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
program) then the resultant growth would be something farless than dynamic.Warren’s plans for motivating the people, charting anorganizational structure for ministry and developing amarketing strategy for building a superchurch are much likewhat one would hear in a secular management trainingseminar. In fact, during an intermission this was evenmentioned in a conversation with corporate businessmenwho were also in attendance. The same techniques that areused to build the base of support for a business can also beused to build a ministry’s clientele. What is the key? Onemust provide a product that will meet the real or perceivedneeds of the consuming public. For Saddleback CommunityChurch, that meant they had to determine via a survey theneeds of the Saddleback community at large and thenprovide programs at the church to meet those needs. As aresult of the survey, a composite “Saddleback Sam,” orunsaved church seeker, was defined, and the style andprograms of the church were then redefined to meet hisneeds. Hence, the ministries (support and special interestgroups, recreational fellowships, etc.) and the style andcontent of the “Seeker Service” were aimed at making thetypical “Saddleback Sam” feel comfortable, helped andencouraged.Obviously, some are skeptical of Rick Warren’s novelapproach to church growth, and Warren is certainly aware ofsuch individuals. He employed effective techniques to disarmhis critics by first shooting down a “straw man” representingan exaggerated example of the critic’s position or by usinghumorous one-liners to side-step the criticism before his ownproposition was advanced. For example, he advanced thereplacement of traditional hymns and musicalaccompaniment with contemporary Christian rock songs and106
ackup bands that accentuated the driving beat enjoyed bythe unsaved with the following reasons:First, Warren made it clear that loud, raucous music with adriving beat is the kind of music to which Saddlebackresidents listened, inside and outside of the church:Now, at Saddleback Church, we are unapologeticallycontemporary... I passed out a three-by-five card toeverybody in the church, and I said, “You write down thecall letters of the radio station you listen to.” I wasn’teven asking unbelievers. I was asking the people in thechurch, “What kind of music do you listen to?” When Igot it back, I didn’t have one person who said, “I listen toorgan music.” Not one. I didn’t have a single person whosaid, “I listen to huge choirs on the radio.” Not one. Infact, it was 96-97% adult contemporary, middle-of-theroadpop. It wasn’t heavy metal rock, but it wassomething with a beat like you hear most commercialshave today on television. So, we made a strategicdecision that we are unapologetically a contemporarymusic church. And right after we made that decision andstopped trying to please everybody, Saddleback explodedwith growth. Now, I’ll be honest with you, we are loud.We are really, really loud on a weekend service.... I say,“We’re not gonna turn it down.” Now the reason why isbaby boomers want to feel the music, not just hear it.Now, I can give you two dozen really good churcheswithin driving distance that are my friends, we’re insmall groups together, that don’t have it as loud as us. Gothere. Why should every church have the same music? ...People can find that God loves variety!The bottom line of his philosophy is this: What is popularin the community, whatever style of music currently has theear of “Saddleback Sam,” must be the music of the church.Church leaders can try to mix the contemporary with thetraditional in the same service, or even in separate services,but Warren said doing so would be “like kissing your sister.You could do it, but who’d want to?” His humorousconcluding statement cleverly serves to divert the attention107
- Page 56 and 57: “The church is not called to tran
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- Page 132 and 133: About Way of Life’s eBooksSince J
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- Page 136 and 137: Transformational Power of CCM. V. S
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program) then the resultant growth would be something farless than dynamic.Warren’s plans f<strong>or</strong> motivating the people, charting an<strong>or</strong>ganizational structure f<strong>or</strong> ministry and developing amarketing strategy f<strong>or</strong> building a superchurch are much likewhat one would hear in a secular management trainingseminar. In fact, during an intermission this was evenmentioned in a conversation with c<strong>or</strong>p<strong>or</strong>ate businessmenwho were also in attendance. The same techniques that areused to build the base <strong>of</strong> supp<strong>or</strong>t f<strong>or</strong> a business can also beused to build a ministry’s clientele. What is the key? Onemust provide a product that will meet the real <strong>or</strong> perceivedneeds <strong>of</strong> the consuming public. F<strong>or</strong> Saddleback CommunityChurch, that meant they had to determine via a survey theneeds <strong>of</strong> the Saddleback community at large and thenprovide programs at the church to meet those needs. As aresult <strong>of</strong> the survey, a composite “Saddleback Sam,” <strong>or</strong>unsaved church seeker, was defined, and the style andprograms <strong>of</strong> the church were then redefined to meet hisneeds. Hence, the ministries (supp<strong>or</strong>t and special interestgroups, recreational fellowships, etc.) and the style andcontent <strong>of</strong> the “Seeker Service” were aimed at making thetypical “Saddleback Sam” feel comf<strong>or</strong>table, helped andencouraged.Obviously, some are skeptical <strong>of</strong> Rick Warren’s novelapproach to church growth, and Warren is certainly aware <strong>of</strong>such individuals. He employed effective techniques to disarmhis critics by first shooting down a “straw man” representingan exaggerated example <strong>of</strong> the critic’s position <strong>or</strong> by usinghum<strong>or</strong>ous one-liners to side-step the criticism bef<strong>or</strong>e his ownproposition was advanced. F<strong>or</strong> example, he advanced thereplacement <strong>of</strong> traditional hymns and musicalaccompaniment with contemp<strong>or</strong>ary Christian rock songs and106
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