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Rick Warren
Born	January 28, 1954 San Jose, California, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Evangelist
Spouse	Kay Warren
Website	Rick Warren

Richard D. "Rick" Warren (born January 28, 1954) is the founder and senior pastor of the evangelical Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, the fourth largest church in the United States. He is also a bestselling author of many Christian books, including his guide to Christian church ministry and evangelism entitled The Purpose Driven Church, which has spawned a series of conferences on Christian ministry and evangelism. He is perhaps most famously known for the subsequent devotional The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 20 million copies, becoming one of the best selling non-fiction books of all time. Though maintaining traditional evangelical positions on issues such as abortion and gay marriage, Warren has challenged the conservative views of many evangelical leaders by devoting less attention to these issues and instead calling on the church to focus its efforts on fighting international poverty and disease, expanding educational opportunity for the marginalized, and combatting global warming. During the 2008 presidential election he hosted the Civil Forum on The Presidency featuring both John McCain and Barack Obama at his church. President-Elect Obama chose Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, a decision that has drawn some criticism as a result of several of Warren's public positions, including his support of California's Proposition 8.

Biography

Warren was born in San Jose, California, in 1954, the son of Jimmy and Dot Warren. His father was a Baptist minister, his mother a high school librarian. Warren has a sister (Chaundel, who is married to Saddleback pastor Tom Holladay) and had a brother (Jim C. Warren, who died in 2007). He was raised in Ukiah, California and graduated from Ukiah High School in 1972.

Warren earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from California Baptist University in Riverside, his Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1979) in Fort Worth, Texas, and his Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

According to Warren, his call to full-time ministry came as a 19-year-old student at California Baptist when, in November 1973, Warren and a friend skipped out on classes and drove 350 miles to hear W. A. Criswell preach at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco. Rick Warren stood in line to shake hands with Criswell afterward.

When my turn finally arrived, something unexpected happened. Criswell looked at me with kind, loving eyes and said, quite emphatically, “Young man, I feel led to lay hands on you and pray for you!” He placed his hands on my head and prayed: “Father, I ask that you give this young preacher a double portion of your Spirit. May the church he pastors grow to twice the size of the Dallas church. Bless him greatly, O Lord.”

Saddleback's first public service was held on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1980, with two hundred people in attendance at the Laguna Hills High School Theater. Warren's church growth methods led to rapid growth. The church has used nearly eighty different facilities in its 28-year history.

Saddleback did not build its first permanent building until it had 10,000 weekly attenders. When the current Lake Forest campus was purchased in the early 1990s, a 2,300 seat plastic tent was used for worship services for several years, with four services each weekend. In 1995, the current Worship Center was completed with a seating capacity of 3,500. The multi-million dollar Children's Ministry Center and staff office building were completed over the next few years. In June 2008, a $20 million student ministry facility called the Refinery, was completed. The Refinery houses the middle school (Wildside) and high school (HSM) ministries, consisting of nearly 1,500 students..

Warren has worked to shift the evangelical movement away from a narrow focus on social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, to a broader social agenda. His five-point plan for global action calls for church-led efforts to tackle global poverty and disease, including the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to support literacy and education efforts around the world. In February 2006, he signed a statement backing a major initiative to combat global warming, thus breaking with some of the U.S.'s high-profile evangelical leaders, such as James Dobson, who had opposed such a move.

Warren has been invited to speak at national and international forums including the United Nations, the World Economic Forum in Davos, the African Union, the Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, TED, and Time’s Global Health Summit.

Warren was named one of "America's Top 25 Leaders" in the October 31, 2005 issue of U.S. News and World Report. Warren was elected by TIME magazine as one of 15 World Leaders Who Mattered Most in 2004 and one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" (2005). Newsweek magazine called him one of "15 People Who Make America Great", an award given to people who, through bravery or generosity, genius or passion, devote themselves to helping others.

In 2005, during the Terri Schiavo controversy, Warren called Michael Schiavo's decision to remove Terri's feeding tube "an atrocity worthy of Nazism" and suggested that Michael wanted Terri to die because, if she regained consciousness, she might have "something to say that he didn‘t want said".

On August 16, 2008, Warren drew greater national attention by hosting the Civil Forum on the Presidency that featured Senators John McCain and Barack Obama at Saddleback. The forum marked McCain and Obama's first joint appearance as the presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees and was broadcast on national television. During the two-hour event, each candidate took the stage separately for about an hour to respond to Warren’s questions about faith and moral issues such as Christianity, abortion, orphans, and human rights. Warren said the goal of the civil forum was to “restore civility in our civil discourse.”

</ref> Warren also publicly supported California Proposition 8 (2008), which amended the state constitution to ban same-sex marriages. After the measure passed successfully, Warren's Saddleback Church was targeted by pro-gay marriage protesters.

On December 17, 2008, Barack Obama, at the time the President-Elect, chose Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2009. The decision was announced by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. This decision angered pro-choice and same-gender marriage advocates and led to criticism of Obama and Warren. The same day Beliefnet.com posted an interview in which Warren compared gay marriage to incest, polygamy, and pedophilia and stated that gay marriage rights would lead to hate speech prosecutions of Christians who oppose gay marriage and view homosexuality as sin.

Warren is married to Elizabeth K. Warren (Kay), wife of thirty years. They have three adult children (Amy, Josh and Matthew) and four grandchildren. He considers Billy Graham, Peter Drucker, and his own father (who was himself a Baptist pastor and a Southern Baptist Convention missionary), to be among his mentors.

