| Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church in | | | | to them, praying with them, walking through the |
| Orange County, California is an evangelist. He is a one | | | | weddings and the funerals and the proms and all |
| of a kind superpower in the evangelical Church world, | | | | those different divorces and different things like that. |
| and sought after for his thoughts, observations and | | | | As we go about excerpting this remarkable |
| comments by a host of prominent members of the | | | | interview that includes discussion by a number of |
| press in the United States. In an interview conducted | | | | noted journalists who talk with the Pastor, there is |
| under the auspices of the Pew Forum on Religion | | | | little doubt that Pastor Rick is larger than life. One of |
| & Public Life a published transcript of an | | | | my favorite quotes shows how the evangelical work |
| interview with Pastor Rick appeared in mid | | | | he does is on the world stage, and apparently it is |
| November. Speaker: Rick Warren, Pastor, Saddleback | | | | for he tells the Pew Forum: I'm actually taking Tony |
| Church, Lake Forest, California. Moderator: Michael | | | | Blair down there with me to check on our P.E.A.C.E. |
| Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics and Public Policy | | | | plan progress in a number of different places, in |
| Center. This news report and commentary on the | | | | Rwanda and others. He is a man of vision sought |
| interview takes a section of that lengthy interview, | | | | by other men: I've been given this subject of the |
| focusing on Pastor Rick’s comments on religion in | | | | future of evangelicals, and I'll tell you - here it is in a |
| the United States and world itself today. These are | | | | sentence: I don't know. Nobody can predict the |
| some of his thoughts as presented in the interview. | | | | future. In fact, vision is not the ability to predict the |
| Pastor Rick says: The last 50 years has seen the | | | | future vision; it's the ability to see the opportunity in |
| greatest redistribution of a religion ever in the history | | | | the current situation and jump on it. That's vision. |
| of the world. There is nothing even to compare to it. | | | | In his hopefulness, in his optimism, in his American |
| For instance, at the beginning of the 20th century, in | | | | vision of a world and his own country, Pastor Rick |
| 1900, 71 percent of all, quote, "Christians" lived in | | | | exemplifies the maxim that the universe is a place of |
| Europe - 71 percent. By 2000 that percentage had | | | | progressive movement forward in light of God, that |
| declined to 28 percent. Only 28 percent claimed to be | | | | we have a promise of contemporary progress that |
| Christian, and I'm sure it's far smaller than that who | | | | appears to be without hitches or delays of any kind |
| actually even go to a church. This well known | | | | of length. Is this hyperbole and unfair to the man and |
| commentator and clergyman makes many large | | | | his vision. Perhaps not, for though he may consider |
| remarks of informed interest. As an author, and as a | | | | such delays in man’s future, the overwhelming |
| Pastor, his fame is known. Moderator Michael | | | | vision and message he offers seems to smack of a |
| Cromartie of the Pew Forum introduces him this way | | | | kind of prosperity. It is prosperity of faith, prosperity |
| in the interview: “So my introduction will be short | | | | of promise, and prosperity of attention to this |
| because you're here because you know of Rick's | | | | dynamic and charismatic individual. So the interview |
| work and reputation. Some of you may not know | | | | reveals, and the Pew Forum interview is a good one |
| that Rick's book, The Purpose Driven Life, is the | | | | on faith as it is played out in Religion & Public |
| best-selling nonfiction book in American history - I | | | | Life. This long quote from the interview ends this |
| think over 30 million copies.” An indication of the | | | | article, for it better illustrates how positive this man is |
| size of the scope of Pastor Rick’s ministery is | | | | about religion in the world and Christianity as it plays |
| offered when he says of a future | | | | its part in the Public Life. For he paints a formidable |
| “stopover” outside the United States: I'm on | | | | figure of a face of overwhelming numbers and |
| a stopover to a couple of different places. We're | | | | influence by religion: In a way, an evident way, he |
