Richard Duane Warren (born January 28, 1954) is an American Baptist evangelical Christian pastor and author. He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical Baptist megachurch in Lake Forest, California. Since 2022, he serves as executive director of the Finishing the Task mission coalition.
 Rick Warren
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 (NIV) God calls us to forgive others, but how do we do that? Here are four choices that will help you let go of your pain, hurt, or bitterness. Recognize that no one is perfect. When we’ve been hurt, we tend to lose our perspective about the person who offended us. But we need to remember that we are all imperfect people. Relinquish your right to get even. Trust God to confront the person who hurt you and trust him to work things out for you. Choose compassion over your desire to retaliate. Respond to evil with good. Getting even only brings you down to the other person’s level. Take the high road instead. The Bible says to treat your enemies with kindness. It’s nearly impossible to do this on your own. That’s why you need the love of Jesus to fill you up. Refocus on God’s plan for your life. When you are focused on the people who hurt you, you’re actually letting them control your life. When you forgive them, you find the freedom to refocus on God’s purpose for your life. --Rick Warren; Pastors.com; 9.20.23 |
Oct 15, 2015: The Gospel Herald reported:" Saddleback church pastor Rick Warren has encouraged those struggling with grief to remember that while it is painful, it is also a healthy and helpful emotion that should be viewed as a gift from God. The pastor and bestselling author made his comments during a recent devotional about grief based around Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, which states,"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens .... a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." Warren begins by emphasizing that God doesn't expect Christians to be happy all the time, as "sometimes the only appropriate, logical response to life is grief." "The Bible says you are to grieve over your losses, including your disappointments, your sin, the suffering in the world, and your friends who are spiritually lost," the Purpose Driven Life author writes. However, God does want His people to "be intentional in your grief." |
Rick Warren
If you hang on to resentment, it will always hurt you more than anyone else. Resentment is self-destructive and counterproductive. It doesn’t just hurt your human relationships, it also infects your relationship with God. Resentment is like a weed—the longer you wait to deal with it, the more work it will take to uproot it. Start early when resentment is just a seed!
--Rick Warren
June 14, 2023: Religion News Service: Ouster of Saddleback and Fern Creek from SBC over women pastors is affirmed
Delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting affirmed a decision to expel two Southern Baptist churches, including Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, because they employed women as pastors. The churches had appealed to the meeting, the denomination’s ruling body, to be allowed to remain.
Delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting affirmed a decision to expel two Southern Baptist churches, including Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, because they employed women as pastors. The churches had appealed to the meeting, the denomination’s ruling body, to be allowed to remain.
June 6, 2023: Roys Report: Rick Warren Campaigns for Southern Baptist Reinstatement of Saddleback Church
Days before the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting, former megachurch pastor Rick Warren has appealed to his fellow Southern Baptists to overturn a denominational decision to oust his Saddleback Church because it permits women to serve with the title pastor.
“This should be the moment where 47,000+ autonomous, independent, freedom-loving churches say NO to turning the Executive Committee into a theological Magisterium that controls a perpetual inquisition of churches and makes the EC a centralized hierarchy that tells our congregations who to hire and what to call them,” Warren wrote in an open letter released Friday.
Days before the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting, former megachurch pastor Rick Warren has appealed to his fellow Southern Baptists to overturn a denominational decision to oust his Saddleback Church because it permits women to serve with the title pastor.
“This should be the moment where 47,000+ autonomous, independent, freedom-loving churches say NO to turning the Executive Committee into a theological Magisterium that controls a perpetual inquisition of churches and makes the EC a centralized hierarchy that tells our congregations who to hire and what to call them,” Warren wrote in an open letter released Friday.
May 5, 2023: Christian Post: Arizona megachurch Pastor Joshua Butler resigns amid controversy over book’s hyper-spiritualization of sex
Prominent pastors also urged The Gospel Coalition to remove the article and issue an apology, including former Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren and Kevin DeYoung. Rich Villodas, pastor of New Life Fellowship in New York, issued a statement retracting his initial endorsement of the book.