Ministry

Rick and Kay are directors of the following non-profit organizations:

• Saddleback Church
• Acts of Mercy
• Purpose Driven Ministries
• The Global Fund
• RKW Legacy Partners
• Equipping the Church

Warren no longer takes a salary from Saddleback Church and has repaid all of his salary from the last 25 years back to the church, due to the success of his book sales. He says he now "reverse tithes", meaning giving away 90% of his income and living off of 10%.

Conservative views

Despite Warren's progressive image and focus on social issues, he is closely aligned with conservative evangelical viewpoints. On the eve of the 2004 presidential election, Warren sent an email to the Saddleback Church congregation telling them that there were five non-negotiable issues that should determine their vote:

1. What does each candidate believe about abortion and protecting the lives of unborn children?
2. What does each candidate believe about using unborn babies for stem-cell harvesting?
3. What does each candidate believe about homosexual marriage?
4. What does each candidate believe about human cloning?
5. What does each candidate believe about euthanasia - the killing of elderly and invalids?

Warren has stated that homosexuality is not a natural way of life and thus not a human right, and should not be tolerated, and that civil unions are not a civil right . In a conversation with Sam Harris for Newsweek , Warren also spoke out against evolution and in favor of creationism, and compared atheists to Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot. Asked about the difference between himself and Focus on the Family president James Dobson, Warren claimed that "it's a matter of tone"

Purpose Driven

Over 400,000 pastors and church leaders from around the world have attended a seminar or conference led by Warren and other pastors who share best practices as they seek to be more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. The term "Purpose Driven" refers to these pastors' attempt to balance the five purposes of Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and Evangelism in their churches. Saddleback Church also has a web-site, PurposeDriven.com, to help instruct in these principles, provide curriculum and to communicate and coordinate the community.

Over the years, Christian leaders in 162 countries have used materials which stem from this movement. Through this organization over 400,000 ministers and priests have been trained worldwide in his theology and practical methods. 189,000 church leaders subscribe to Ministry Toolbox, the weekly newsletter.

Warren's books have come under criticism from some Christians who question the practices promoted in these books, claiming that they distort the gospel and employ questionable tactics. Particularly, some fear his books invite his readers into a 40-day streamlined program, rather than a living, transforming faith in God. Others express concern over what is described as the divisive nature of Warren's techniques. Wall Street Journal writer Suzanne Sataline cites examples of congregations who have split over purpose-driven growth strategies and congregations who have expelled members who fought purpose driven changes. In an effort to defend Warren, Richard Abanes, a Christian author, journalist and apologist has written a book and extensive articles researching many of these criticisms.

Bibliography

• The Purpose Driven Church (ISBN 0-310-20106-3)
• The Purpose Driven Life (ISBN 0-310-20571-9)
• Answers to Life's Difficult Questions (ISBN 0-9660895-2-9)
• The Power to Change Your Life (ISBN 0-9660895-1-0)
• What on Earth Am I Here For? Booklet (ISBN 0-310-26483-9)
• Personal Bible Study Methods (ISBN 0-9660895-0-2)
• Purpose Driven Youth Ministry (ISBN 0-310-21253-7)--Doug Fields

See also

• The Purpose Driven Church
• P.E.A.C.E. Plan
• Celebrate Recovery

References

1. ^ "Interview with a Missions Leader" (HTML). Woman's Missionary Union Website. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
2. Goodstein, Laurie (February 8, 2006). "Evangelical Leaders Join Global Warming Initiative". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
3. Sheler, Jeffery L. (November 31, 2005). "Preacher With A Purpose". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2008-10-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. Steptoe, Sonja (April 18, 2005). "Rick Warren: A Pastor with a Purpose". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
5. Adler, Jerry (July 3, 2006). "The giving Back Awards: 15 People Who Make America Great". Newsweek. Retrieved 2008-10-24. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
6. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0503/22/lkl.01.html
7. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7286474/
8. Chan, Kenneth (August 17, 2008). "Church-Hosted Forum Reveals Hearts, Minds of White House Hopefuls". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
9. Jackson, Fred (October 24, 2008). "Rick Warren endorses Prop. 8". OneNewsNow. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
10. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2008/12/obama_taps_evan.html
11. http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2008/12/rick-warrens-dark-night-of-the.html
12. "CNN LARRY KING LIVE: Interview With Vanessa, Alexandra Kerry; Interview With Rick Warren (transcript)". CNN. November 22, 2004. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
13. http://holycoast.blogspot.com/2004/10/letter-from-rick-warren-pastor-of.html
14. http://allafrica.com/stories/200803281265.html
15. http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2008/12/rick-warrens-controversial-com.html
16. http://www.newsweek.com/id/35784
17. http://s.wsj.net/public/article_print/SB121944811327665223.html
18. ^ Sataline, Suzanne (September 5, 2006). "Strategy for church growth splits congregants". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
19. http://abanes.com/myarticles.html

External links

• Rick Warren
• Rick Warren's Ministry Podcast
• Purpose Driven Church
• Pastor Rick Warren's 22 min Talk at TED Conference (2006) Monterey, CA
• Event Transcript "Myths of the Modern Mega-Church" with speaker Rick Warren and respondent David Brooks
• New Yorker article on the ministry of Rick Warren by Malcolm Gladwell (retrieved July 20, 2008)
• Rick Warren's Presence at 'Azusa Street' Questioned
• The Global Ambition of Rick Warren at TIME Magazine, August 7, 2008 (retrieved August 11, 2008).

• American Evangelicals
• Christian religious leaders
• American Baptist ministers
• Christian writers
• People from San Jose, California
• People from Mendocino County, California
• 1954 births
• Living people