Saddleback Takes Over Purpose-Driven Amid Huge Cutbacks
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Wed, November 22, 2006
- Viewed 85
- (65) comments so far
A few years ago, during the height of the Purpose Driven national campaigns, I had the opportunity for an appointment at the PD offices (which were on the third floor (I think) of the Saddleback office building. I was amazed by how huge the organization and overhead was. There were about 160 employees on that floor… cubicle upon cubicle (I think there were cubicles in some of the cubicles). They were hiring 30 more people the month I was there. It was a madhouse… so much so that I got the feel that internally it was just growing too fast; without anyone really knowing who was doing what.
Anyway, I left that day thinking one thought: How in the world is this type of thing sustainable? When the Purpose Driven Life program subsided (as everyone knew it one day would) what would be the next thing that would keep all these people employed? 40 Days of Community didn’t seem to have the punch that 40 days of purpose did.
A little more from the CTI article:
“Purpose Driven as an organization, in a sense, really doesn’t exist anymore,” Jon Walker, Saddleback’s pastor of strategic communications, told CT.The most notable change will be to Purpose Driven Church conferences, which have trained more than 300,000 pastors in church growth. Saddleback will still host the annual conference at the Lake Forest, California, megachurch in May. But smaller conferences will be held less frequently. In addition, there will be no more nationwide 40 Days of Purpose campaigns, Walker said, though the program will be offered to churches individually.
“The success of The Purpose Driven Life and 40 Days of Purpose was a God-sent wave for which we are grateful, and we tried to be good stewards of the blessing,” Walker said. “However, it was inevitable that their popularity would crest and then settle into a long-term ministry of support.”
Layoffs began in July. 30 staff were let go; another 24 left through attrition. Rick and Kay even gave an extra $2 million to help with the short fall. It wasn’t enough.
In the mean time, Saddleback is planning on putting more emphasis on Warren’s Peace Plan: “It’s two very different things,” Walker said. “Purpose Driven was training for church growth. … P.E.A.C.E is more of a long-term missions thrust. There is not a product or a trend or anything that is associated with it. It is a long-term thing.”
SOURCE: CTI - Read the whole article here
FOR DISCUSSION: Does this surprise you? What is your first reaction to the news?
Christianity Today is reporting: The Purpose Driven Life remains number two on the cba hardcover bestseller list. But Purpose Driven the organization is over. Created amid the unprecedented popularity of Rick Warren's book, Purpose Driven ministries has lost its CEO, seen its staff reduced by a third, and significantly drawn back its services. No longer a separate entity, it is being overseen by the staff of Saddleback Church, where Warren is senior pastor. This really doesn't surprise me... Here's why:
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kent on Wed, November 22, 2006
While this will fuel those who have problems with all things Warren, there is a cycle to everything. I agree that the 40 Days of Community didn’t have the punch that the original did. I would have been surprised if did. It is hard to make that work twice. So they seem to be behaving responsibly and as good stewards.
I_am_not on Wed, November 22, 2006
Irrational growth in overhead can nail you every time…no matter if you’re a church, a business or a home.
bishopdave on Wed, November 22, 2006
Maybe it was a good thing that God used, and now move on to something else. I was real concerned when we saw all the “purpose-driven” merchandising—the journals, the calendars, the branding. 40 days of community looked like something to just gain some more market share. Purpose-Driven Church and Purpose-Driven Life—imho, tools used by God. Everything else was just fluff. Now, like all fluffy things, it’s time for that to go away.
Warren, like many high-level entrepreneurial leaders, has to constantly have something new to work on—when PD church began to become old hat to him, we saw PD life, which also led to inevitable (for RW) feeling of “time to move on to something else”. PD community flopped, now he is on to the AIDS thing and working in the 3rd world. It’s the nature of that kind of leader that things have to keep moving and changing or he’ll go nuts.
Leonard on Wed, November 22, 2006
My first reaction is cool, that are managing well the resources that they have been given. Okay that is my second, my first was Todd, you opened the door for Bernie and the warren bashers to chime in. I-am-not, used the word irrational, I don’t know if it is irrational growth nearly as much as a hiring to meet the needs of a wave that at this point is beginning to subside. I am sure that every person who was hired and subsequently let go did not think, “Wow, I finally have a career.” Companies often hire extra employees to deal with waves of business. The PEACE plan will not create the next wave but will probably have a greater impact for God’s kingdom.
Jan on Wed, November 22, 2006
The skinny on this (from the inside) is that the manager of Purpose Driven, drove them into the hole. My brother is one of the cutbacks.
He loves Saddleback, is leaving with a great severance and references and they are going to continue to pay his seminary tuition. But this guy messed up big time.
Wendi on Wed, November 22, 2006
Of course, it makes sense. Many, many churches produce and sell products (IMO, to resource kingdom ministry not make a profit). So now Saddleback closes the separate PD organization, so what? Good decision (if they’re trying to hide something, so is every church that sells resources, right?)
Bishop Dave says: [Warren, like many high-level entrepreneurial leaders, has to constantly have something new to work on—when PD church began to become old hat to him, we saw PD life, which also led to inevitable (for RW) feeling of “time to move on to something else”. PD community flopped, now he is on to the AIDS thing and working in the 3rd world. It’s the nature of that kind of leader that things have to keep moving and changing or he’ll go nuts.]
I don’t think I agree . . . and I hope your comments aren’t derogatory (not sure).
Saddleback resources many churches through their products, including some great small group study materials and Celebrate Recovery. I don’t know that I’d say 40-Days of Community Flopped. I’d guess instead, that PDL and 40-Days of Purpose became so huge that it was not manageable that it was not prudent for it to stay under the Saddleback umbrella (lest the church get off mission). 40-Days of Community is probably a success, just not a runaway. And with the 40-Days of Purpose wave over, it’s wise to go back to the way things were.
