Saddleback Church

Dear Saddleback Family,

What an end to summer!

 

Last weekend, 26,096 of came to heard Nick Vujicic teach the final message in our IDENTITY series. Over a hundred people made first-time commitments to Christ and all of us were inspired and challenged by Nick's testimony of uncommon courage. Born without arms and legs, Nick proved with his life that your identity, worth, and happiness are not based on your physical appearance, but in Christ. If you'd like to have the kind of courage Nick shows, you'll love the new series I begin this weekend (see below).

 

• My new series "Uncommon Courage" begins this weekend!
  Are you tired of being afraid to speak up? Worried you can't hang on? Anxious about a decision you've been putting off? This series will give you loads of help:

 

            September 8-9          Courage to live your convictions

            September 15-16      Courage to keep going

            September 22-23      Courage to take a risk

 

• Food Drive: Help us keep feeding the poor and jobless in Orange County. Because of your support, our Peace Center food pantry has served 98,599 families since opening. Because of your generosity, Saddleback distributes more than a million pounds of food a year. This weekend, please bring food items to your local campus and drop them in the blue barrels. Click here to see a list of what's desperately needed.

• We want you to belong to our church family! Enjoy the benefits of membership. It's easy to become a Saddleback member - attend Class 101 (Discovering My Church Family) this Sunday at 3:00 p.m. on our Lake Forest campus. Click here to learn more.

• Want a thorough understanding of the Bible? "Foundations" is the course for you!  Co-written by Pastor Tom Holladay and Kay Warren, tens of thousands of people around the globe have been transformed by this award-winning course. This course begins on September 17 and meets on Monday nights in the Lake Forest Worship Center. For information, or to sign up, send an email with the subject line "Foundations" to pastorrick@saddleback.com.

See you this weekend!

Dear Saddleback Family,

Summer's almost over… and what an amazing season it's been at Saddleback!
Below is a short summary of just a few of the amazing accomplishments of our fellowship. 

FIRST, HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND: 

1. My message, God's View of YOU: Learning Your Identity in Christ will liberate you to grow to a deeper level of confidence and assurance.

 
You are…
… NOT what your parents or others have tried to make you!
… NOT what others criticize or say you are!
… NOT what you tell yourself in self-condemnation! 
… NOT what Satan accuses you of!

I'm going to teach you your true identity, as God sees you, and it will change your life!

2. Saturday, 10 AM: The Daniel Plan Healthy Living Workshop, at our Lake Forest campus in the Plaza Room. It's time to get healthy for Fall.

3. Saturday, 6:30 PM:  Saddleback Global Cities Reception! Learn how each of our 12 Strategic City Teams are getting ready to launch 12 Saddleback congregations this year around the world in major cities.  Learn how YOU can play a part in some way. This is also at our Lake Forest Campus.

4. Sunday after the 6 PM service:  Pastor Rick Raw and Unplugged- for all college students and young adults under 35. An uncensored question and answer fireside chat with me! I will be on the hot seat answering any questions you have! We'll talk sex, drugs, rock 'n roll… whatever! I'm providing free pizza on the patio at Lake Forest campus, so I hope EVERY young adult from ALL of our Saddleback campuses will attend the service and this bonus session afterwards.   

SECOND, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED THIS SUMMER! 

• During the Crazymaker sermon series and our current Creating a Positive ID series, our attendance grew at all of our campuses combined by 2,000 more people attending each week than last summer!  Keep bring your friends! One more for Jesus.

• Over 1,400 kids attended Sector 5 and 48 children accepted Christ for the first time! Check out the video. Thanks to the 550 volunteers for loving our kids! 

•  1,115 students attended the Jr. and Sr. High Camps and 67 students were baptized!

•  60 Saddleback members volunteered to serve for a week at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC.  Thousands at that convention heard the gospel through the PDL tracts given out, personal testimonies, Saddleback speakers and one-on-one conversations at our booth.

• We launched the new Sunday night service for young adults which exploded with growth!

• High definition screens were installed at Lake Forest, just one of our Decade of Destiny projects. This was because of your faithful giving to Decade of Destiny, even during the summertime!

