BP on Launch of Rick Warren Magazine

CULTURE DIGEST: Rick Warren,
Reader's Digest launch
'Purpose Driven Connection'

By Erin Roach


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., has launched a quarterly magazine called "Purpose Driven Connection," along with a bundle of personal growth tools designed for small group implementation.

Warren, in a news release Jan. 27, noted that the timing of the launch coincides with the collapse of the U.S. economy, a time when Americans may most be searching for true hope.

"The hollow hope of materialism has left us disappointed, empty and worried, and the economic collapse has created a hunger for a deeper spiritual connection to God and to each other," Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life," said.

"We certainly didn't anticipate our national crisis when we began designing these tools, but we can now see how the Purpose Driven Connection is going to provide urgent and essential spiritual support and encouragement for millions of people in the difficult days ahead," he said. "God's timing is always perfect."

The 146-page magazine is being published by The Reader's Digest Association with an annual subscription rate of $29.99. Also included is a DVD of Warren teaching, along with discussion guides, access to a corresponding online social network, daily e-mail devotions and other tools.

The magazines can be found on newsstands, at bookstores and at national retail outlets including Wal-Mart. A group discount rate also is available for subscribers.

Warren said the idea for the magazine stemmed from a year-long series of conversations he held with groups of pastors across the nation. One of the most common requests was for him to develop a Purpose Driven network for "everyone else," in addition to the ongoing Pastors.com network for pastors.

"We've been providing video curriculum to thousands of small groups for seven years, so we've learned the hard way what works and what doesn't; by using the quarterly PDC magazine to deliver small group video teaching and workbooks, we are reinventing and revolutionizing how content is delivered to small groups and Sunday school classes," Warren said.

"Pastors love this idea because it saves them time, energy and money. All they need do is to have each small group or class get a subscription to Purpose Driven Connection and that class is provided an entire year's worth of group video content, delivered directly to the mailboxes of the small group leaders."

In the premier issue of the magazine, available now, Warren kicks off his newest study, "40 Days of Love," based on 1 Corinthians 13. Churches across the country will join a national 40 Days of Love campaign on Valentine's Day weekend.

For more information, visit www.purposedrivennews.com.