Saddleback elders say no “pattern of abuse” found in investigation of new pastor
RNS Leaders of one of the largest and most prominent congregations in the US say their new pastor has been cleared of allegations of abuse at his previous church. In June, Andy Wood, pastor of Echo Church, a multi-site church based in San Jose, California, was named the new pastor at Saddleback Church and the […]
In the US, Southern Baptists agree to keep list of accused sex abusers
Anaheim, CaliforniaAP The Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse and launch a new taskforce to oversee further reforms in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. The vote came three weeks after the release of a blockbuster report by an outside consultant […]
US megachurch pastor Rick Warren to retire in September, names Andy Wood as his successor
RNS After more than four decades, the pastor of one of the nation’s largest and most influential churches is ready to step down. And he has named a young couple to take his place. “This afternoon, at our all-staff meeting held at the Lake Forest campus, I was finally able to publicly announce that we […]
Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren signals retirement with search for successor
RNS Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren on Sunday announced the church will begin the official search for his successor, signaling he will retire after 40 years in his pulpit. “That’s a big deal,” Warren said, in a moment of characteristic understatement. Saddleback Community Church, which Warren founded in 1980, is the second-largest church in the Southern Baptist […]
Southern Californian church Saddleback ordains three women, leading to another Mother’s Day dust-up over women pastors
RNS Saddleback Church, one of the largest churches in the Southern Baptist Convention and home to influential pastor Rick Warren, ordained three women as staff pastors this past weekend, a move that critics say violates the denomination’s statement of faith. “Yesterday was a historic night for Saddleback Church in many ways!” the Southern California megachurch’s […]
Rick Warren pays tribute to Celebrate Recovery co-founder John Baker
RNS When he first came to Saddleback, John Baker’s life was unravelling. A successful businessman and Air Force veteran, Baker, who died unexpectedly this week at 72, once dreamed of going into ministry. After the military, he got a job in the corporate world but stayed involved in church working as a youth leader. Celebrate […]
John Baker, founder of the Christian support group Celebrate Recovery, has died
RNS John Baker, co-founder of Celebrate Recovery, an evangelical support group that helps people with “hurts, hangups and habits,” has died. The ministry, started at Saddleback Church in the 1990s, announced the news of his death Tuesday on social media. Celebrate Recovery founder John Baker. PICTURE: Hope for Mental Health “John Baker co-founder of Celebrate Recovery made […]
US Pastor Rick Warren apologises for children’s Sunday school video loaded with Asian culture stereotypes
RNS Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren has apologised for a children’s Sunday school curriculum video that used Asian culture stereotypes to teach kids about the Bible. The video has been removed, but Michelle Ami Reyes, vice president for the Asian American Christian Collaborative, on Twitter described it as using Asian culture “as a prop for slapstick humor.” […]
Postcards: With closed churches, open beaches, California surfer ministry hits the waves
LIZA VANDENBOOM, writing for Religion Unplugged, reports on how a Californian ministry to surfers has returned to the water as coronavirus restructions have eased…
New website offers resources for US churches responding to coronavirus
RNS A new website guiding churches and ministry leaders as they respond to the coronavirus pandemic was launched Thursday as a partnership between two Wheaton College institutions — the Billy Graham Center and the Humanitarian Disaster Institute — as well as Saddleback Church in California, led by pastor Rick Warren. “Churches often don’t know what […]