Purpose Not "Driven" at Readers Digest (Report by Lighthouse Trails)

LTRP Note: According to an Associated Press article (see link below), The Purpose Driven Connection magazine, (the business venture of Readers Digest and Rick Warren) "has collapsed less than a year after it was announced with great fanfare." As Lighthouse Trails reported in December of 2008, just prior to the first issue of the magazine, the magazine would feature a number of leading Christian figures, many of whom are contemplative proponents. In February of 2009, Lighthouse Trails reported that the magazine was promoting the new global spirituality. Below, the New York Times on the story:

"Magazine by a Best-Selling Minister Closes"
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
New York Times

Less than a year after starting a hybrid magazine and paid membership organization, the Rev. Rick Warren and the Reader's Digest Association said Wednesday that they were pulling the plug.

Their plan was to capitalize on Mr. Warren's best-selling books, like "The Purpose Driven Life," to create a group patterned on his calls to Christian evangelism and charitable works.

They sold $29 annual memberships to Purpose Driven Connection, built around local chapters and online social networking tools. Members received a quarterly magazine of the same name - edited by Mr. Warren - DVDs and study guides. The magazine were also sold through retailers.

But their timing could not have been worse; the project began near the worst of the financial crisis, in the depths of the recession. "The numbers for the membership were quite disappointing," said William K. Adler, a spokesman for the Reader's Digest Association. The partners declined to release sales figures for the memberships or the magazine.

Click here to read this entire article.

Related Information:
Rick Warren, Reader's Digest part ways on project - Associated Press
Rick Warren's New Magazine Promotes the New Global Spirituality
Rick Warren, Reader's Digest Join Forces for New Purpose Driven Publication