Pied Piper of Purpose

Pastor,

You recently asked what was happening with us. I told you of His blessing, but not the rest.

A number of months ago a church, historically stalwart in the faith, we were visiting, suddenly mandated that Sunday classes were to be suspended for approximately forty days. During that time everyone was to participate in the study of a popular “purpose driven” paperback. Rather than gathering together to study the Word, that we might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, our challenge was to affirm a book by a mere man.

A few months ago another church, historically stalwart in the faith, we were visiting, suddenly mandated that Sunday classes were to be suspended for approximately forty days. During that time everyone was to participate in the study of a popular “purpose driven” paperback. Rather than learning together from the Word, That we might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, our challenge was to affirm a book by a mere man and a rather... one at that.

These churches, each having heard the sirens’ call, marched in lockstep with a thousand other churches as the self proclaimed Pied Piper of Purpose lead them to a tranquil oblivion. “Purposefully” doing the “spiritually correct” thing each opted for an unholy aberration of His Word and the inevitable accompaniment: spiritual confusion. They failed to discern between two mutually exclusive ways of “doing church” His Way or man’s. And they are not alone. The pastor of Saddleback, Inc. has convinced multitudes that his “way” is more contemporary, more savvy, more pragmatic, more loving, and of course, more popular than the other Way. The author of “purpose” has persuaded many that he has discovered mysteries that even the Author and Finisher of our faith neglected to reveal. These two churches have apparently forgotten Judges, the book of spiritual confusion that sadly concludes: “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

Tell me pastor, what is your church doing this fall…