Simply put....there is no worldly method to achieving a closer walk with God. It will take time reading God's Word and praying. There is no short-cut to spirituality. The Purpose Driven Life and other similar series attempt to provide a short-cut and may encourage new believers to think that once they have achieved the twelve steps they can cease striving after God. I gave up on this book half way through and threw it away as I felt as if it was a deception. I have since read many concerning things about the author and his links with ecumenism and new-age....I'm not surprised this book was and is a best seller as it provides an easy Christianity and broad is the road that leads to destruction.

I am concerned that some churches are abandoning Bibles for their studies and studying this book instead. Any book that causes people to take their eyes off God and onto a man made method is a danger. Challies expresses my concerns clearly in this post

http://www.challies.com/articles/rick...

I don't recommend this book.

You know what's worse than all those religious types who try to force their beliefs down other people's throats? It's the people who constantly complain about them. The funny thing is that a lot of the time the "radicals" get accused of it simply because they express their beliefs as a statement of themselves, not as conversion propaganda. Lately, if you say "I'm a Christian" then you're automatically trying to forcefully convert anyone within earshot. Granted, I'm mostly basing that on article commentary on CNN.com and a Tool concert I attended around '91 during which I just wanted Maynard to stop whining about the religious and sing.

Anyway, this book is meant for Christians; that much is evident right from the start. I've seen several reviews by people who admittedly aren't, so I'm not sure why they chose to read it then give it a bad review. Then again, maybe that was the point. I can barely call myself one and my skeptical nature makes me a prime target for doubt, but I am still able to see this book for what it is: a common sense, straightforward guide to being a better Christian.

Of course, any theological book whose aim is to make you "better" will cross the lines between fact and opinion. You either agree or you don't, but if you recognize it as opinion then it's easier to put into context. As simple as this book is, I think that if the majority of Christians were to follow the basic premises put forth, there would be a lot less of the lashing out at them that we see today. And, to be fair, it's not as if this book is touting anything exclusive to Christianity. Strip out God and Jesus from its pages, and you still have a good guide to being a better person.

Rick Warren's Spiritual Manifesto
3 December 2011

tI am going to say that this was a good book. I don't necessarily want to attack it, however I do feel that one does need to be somewhat critical of it. However, despite some disagreements I do have with his methods, I still think that this is a quite helpful in explaining why we are here and our purpose in life. Now, as you are probably aware, this is a Christian book, but it is one of those books that has the potential to appeal to and benefit a whole range of people from those exploring the faith to those who have been Christians for many years. The danger that many of us more mature Christians have is that we tend to look down on books like this with the belief that we are too far advanced for this book to have any benefit for us. Personally, that type of thought could not be any more wrong. If God is truly God then he can use many and varied things to help shape us and grow us in his image.

tPersonally, when I first started reading this book I was put off by his first paragraph stating that God had set aside this moment for us to read this book. That may well be true, but I feel that a statement like this places too much emphasis on a book that is not the Bible. I don't think Warren intended this book to replace the Bible, but the further I read through the book the more of an impression that I got that he seemed to be attempting to replace the Bible. Philip Yancy was a bit like that as well when I found a daily devotional that contained sections from his books, but nothing from the Bible.

tWhat I mean is that as you look at this book you will notice that he has taken his basic concept and moulded a whole series of books and materials around it. This, in itself, is not a bad thing, but it becomes a bad thing when it attempts to supplant God's word. Now, I did notice that he quoted a lot of scripture, but at the end, he says that he has been attempting to do what Jesus did, and that is paraphrase the concepts. However, this can lead to the danger of taking the verse or passage out of context. Further, he used many different translations, and sometimes I got the feeling that he chose a specific translation because that translation made the verse fit his point, rather than making sure the point fits the verse.

tI do think that this book has a lot of helpful and challenging aspects to it, and the aspect of being a servant is a prime example. He mentions that everybody wants to lead, and in Christian circles that is no exception. In fact, it is sad that too many Christians want to lead, and very few want to serve. Serving means doing the hard work and getting your hands dirty. That is what God did when he created the world, and that is what Jesus did when he walked the earth. He worked as a carpenter, and when he came of age (30 in those days) he left his parents to go and wander the land preaching, but while he was doing that he would also heal the sick, and at one stage he even washed his disciples feet. It is strange that many will stand in the pulpit and preach about how Jesus humbled himself by washing his disciples' feet, but they themselves would not do the same thing.

