Bookshelf Anomalies #4: The Soul of Ministry & The Purpose Driven Church

• Bookshelf Anomalies #1
• Bookshelf Anomalies #2
• Bookshelf Anomalies #3

Two more books that take different approaches to a similar topic sitting next to one another on my bookshelf:

• The Soul of Ministry by Ray S. Anderson. Anderson is a former pastor who is currently a theologian at Fuller Theological Seminary. He reminds me of a theologically edgier version of Eugene Peterson. In the book Anderson urges church leaders to keep theology in the forefront of their ministry and offers a practical theology for ministry rooted in, among other things, scripture, theological motifs, and the ministry of Jesus.
• The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren, on the other hand, is very “biblically” based but fairly void theologically (as if that is possible… I guess it is). Warren’s book is a step-by-step guide for church leaders to grow their church according to the same methods of Warren, pastor of one of the largest churches in America like defining your purpose, who you will target, designing a worship service, and programs for discipleship. In the book the primary way to grow a church is to tailor your Sunday morning worship service to “seekers.” Believe it or not, I liked particular parts of the book when I read it about 5-6 years ago and still find some things to agree with.

However, the books present two very different approaches to church ministry.