Prominent pastors also urged The Gospel Coalition to remove the article and issue an apology, including former Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren and Kevin DeYoung. Rich Villodas, pastor of New Life Fellowship in New York, issued a statement retracting his initial endorsement of the book.
Rick Warren Files
First, in Matthew 28:18 Jesus says: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
There are four verbs in the Great Commission: go, make disciples, baptize and teach. Men and women are to do all four things. Women are to go, women are to make disciples. Women are to baptize and women are to teach. You can’t say: “Well, the first two are for men and women, but the second two are only for men.” The Great Commission was given to every person; not just men and not just ordained people. --Rick Warren
There are four verbs in the Great Commission: go, make disciples, baptize and teach. Men and women are to do all four things. Women are to go, women are to make disciples. Women are to baptize and women are to teach. You can’t say: “Well, the first two are for men and women, but the second two are only for men.” The Great Commission was given to every person; not just men and not just ordained people. --Rick Warren
The Gospel Coalition takes down 'Sex Won't Save You' article; Rick Warren calls for apology
The Gospel Coalition faced calls for an apology Friday over a now-deleted post on its website in which the author discusses salvation and the Church in the context of sexual intercourse that some critics say approaches erotic literature. Authored by Arizona Pastor Josh Butler, the article published on Wednesday, originally titled "Sex Won’t Save You (But It Points to the One Who Will)," is an excerpt from Butler’s book, Beautiful Union released last month. In the excerpt, Butler, who pastors Redemption Church Tempe, starts out by confessing that he used to “look to sex for salvation” before realizing that “idolizing sex results in slavery.” As he recounts a series of failed romantic adventures, Butler then quotes Taylor Swift and asserts that “sex is an icon of Christ and the church.” (Christian Post 3/4/23) READ MORE>>>>>
The Gospel Coalition faced calls for an apology Friday over a now-deleted post on its website in which the author discusses salvation and the Church in the context of sexual intercourse that some critics say approaches erotic literature. Authored by Arizona Pastor Josh Butler, the article published on Wednesday, originally titled "Sex Won’t Save You (But It Points to the One Who Will)," is an excerpt from Butler’s book, Beautiful Union released last month. In the excerpt, Butler, who pastors Redemption Church Tempe, starts out by confessing that he used to “look to sex for salvation” before realizing that “idolizing sex results in slavery.” As he recounts a series of failed romantic adventures, Butler then quotes Taylor Swift and asserts that “sex is an icon of Christ and the church.” (Christian Post 3/4/23) READ MORE>>>>>
Feb 21, 2023: Religion News Service: Southern Baptists oust Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church for naming a female pastor
Saddleback Church, the megachurch long led by Rick Warren, has been ousted from the Southern Baptist Convention for naming a woman to its pastoral team, against SBC teaching.
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee decided on Tuesday (Feb. 21) to approve the recommendation from the denomination’s credentials committee that the Lake Forest, California, church “be deemed not in friendly cooperation with the Convention, on the basis that the church has a faith and practice that does not closely identify with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith, as demonstrated by the church having a female teaching pastor functioning in the office of pastor.”
Saddleback Church, the megachurch long led by Rick Warren, has been ousted from the Southern Baptist Convention for naming a woman to its pastoral team, against SBC teaching.
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee decided on Tuesday (Feb. 21) to approve the recommendation from the denomination’s credentials committee that the Lake Forest, California, church “be deemed not in friendly cooperation with the Convention, on the basis that the church has a faith and practice that does not closely identify with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith, as demonstrated by the church having a female teaching pastor functioning in the office of pastor.”
