With Truth Matters Herbert Douglass marches boldly but nimbly into contested territory with an analysis of the Megachurch Syndrome, particularly Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church and its Purpose Driven Life icon. One layer below the surface, however, Douglass is challenging that pillar of modern materialist thought, that more must be better, and numerical growth is guarantee even of divine endorsement in the case of a religious organization. The overhanging flaw in such an assumption is that many movements of questionable virtue exhibit rapid growth. More is not necessarily better. Is the current substitution of subjective experience in place of revealed truth really valid?

Douglass is well-known and respected among Adventists, having a long and distinguished service career in such posts as President of Atlantic Union College, Associate Editor of the Adventist Review, leadership in an Adventist-related health care center, and other assignments. He has been and remains a prolific author of books and journal articles and often is the featured speaker at major events. His theological expertise often surfaces in his work, as is the case in Truth Matters.

Here Douglas traces and deepens a furrow pioneered by Adventist administrator Tom Mostert in his recent Hidden Heresy (Pacific Press, 2005). Douglass, however, deals in substance with a wider array of issues and focuses on analysis.

In addressing the Rick Warren phenomenon Douglass repeatedly makes favorable comments, noting that Purpose Driven Life with its multi-million copy circulation has proven helpful to many of its readers, that it clearly has filled a gap between the church and secularized people, and has drawn enthusiasts in large numbers. Douglass notes, however, the minimal place given to biblical doctrine. In his analysis of Saddleback’s eight-point doctrinal statement he notes its general orthodoxy within Evangelical thought but a reductionistic brevity which shifts the focus toward meeting human needs, with minimal attention to the constellation of revealed truths to be found throughout the Bible.

Douglass’ commitment to biblical truth and respect for the Spirit of Prophecy writings come through strongly and in balance. The book is very readable, broken into eighteen short chapters, the first eleven devoted to his analysis of the Saddleback program, which he critiques gently. Yet he identifies serious problems that render the Saddleback system unsuitable as a model for Adventists, whose identity is tied to revealed truth.

The initial chapters satisfy the announced purpose of the book, following which the author shifts in a new direction as he advances insights from an Adventist understanding which could contribute to Saddleback.

Two or three observations may be helpful. The format of the Megachurch development with its need-oriented point of view lies in the contemporary postmodern value system. There, truth is discovered rather than revealed objectively. The focus is on human experience. Of course, this bypasses in large degree the full biblical teaching that guides every aspect of the believer's life. The objective unity of revelation is forfeited in favor of the postmodern denial of absolutes. As a consequence, the nature of Christianity becomes modified. In avoiding a clear review of the postmodernist background, Dr. Douglass’ analysis leans toward addressing symptoms more than the foundational problem. The finest current analysis by an Adventist of how postmodern values impact Christian thought and life is to be found in Normal Gulley’s Prolegomena (Andrews University Press, 2000), which is the initial volume of his forthcoming Systematic Theology.

Nevertheless, Douglass’ book is certain to exert a helpful influence among Adventists. To date it offers the clearest analysis yet of a system that has attracted a sizable number of Adventists, particularly in the ministry.

On a passing note, Truth Matters carries a few minor errors that in no way weaken the message of the book, yet deserve attention in a reprint. As examples, the proper name is Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (p. 18 and others.). It was Clovis, not Constantine, who was involved in the notorious river baptism (p. 80). Aside from such trivia, Truth Matters is well worth reading by any Adventist who wants a careful guide to the Megachurch phenomenon.