Jump directly to the Content

It's Not About Rick

What the globally connected, purpose driven pastor is learning and unlearning about mission.

"It's not about you." Those are the first four words in a book you may have heard about—The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren. While that sentence alone is a much needed tonic for a culture that's become increasingly me-centered, it also has come to describe the ministry vision of Warren himself.

He readily admits he's had to change his assumptions about doing mission in the world. He no longer promotes his "church in a box" concept. He's learning from his mistakes, because mission is not about him, or even his ideas.

The future of the church, he now suggests, lies in its latent power as a global network. And he's not afraid to lift up that network, even if it means directing influence away from himself. During a recent meeting with 250 international church leaders, Warren told them, "you must increase, and we must decrease, because networks are poly centric."

"We don't want to be the Vatican," Warren insisted. "I ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
What is one common mistake that churches make when searching for a new pastor?
What is one common mistake that churches make when searching for a new pastor?
John Koessler responds in our Ask the Experts discussion.
From the Magazine
I Hated ‘Church People.’ But I Knew I Needed Them.
I Hated ‘Church People.’ But I Knew I Needed Them.
As I attended my second funeral in three weeks, two Christians showed me a kindness I couldn't explain.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close