c. 2008 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) Pastor Rick Warren, leader of Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” continues to extend his brand, planting his concept for how people can live out “God’s purpose” across the globe.
Warren recently returned from Africa, where members of his megachurch have been involved in grass-roots efforts related to his “P.E.A.C.E.” plan that promotes reconciliation, equips leaders, assists the poor, cares for the sick and educates the next generation.
Following previous events in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Orlando, Fla., Warren, 54, says he will lead a citywide “40 Days of Purpose” campaign in New York City. He’s currently recovering from a staph infection he contracted while in Africa, but says this fall small groups of Christian New Yorkers will fan out in small groups to paint schools and clean up parks.
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Q: Your staff just completed training for your citywide “40 Days of Purpose” in New York City. Where did this come from?
A: I spoke at a retreat with about 300 pastors in January from New York City and they invited me to do it.
Q: Given that you’ve done this as a national strategy in Uganda and Rwanda, what’s the difference between a “purpose-driven” nation, a “purpose-driven” city and a “purpose-driven” life?
A: It’s just in the scope of how many people are exposed to the concepts.
The idea behind “40 Days of Purpose” is that the pastor teaches on it so you hear it, then you read about it every day, then you discuss it in a small group and then you memorize a Bible verse about it and then you do a project with a group of other people.
By (using those) five ways, we find that people’s spiritual maturity was growing a whole lot faster than if I just taught a series of messages on it. That was the idea of multiple reinforcement.
(Since 2002,) 31,000 churches in America _ 31,000! _ have done “40 Days of Purpose.” That’s one out of every 10 churches in America. Two thousand churches in the Philippines, 1,000 in Australia, about 800 in the United Kingdom. A group of churches said, “Why don’t we do this together as a city?”
Q: It seems like New York City would almost need a superhero to achieve any kind of biblically based plan. Is Gotham more challenging for you than other places?
A: I think it’s more challenging. I think it’s more exciting. I think it’s more strategic. New York is not one city. It’s a nation in itself.
Q: You were not able to be there for a training session because of illness?
A: That’s right. I was just going to do the introductory message. What I had to do was sit in bed and record a 45-minute message videotape, and they played that videotape with all nine sessions. We’re actually kicking it off on Sept. 20.
Q: In the past, some churches have questioned some of the “Purpose-Driven” strategies _ including growth and marketing tools and contemporary worship. Are there still some congregations that embrace the “Purpose-Driven” concept while others dispute it?
A: Absolutely. First place, a lot of the complaints about “40 Days of Purpose” aren’t really about “40 Days of Purpose.” They confuse it with contemporary worship. They confuse it with how to structure your church. Those things actually have nothing to do with “40 Days of Purpose.” “40 Days of Purpose” and Purpose-Driven is about how do I live the five reasons God put me on this planet.
Q: When you were at the White House in December, you vowed that the church is “here to stay” on the issue of HIV/AIDS. But do you think that many church groups are more interested in short-term commitment to Africa rather than something long-term?
A: The entire nation, the entire culture has ADD (attention deficit disorder). Most people don’t commit to anything long term.
The P.E.A.C.E. plan is 100 times more complex than the traditional ways to do mission. I’m willing to go slow at it in order to get the long-term benefits. If you’re going to do long-term, you have to start at the lowest level. You start at the village level, not at the top level.
Q: You’ve gotten invitations from Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Do you have other nations in mind for the same program?
A: We’ve had invitations from Guatemala, from the Philippines and … other countries saying, “Could we be next?” In the last four years, I’ve sent out 7,766 of our members to 68 countries.
Q: And what about the United States? You are at the city level rather than a national one for this current “40 Days of Purpose” campaign. Is it harder to get people involved in your efforts in this country than abroad?
A: Well, no. Rwanda only has 10 million people, so doing a national level in Rwanda is like doing a city level in New York City. We’ve already had 31,000 churches in America. You could say it’s been pretty national.
They mention it on “The Office.” They mention it on Colbert. It’s been on “Wheel of Fortune.”
KRE DS END BANKS850 words
Photos of Rick Warren are available via https://religionnews.com