| going into Paris. Many of you know that we have a | | | | says the new world of America and the Old World |
| network. I've trained over 400,000 pastors in 162 | | | | of Europe are fading away: The Church of England |
| countries. I've been doing that for 30 years. Most of | | | | is a misnomer. It is now the Church of Africa. I have |
| those years nobody knew I was doing it, but we | | | | been involved in the ordination of many of those |
| were in 162 countries, 400,000 pastors, and then not | | | | Anglican leaders. They have spread all over. Last |
| including business leaders, government leaders. A | | | | Sunday there were more Christians who went to |
| spokesman, as it were, for evangelicals, he offers | | | | church in China than all of Europe combined. That is a |
| this broad observation of the world of Christendom | | | | fundamental shift. If you want to know the future of |
| in the 21st Century: …Christianity was exploding in | | | | Christianity, it is the developing world. It's Africa, it's |
| Africa, Asia and Latin America. If you want to know | | | | Latin America, and it's Asia. In fact, there are about |
| the future of evangelicalism, it is in those continents. | | | | 15,000 missionaries now working in England from |
| To give you an example, in 1900 there were only 10 | | | | Brazil, China, Korea, other countries that you used to |
| million Christians in all of Africa - 10 percent of the | | | | think, well, those would receive missionaries. In fact, |
| population. Today there are 360 million Christians in | | | | Brazil sends out far more missionaries than either |
| Africa, over half the population. That is a complete | | | | Great Britain or Canada combined. So that's a |
| turnaround on a continent that's never, ever been | | | | fundamental shift. That's all I'm going to say about |
| seen or done in history. You may be surprised to | | | | the future of evangelicalism. It ain't here. Okay? It |
| know that there are more Christians in China than | | | | isn't Europe. Now, I will say this: The world is |
| there are in America, by far - by far. There are more | | | | becoming more religious. There are 600 million |
| Presbyterians in Ghana than there are in Scotland, | | | | Buddhists. There are 800 million Hindus. There are |
| where they came out of with John Knox. There are | | | | 1.[57] billion Muslims. And there are 2.3 billion Christians. |
| more Baptists in Nagaland, a state in India, than there | | | | That means the actual number of secularists outside |
| are in the South here in America. There are more | | | | of Europe and Manhattan is quite small. It really is |
| Anglicans in either Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria - | | | | quite small, and we don't understand it. We're in this |
| any of these - than in England. There are 2 million | | | | little bubble that we think most people don't have a |
| Anglicans in England. There are 17 million Anglicans in | | | | faith. Well, you need to get a life and get around the |
| Nigeria. Big thinking, mega church leader, Pastor | | | | world because most people have some kind of faith. |
| Rick knows who he is and is glad to be the leader of | | | | There is the unmistakable sense that the world |
| his own Church, Saddleback, about which he offers: | | | | and mankind itself is a purpose driven combination. He |
| Today Saddleback is a 120-acre campus. It looks like | | | | makes clear where he as evangelist stands when he |
| a college. We typically will have 25,000 people on the | | | | says with apparent passion, “…[Y]ou need to |
| weekend. I have over 100,000 names on a church | | | | get a life and get around the world because most |
| roll. You need to understand I grew up in a little town | | | | people have some kind of faith.” A remarkable |
| in Northern California during Haight-Ashbury, and in | | | | man, Pastor Rick Warren is interesting and |
| the town I was in we had 500 people, so my church | | | | newsworthy, bigger than life. Towards the end of |
| is like 1,000 times bigger than the town I grew up in. | | | | the interview, he tells the others, “Thank you, |
| I could be a mayor. I actually know my valley far | | | | guys. (Applause.) Thank you. If you ever come out |
| more than any politician will ever know them because | | | | to Orange County, give me a ring. I know every |
| I've spent 30 years there. This will be my 30th | | | | place to eat under five bucks. I'll treat you to a real |
| anniversary year. I've been listening to them, talking | | | | gourmet meal. |