In "The Purpose-Driven Church," Rick Warren names five purposes for our congregations which, in a more recent book, he takes further to apply to all of life. As much as I have liked and used the books in ministry, they have, in the end, left me feeling, well, purposeless.

I didn't disagree with his list, it just felt like they put me on a 90 mph, SoCal freeway toward accomplishment that could one day make me one of those retirees who wonders where life went. I've found that I have a few more purposes more important to me.

First, laughter is the purpose of life. Didn't Jesus turn water to wine at a party? Didn't God invent bodies that spasm when tickled? We could somehow pragmatize these to make laughter more purposeful (how many calories does giggling burn?), but I kind of think God really just likes it when we laugh, the way I like to tickle my 2-year-old. Laughter is the heart's fireworks. I consider it a sin not to spend a good deal of time doing it.

Second, art is the purpose of life. Jonathan Edwards said we can be confident that our souls are eternal, because the purpose of the soul is to reflect back God's beauty to him, and it will take an eternity to do so. Art's not particularly purpose-driven (is it true I have to send Warren a dollar every time I use that word?). Nonetheless, I think God might be more of an artist than a CEO.

Third, friendship is the purpose of life, friendship without the ulterior motive of converting somebody. Each person is created in the image of God, and befriending someone is an act of honoring God's handiwork.

Fourth, discovery is the purpose of life. Here I don't just mean learning things you need to know to get to heaven, I mean the act of enjoying God's creation because he did a good job. Science, at its heart, is a very playful kind of worship.

Fifth, justice is the purpose of life. Mission is more than leading Bible studies in other countries. Mission means overturning structures of oppression, political and otherwise, in your own neighborhood. It is a purpose that cares less about getting people to heaven and more about getting heaven to people.

Those are my five purposes. Around the time the purposeful Christians in Irvine start to feel the pangs of burnout, I hope they'll consider my aimless sources of meaning. I'm pretty sure they're what life is for.

"God Scent" author James W. Miller is on the pastoral team at First Presbyterian Church.