I've been listening to the unabridged audio version of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

The first little bit it was refreshing because you could sense he had this wonderful idea to write a book about ditching your ambitions, emptying yourself out, finding your true calling and fulfilling it. Then ditching your ambitions to have a great "calling" (like sensing you're "called" to be a missionary to the Bahamas) and realizing with great reluctance and relief that your calling was simple. Obey. Wow.

Then by about, oh, page 3 the whining started. And I mean WHINING. His voice. His intonation. Oh my goodness. He sounds pathetic. Like a nagging dad harping on a teenager who's not even doing anything all that bad.

I have about one more hour in a nine hour program to listen through, and I can't stand it. As a matter of fact I just scanned through the rest quickly and deleted the file. Thankfully I didn't pay full price, I just used up an Audible.com book credit.

The bumper music is a sap-fest. Think 1970's diamond ring commercials or something. I picture soft-focus shots of a gigantic Bible lit by candles on a lace tablecloth.

Anyway, nice idea. Should have been an essay, not a 40-day program with tie-in merchandise.

"The purpose-driven Church"
"The purpose-driven Marriage"
"The purpose-driven Hockey Team"
"The purpose driven Zucchini Garden"

Anyway, if that was someone's attempt to become the Tony Robbins of christendom, it's off the mark by about 179 degrees.

I didn't find the book particularly deep and didn't offer any original insights. The essence of the book basically works out to be that you are here to serve God and discover his will for you and then go out and try to preach to as many people as possible. If you are not a Christian there is really no secular message or process here for you (you might want to check out the Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama which I did find rather helpful-and it didn't matter whether you were Buddhist or not).

If you're looking for a simple and effective plan for your life, get this book. This book puts it all in perspective in a way that makes perfect sense. There's no fluff, just hard core life principles that will blow you away. I studied this book alone and with a group of other people, and it was totally worth the investment.

I have read a lot of misleading comments about this book. Jesus warned us in Matthew 7:13+14 The New International Translation, when he said,

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it."

There are people saying they are imitators of Christ (Christians) and yet they have no clue as Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23 New Living Translation:

"Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as `Lord,' but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. On judgment day many will tell me, `Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, `I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized. '

This book is not the Bible but it is a very useful for anyone that wants to get closer to Christ but for those who do not want to be close to Christ, you're in my preys.

As a Lutheran, I found this book very "Law" oriented and believe it could be very dangerous to the souls of those unfamiliar with Jesus.. It reminded me of why Martin Luther was so tormented when he discovered Lutheranism and began the Protestant Reformation. (Luther felt he couldn't "live up" to Gods comands, and finally realized he didn't have to because of Jesus perfect life and death).

Don't get me wrong, there are some very useful insights in the book (For instance: the part abouting treating your life here on Earth as a "temporary" spec of time, can really put things in perspective.). Although, where is Jesus in this book? Where is the Gospel? Nobody can live up to what this book "demands" of Christians. Being an Ex-Baptist, I felt this way myself once. I felt constantly being Judged and constantly "inferior" and unable to live up to the "law" of the Bible.

Luckily, I discovered Lutheranism (after being out of Church for 7 years and moving 650 Miles away). As a Lutheran, I obviously lean towards the Gospel side of the Bible and as a believer that the Bible is without error, I must quote and live by: Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.", not by the recommendations of Mr. Warren.

As I said above, there are some usefull things in this book, but the focus should be on Jesus and honoring the "law" out of love for what Jesus has done for us. (Not out of "obligation", for "All Have Sinned and Fall Short of the Glory of God"...Romans 3:23...)

(I hope this helps just one person, thanks for reading my opinion.)

I know literally dozens of people who have recommended this book to me. I own a hardcover copy of it actually. It was a Christmas gift. When I visit friends and relatives, the same book is usually somewhere in their homes, waiting to be found like Where's Waldo. I found the paper copy to be inspiring but not very hard to put down and forget to pick back up again. I thought perhaps the trick would be to get the audio book in order to stick it out during my drive time. Captive audience and all that....

Nope. Didn't work. This is the first audio book that I've failed to complete. When the third CD faded out, I just couldn't force myself to put the fourth one in. Perhaps part of the problem is that the author chose to narrate it himself. Or perhaps it's because the message is akin to someone who states an easily understood maxim, but then continues to elaborate it to death with analogy and anecdotes. I confessed my failure to my friends and relatives and discovered that I am not alone. Although this book sits in almost every home I know, I can't find a single reader, or listener, who had completed the journey.

I wish I could recommend this book, but I can't.

Life? Purpose? Meaning? Profound. Clear. Prescriptive.

The book reads like a series of quotes and hits subject after subject with power and rationale. Warren has built the book to be modular and that makes it a great "chapter-a-day" (or at least "piece-at-a-time") work.

I'll be going through the book a second time next month...there's so much here! I can't recommend this book enough.

this book is so simple minded it is an insult to anyone with a brain. Reading this next to anything by the Dalai Lama is like reading See Spot Run compared to Shakespeare. Warren may appeal to fundamentalist wilfully ignorant Christians.

Spending the first fifteen minutes of my drive to work each morning listening to Rick Warren, starts my day on the right track. I continue to grow and am looking forward to listening to the Purpose Driven Church.

This book was meant to be read/heard one section at a time over a period of 40 days. I both read it and listened to it in conjunction with a study group, and it gave me a lot to think about. Our group consisted of 9 people, representing 5 denominations. None of us agreed with all of it, and we often disagreed with each other. No matter.

The book was written to and for Christians. I can't speak for others, but for us, whether we agree or not, it raises questions worth considering.

Note: Grit your teeth and get through the sappy music and sickeningly sweet voice at the beginning and end of each day's section. They don't last long.