On Sunday, Rick Warren would preach his last sermon as senior pastor of Saddleback Church, concluding an era of church growth pragmatism. Earlier this year, it was announced that Andy Wood would take Warren’s place. The rather tumultuous transition process including multiple allegations against Wood and criticism over him interviewing Mark Driscoll is finally over.
The Sunday sermon was a tribute to Warren’s success over his decades of leadership at Saddleback Church. The last couple of years Warren underwent a heightened amount of controversy. Rick Warren would attack faithful churches for gathering during lockdowns or defying tyrannical mandates. Standing out among very few megachurches, Saddleback Church would institute a medical apartheid related to Covid jabs.
Additionally, Rick Warren would embrace feminism by ordaining female pastors in direct opposition to Scripture. Despite being a Southern Baptist, the convention refused to disassociate from him, instead giving him ample time to bloviate on the floor. Additionally, on this subject, it appears Saddleback Church has hired a husband-wife pastor team to replace Warren, thus embracing a female co-senior pastorate.
The influence of Rick Warren in the American church cannot be overstated. He set off a megachurch arm’s race that would result in a doctrinally shallow purpose driven church. The legacy he leaves behind is one of narcissism and pragmatism.
3 Responses
I am shocked–shocked!–to hear that his last sermon at Saddleback was all about himself.
And we wonder why the insaved world views us as conmen, frauds and flakes.
will Rick stop selling books? No we probably don’t get that blessing