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Jan 16, 2023: Religion Unplugged: An Interview With Pastor Rick Warren
For most people who have been around evangelicalism over the past 40 years, Rick Warren needs no introduction. He and his wife, Kay, founded Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, and it has become one of the largest and most influential churches in the nation. Rick Warren’s 2002 book “The Purpose Driven Life” has sold more than 50 million copies, making it one of the best-selling books of all time. But his work as a pastor and author are just the beginning. Rick Warren was instrumental in the development of PEPFAR, the U.S. government’s $15 billion AIDS relief package that has been credited with saving tens of millions of lives. He was an adviser to George W. Bush, and he delivered the invocation prayer at Barack Obama’s inauguration. Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report have all named him, at various times, to their lists of the most influential people in the world. |
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Sept 8, 2022: Julie Roys: Roys Report: Opinion: Rick Warren’s Stunning 2014 Sermon to Mars Hill Foreshadowed Andy Wood Debacle
So, I was surprised when I recently listened to a 2014 sermon from “America’s pastor,” Rick Warren, using these same silencing and shaming tactics against the congregation at Mars Hill.
The sermon was historic. It was given at the last service at Mars Hill Church before the church shuttered in the wake of scandal involving Pastor Mark Driscoll.
So, I was surprised when I recently listened to a 2014 sermon from “America’s pastor,” Rick Warren, using these same silencing and shaming tactics against the congregation at Mars Hill.
The sermon was historic. It was given at the last service at Mars Hill Church before the church shuttered in the wake of scandal involving Pastor Mark Driscoll.
Dec 30, 2022: Ministry Watch: An Interview with Rick Warren
For most people who have been around evangelicalism over the past 40 years, Rick Warren needs no introduction. He and his wife Kay founded Saddleback Church, in Orange County, California, and it has become one of the largest and most influential churches in the nation.
Rick Warren’s 2002 book “The Purpose Driven Life” has sold more than 50-million copies, making it one of the best-selling books of all time.
For most people who have been around evangelicalism over the past 40 years, Rick Warren needs no introduction. He and his wife Kay founded Saddleback Church, in Orange County, California, and it has become one of the largest and most influential churches in the nation.
Rick Warren’s 2002 book “The Purpose Driven Life” has sold more than 50-million copies, making it one of the best-selling books of all time.
Dec 17, 2014: Berean Call: Rick Warren on Roman Catholicism: "We have more in common than what divides us"
Warren, whose Purpose Driven Life and Purpose Driven Church books have sold millions of copies around the world, recorded a video interview for the Catholic News Service in which he said: "We have far more in common than what divides us."
Warren, whose Purpose Driven Life and Purpose Driven Church books have sold millions of copies around the world, recorded a video interview for the Catholic News Service in which he said: "We have far more in common than what divides us."
Aug 15, 2014: Bartholomews Notes on Religion: Rick Warren Announces “All Africa Purpose Driven Church Continental Congress” For Rwanda
At the Washington Post, Joann Weiner asks “Does Rwanda’s economic prosperity justify president Kagame’s political repression?“:
May 15, 2014: Faith Forward: Christianity Must Lose Its Dualism (What Rick Warren Could Learn from Rob Bell)
Bell’s progressive Christian perspective is, of course, nothing new, but he is the first mega-church pastor (as far as I know), educated in and emerging from an evangelical exclusive and dualistic tradition and having grown beyond that tradition, who has had the courage to publicly proclaim a more inclusive, holistic vision.
May 9, 2014: Apprising Ministries: Rick Warren endorsing Catholics Come Home
I also happen to be a pastor within the Southern Baptist Convention, for now, just as is Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren. Should the Lord sustain me, I have every intention of doing all I can to help arouse God’s soldiers into fighting this onslaught of Roman Catholicism and to expose these apostates wherever I may find them.
Mar 28, 2014: Huffington Post: Rick And Kay Warren Launch Saddleback Church Mental Health Ministry After Son's Suicide
Every day since his son Matthew died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound nearly a year ago, Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church has found himself in tears.
