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Earlier this week, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) cut ties with Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. The influential Southern California-based congregation had been part of the SBC since its founding, but the denomination dismissed Saddleback over a decision that founding pastor Warren made shortly before he retired.In 2021, Warren ordained three women as pastors, which caused the SBC to consider disciplining the church or kicking it out of the denomination. One of those women, Stacie Wood, the wife of lead pastor Andy Wood, is a “teaching pastor.” On Tuesday, the SBC Executive Committee deemed Saddleback to be “not in friendly cooperation...

The Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday ousted its second-largest congregation — Saddleback Church, the renowned California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren — for having a woman pastor.

The devil has a special place in his black heart for children. He delights in stealing their innocence, using those under his demonic influence to commit the most unspeakable acts against the under-aged. So it was in the time of Moses that Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew boys be put to the sword to cull the growing Hebrew population. So it was in the time of Jesus that Herod the Great ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem two years old and younger so that he would not be supplanted as King of the Jews. And so it...

A former pastor at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church has been asked to resign as lead pastor of a church he’s served for three years after he refused to agree to its biblical position on homosexuality, fearing it would alienate people in the LGBT community. Gerald Sharon, the lead pastor at Southwest Church in Indian Wells, California, who spent 11 years at Saddleback Church serving in various leadership roles, was asked to step down from the pastoral role he has served for over three-and-a-half years since he left Saddleback because he now refuses to affirm the church’s position on homosexuality. On...

At the Saddleback Civil Forum, Barack Obama addressed his definition of marriage. While he said he believes that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, he also said that he would not support a Constitutional definition of marriage as so. His argument is that marriage has not been defined by the federal government, traditionally. He said that it is up to the states to decide

Megachurch pastor Rick Warren received criticism this week after posting a photo of a Chinese Red Guard on his Facebook page Monday. The photo....showed a smiling worker in uniform for the Cultural Revolution, which was a social-political movement in China from 1966 to 1976. Millions of people died due to the impact of the revolution. Along with the photo, Warren posted the caption, "The typical attitude of Saddleback Staff as they start work each day.” “People often miss irony on the Internet. It’s a joke people! If you take this seriously, you really shouldn’t be following me!” Warren posted as...

Duck Commander Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty spoke to the congregation of Saddleback church in July on why people need Jesus and why the founders would agree – and I gotta say it was awesome. I watched it last night and knew I had to post it for you guys. Duck Commander’s message is really simple, that people need to love God and love each other and he delivers it beautifully. He really is a fantastic preacher. Just watch, you’ll love it:

Phil and Alan Robertson from the hit reality-series "Duck Dynasty," will be at Saddleback Church on July 20 and 21 to discuss how following Jesus has changed their lives as part of the megachurch's "Follow Me" series. The sermon series has brought influential American preachers and leaders to the Southern California church to share their experiences as disciples of Jesus Christ. The Robertsons' message to the church will align with the topic of following God and will feature their take on being a believer.

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Evangelist Greg Laurie filled in for Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren during worship services over the weekend and is the first of a string of well-known Christian leaders scheduled to speak from the pulpit while Warren continues to grieve his son's passing. The list of pastors planned includes Francis Chan, Mark Driscoll, Pete Wilson, David Platt, Craig Groeschel, Wilfredo De Jesús, and Doug Fields. During the sermon series featuring the pastors, they are scheduled to answer the question, "What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus?" Chan, an author and popular speaker at Christian conferences, is planned...

ick Warren’s son has taken his own life. Matthew Warren, 27, had struggled with mental illness before his death. Evangelist Greg Laurie posted an e-mail the Saddleback Church pastor sent to this staff: “Only those closest knew that he (Matthew) struggled from birth with mental illness, dark holes of depression, and even suicidal thoughts. In spite of America’s best doctors, meds, counselors, and prayers for healing, the torture of mental illness never subsided. Today, after a fun evening together with Kay and me, in a momentary wave of despair at his home, he took his life.” Click here to read...

LAKE FOREST (CBSLA.com) — Pastor Rick and Kay Warren’s youngest son, Matthew, has committed suicide, Saddleback Valley Community Church announced Saturday. The evangelical megachurch announced the death of the 27-year-old in a statement. Described as “an incredibly kind, gentle and compassionate young man whose sweet spirit was encouragement and comfort to many,” the statement said Matthew suffered from mental illness that resulted in deep depression and suicidal thoughts. He died Friday night.