• We've had the highest record attendance at Saddleback Irvine, Saddleback at the Grove (Anaheim) and Saddleback Rancho Capistrano! We're moving forward on a permanent building for Saddleback San Clemente.  (And some of you don't know that Saddleback Corona moved to a much better location!) Saddleback Huntington Beach continues to astound us with innovative outreaches and Saddleback Laguna Woods is literally bursting at the seams!  Over 6,000 homes around the world worshipped with us through Saddleback Online and heard my message "Winning with the Hand You're Dealt." I'm so proud of all of you!

• Our college ministry retreat to Catalina this next weekend is COMPLETELY SOLD OUT.  

I call that a Saddleback Super Summer!  Now, here comes Fall

 

I love you all. See you this weekend!  And bring a friend who struggles with self-worth or discouragement. It could change their life forever.

Dear Saddleback Family, 

Today, we let the Orange County Register be the first to announce that we will NOT be hosting another Civil Forum on the Presidency as we did four years ago with the presidential candidates. 

Instead, our church will host a Civil Forum on Religious Freedom in September. Here are my full answers to questions about the Civil Forum.  Please forward this on to those you know would want to know.

 

PASTOR RICK'S FULL INTERVIEW

QUESTION: So, the rumor that Saddleback would host another Civil Forum on the Presidency was untrue?

Warren:  We did consider hosting another Civil Forum on the Presidency but decided against it.

When the primaries began earlier this year we began getting requests to do another presidential forum because the one we did in 2008 was given such high marks by pundits and critics for its unique format and for fairness. Also, the TV networks were eager to cover it again since it garnered one of the largest viewing audiences of that election.  So, last spring I talked with both campaigns about the possibility of doing it again. They were both favorable to participating, but we had not decided to do it.

 

QUESTION: Would this have been your first civil forum involving a sitting president?

Warren: No. President Bush participated in one of our civil forums while in office.  We actually had President Bush as a guest twice at Saddleback Civil Forums.

 

QUESTION: How many sitting presidents have you known personally?

Warren: All of them since President Carter, who was president when Kay and I started Saddleback in 1980.

 

QUESTION: Favorite presidential moment?

Warren:  President Reagan wearing a Saddleback Church cap at his ranch in Santa Barbara. He wrote me several encouraging letters in the early years of Saddleback. I've framed them.

 

QUESTION: So what made you decide to not repeat the Presidential Civil Forum this year?

Warren:  We had two reasons:  First, we feel the climate of the current presidential campaign is the exact opposite of the values of the Civil Forums.  We created the Civil Forums to promote civility and personal respect between people with major differences. The forums are meant to be a place where people of goodwill can seriously disagree on significant issues without being disagreeable or resorting to personal attack and name-calling. But that is not the climate of today's campaign. I've never seen more irresponsible personal attacks, mean-spirited slander, and flat-out dishonest attack ads, and I don't expect that tone to change before the election. We felt it would be hypocritical to pretend civility for one evening only to have the name-calling return the next day. President Obama ran on the promise of being a "uniter, not a divider" but both he and the leaders of Congress have failed miserably at that promise.  Our nation is more divided now than ever, except for the Civil War. That saddens me as an American.

 

QUESTION: And the second reason?

Warren: There is an even bigger issue at stake right now than who sits in the White House. It is the crumbling of our constitution's first guaranteed freedom - the freedom of religion. This issue is more significant and has far greater implications for America's future. People have forgotten that America was founded by people who came here to escape religious persecution. Freedom of religion is America's FIRST freedom. It's #1. It is the first freedom mentioned in the Bill of Rights - before freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble, and every other freedom!  America was the first and probably the only country to be founded in order to give every individual the freedom to practice his religion and follow his conscience without governmental constraint. And yet today, at the city, the state, and the federal levels, government bureaucrats are daily trying to limit that freedom, impose restrictions, and stifle expressions of faith on campuses, in hospitals, and in businesses. There are widespread attempts to redefine the first amendment to simply mean "You are free to believe anything at your place of worship but you are not free to practice your conscience elsewhere."  So now we've had the Justice Department suing a religious university for wanting to hire only teachers that share their faith and convictions. Fortunately, the Supreme Court overruled them, but religion is being zoned into a little box.  We've had the government forcing confessing Catholics to violate their convictions, cities zoning out churches, Muslims forbidden to wear head scarves, and businesses banned because of the religious views of the owners. There are literally hundreds of examples of freedom being squelched. The constitution doesn't just guarantee your freedom to worship; it guarantees you freedom from government intervention in your daily living out of what you believe.  That's why we've chosen to host a Civil Forum on Religious Freedom in September instead of the presidential forum. It's a fight for the constitution, not a personality.