Mar 24, 2014: Political Research Associates: Only Fools Believe? Pastor Rick Warren and Global Homophobia
The recent passage of highly punitive anti-LGBTQ legislation in Nigeria, Uganda, and Russia has brought renewed media scrutiny to certain conservative American evangelicals known for campaigning against homosexuality abroad. Pastors Scott Lively and Rick Warren – in particular – have been called out for creating the conditions that led to Uganda’s infamous Anti-Homosexuality Act.
At the Washington Post, Joann Weiner asks “Does Rwanda’s economic prosperity justify president Kagame’s political repression?“:
May 15, 2014: Faith Forward: Christianity Must Lose Its Dualism (What Rick Warren Could Learn from Rob Bell)
Bell’s progressive Christian perspective is, of course, nothing new, but he is the first mega-church pastor (as far as I know), educated in and emerging from an evangelical exclusive and dualistic tradition and having grown beyond that tradition, who has had the courage to publicly proclaim a more inclusive, holistic vision.
May 9, 2014: Apprising Ministries: Rick Warren endorsing Catholics Come Home
I also happen to be a pastor within the Southern Baptist Convention, for now, just as is Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren. Should the Lord sustain me, I have every intention of doing all I can to help arouse God’s soldiers into fighting this onslaught of Roman Catholicism and to expose these apostates wherever I may find them.
Mar 28, 2014: Huffington Post: Rick And Kay Warren Launch Saddleback Church Mental Health Ministry After Son's Suicide
Every day since his son Matthew died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound nearly a year ago, Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church has found himself in tears.
Mar 24, 2014: Political Research Associates: Only Fools Believe? Pastor Rick Warren and Global Homophobia
The recent passage of highly punitive anti-LGBTQ legislation in Nigeria, Uganda, and Russia has brought renewed media scrutiny to certain conservative American evangelicals known for campaigning against homosexuality abroad. Pastors Scott Lively and Rick Warren – in particular – have been called out for creating the conditions that led to Uganda’s infamous Anti-Homosexuality Act.
Apr 14, 2013: Publius Forum: Pastor Rick Warren, Gun Control, and Matthew Warren’s Suicide
Pastor Rick Warren and his family suffered a devastating loss last week when their son, Matthew, took his own life with a pistol that he may have bought illegally from a person he contacted over the Internet. Dealing with such a loss is heartrending, of course, and the Warren family has much to endure as they deal with this terrible incident. But one thing is sure, new gun laws would not have prevented Matthew Warren’s suicide.
Pastor Rick Warren and his family suffered a devastating loss last week when their son, Matthew, took his own life with a pistol that he may have bought illegally from a person he contacted over the Internet. Dealing with such a loss is heartrending, of course, and the Warren family has much to endure as they deal with this terrible incident. But one thing is sure, new gun laws would not have prevented Matthew Warren’s suicide.
2014:
Mar 8, 2014: Eight days before the anniversary of their son's death, the Warrens launched a new chapter in their ministry. The Conference on the Church and Mental Health, a daylong event at the church's main Lake Forest, Calif. campus that will be broadcast online, has amassed 3,000 registrations and features a lineup of pastors, academics and psychiatrists hosting panels and prayers to tackle the stigma of mental illness and suicide in the church. Warren's Saddleback Church has teamed with Bishop Kevin Vann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Orange County to host, is the first step in what will be a long-term campaign to launch discussions of mental health in pulpits and pews across the U.S. Friday's workshops include "Christianity and Depression," "How to Launch a Support Group and Counseling Ministry in your Church," "Suicide Prevention: Saving Lives One Community at a Time" and "Food and The Body: Three Steps to Healing Eating Disorders through Community." (SOURCE: Mar 28, 2014: Jaweed Kaleem: Huffington Post: "Rick And Kay Warren
Mar 14, 2014: Rick and Kay Warren Announced they would host a'Mental Health and the Church' Summit; Organizers Hope to Wipe Out Stigma of Mental Illness. They will be joined by several experts in the field of mental health, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Orange County to host The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church later this month.