My wife and I enjoyed a special blessing yesterday. We sat in the front row at Saddleback Church in SoCal where Pastor Rick Warren played host to Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, husband and wife producers of the new ten-part miniseries, “The Bible,” which premiers tonight on the History Channel. Mark has brought such well-known reality shows to television as “Survivor,” “Celebrity Apprentice,” “The Voice,” “The Job” and “Shark Tank.” Roma is best known for her role as Monica, on the popular television series “Touched by an Angel.” Many, I imagine, had an inkling that Roma might be a Christian....

Much has been made about Mormonism, now that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney looks to be on his way to the Republican presidential nomination. But should he win the general election in November, would it be accurate to say that Romney is a Christian president? On Sunday’s “This Week” on ABC, fill-in host Jake Tapper posed the question of Romney’s religion to Rick Warren, the pastor of the California mega-church, Saddleback Church. “Mitt Romney will almost certainly be the Republican nominee and if that happens, which it looks like it will, he’ll be the first member of Church of Jesus...

NTEB has reported extensively on the growing Chrislam movement. Started by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, it has grown dramatically and now has infected many hundreds of churches and denominations all across America. A group called Faith Shared is now spearheading the move to merge Christianity with Islam, and in the process provoking the very judgment of God down upon us as a nation. The following is taken directly from their website: “Faith Shared asks houses of worship across the country to organize events involving clergy reading from each other’s sacred texts. An example would be a Christian Minister, Jewish...

Saddleback Church’s first-ever Daniel Plan Fun Walk & Run got more than 1,200 people to put on their running shoes this past Saturday. Adult participants were able to select walking or running in a 10K or 5K, while children had their own Fun Run event, according to the Orange County Register. As promised, Austin Andrews of the reality show “Biggest Loser” joined the Daniel Plan Fun Walk & Run. He took part in the 5K and then presented awards to church members who lost the most weight and to those who won the different races.The event is part of Saddleback’s...

Rick Warren kicked off his weight loss Daniel Plan on January 15. He plans to lose 90 pounds in 2011. Three doctors helped him kick off the program. One of the doctors was Dr. Daniel Amen. Dr. Daniel Amen promotes false meditation and tantric sex. (In our first news release, "Rick Warren Teams up with Swedenborg Cult Follower Dr. Oz, [Seen on FR here]" we mistakenly said he promoted Reiki. That was an editing error.) From Dr. Amen's blog, he said, "My favorite form of meditation is called Kirtan Kriya...I'm going to shut my door and meditate. If you want...

"Everybody sing ee-oo," declaims the clean-cut thirtysomething at the front of the vast auditorium. Ten thousand Californian voices respond. Over a backing of soaring power chords, the soloist launches into an ecstatic, 1980s-style anthem: "If you're alive and you've been redeemed,/Rise and sing, rise and sing." Pastor Rick Warren, America's most im­portant religious leader since Billy Graham, emerges from the wings, wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, a trimmed CEO beard and a little more weight than his doctor might recommend. When he speaks, his words are as warm as the Orange County sunshine: the homily is a practical one,...

Last Sunday we drove up to Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Orange County, a collection of affluent, politically conservative suburbs south of LA. The model of a modern megachurch, Saddleback boasts over 112,000 "unchurched occasional attenders" as ...

Calif. Pastor Takes in $2.4M After Donations Plea THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: January 2, 2010 LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) -- Evangelical pastor Rick Warren's plea for donations to fill a $900,000 deficit at his Southern California megachurch brought in $2.4 million, Warren announced to cheers during a sermon at the church on Saturday. Warren said the amount raised after the appeal was posted online Wednesday included only money parishioners brought in person to Saddleback Church by New Year's Eve. More was arriving by hand and by mail, he said. ''This is pretty amazing,'' Warren told his congregation. ''I don't think...

"I have thrilling news to share with you below but first some seriously bad news: With 10% of our church family out of work due to the recession, our expenses in caring for our community in 2009 rose dramatically while our income stagnated. Still, with wise management, we've stayed close to our budget all year. Then... this last weekend the bottom dropped out. "On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive - leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year, unless you help make up the difference today and...