One of the most prevalent problems among churches of Christ is the condition of institutionalism. Most newly planted churches begin with an urgent sense of purpose (what God wants accomplished as revealed in his Word) and vision (how to accomplish the different aspects of the purpose in the local context). This type of start typically results in healthy growth. After a decade or two institutionalism often sets in when members lose a clear and urgent awareness of the church's purpose. The same routine ministry activities are repeated over and over as if they were the purpose rather than a means to accomplish the end (the God-given purpose.) The loss of a clear and urgent purpose produces nongrowing churches doing the same things the same way with little regard for the end results, and often reluctant to make any changes.

No one has done a better job of clarifying, in simple terms, the purpose of the church than Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church (Zondervan, 1995). More importantly, he has shown that leaders can design a ministry strategy that is driven not by traditions but by God's multifaceted purpose for the church revealed in scripture and that God is still giving the increase through effective planting and watering.

Question and Response

Even with all of the above said, I continue to hear more and more church leaders express frustrations with their attempts to implement the PDC model. Thousands of ministers, elders, and deacons have read Warren' book and attended his seminars. And a growing number of congregations are trying to implement the model with its "five circles of commitment" (illustrated by five concentric circles) and "life development process" (illustrated by a baseball diamond). The model appears simple and reproducible. Why then are so many established churches having difficulty implementing the model?

The answer lies in Saddleback's community context and the church's subculture that was cultivated over time by Warren. Both the context and especially the subculture are vastly different from that found in most established congregations. For a church to experience even a fraction of Saddleback's results, it will require similar contextual and subcultural conditions.

While the model appears simple, in reality it is quite complex. In fact, on four separate occasions in his book, Warren strongly advises leaders against trying to duplicate the Saddleback model in an established and/or traditional church (p. 27, 66 - 67, 179 - 80, 248). Rather, he suggest that we learn and apply transferable principles (p. 27):

To understand many of the methods in this book, you need to understand the context in which they were developed. Otherwise you might be tempted to copy things we did without considering the context. Please do not do this! Instead, look beneath the methods to see the transferrable principles on which they are based.

Community Conditions

Subculture is the more important, but context is not unimportant. Churches no longer serve a community immediately surrounding their facilities. Today, with American mobility and a consumer mindset, congregations serve a ministry radius. It extends out from the facilities for about a 20-minute drive in most directions. Consequently, a growing community makes church growth easier, but it doesn't guarantee growth because people have choices.

Saddleback's context begins as a newly planted church located in the most unchurched state and in the fastest growing county in the U.S. (pp. 33 - 34). This context allows Warren to implement his strategy of reaching non-Christians. He even went so far as to discourage membership transfers to Saddleback (p. 9).

This sets the foundation for implementing the model and explains his success in developing a growth-oriented subculture. Long-tenured Christians usually carry a lot of baggage about how things should be done and what should and should not be expected of them. On the other hand, new Christians are excited about their new life in Christ, carry little or no baggage, and are open to change and willing to accept high demands for membership -- the kind of expectations that stimulates spiritual growth and evangelism.

Subculture Conditions

Effective implementation of the PDC model requires a working knowledge of congregational subcultures and core values. The two are closely related, core values are what resides deep in the heart of leaders and active members. And whatever a church is presently doing in church life is a reflection of the existing core values. The church's subculture is simply what one experiences when contact is made with members expressing core values through ministry.

It's important to recognize that a church's subculture is experienced not in what they say is important, but rather in what they do. For example, most churches will say they have a commitment to local evangelism, but in fact it is only an aspirational value. If they are actually reaching the unchurched and the church's data supports the claim, then it is a core value. The combination of real core values expressed in church life produces its subculture (also called a church's personality). 1.

With pliable new Christians, Rick Warren has successfully transferred his own growth-oriented core values into the Saddleback congregation. This is evident from the visible functioning ministries and corresponding results. Remember, to implement the PDC model in a different church would require similar core values to reside in a significant number of members as well as leaders. So it's essential for leaders to understand Warren's core values and how he has exercised leadership for the purpose of instilling them in the church's membership.

It would require numerous pages to explore fully each of Warren's core values revealed in The Purpose Driven Church. Several are outlined here to help leaders choose between two strategies -- a complete PDC model implementation or a discovery and implementation of transferrable principles.

PDC Core Values

1. Ministry design is driven by a clear Biblical purpose (p. 95ff). Warren is correct when he observes that every church is driven by something. It might be traditions, finances, programs, or facilities. In most cases, congregations are not aware of their own core values. At Saddleback, the five purposes of the church are written, communicated, and incorporated in every aspect of church life.

Can your leader and members articulate the purpose of the church? How urgent is your congregation about fulfilling its purpose?

2. Evangelistic outreach to the unchurched is a dominant core value for Saddleback. From the very start every decision made in developing the PDC model places a priority on mission (reaching the lost) rather than maintenance (serving the members). Here are a few examples: the church's location (33 - 34), discourages transfers (p. 39), did not start the church with a core of Christians (p. 138), ministries targer the needs of the unchurched (p. 222), visitor-friendly assemblies (p. 211), and worship designed with the seeker in mind (p. 249).

How many of these values reside in your congregation? And how many are they willing to adopt?

3. A high demand disciple-making process is a core value in order to turn new converts into committed disciples. This value is made tangible by strategies behind the "five circles of commitment" and the "life development process" (pp. 127 - 34). For new members to become a part of the leadership core, they are required to attend specific training classes and sign ministry agreements.

What level of accountability are your members willing to accept?

4. Proactive leadership is exercised through every dimension of church life. Warren accurately understands the pulpit minister's role and the impact of communication (pp. 111 - 18). A church will move in the direction of its most dominant thoughts. Another way to understand this is whatever is regularly communicated in the pulpit by ministers and elders will set the foundation for congregational core values and its direction. Leaders should be regularly communicating and praying with the church about the purpose and goals of the congregation.

The second aspect of proactive leadership is regular meetings with volunteer leaders for training and motivation (p. 143). Warren considers the monthly leader meeting for which he prepares.

How effective are your leaders exercising proactive leadership? Are they willing to learn and apply leadership skills? Are members willing to follow?

5. Ministry is measured and evaluated, and adjustments are made. Warren insists that their purpose and vision statements are put in measurable terms (p. 93, 101, 107). Every ministry is evaluated based on the church's purposes (p. 93). They are even willing to evaluate their assemblies and get visitor feedback (p. 211, 275). This is only possible if churches meticulously keep accurate records and tract statistics (pp. 151 - 52). But most important, they are willing to abandon non-productive ministries (p. 90, 142).

How well is your church tracking data? And how willing are your members to accept changes?

These are only five of nearly a dozen core values revealed in The Purpose Driven Church. None of them is incidental. Rather they are integral for the effective implementation of the PDC model, and many are essential for any approach to growth.

This article is not written to discourage churches from using the PDC model. But I'll leave you with Rick Warren's own wisdom and advice:

"Saddleback's story of growth is a sovereign act of God that cannot be replicated. However we should extract the lessons and principles tat are transferrable" (p. 66).

ENDNOTE

1 For further study on church subcultures, see John Ellas Clear Choices for Churches (Center for Church Growth, 1994), 107 - 18.