Mar 18, 2014: Samir Becic, a world renowned fitness trainer who leads health classes at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, published at the Christian Post a "Top 10 Fittest Christian Leaders" list of U.S. pastors who do a good job of balancing their spiritual lives along with health and proper nutrition. Rick Warren was #7: Pastor Rick Warren: "Warren had an epiphany one day while he was baptizing 858 people. After dipping the 500th body into the water, he thought 'we're all fat.' That triggered him to create a health program with leading experts such as Dr. Oz that Christians could follow. He also wrote the book, "The Daniel Plan," which Warren lost over 30 pounds by following," said Becic.
Mar 31, 2014: Pastor Rick Warren has challenged millions of individuals over the past two decades to live a “Purpose Driven Life,” but now he’s posing a new challenge to churches: Get educated and work together to confront mental health issues. Warren, who pledged to take mental illness up as a new ministry focus following his son Matthew’s suicide last year, hosted “The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church” at his Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., Friday. The one-day conference lasted more than 12 hours and was aimed at pinpointing faith-based strategies to take up mental health while also offering an educational opportunity for church leaders.
2012
Feb 9, 2012: Evangelical pastor Rick Warren sent a message on Twitter: “I’m not a Catholic but I stand in 100% solidarity with my brothers & sisters to practice their belief against govt pressure,” Warren said. “I’d go to jail rather than cave in to a government mandate that violates what God commands us to do. Would you? Acts 5:29.”
2010
2010: "Preaching" lists Rick Warren among the most influential in the last 25 years: A quarter-century has brought great changes to the preaching landscape, and today’s list of contributing editors includes names that would have been unknown to most pastors 25 years ago: Rick Warren, Bryan Chapell, James MacDonald, Robert Smith, Dave Stone, James Emery White and Ed Young Jr. (though his pastor dad would have been a good candidate for the original list—and is now among our senior consulting editors).
April 5, 2010: Tim Challes wrote: Warren has proven repeatedly that he does not and will not honor the Bible. He preaches from the Bible, he knows vast amounts of Scripture and I’m sure he loves studying the Bible. But his ministry makes clear that he does not truly honor it in the way he uses it. I hardly even know where to begin here. Turn to any of Warren’s books and you will see that this is the case. Time and time again he has misused and abused the Bible. Years ago I read The Purpose Driven Life day-by-day and blogged my way through each chapter. I looked up each and every Bible reference. And in almost every chapter I found that Warren had used Scripture poorly, stretching its meaning, choosing translations that, more than being true to the text, furthered his intended meaning. This is the way he always has used Scripture and the way he continues to today. Turn to just about any review of his books and you’ll find multitudes of examples.
2008
Sept 29, 2008: Christopher Hitchens wrote at Salon: Shame on You, Rick Warren It seems to have been agreed by every single media outlet that only one group has the right to challenge Obama’s promotion of “Pastor” Rick Warren, and that group is the constituency of politically organized homosexuals. But why should that be? Last week, I pointed out that Warren maintains that heaven is closed to Jews and that his main theological mentor was a crackpot “end-of-days” ranter. Why is this not to count against him as well? Do we need our presidential invocation to be given by a bigmouth clerical businessman who is, furthermore, a religious sectarian? Let me add a little more to the mix. In November 2006, Warren made a trip to Syria and was granted an audience with the human toothbrush who has inherited control of that country and all its citizens. Bashar Assad, the dictator of Syria, is also a religious sectarian—his power base is confined to the Alawite sect—and in the intervals of murdering his critics in Lebanon, he does not expect to receive very many distinguished American or European guests. Of late, the most eminent I can think of have been David Duke, former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, and George Galloway of Britain’s so-called Respect Party, and I believe only Galloway—an old fan of Baathism in all its forms—got an audience with the Grand Toothbrush himself.