And as for having to be working on something new . . . . if my memory serves me Warren has written two books; Purpose Driven Church and Purpose Driven Life. Not much compared to many of the more prolific pastor/writers out there. And thank the Lord that RW has leveraged the unexpected notoriety and influence he gained from PDL to draw the attention of American evangelicals to the global AID’s crisis (shame on us for turning a blind eye for so long). I think it’s unfair to presume that his motives are nothing more than becoming bored and moving on.
Wendi
Todd Rhoades on Wed, November 22, 2006
Yeah, Leonard… I know that. The ‘I told you so’ crowd will just look foolish in my eyes. As I said… to me it seemed inevitable. There’s no way you could keep that kind of momentum and customer service support going long term. It sounds to me like they are doing what some other ministries hate to do: face reality and make cuts before they truly do run it into the ground. Even at cutback status; it’s still a huge ministry undertaking. http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/smile.gif
Todd
Bernie of FreeGoodNews.com on Wed, November 22, 2006
Jan said:
“The skinny on this (from the inside) is that the manager of Purpose Driven, drove them into the hole. My brother is one of the cutbacks. “
Jan’s close.
When I first saw the article on CT, I saw right-through it to the truth. Their problem was not rapid growth. In that, their problem was… not a problem at all. RW knows what he is doing.
Here’s the truth, as I see it. RW lost interest in this program. His new love is the PEACE plan. Purpose Driven is mainly a money machine—and RW would rather do something significant—he has way more money that he knows what to do with. Purpose Driven, remember, included a lot more than his books- it was a multi-million dollar operation selling all kinds of products and sevices.
With the PEACE plan, RW has a major shot at being a top role-model Christian. I hope he succeeds. I welcome the change. I think he has a lot of good Christian common sense, although I share the opinion of some his critics who would like to also see him have a stronger message with the gospel, rather than the watered-down variety of it.
With the PEACE plan, he’s a top contender for a real “who’s who” in influential Christians. Not the popular list which prosperity preachers rank on (like TD Jakes), but a real spiritual list of Christians who are putting the gifts to work that God has given them. I’m glad he recently visited Syria and is building contacts there, too.
I see RW definitely going in the right direction. I don’t know the details on the PEACE plan, but in general, the direction seems right for him.
kent on Wed, November 22, 2006
If what Jan says is true, and I believe it is so, then my respect for them has increased. Not only are they taking care of those who worked there, but they did not pubically throw the manager under the bus.
Todd, seriously what is with this box on the bottom? http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/smile.gif
Todd Rhoades on Wed, November 22, 2006
Purpose Driven is mainly a money machine—
Yeah… thus all the cutbacks, layoffs, and 2 million out of Rick’s pocket.
Todd Rhoades on Wed, November 22, 2006
Let’s be careful with rumors here though. Mismanagement may have been involved. But realistically, when you’re cutting 1/3 of your organization’s workforce, then your workforce is way too big for the demand for your services. Personnel is always the highest cost of operation. So, I would think that mismanagement, while it may have been a factor; might have been smaller than expected. Maybe the mismanagement was not letting people go sooner. (That’s a hard thing to say to the people that lost their jobs though.)
On the box at the bottom… MMI has been getting his with tons of ‘comment spam’ the last couple of weeks. They are autobots that post comments about ######, ######, and for websites with words we can’t even mention. This box will hopefully solve this problem. This is a workaround that I’ll introduce soon. Essentially, you’ll be able to sign in as a member (free of course) and then you won’t have to fill out the annoying little box.
I’m also working on some blacklisted words so no profanity or other words don’t show up on the site. I’ll try it out now: Hagee http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/smile.gif We’ll see if that worked!
Sorry for the extra work to post… hopefully it’s not too much of a hinderance.
Thanks… happy Thanksgiving all!
Todd
Todd Rhoades on Wed, November 22, 2006
Nope it didn’t work… back to the drawing board!
Todd
bishopdave on Wed, November 22, 2006
Wendi,
My comments were meant to be respectful of RW as I own both of his books and have done the 40 days thing. I hoped the comments might have been considered by his critics before they jump on him about moneymaking, abandoning people, etc. High level leaders get there because they have to have a new horizon out in front of them—RW and Hybels don’t pastor their churches anymore, because they are out there shooting for the next level—impacting pastors worldwide. PD was by no means a mistake; a few years ago we had the Experiencing God (by Henry Blackaby) boom, and that still is a study that ranks at the top of my list. Like many things it was a gift God gave us; fortunately, there will never be the “be all to end all study”, the study that will cause all others to become obsolete. And that’s because God is alive and well and pushing RW and BH (and Wendi and me) forward. The “demise” of Purpose Driven isn’t necessarily a bad thing, nor is it proof that Warren is anything resembling a failure. I think it’s proof that the Lord isn’t done yet.
Wendi on Wed, November 22, 2006
Bernie . . .
Why must you qualify your compliments? You can’t seem to ever say something good about someone (except Dobson perhaps), with out adding “but . . .” If you are going to comment on the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, why not just say how much you appreciate and agree with it?
And you say: [With the PEACE plan, RW has a major shot at being a top role-model Christian. I hope he succeeds. I welcome the change.]
The reality is, however, that RW is only able to influence thousands of evangelicals with his new plan because of the runaway (and I believe anointed) success of PDL. Of course, many of us see him as a top role-model Christian already.
And I’m with Kent, if Jan’s assessment is correct (and she is in a position to know), then my respect for RW and the Saddleback / PD folks has gone up even more.
Wendi
Wendi on Wed, November 22, 2006
Bishop Dave -
Ah, that makes sense and what I guessed about your opinions based on your other comments on this forum.
Thanks for clarifying.
Wendi
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