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Christianity Today magazine calls Dr. Rick Warren the most influential minister in America. I also find him to be a world-class entrepreneur. Rick started his church, Saddleback Community, from scratch in 1980. Saddleback now has 15,000 members and has spawned more than 60 spinoffs. Dr. Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life, has sold 18 million copies since it's publication in 2001. (By comparison, President Clinton's book will sell 2-3 million books, a home-run success.) Still selling at a rate of 500,000 per month, some say The Purpose Driven Life is on its way to becoming the bestselling hardback nonfiction book of all time, the Bible excepted. |
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When Dr. Warren volunteered to write a foreword for my book, Life 2.0, I was honored but flabbergasted. While Life 2.0 is about people's search for renewal, it is not a religious book. Bless Dr. Warren for his generosity and grace! His foreword did not make into the first press run of Life 2.0. It will appear in second and subsequent printings. |
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FOREWORD by Dr. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life Never in history has any other group of people
had as much freedom to choose where they want to live as Americans
do today: |
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| —Our prosperity gives us the capacity to live wherever we want, | ||
| —Our technology gives us the ability to live wherever we want, and, | ||
| —Our diverse American landscape gives us the opportunity to live wherever we want. You can choose practically any climate, any environment, and any population density -and still live-in America | ||
| This is a privilege that should not be wasted. There is no reason for most Americans to live in a place they dislike, or is harmful to their health, their soul, or their family. We are free to move. | ||
| In choosing a community to call "home" we've been blessed with an amazing array of options to select from. Our nation is a smorgasbord of cities and towns of different sizes, styles, surroundings, scenery, social opportunities, and support systems. What we often overlook, however, is that there are serious financial, emotional, and even spiritual downsides to the most popular locations while there are great advantages to be found in less populated cities. For instance, status is always accompanied by stress. Uptown is usually uptight. | ||
| Every place has a pace. It is foolish to ignore this fact. Some cities run at warp speed; they never slow down and they never sleep. They live on caffeine and adrenaline, and everyone always seems in a hurry. ItŐs exhilarating but exhausting. | ||
| Other cities stroll along with a slow saunter, like the lazy river that flows through the middle of many of them. Everything happens at a more moderate tempo. Just as some communities are passionate; others are peaceful. Recently more and more people are rediscovering the advantages of living in the smaller, less-expensive, and family-friendly communities of America's heartland. My friend, Rich Karlgaard has chronicled this trend with real-life stories in this wonderfully engaging book. | ||
| I resonated with many of the stories in this book, having grown up in a very small town (less than 500 pop.) in the countryside north of San Francisco. It was the best of both worlds. We had the slower pace of rural living, but could drive to the cultural amenities of the city in just a couple hours. | ||
| In The Purpose Driven Life, I consider the question "What on earth am I here for?" This book considers another important question: "Where on earth should I be living?" Your life has a context. We live on location, not in some vacuum. In considering your life's purpose, you need to think, not only about what you'll do, but also where you'll do it. Make an honest assessment of how you are shaped and identify the environment that best suits the purpose, passion, and personality of your life. | ||
| As you read these stories you many find yourself caught up dreaming of living a simpler, healthier, more purpose-driven life, in one of these hidden treasure towns. If so, I urge you to spend some time reflecting on your alternatives. Is where you live worth the stress? No one is forcing you to stay where you are. It's your choice. | ||
| Rick Warren Rick@purposedriven.com | ||
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