tAlso, looking at this passage (John 13) notice how he would not let himself get pushed around. When Peter objected to Jesus washing his feet (a person in leadership should never stoop so low as to perform such an undignified act, that is the job of the slaves) Jesus soundly rebuked him, and when Peter then jumped up and said, 'well, if you are going to wash my feet, you can wash the rest of me also', Jesus once again soundly rebuked him. You notice that Jesus does not let himself get pushed around.

tNow, this is what we have to watch out for as Christians. Being a servant does not mean letting people walk all over you or use you. There are boundaries that need to be drawn, and we need to know when to say to people 'enough!'. I think of those people who crave friendship and companionship, and the Christians who put up barriers so that while it is okay to befriend them at church, they will not let them enter their personal life. When that happens I think of when Jesus said that whatever you do for the least you do it for me, but whenever you ignore their plight, you are also ignoring me.

tWarren is right when he said that we are all different; each one of us is unique. However we must be careful of the other side of the coin that I mentioned above. While some may only allow certain people to have access to certain other parts of their lives, there are others who will abuse their position to lord it over you. While Jesus said that if somebody asks for your cloak, give them your tunic also, he also warned us to be wise to the world and alert of all kinds of dangers. Just because the guy in the pulpit says that that is what the Bible says, it does not necessarily mean that that is what the Bible says. Just because they use one particular version of the English Bible does not mean that that is the only version available. Me, I like the Greek because that is the original language. Granted, not everybody can read Ancient Greek (and I can barely read it, though I do consider it my second best language), but we do have access to a multitude of translations. We also have access to the Bible in audio form (since not all of us are able to read), so we can read it and have God speak to us through the scriptures in many ways.

tAnyway, this has been quite long, and I should finish up this review. In summary, yes this is a good book, and it is a challenging book, but it is not the Bible. It never will be. I would recommend reading this book, and even for those who don't like reading, you can use his 40 day reading guide (though ignore the rubbish about how many of the great people of faith had spiritual epiphanies over 40 days; while that may be true, I would suggest that only a certain few – maybe Rick Warren himself – would have their spiritual epiphany while reading this book). Don't sign the contract he has at the front of the book, rip it out and throw it in the recycling bin. Maybe it is because I have a Law Degree that makes me baulk at contracts. I would visit his church, but if joining it meant signing a contract, no thankyou, and I would probably go and look for another church – there are plenty of them out there.

Reviewed March 31, 2024
Read it for Easter and it was amazing.

Reviewed April 30, 2022
Reminder on my purpose.

Review on April 11, 2021
This is my 6th time re-reading THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE. I try to read this book every year during lent as a reminder of what my purpose in Christ should be, according to Rick Warren there are five purposes to your life:
To love God
To be a part of His family
To become like Him
To Serve Him
To tell others about Him

I love how he reinforces this with scriptures and other materials. I highly recommend this to anyone who is wondering about their purpose here on earth.

Review on May 8, 2020
This is my 5th time re-reading The Purpose Drive Life and I think this time is when it really connected for me. Maybe because I read it out loud, or maybe because while I was re-reading this book I recommitted my life to God, it can be a combination of the two but I was really impacted by this book is a strong way.

In Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I here For? he outlines the five purposes of our life, what we were created by God to do:
To worship Him
To Fellowship with His Family/Church
To grow like Christ in Character
To Serve
To be on mission with God in the world, this Great Commission

I loved that it was broken down in an easy to follow way. I have been listening to Rick Warren for over 5 years, I start my day listening to his Daily Hope podcast so it was great reading this.

If you are wondering about your purpose, if you are searching for reason, if you want to know why you are on earth, I highly recommend reading this book.


