Interview with Richard Abanes- Part One: Marketing

July 26, 2005 Posted by Roger OvertoncloseAuthor: Roger Overton Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009). Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (569)

Let me be perfectly clear about something that I think needs to be said—I do NOT speak for Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, or purpose driven ministries. I am NOT an official spokesperson for anyone but myself. Second, no one—including Warren—had any control over the book's content (nor did anyone, including Warren, ask me to write the book). In other words, my book is NOT part of purpose driven anything. My book about Warren is just the latest in a long list of books that I have written about religious issues affecting the church, our culture, and the faith. It's a volume that I felt needed to be written.

Now, in answer to your specific question about my “motivation,” I decided to write my book for the same reason I have decided to write any of my other books—i.e., because I felt like there needed to be a clear presentation of accurate information on the subject. My personal writing ministry is dedicated to offering solid, documented, concise, and user-friendly material that people can use to make thoughtful/godly decisions about various issues: e.g., the end-times, near death experiences, the militias in America, The Da Vinci Code, and Harry Potter.

As with these particular topics, the subject of Rick Warren had become confused, messy, and weighted down with lies, gossip, rumors, and full-blown urban legends. It was disturbing to see false accusations being made against a movement, a man, and a ministry that was bringing so many people into God's kingdom. I felt like someone had to step up to the plate and say, “Wait a minute, folks. Here's the real scoop. You need to separate fact from fiction when it comes to Warren, Saddleback Church, and Warren's purpose driven model for church health.”

It still amazes me how so many people now, even after various accusations have been proved false, are continuing to just repeat what they apparently WANT to be true about Warren—e.g., that he never talks about sin, that he thinks doctrine is unimportant, that he was mentored by Robert Schuller. The latter accusation, of course, has now become nothing less than an urban legend very akin to the Proctor & Gamble Satanism rumor (http://www.bibleistrue.com/roarlion/nlpg0999.htm) or the Madeline Murray O'Hare FCC petition rumor (see http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/madalyn_ohare.htm).

Expressing legitimate concerns and keeping them in perspective is one thing. Such discussions are not only valid, but also important and needed. But making wild accusations against a fellow Christian to the point of calling him (or her) a liar, a non-Christian, a false teacher, a deceiver, or a New Ager is quite another thing. It is sin—plain and simple. And people who have made such false accusations need to be held accountable, especially the more influential critics of Warren such as John MacArthur, Todd Wilken, and Greg Koukl—three men whose ministries have done a great deal of good. But now their irresponsible accusations about Warren have really caused me to question their motives and their concerns for truth. At the very least, they have been terrifically careless in making the comments that they have made. I deal with some of their accusations in my book. Truth—that is what is important.

My book is written to anyone interested in: a) Warren's life (I offer a mini-biography of his life, his ministry, and the founding of Saddleback); and/or b) the most common criticisms be made against Warren's teachings, Saddleback Church, the purpose-driven life concept, and seeker sensitive church services (which, by the way, can vary dramatically from church to church—some “seeker” services some churches are not wholly biblical).

I'll be getting back to Greg Koukl's comments later, but before we talk about the criticisms of the content let's talk about marketing. Tim Challies has written a few posts now on how PDL and related ministries have been marketed using “Pyromarketing.”

Well, since I had nothing to do with the marketing of Warren's book, this is a very difficult issue for me to deal with. I am an outsider at this point, rather than an insider. I have only read what you have read. I was not present in any meetings that dealt with the best way to market Warren's book. I have not discussed the marketing of the book with Warren, Zondervan, purpose driven, or any other insider. So, I really can't say what is going on internally regarding this issue.

But this question does bring up a very interesting question that I would like to pose to your readers: How critical are we to be of Warren? When it comes to the marketing of Warren's book and criticisms over it, I am left scratching my head in wonder. Let's say for the sake of discussion that pyro-marketing was indeed used as has been discussed in various other forums. So what? Do people really think that Warren's book is the only Christian book to ever be marketed? Goodness! I have written 15 books and every single one of them have been marketed in different ways, depending on the target audience, varying according to the subject matter, based on market studies, etc. etc. etc. And this holds true for EVERY author—R.C. Sproul, John MacArhur, John Piper, Max Lucado, Philip Yancy, Hank Hanegraaff—you name the author. That's just the book publishing industry (both secular and Christian). Truly, I am not sure why there is so much fuss being made over this so-called pyro-marketing. It's simply a great idea to get a product (in this case, a book) into the hands of a lot of people. So what

Tim Challies said, “this approach takes advantages of Christians, foisting on them products, books and services that we do not need!”

This is like saying cultists are utterly brainwashed into doing really horrible things, which basically lets them off the proverbially hook of accountability/culpability. I don't buy that (no pun intended). In other words, nobody held a gun to anyone's head and said, “Buy The Purpose Driven Life, or else.” People saw it, heard about it, had it recommended to them, felt like they wanted, and bought it. Nobody twisted anybody's arm. I don't think a book, or any product for that matter, from soft-soap to DVD players, can be foisted upon someone in the truest sense of the word.

Also, who is to say what we do or  don't need? Who is the arbiter of what is necessary for every Christian? I was just at the International Christian Retailers Association convention in Denver—talk about items we don't need! I saw socks with fish embroidery on them, ties with crosses, coffee mugs covered with trite Jesus sayings, and T-shirts with radical Christ promotions emblazoned across the front. And all of them, in my opinion were being foisted upon the crowds. I say, “So what?” It's not my cup of tea, so I'm not going to buy that stuff. But hey, if the guy or gal sitting next to me at church wants a “Jesus Tie,” then they can go for it. I hope they enjoy it. Now let's pour some coffee into that Jesus mug and get down to serving Christ together. Likewise, if someone wants to buy/read a book (by Warren or anybody), then read it—or don't. As for marketing, there are numerous ways to market numerous things including said books. That's not a crime. And it certainly is not unbiblical.

If Zondervan used pyro-marketing for The Purpose Driven Life, which it
seems to have done, I personally have no problem with that. It's America—the marketing capital of the world. In fact, in my newest book Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings, I talk about the marketing of Harry Potter and how experts were able to get the word out in such a way as to create a “market” for that product. I'm just glad that unlike Harry Potter, Warren's book points people to Jesus Christ and has brought a lot of people into the Kingdom of God. Why is everyone so upset about that? I have no idea.

Is there a Biblical problem with how PDL has been marketed and if so, did Rick Warren have anything to do with it>

First, I am not altogether sure exactly how PDL was marketed, although it seems that pyro-marketing was involved somewhere. But allow me to stress that the question you asked here cannot really be answered except by someone who really knows precisely how PDL was marketed (e.g., someone from Zondervan). I do not have any first-hand information about how the book was marketed. But as an outside observer I certainly don't see any problems. Second, as for Rick Warren's involvement, let me be extremely clear, I HAVE NO IDEA what he did or did not have to do with the marketing of the book. You'd have to ask Rick.

Related posts:

1. Book Review: Rick Warren and the Purpose that Drives Him by Richard Abanes
2. Interview with Richard Abanes- Part Two: New Age Spirituality
3. Interview with Richard Abanes- Part Four: The Seeker-Sensitive Movement
4. Assessment of the Abanes Interview
5. Interview with Richard Abanes- Part Three: Scripture
6. Interview with Richard Abanes about Tolle, Part 3

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