Pastor rick warren son died12/24/2023 A graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Andy Wood has also worked with church planters through the SBC’s North American Mission Board. Like Saddleback, Echo has ties to the Southern Baptist Convention, though neither church uses the word Baptist in its name. They will have the same roles at Saddleback.įounded in 2008 as South Bay Church, Echo now has four campuses and draws about 3,000 people to weekly services. Andy Wood, 40, is currently Echo’s lead pastor, while Stacie Wood is a teaching pastor. Today’s email included a link to a video featuring Warren and his wife, Kay, along with Andy and Stacie Wood of Echo Church in San Jose, California. “This afternoon, at our all-staff meeting held at the Lake Forest campus, I was finally able to publicly announce that we have found God’s couple to lead our congregation, and that they have agreed to come!” Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren told his Orange County, California, congregation in an email on Thursday. In a separate statement, his church asked for prayers and that “God’s comfort and peace” be with the Warren family.ĬNN’s Janet DiGiacomo and Eric Marrapodi contributed to this report.After more than four decades, the pastor of one of the largest and most influential churches in the United States is ready to step down.Īnd he has named a young couple to take his place. Why can’t I just die and end this pain?’ but he kept going for another decade,” Rick Warren wrote in the e-mail. “I’ll never forget how, many years ago, after another approach had failed to give relief, Matthew said ‘Dad, I know I’m going to heaven. The pastor gave the invocation at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration and penned “The Purpose-Driven Life,” a Christian self-help guide that became a mainstream best-seller. “We’re going to be real together about our hurts, and we’re going to be real together about the thing that only He can give us: Hope in the face of anything and everything,” Holladay said.Īs a pioneer of the megachurch movement, Rick Warren looked to translate traditional evangelical messages to a wider audience. He thanked members for coming and said that “we’re facing it as a family.” Matthew Warren’s uncle, Tom Holladay, preached at the church Saturday night. An autopsy will be conducted early next week, Aikin told CNN on Saturday.Īccording to a spokesman for Rick Warren, Matthew Warren worked in the Saddleback Resources Warehouse, which distributes books and DVDs. The coroner’s office is investigating the death. He put the estimated time of death at around 10 a.m. In spite of America’s best doctors, meds, counselors, and prayers for healing, the torture of mental illness never subsided.”Īccording to Aikin, Matthew Warren’s body was found at his home in Mission Viejo, California, late Friday afternoon. “But only those closest knew that he struggled from birth with mental illness, dark holes of depression, and even suicidal thoughts. He’d then make a bee-line to that person to engage and encourage them. He had a brilliant intellect and a gift for sensing who was most in pain or most uncomfortable in a room. “You who watched Matthew grow up knew he was an incredibly kind, gentle, and compassionate man. “No words can express the anguished grief we feel right now,” the pastor wrote in the note, a copy of which was sent to CNN. Rick Warren and his wife founded Saddleback Valley Community Church, a megachurch in Southern California. The family shared news of his death in an e-mail to church staff. Matthew Warren, 27, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Friday, said Deputy Daniel Aikin, with the Orange County Coroner’s Office. After a lifelong battle with mental illness, the youngest son of Pastor Rick Warren has committed suicide, his family said.
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