I’m a big fan of Rick Warren.  He’s not perfect, but who is. I’ve never read Purpose Driven Life, but I did enjoy The Purpose Driven Church in the late 90′s. What I love about Rick is his progression. He started a church that shaped a new culture in Western Christianity-The Seeker Sensitive Church. That culture is both good and bad. But I truly think that movement brought back so many people who gave up on God and the church. 

Now Rick has become global. Fighting for those who live in poverty and creating a deep sense of awareness with his PEACE Plan. He takes a lot of heat because he’s involved in social justice, the church and politics. But I love it. I love how I now think of Rick Warren, not as a mega-church pastor whom people flock to see preach on Sunday morning. I now see Rick in the middle of culture trying to influence it with the gospel, and that is a dangerous place. It’s easy for your friends to become your enemy as they disagree with decisions that are made. It’s easy to make a simple statement, and that statement creates a national uproar…I can’t imagine the stress. 

I would encourage you to check out Brad Ruggles blog post on Rick Warren and Melissa Etheridge. So much to learn from that conversation. Christian can engage culture, befriend those who are different then us; disagree on key issues, and yet still build bridges that add value and mutual respect.

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