Skip to content ↓

Purpose Driven Blog

Articles Collection cover image

I have started reading The Purpose Driven Life several times. So far I have not managed to finish it. I got to thinking that perhaps if I blogged my way through the 40 days of the book I could find motivation to keep reading it. So starting tomorrow I will attempt to blog my way through the book.

I have some preconceptions that it is only fair I lay down from the beginning.

  1. I have read The Purpose Driven Church. I also attend a purpose driven church loosely modelled on Warren’s model (we like to think we have adopted only the best parts of the model) and thus am quite familiar with many of the purpose driven principles.
  2. I am a bit nervous about Rick Warren. Though my fears are, thus far unfounded, I find it hard to believe that a book that sells as well as The Purpose Driven Life can contain Orthodox, Christian content. That may be pessimistic, but memories of the Prayer of Jabez are still fresh in my mind. It probably does not help that the back cover features Bruce Wilkinson’s praise for the book.
  3. I know that Warren uses every conceivable Bible translation and paraphrase in this book. I find it exceedingly difficult to work that way so will be cross-referencing every Bible verse with my trusty NASB (or possibly my equally trust NKJV). I may even pull my NIV off the shelf every now and then!
  4. I do not know what audience Warren is trying to reach. I am guessing that his audience is Christians, but for all I know he may be trying to reach unbelievers.

There we have it. Hopefully the next 40 days will prove interesting as I dive into the book. I intend follow through the course and learn what Warren (and hopefully God) would like to teach me. But to be fair I am going to read critically (as I always attempt to do) and will examine the book from a Reformed perspective.

To facilitate this series, I have created a new category specifically to contain my Purpose Driven Life blog entries.


  • The Collected Best Christian Books of 2024

    The Collected Best Christian Books of 2024

    I probably don’t need to tell you how much I love books in general, and Christian books in particular. One of my favorite times to be a reader is in mid-December when people begin to share their picks for the top books of the year. I usually collect a good number of these lists and…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (December 27)

    A La Carte: Bespoke spirituality / Top 10 YouTubes of 2024 / John Piper on using and overusing commentaries / 12 practical ways to evangelize / You’ll never really settle in / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (December 26)

    A La Carte: The thief’s good works / It’s a wonderful strife / The forgotten qualification / How to spend your time during the final days of the year / A new poem / Lessons for church planters/ and more.

  • Merry Christmas

    Merry Christmas, My Friends

    Merry Christmas, my friends. I trust you are enjoying this day, whether with friends or family or in solitude. As for us, we are having a quiet morning with just the three of us. Abby, Nate, and Finn will come by later in the day as will Aileen’s parents so we can celebrate and enjoy…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (December 24)

    A La Carte: Holiday blues / Biblical justice requires strong rules of evidence / Christmas used to be perfect (then I grew up) / Praise God for boring days / What did Mary know? / In awe of the aged / and more.

  • No Matter How You Plan To Read The Bible In 2025 We Can Help

    This week the blog is sponsored by Into the Word and is written by Pastor Paul Carter. No matter how you plan to read the Bible in 2025, Into the Word wants to help! Into the Word began in 2017 with a simple mission: to help people read, love and live the whole counsel of…