A contemporary-styled “Seeker Service” aimed atdrawing in the unsaved and the unchurched from thecommunity must replace the traditional Sunday worshipservice. To do this successfully, the church service must benon-threatening, familiar and comfortable to the“seeker” (the unsaved visitor).• The dress must be casual. The typical “SaddlebackSam” (a researched composite of the unchurched yuppiecommonly found in Saddleback Church’s surroundingcommunity) dresses up for work all week, and he wants to“dress down” on the weekends. (As we shall seethroughout this article, Saddleback Sam’s likes and dislikesare what determine the style of the church service.)Attendees and church staff alike shun any ties, suits anddresses. Warren, dressed in a casual shirt, khakis andloafers told his seminar audience, “Get comfortable. This isas dressed up as I get in this church. My idea of winter is Iput on socks, and obviously I don’t think it’s winter yet.”• The music must be contemporary. Not only must thelyrics of the music be more recent, but the style of musicshould be that which the unsaved hears on a daily basis.The entertainment composite of the Saddleback soundsystem, band, singers and presentation would rival that ofany secular rock concert. Warren stated that one of the firstthings a church should do is “replace the organ with aband.” But he went on to say that if a band was not100
feasible, then at least a church could purchase a keyboardthat will incorporate midi disks in order to give the soundof a band. Furthermore, the purpose of the church choirshould be “backing up the soloist. That’s the 90’s way touse a choir rather than just having them sing.”• The message must be only positive. We consider this tobe the most flagrant flaw. Yes, the saved and unsaved alikecan feel better about themselves after a message that oftenmixes psychology and an uplifting Scripture text. Suchtopics as dealing with guilt, self-esteem, interpersonalrelationships, mood enhancement or motivation for successwill encourage the worldly, weary individual. But what isGod’s command to the faithful undershepherd of the flock?Far, far different.• The ministries of the church must be geared to meetingthe needs and special interests of the thousands who attend.Support groups for depression, eating disorders, infertility,family and friends of homosexuals, post abortion, andseparated men and women were abundant. Many ministrieswere intended to bring together ones with similar businessor professional interests, common recreational interests andso on. We could not find one single ministry listed inSaddleback Community Church’s bulletin that involved thetaking the Gospel message out to the lost in thecommunity. In fact, Warren scoffed at the idea of passingout tracts or going door-to-door since “Saddleback Sam” isoffended by such old-fashioned, out-moded forms ofevangelism.• Doctrinal instruction is not given to the church as a wholeon the Lord’s Day. Despite the fact that the early churchclearly sets forth the example that doctrine is to be taught101
- Page 50 and 51: wicked than same-sex relations? Whe
- Page 52 and 53: how sick and blasphemous this thing
- Page 54 and 55: Warren’s P.E.A.C.E. PlanSpeaking
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- Page 58 and 59: Roger Oakland rightly observes:“W
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- Page 68 and 69: clamour for a confederacy which wou
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- Page 80 and 81: “Through visualization and dreami
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- Page 94 and 95: Warren Doesn’t Mention JesusIn Ju
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- Page 98 and 99: An Analysis of the “Purpose Drive
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- Page 116 and 117: that the local New Testament church
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- Page 122 and 123: Paul had no target group! All neede
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- Page 126 and 127: ingeth forth good fruit; but a corr
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- Page 132 and 133: About Way of Life’s eBooksSince J
- Page 134 and 135: ecumenical; it is charismatic; it i
- Page 136 and 137: Transformational Power of CCM. V. S
- Page 138 and 139: variety of situations, including ho
- Page 140: “The encyclopedia is excellent. T
Saddleback model? From our understanding <strong>of</strong> the planwhich was clearly spelled out at the seminar, the followingmust occur in <strong>or</strong>der to transf<strong>or</strong>m a traditionally-styled church<strong>of</strong> any size into one that can boast dramatic growth:• A contemp<strong>or</strong>ary-styled “Seeker Service” aimed atdrawing in the unsaved and the unchurched from thecommunity must replace the traditional Sunday w<strong>or</strong>shipservice. To do this successfully, the church service must benon-threatening, familiar and comf<strong>or</strong>table to the“seeker” (the unsaved visit<strong>or</strong>).• The dress must be casual. The typical “SaddlebackSam” (a researched composite <strong>of</strong> the unchurched yuppiecommonly found in Saddleback Church’s surroundingcommunity) dresses up f<strong>or</strong> w<strong>or</strong>k all week, and he wants to“dress down” on the weekends. (As we shall seethroughout this article, Saddleback Sam’s likes and dislikesare what determine the style <strong>of</strong> the church service.)Attendees and church staff alike shun any ties, suits anddresses. Warren, dressed in a casual shirt, khakis andloafers told his seminar audience, “Get comf<strong>or</strong>table. This isas dressed up as I get in this church. My idea <strong>of</strong> winter is Iput on socks, and obviously I don’t think it’s winter yet.”• The music must be contemp<strong>or</strong>ary. Not only must thelyrics <strong>of</strong> the music be m<strong>or</strong>e recent, but the style <strong>of</strong> musicshould be that which the unsaved hears on a daily basis.The entertainment composite <strong>of</strong> the Saddleback soundsystem, band, singers and presentation would rival that <strong>of</strong>any secular rock concert. Warren stated that one <strong>of</strong> the firstthings a church should do is “replace the <strong>or</strong>gan with aband.” But he went on to say that if a band was not100
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