Purpose Driven Gospel by Clint

I recognize that I am probably one of the last confessing Christians on earth who has not read The Purpose Driven Life or The Purpose Driven Church. Especially considering I am a pastor, that is especially terrible. Apparently, Rick Warren has sold over 83 billion copies of each. I’m just joking- I made that number up, but he has sold a lot of copies of both books. I began thumbing through The Purpose Driven Church a week ago. The church I am pastoring is looking at starting small group ministries. In addition to that, we are a relatively new church, and we are looking to define our mission and purpose. The main point that Warren keeps hitting on in defining a church’s purpose is that it needs to be short (a sentence or two), it needs to capture the heart of your ideals, and it needs to be just vague enough that there is room to imagine and innovate. Using these guidelines, a church can define a statement that is motivating and easy to remember.

In studying the Gospel, I see that Jesus is the originator of this tactic of which Warren teaches. When posed with difficult questions, such as “how can I inherit eternal life,” or, “which is the greatest commandment,” Jesus often gives memorable and relatively simple answers. For instance, a brilliant scholar in the law who was also a Pharisee asked Jesus the question, “which is the greatest commandment.” The man who asks was one that debated all aspects of the Old Testament all day long. He knew rules upon rules upon rules. He certainly expected a long monologue from Jesus that was complicated and wordy. However, Jesus responded simply with, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Everyone must have left that encounter with those words ringing in their ears. After all, they only had two commandments to remember. After that, everything would just fall into place. One of the beautiful things about Jesus is that he came to fulfill the law and prophecies of an infinite God, but he made it simple. If we do these two things, we are fulfilling the greatest of God’s command.

We forget this, though, and we make things very complicated. We set off on personal conquests and vendettas. We get sidetracked by new philosophies and trendy teachings. We get enamored with cultural arguments. Of course, there is right and wrong, and we are not to live as the world lives, but what happens when you really focus on those two commands? I think the Spirit leads you in finding purity, seeking righteousness, finding wisdom, and striving after the ultimate prize- following Jesus to eternal life.