The widely popular Purpose Driven church model is stirring up controversy among congregations in the United States. While the model is adopted worldwide across denominations, arguments over it go back to the age-old debate of Christian tradition versus cultural relevance.
The brainchild of megapastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, the Purpose Driven model is changing the way thousands of churches are worshipping and reaching out in the 21st century. Pastors adopting the change preach a more culturally relevant message, ditching the traditional language of theology."I like to teach theology to people without telling them it's theology and without using theological terms," said Warren on ABC News' Nightline. "Simple does not mean simplistic. Simple does not mean superficial. Simple means it's clear."
Amid some complaints that the popular teaching may be more "self-help" than biblical, Warren acknowledged the difficulty in balancing relevance and biblical teachings. The evangelical pastor, however, is trying to bridge what happened over 2,000 years ago to today.
"When you're preaching and teaching the good news, you walk a very fine line where you're taking the world of the Bible and the world of today, and you're building a bridge between those [worlds]," he explained on Nightline. "Now, it's easy to be biblical if you don't care about being relevant ... And it's easy to be relevant if you don't care about being biblical. I happen to want to be both."
Not everyone is a fan of the Purpose Driven sermons.
First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Florida, debated for weeks in town hall-like meetings over its new senior pastor's use of The Purpose Driven Life and other modern adoptions such as contemporary music and twin movie screens. David Cox, who led the 4,000-member church for less than five months, resigned from his position in January.
But one pastor believes the entire debate is "silly".
"It's kind of silly to me to hear somebody criticising the [Purpose Driven] model," said the Rev Jim Cowart who heads Harvest Church in Warner Robins, Georgia. "It's just a model. It's really what you make it."
"The model is not about theology or denomination," he said. "The essence of it is to live out the Great Commission and the Great Commandment."
Purpose Driven churches are not all the same. Each church follows the same system, but targets different audiences and ministers in their own context, depending on their surrounding community.
