DECEIVED ON PURPOSE:
A Review by Roger Overton

By now, most Christians and many non-Christians in America today have both heard of and read The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren. It has remained a top seller across the country, with sales intensified by non-denominational church marketing programs. Both of the churches I’ve been a member of utilized the program, “40 Days of Purpose”, to ignite passion for doing God’s work in the world. But as with most successful things, there has been much criticism of Warren’s “purpose-driven” ministry.

Warren Smith brings several of these criticisms to bear in his book Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church. Since Mr. Smith was once part of the New Age movement, it would seem he is amply qualified to discern when New Age ideas are invading the Christian Church. From his background, Mr. Smith draws heavily on the works of several popular New Age gurus and teachers.

Through the fifteen chapters of the book, Mr. Smith attempts to build a case connecting Rick Warren to these popular New Age advocates, most prominently through his relationship with Robert Schuller. Since Robert Schuller has associated himself with New Age teachers and teachings, and since Rick Warren has been deeply influenced by Robert Schuller, he contends, Rick Warren is teaching New Age spirituality.

Mr. Smith claims, "Rick Warren is not the 'victim' of any 'guilt by association.'" (174) However, the only evidence that Mr. Smith is able to offer is completely circumstantial. He banks on the fact Rick Warren drove from Texas to California in 1979 to attend one of Schuller’s conferences, but there’s no real evidence that what he learned there was New Age spirituality. He aptly notes several times that Robert Schuller is never mentioned in The Purpose-Driven Life. There’s probably a good reason for that; probably he didn’t have much of anything to do with it.

Something Mr. Smith loves to do is take a word or phrase from Rick Warren out of context and claim it comes from New Age thinkers. This method accounts for most of the book. For example, Chapter 7 is all about “What Force Drives Your Life?” He quotes Warren, “What is the driving force of your life?” then goes on to offer similar uses of “driving” and “force” in the New Age writings of Neale Donald Walsch and Maitreya (an anti-Christ). I doubt, however, these were the first men to ever use those words. Mr. Smith completely disregards what Rick Warren is talking about and does make him guilty by association—association of using the same language with no causal connections.

The only really substantive point against Rick Warren [that] Mr. Smith ever makes is on page 75. “The use of overlapping New Age words can create great confusion about what is really being said, and can easily lead to great deception down the line. Specific definitions of words are so very important.” I think Rick Warren could have been more careful in a few specific word uses, however, Mr. Smith should have been more careful to do his research accurately.

Warren Smith is incredibly knowledgeable about New Age teachings. I found his analysis of their material to be similar to my own research in that area. He also makes a convincing case showing Robert Schuller’s involvement with New Age teachings. However, he fails to show how any of that relates at all to Rick Warren. While I’m encouraged that Mr. Smith was saved out of the New Age movement, the way he self-importantly describes his experiences and frequently quotes his previous writings became nauseating. This is a helpful book for understanding the New Age and Robert Schuller, but not Rick Warren. If there is a substantive case against Rick Warren and his “purpose-driven” ministry, it must be found elsewhere.