Rick Warren

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Richard D. "Rick" Warren (born January 28, 1954) is the founding and senior pastor of Saddleback Church. He is also the author of many Christian books, including The Purpose Driven Life, and a major (and controversial) figure amongst the Southern Baptists in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Warren was born in San Jose, California, in 1954, the son of Jimmy and Dot Warren.

He graduated from Ukiah High School in 1972, then taking a Bachelor of Arts degree from California Baptist University, his Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1979), and his Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary. He also holds several honorary doctorates.[1] He has lectured in the cities of Oxford, Cambridge, and at the University of Judaism (for Synagogue 3000), and the Evangelical Theological Society, among numerous seminaries and universities.[2]

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, and TIME’s Global Health Summit. He's also a signer of a statement concerning the global warming initiative.[3]

Warren made the claim that he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a good friend of President Bush and most of the top Generals at the Pentagon in an email to WorldNetDaily's Joseph Farah.

Warren was named one of America's Top 25 Leaders in the October 31, 2005 issue of U.S. News and World Report.[4] 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).[5] 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.[6]

Warren has been married to Elizabeth K. Warren (Kay) for thirty years. They have three adult children (Josh, Amy, and Matthew) and two grandchildren. He considers Billy Graham, Peter Drucker, and his own father (who was himself a Baptist pastor and an SBC missionary), to be among his mentors.[7]

[edit] Ministry

Rick and Kay Warren have donated 90% of their income through three foundations: Acts of Mercy, which serves those infected and affected by AIDS, Equipping the Church, which trains church leaders in developing countries, and The Global P.E.A.C.E. Fund, which fights poverty, disease, and illiteracy.[8]

Rick and Kay also are directors of the following non-profit corporate fund steams/assets:

  • Saddleback Church, with an annual budget of US$ 30 million[9]
  • Acts of Mercy, which had US$ 8 million ending 2004[10]
  • Purpose Driven Ministries, with US$ 47 million in gross receipts in 2004[11]
  • The Global Fund
  • RKW Legacy Partners
  • Equipping the Church

Warren no longer takes a salary from Saddleback Church and repaid all of his salary from the last 25 years back to the church, due to the success of his book sales. He now says he "reverse tithes", meaning giving away 90% of his salary and living off of 10%.[12]

[edit] 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 started a non-profit web-site PurposeDriven.com to help 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.[13]

[edit] P.E.A.C.E. Plan

Main article: P.E.A.C.E. Plan

Warren's humanitarian efforts have focused on addressing what he calls the five Global Goliaths:[citation needed]

  • Spiritual Emptiness
  • Egocentric Leadership
  • Extreme Poverty
  • Pandemic Diseases
  • Illiteracy and lack of education

Warren claims that these problems are so large that every attempt by the public and private sector has failed, and that the only organization big enough to take on these problems is the network of Christian churches around the world.[citation needed] On August 22, 2005, Time magazine reported that Warren has been asked by Rwandan President Paul Kagame to help his country become a "Purpose-Driven nation".[citation needed] To implement this, Warren has enlisted over 2,000 Saddleback church members to go to Rwanda in small groups to initiate a national strategy, and the cooperation of 600 Rwandan churches.[citation needed] Business leaders and leaders of parliament in Rwanda are also involved.[citation needed]

[edit] Criticisms

Warren's books have come under criticism from some other evangelical teachers for their content. Many evangelical teachers question the practices promoted in these books, claiming that they distort the gospel or otherwise employ questionable tactics, including New Age teachings.[14] Other common criticisms include objections to the accuracy with which it presents the Christian gospel, the accuracy of their Biblical exegesis, and various allegedly unbiblical teachings.[15]

Warren says he is inclusive beyond his Southern Baptist roots, and welcomes pastors and leaders from all denominations to his training programs.[citation needed] Warren claims to stick to the "essentials" of the faith and focus on "loving people into the Kingdom" of God in an attractive way without compromising the essential tenets of his faith.[16] Many critics, however, contend that Warren does compromise on various doctrinal truths in his teachings, and that he espouses ecumenical teachings.[citation needed] Rick Warren has also come under fire for his appearance at the 2006 Centenary of the Azusa Street Revival, which also had Word of Faith preachers such as Benny Hinn , T.D. Jakes, Kenneth Copeland, and Creflo Dollar as guests.[17]

A controversy occurred in November 2006 when Warren visited Syria. He reportedly told SANA a Syrian-controlled news agency that the U.S. should be holding dialogues with Damascus, that Syrian Muslims and Christians co-exist peacefully and that the Syrian leadership is responsible for the nation's tolerance and stability. A YouTube video release by Saddleback Church was subsequently withdrawn when critism of his remarks were made by Joseph Farah.

[edit] Opposition

There are a number of pastors, ministries and authors throughout the world who are opposing Warren, including Dr. John MacArthur, who addressed Warren in a chapter in his book called Fool's Gold. Other opposing pastors include Chuck Smith, Dave Hunt, Richard Bennett, David Cloud, Berit Kjos, and Dr. Noah Hutchings, author of Dark Side of the Purpose Driven Church.

[edit] Wall Street Journal

Others express concern over what is described as the divisive nature of Warren's techniques. September 5, 2006, Wall Street Journal writer, Suzanne Sataline, published "Strategy for Church Growth Splits Congregants".[citation needed] Sataline cites example of congregations who have split over purpose-driven growth strategies. Congregations nationwide have split or expelled members who fought purpose driven changes and despite successes elsewhere, the exodus at some churches adopting the purpose-driven approach has been dramatic, Sataline noted.

[edit] Corporate donors to P.E.A.C.E. plan

Warren said he is Rupert Murdoch's pastor, whose News Corp. subsidiary publishes Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life" but also publishes tabloid newspapers featuring pornography. To relieve the controversy Warren commented: '"I don't have to agree with 100 percent of what another person does in order to work with them on the 20 percent that we do agree on,"' Warren says. Murdoch supported Warren's P.E.A.C.E. plan, donating $2 million.[18]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] External links


[edit] Criticism of Rick Warren

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