community. Our minds are sharpened and our convictions are
deepened through conversation.
I stronglyurge you to gather a small group of friends and form
a Purpose-Driven Life Reading Group to review these chapters on
a weekly basis. Discuss the implications and the applications of
each chapter. Ask “So what?” and “What now?” What
does this mean for me, my family, and our church?
What am I going to do about it? Paul said, “Put
into practice what you learned.”^2
I have prepared a list of discussion questions for
your small group or Sunday school class to use.
A small reading group provides many benefits that
a book by itself cannot. You can give and receive feedback about
what you’re learning. You can discuss real-life examples. You can
pray for, encourage, and support each other as you begin to live
out these purposes. Remember, we are meant to grow together,
not separately. The Bible says, “Encourage each other and give each
other strength.”^3 After you have gone through this book together
as a group, you might consider studying other purpose-driven life
I also encourage you to do personal Bible study. I have
footnoted over a thousand Scriptures used in this book for you to
this book uses so many different translations and paraphrases. To
keep these chapters to a size for daily reading, I was unable to
explain the fascinating context of most of the verses used. But the
Bible is intended to be studied by paragraphs, chapters, and even
entire books. My book Personal Bible Study Methodscan show you
how to do inductive studies.
Give yourself a regular spiritual check-up. The best way to
balance the five purposes in your life is to evaluate yourself
periodically. God places a high value on the habit of self-
evaluation. At least five times in Scripture we are told to test and
examine our own spiritual health.^4 The Bible says, “Test yourselves
PURPOSE #5: You Were Made for a Mission 307
In appendix 1,studies that are available for classes and groups (see appendix 2).
study in their context. Please read appendix 3, which explains why