Book review
Redefining Christianity:
Understanding the Purpose Driven Movement

Full description of book:
Bob DeWaay, Redefining Christianity: Understanding the Purpose Driven Movement (Springfield, MO, USA: 21st Century Press, 2006). ISBN: 0977196437

Review:

In this book, Pastor Bob DeWaay, pastor of Twin Cities Fellowship in Minneapolis, Minnesota, reviews the entire purpose driven paradigm. As a pastor, he reviews it critically with an eye for the health of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. This analysis and critique of the purpose driven paradigm is thus geared towards restoring the true meaning of Christianity and with love for the Bride of Christ, which has been gutted by the Purpose Driven Movement as it redefines our faith into a mongrel syncretistic system.

In this book of his, DeWaay shows through meticulous research the various ways in which Warren has redefines the church's mission and Christianity itself. While retaining most of the terminology, Warren has, like the liberals before him,. redefine the terms use by normal Christians to promote his purpose driven paradigm. In the various chapters, DeWaay shows how Warren has redefines the church (chapter 2), redefines vision (chapter 3), redefines Christian commitment (Chapter 4), redefines the Gospel (chapter 5), redefines God's wisdom (chapter 7), redefines 'church health' (chapter 10), and overall just redefines Christianity itself (conclusion), which is shown in his inclusivist, compromised P.E.A.C.E. plan. DeWaay closes this book of his with an appeal for Warren to repent (which I seriously doubt he will do so). This is then followed up with two appendices; Appendix 1 on the invisible and visible Church, and Appendix 2 being an exposition of the churches of Revelation. It does acknowledge Warren's success at marketing, but since we deny that the Church's mission is to market the Gospel but instead to proclaim the wrath of God against Man and the Gospel of the way of salvation to the world, Warren has failed in his duty as a pastor regardless of his comparative secular success.

I have found this book to be well-researched, doctrinally sound, and very much edifying. Though this book is a refutation of the purpose driven paradigm, DeWaay has through the refutation points us to the correct definition of what the Christianity and the Church is about, albeit by no means exhaustive.