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People (October 2005)

(Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and www.purposedrivenlife.com) Rick Warren (born 1954) is an American Evangelical Christian pastor and author. He is best known as the author of The Purpose Driven Life, which topped the New York Times Bestseller list for nonfiction for over 112 weeks. The book presents what Warren believes to be the five biblical principles for a fulfilled life: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism.

Born in San Jose, California, Warren holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from California Baptist College in Riverside, California, a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, as well as a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He also holds several honorary doctorates. A fourth generation pastor, his father's dying wish was to have "one more for Jesus" brought into God's kingdom. According to Warren, this moment at his father's deathbed moved him to have this ". . .be the theme of the rest of my life."

Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest in southern Orange County, California. He and his wife, Kay, began the church in their home in January 1980, with one family. Saddleback is an Evangelical Christian church which averages 30,000 in attendance at weekend services as of 2005. He also leads the "Purpose Driven Church" seminars, which are focused on teaching other church leaders to integrate the five purposes into their local church structures. Not a pretentious person who seeks the limelight, he quietly goes about his work and has been called by one journalist "the most influentual evangelist you've never heard of." Christianity Today magazine named him as "America's most influential pastor" in 2002. He is often in a Hawaiian-style shirt, with deck shoes wearing no socks, even when giving messages in his laid-back, informal style church.

Unlike other well-known Christian and religious leaders, Warren does not have his own television or radio program because he believes the spotlight changes people to be more ego centric. He is more impressed that people know the content of his teaching than know his name or the name of his church. He avoids both denominational and governmental politics, and lives in a home and drives a truck similar to others in his community would, which did not change when he became well known as an author. In addition, due to the success of the Purpose Driven materials, Warren repaid 25 years of salary back to Saddleback Church and "reverse tithes" living off 10 percent of his income and giving the other 90 percent away. In 2004, Warren and his wife Kay gave away $13 million.

The Purpose Driven Life, also played a role in a Georgia hostage crisis in March 2005, when Ashley Smith read to captor Brian Nichols passages from the book shortly before her release; news of the book's role in the crisis immediately increased sales of the book even more. Sales Soar for Book Used in Hostage Crisis. Brian Nichols, a man originally arrested for rape, was captured Saturday after a 26-hour manhunt at an apartment complex where he had taken a woman hostage. The hostage, Ashley Smith, said she helped persuade Nichols to free her by reading from Warren's 33rd chapter, "How Real Servants Act," which urges people to consider their talents and their purpose in life.

Nichols was accused of killing a judge and three others during a rampage that started in an Atlanta courtroom. The book, meanwhile, had soared on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. Sales "skyrocketed" at Barnes & Noble stores, according to Carolyn Brown, a spokeswoman for the superstore chain.