![]() ![]() Base your ministry on the promises of God. ![]() ![]() evangelical pastor Rick Warren, found dead in California on Friday, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, an Orange County. By Alex Murashko, CP Contributor Pastor Rick Warren and his wife, Kay, said in their first interview with the media since their son's suicide more than five months ago that they knew all along that the day would come when they would become spokespeople for mental illness. "Base your ministry not on your talent base your ministry not on your abilities, not on your cleverness, not on your giftedness. An autopsy has determined that the son of popular U.S. "We minister to people out of our weaknesses, not our strengths," he explained. If his son's death proved anything, said Warren, it's the fact that the "greatest ministry comes not out of your strength but your weakness." "He cannot come back to me, but one day I will go to him." "I can't bring him back to life," Warren said of David's words in 2 Samuel 12:23. Now, Warren finds comfort in the promise God gave to David when his infant son died. Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren told staff in an email to Saturday that his 27-year-old son had commited suicide after a lifelong battle with mental illness. Warren wrote in his journal back then, "In God's garden of grace, every broken tree bears fruit." He added that "pain can obscure God's promises, but it can't nullify them." Warren shared that they received countless letters of support, but the ones that truly touched their hearts were not from "kings and ambassadors and presidents," but from those whom Matthew led to Jesus Christ. It was because of God and the Warren family's strong support system that they were able to heal after Matthew's suicide. "Your illness is not your identity, and your chemistry is not your character." Rick Warren’s announcement on June 6 that he plans to step away from his role as lead pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest raises the issue of succession in evangelical megachurches. Warren's Saddleback Valley Community Church said in a. "He came to me one day with tears in his eyes and said, 'Dad it's pretty clear the Lord isn't going to heal me.' Every day, his brain said, 'Die,'" Warren said, according to the Gospel Herald. The Southern California church headed by popular evangelical Pastor Rick Warren says his 27-year-old son has committed suicide. Kay and Rick Warren of Saddleback Church. Warren said even though the early years of his marriage with wife Kay was extremely difficult, nothing could have prepared them for the day when their 27-year-old son decided to take his own life after a lengthy battle with depression and mental illness. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church recalled the painful ordeal of his son's suicide during the NRB Convention ''Proclaim 16'' that was held in Nashville, Tennessee from Feb. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |