Has Pastor Rick Warren's time come and gone?
Ten years after his mega-bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life, catapulted him to fame as a kinder, gentler face of evangelicalism, The Daily Beast/Newsweek interviews the Saddleback Church founder about his ministry, including a program to introduce his message to a new generation.
With that in mind, the anniversary edition of the book has been updated with new chapters plus audio and video links designed to appeal to the social-media conscious.
“This nation is in desperate need of some direction and purpose and meaning," Warren, who spoke at Azusa Pacific University's graduation ceremony in 2011, said. "Somebody’s got to speak up now. And I thought, OK. If nobody else volunteers, I’ll step up.”
Will the efforts be enough to keep him relevant?
In 2008, Warren hosted a presidential candidates forum at his church in Lake Forest, CA, and later delivered the invocation at President Obama's inauguration. But in 2012, his planned candidates forum never materialized.
Next year, Warren hopes to help spark a grass-roots spiritual revival.
But some Christian leaders think his approach has become stale.
Warren "is one of pioneers of the boomer generation of evangelical leadership, but I think there’s something else going on in the church today,” said radio minister Michael Horton. “There is disenchantment with market-driven approaches [like Warren’s]. A new generation is looking for a little bit more seriousness and depth.”
Read the full Daily Beast/Newsweek story here.
