Fourteen years have passed since Rick Warren published The Purpose Driven Church. For many Christians his insights represent an interesting fad that has come and gone. As missional and emerging became the new buzz words, purpose driven faded into the background.

The Purpose Driven party may be over, but I think some valuable insights from that model remain, which are not only compatible with the missional and emerging thrusts but might save these newer emphases from themselves becoming passing fads. In this series of web logs I want to look at the purpose driven model through missional and emerging lenses. First, the five circles.

Rick Warren’s five Circles of Commitment describe degrees of commitment to Christ and to the mission of Christ, all in relationship to the church. The outer ring is the Community of unchurched people; next is the Crowd of church attenders who have not yet become Christians. The Congregation is the next smaller ring, comprised of people who have confessed Christ and joined the church. The Committed are the members who have begun the journey of discipleship, and the Core are those members who are trained and ready to minister to others.

The assumption is that the process of discipleship moves toward the inner circle of high commitment. Yet lots of emerging churches blow that assumption wide open, claiming Christians in the inner circle can learn a lot about God, truth, and faith from people who are far from any commitment to Christ. It is an important issue to resolve.

For instance, Frost and Hirsch, in The Shaping of Things to Come, quote approvingly the advice of Vincent Donovan, in Christianity Rediscovered:

“In working with young people in America, do not try to call them back to where they were, and do not try to call them to where you are, as beautiful as that place might seem to you. You must have the courage to go with them to a place that neither you nor they have ever been before.”

If his words sound kind of squishy, it may be because they were penned thirty years ago, as the New Age movement was ramping up. A generation later, however, many in the emerging church are launching similar ventures into the unknown. And the unknown is right where they want to be. They would consider Warren’s Circles of Commitment as emblematic of the unwarranted (pun alert!) certainty of the modern-era church.

So here is a clarifying question: Have those in the inner circle arrived? Yes, but. . .

Since there is a need for the continuing conversion of the church, there may be lessons for those near the center to learn from those who are on the outer rim. Christians near the inner circle may be making progress in lifestyle, attitudes and values and yet be blind to issues that non-Christians can see perfectly clearly.

Does that mean that those who are far from church may be better sources of truth and wisdom than lifelong disciples? Not in my book. The truth must be authenticated by God’s Word, whether it is voiced by a long-time believer or one who is far from following Christ.

Even if the form of the church and way its message is conveyed are in need of drastic reform, as the emerging folks maintain, the destination is not unknown. Warren’s Circles of Commitment are not describing a kind of church but rather a process of discovery. It can be as informal as a house church, but over time something should be happening within the fellowship that is leading them closer to faithful and obedient discipleship.