Review on April 24th, 2019
This is my fourth time reading this book. I generally read this book during Easter because of the 40 chapters and 40 days during Lent. It is a great reminder on how to find purpose in life. How to make your life not about you and create some form of impact.

Review on March 30th 2018
This is my third time reading this book. I usually read this book at the start of the year or at the start of lent. I think reading a book one chapter a day for forty days requires not only dedication but it forces you to be in the Word of God.

Everyone wants to know their purpose- why am I here on earth? What is my purpose? These are questions that plague me sometimes when I feel so purposeless. I love how easy this book is to read, how we are given various call to actions and questions to ponder on.

You get from this book what you take. Rick Warren doesn't promise you purpose after this book, you need to really work and seek it.

A great read- one of my favorites.

A friend gave me this book when I was going through a difficult time in my life and it was more than a great gift. I felt the book was very eye-opening without being overly religious. You can be a Christian and follow what the book is saying and get a very deep meaning out of it if you allow yourself to. I read it at the right time and was very open to what it had to say and therefore feel that it changed me. I still think back to that time being one of the catalysts for where I am at today and the book is a large part of that. I think we all struggle at some point of wanting to know why we are here so it's a common dilemna when nothing seems to be going right in your life to want to ask GOD. This book seems to be full of the questions you would ask and gives the answers that come from the Bible. It did get me through a rough time and very much has become the basis of my core today. I feel that I have found my purpose in life and no longer struggle with that inner pain of "what am I doing here?"

3.75 Stars

In a way, I'm lying by saying I "finished reading" this. Truthfully, I was enjoying this novel and it's meaningful messages. However, silly me set it down God knows where (I mean this literally because I have no idea where it is) and it's been over a week of looking and I still can't find it. So I thought I'd write a review of how it was going up until I went and freakin' lost the book. Yay me.

Anyways, my mom recommended this book to me when I was feeling kind of down. She said it helped her during a tough time she'd gone through years back and I figured I'd give it a go. Now, I enjoyed it immensely in the beginning, because as a devoted Catholic I don't mind religious messages and such, and this novel pretty much revolves around religion. So if that isn't your thing - this probably isn't a book for you. Sorry!

Unfortunately, around chapter 7 (I think?) things started to get a little slow. Whether it was the actual book or just me getting bored, I'm not sure. And I guess I'll never know until I find the book and finish it properly.

Overall, it was a nice "pick me up" type of book. Very centered around you and how to better yourself. I also enjoyed Warren's writing. For this sort of novel, it fit quite well and flowed in a calm manner.

Now, I just have to keep looking until I find it!

This had more of a preaching feel than I anticipated. I expected spiritual, felt more religious which makes it less accessible for me.

"The way you think determines the way you feel. The way you feel influences the way you act." This was the unforgettable lesson I learned in the book. Sadly, for a reason I don't want to remember, I have DNF'd it.

A useful 40 day guide to seeking God for your purpose. Deep reflection. Very encouraging. The days on God’s heart for humanity (to be loved) were tear-jerkers.

A quick read (for me), but was not what I expected: lacking originality and deep insight, yet with some pointers to take home though. Not a book I will reread.

when i thought my LIFE has no perfect meaning... that i was going on with boring days of 24/7 !! " PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE " came into my LIFE with a KICK of knowing what is GOD'S purpose in my LIFE !! i came to know that iam not a mistake but of GOD'S CHOOSEN ONE !! HE choose me from the FAREST CORNER of this world & appointed me to BEAR FRUITS.. FRUITS that will ENDURES FOREVER & EVER... AS YOU KNOW FOREVER IS A LONG TERM OF TIME !!
i would prefer you "ALL" to read "this" book to get recharged !!
PRESS ON & ON..
FOR JESUS !!
GOD BLESS U ABDUNTENTLY !!

I felt this was a wonderfully thought provoking book. I was surprised at the negative reviews posted below. I agree that you need more than 40 days, but I took this as a start for many to get real with how they are spending their time and are we serving where God is calling us. I have facilitated many Bible studies where we spend indepth time in scripture. We felt this was a welcome addition to our other studies and I plan to continue working on my Purpose. I would recommend to any who want to dig within themselves.