2005
April 17, 2005: The Huffington Post reported that "at the southern California Anaheim Angels sports stadium thirty thousand Saddleback Church members, more than ever gathered in one spot, assembled to celebrate Saddleback's 25th anniversary and listened as Rick Warren announced his vision for the next 25 years of the church: the P.E.A.C.E. Plan..
Towards the close of his nearly one hour speech, Pastor Warren asked his followers to be as committed to Jesus as the young Nazi men and women who spelled out in mass formation with their bodies the words "Hitler, we are yours," in 1939 at the Munich Stadium, were committed to the Führer of the Third Reich, a major instigator of a World War that claimed 55 million lives. Rick Warren has exhorted Christians towards Nazi-like dedication in at least several public speeches and also during a one hour video recording of a talk by Warren, explaining his P.E.A.C.E.
During his Anaheim stadium speech Warren, sometimes called 'pastor Rick' talked about a number of visions and communications he had received from God. By calling on his church members to follow Jesus with the fanatical dedication with which the Nazis, or Hitler Youth, gave to Adolf Hitler, Rick Warren appeared to be in effect asking his Saddleback members to be fanatically dedicated to Warren's own leadership, given his role in divining God's intent for the Saddleback church flock. During his speech, Rick Warren also explained that God had personally instructed him to seek, for the good of the world, more influence, power and fame."
Towards the close of his nearly one hour speech, Pastor Warren asked his followers to be as committed to Jesus as the young Nazi men and women who spelled out in mass formation with their bodies the words "Hitler, we are yours," in 1939 at the Munich Stadium, were committed to the Führer of the Third Reich, a major instigator of a World War that claimed 55 million lives. Rick Warren has exhorted Christians towards Nazi-like dedication in at least several public speeches and also during a one hour video recording of a talk by Warren, explaining his P.E.A.C.E.
During his Anaheim stadium speech Warren, sometimes called 'pastor Rick' talked about a number of visions and communications he had received from God. By calling on his church members to follow Jesus with the fanatical dedication with which the Nazis, or Hitler Youth, gave to Adolf Hitler, Rick Warren appeared to be in effect asking his Saddleback members to be fanatically dedicated to Warren's own leadership, given his role in divining God's intent for the Saddleback church flock. During his speech, Rick Warren also explained that God had personally instructed him to seek, for the good of the world, more influence, power and fame."
Sept 12, 2005: At Saddleback, members are expected to tithe, and to volunteer. Sunday-school teachers receive special training and a police background check. Recently, Warren decided that Saddleback would feed every homeless person in Orange County three meals a day for forty days. Ninety-two hundred people volunteered. Two million pounds of food were collected, sorted, and distributed.
It may be easy to start going to Saddleback. But it is not easy to stay at Saddleback. “Last Sunday, we took a special offering called Extend the Vision, for people to give over and above their normal offering,” Warren said. “We decided we would not use any financial consultants, no high-powered gimmicks, no thermometer on the wall. It was just ‘Folks, you know you need to give.’ Sunday’s offering was seven million dollars in cash and fifty-three million dollars in commitments. That’s one Sunday. The average commitment was fifteen thousand dollars a family. That’s in addition to their tithe. When people say megachurches are shallow, I say you have no idea. These people are committed.” (SOURCE: Malcolm Gladwell: Mother Jones: "The Cellular Church")
It may be easy to start going to Saddleback. But it is not easy to stay at Saddleback. “Last Sunday, we took a special offering called Extend the Vision, for people to give over and above their normal offering,” Warren said. “We decided we would not use any financial consultants, no high-powered gimmicks, no thermometer on the wall. It was just ‘Folks, you know you need to give.’ Sunday’s offering was seven million dollars in cash and fifty-three million dollars in commitments. That’s one Sunday. The average commitment was fifteen thousand dollars a family. That’s in addition to their tithe. When people say megachurches are shallow, I say you have no idea. These people are committed.” (SOURCE: Malcolm Gladwell: Mother Jones: "The Cellular Church")