Chapters 5 and 6:

Purpose Driven Preaching and

The Purpose Driven Life

These chapters were fun chapters to write, as they really get to the core about what all this Purpose Driven stuff is all about.  And there are a lot of resources.

In all the edits on this book I missed the missing "l" on the first sentence of chapter 5; top of page 38.

Consider the Thinking/Feeling/Acting trilogy of preaching.  I've been hoping to post further information about this, but simply haven't been able to get to it.  I hope I'm able to soon; just remember that this site is under development, and more will be added and updated on a regular basis.

If you'd like to check out some of the sermon series that we've done at St. Matthew, check out our website and you'll see them there Our Sermon Series for 2004-2005 are available to see where we're headed this year.

On page 45 I mention testimonies for showing how God leads us into ventures beyond our understanding.  Recently we had two college students give testimonies about their transforming mission trips to Romania and Poland, which are available on the streaming audio files on our website for September 12; Rally Day.

On page 48 I mention Robert Fritch, senior pastor at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Jamaica, (Queens), NYC.   Robert's congregation is a very traditional, very multicultural congregation that has used the Purpose Driven structure to transform their ministry.  For those who are committed to tradition and multiculturalism, check out Our Saviour, and email Robert for a this kind of transformation.

In Chapter 6 I we discuss "A Lutheran Reading of The Purpose-Driven Life.  There are so many resources available for that.  Robert Driver-Bishop's site is the best resource available.  Spend some time there and you'll see boatloads of information.  Again, this site is developing over September and October, so check back often!  Bob's site also has links for congregations that have already been through a 40 Days Campaign.

Tim and Kisten Thompson serve Atonement Lutheran Church in New Brighton, Minnesota, which is a vibrant, smaller congregation where they've done great work in working with a multitude of paradigms to bring health and vitality to their congregation.  They also teach at the Purpose Driven Lutherans KAIROS course with me at Luther Seminary each year. 

Tim and Kisten have put together a variety of resources to support Purpose Driven Life, including:

• A Lutheran Companion to the Purpose Driven Life

• The "Tree Image" Newsletter Article

• The "Tree Series" Daily Devotional Readings

• "The Growing Season" Complete Sermon Starter Material

Tania Haber from Westwood Lutheran, St. Louis Park, MN is leading her congregation through the 40 Days Campaign this fall, and has a lot of good information at Westwood's site.  Click on the "50 Days - Purpose" link on the left hand side for a good summary of what they're doing right now.

Additionally, check out the "Up For Discussion" Guide for The Purpose Driven Life that's available at the Augsburg Fortress Store.  It's a reproducible discussion guide that you can use with your congregation, or even with your Church Council if you're considering getting into this kind of material.  It's written from a Lutheran perspective and reads The Purpose Driven Life with the book in one hand and Luther's Catechism in the other.

On page 54 I mention Jay Hilbinger at First Lutheran Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the amazing experience they had during their 40 Days Campaign.  Jay is a major contributor to Robert Driver-Bishop's site, which is referenced at several places on these pages.  Feel free to email Jay, or look at what he's done on either site.

On page 55 I mention Harlen Menk at English Lutheran Church in Ellsworth, Wisconsin.  Harlen is so enthused about the Purpose Driven structure that his entire congregation's ministry has been renewed and restructured with this kind of vision and purpose.  Email Harlen and his enthusiasm just drips off his emails, which is very contagious!  Harlen and I used to sing together in the Red Wing Singers, when I was in Red Wing, and Harlen was across the river in Ellsworth.  Harlen attended my Purpose Driven Lutherans KAIROS seminar a couple years back, which served as a launching pad to attending a seminar at Saddleback.  The Saddleback conference was the important impetus for bringing systemic change to English Lutheran.  If you're interested in hearing from a mid-sized congregation's pastor, email Harlen from his site.

On page 57 I make mention of what we did after our PDL campaign was over.  You can see the emails I sent and the sermons we preached at our Dare To Dream link.  You'll quickly see how important it is to follow up the PDL campaign with a specific way in which people can use their newly discovered purpose.  Again, these are things to chat about on the Networking page if you'd like.

Again, this site is being designed and developed to serve as a resource as you seek to lead on purpose.  If there are other resources that you'd like to see available, email me and I'll see what we can do.