 

QUESTION: Who will be invited to speak at that Civil Forum?

Warren:  I have invited the leading Catholic voice in America, the leading Jewish voice in America, and the leading Muslim voice in America to join me. I don't want to announce their names yet, because we are still coordinating our schedules for a date when we can all appear together. We obviously have different beliefs, but we are all "neighbors" in the national sense and the Scriptures command us to "Love your neighbor as yourself."  But one thing we all have in common is the mutual concern for protecting religious freedom for everyone. We are haunted by the words of the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller who wrote "First the Nazis came for the socialists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Catholic. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me."  We intend to speak out for each other. For instance, if the government suddenly decreed that all Jewish delis must now offer pork, you'd find me opposing that with my rabbi friends. I don't have a problem with pork, but I support your right to follow your faith.

 

QUESTION: What do you think are the candidates' views of religious freedom?

Warren: President Obama's policies clearly show what he values and I have told him that I adamantly disagree with those particular policies. I have not talked about this issue with Governor Romney, but I would imagine that, as Mormon, he'd obviously understand the importance of protecting all religions against persecution, and insuring people's rights to practice their conscience without government intervention.

 

QUESTION; When will you announce the date of the Civil Forum on Religious Freedom?

Warren: As soon as we have coordinated the speakers' schedules.

 

QUESTION: Will that forum be televised, too?
Warren: I hope so. Americans are definitely going to want to hear the leaders I've lined up.

QUESTION: Any final words?
Warren: In the final analysis, I believe our hope is not found in any man we put in the White House, but our hope is found in the man we put on the Cross.

Dear Saddleback Family,

            Forgive me for being so blunt, but I feel that this weekend’s message could be the turning point in your life.

            I’m rarely this forward . . . but every once in while God gives me a message that I know for certain is going to literally transform the thinking of those who hear it.  

         This new message, “WINNING WITH THE HAND YOU’RE DEALT,” will answer so many of the “Why?” questions that you’ve asked for your entire life. It contains truths and insights that I’m sure will cause you to say, “Wow. I GET IT! I’ll never look at my life in the same way again.”

            I honestly believe this powerful message will become one of the 10 most helpful messages I’ve preached in my lifetime – and I don’t say this lightly since I’ve taught thousands of messages to our Saddleback family.

            I know it’s summertime . . . but if you miss this message, I believe you will regret it. 

            Please make every effort to hear this Part Three of “ID: Making a Positive Identity.” I don’t want you to waste a day of your life in frustration. And, bring someone with you! They will thank you for the rest of eternity.

Dear Saddleback Family,

            I am SO eager to see you this weekend for three reasons:

1. Our NEW Decade of Destiny High-Definition Screens will go live this weekend at our Lake Forest campus! Everything will be so much clearer and sharper! Last weekend we did beta-tests of the screens in a couple of services, then made some tune-ups, and everything went so smooth that we are able to turn them on a full month ahead of our timetable.

We can now use the screens for Sector 5, our children's ministry summer extravaganza, and our Celebrate Recovery Summit, both of which will take place in August. This is the first step, and the cornerstone, of our strategy together to reach more people for Jesus and help fulfill Jesus' Great Commission around the world!

 

2. Our NEW series begins this weekend. During the Crazymaker series, I received a note that included these lines:

            "Pastor Rick, I've realized that the reason I let crazymakers walk all over me and control me is because I often feel insecure about who I am and what I am. Could you teach some messages on how to be more self-confident in God? What does the Bible say about how to be more secure in who I am? I've feared the disapproval of others for so long; I sometimes don't feel I know my real identity."

            What would you like to change about you?  You cannot live a new life until you get a new identity! Here's the good news:

 "When anyone is in Christ, he becomes a brand new person inside. He gets a new identity. He is not the same person anymore. The old is gone and new life begins!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 

            So this week, I begin a series that deals with your confused identity, mistaken identity, shattered identity, or stolen identity. We'll look at who you really are in Jesus. We'll start with the life of Moses and see how your identity determines your destiny.

 

 

 

3. I'm writing several NEW chapters for The Purpose Driven Life (10th Anniversary Edition) and I need your prayers this weekend! The final drafts are due at the first of next week, so I'm going to be investing long days and late nights for the next several days. You know that it is not an exaggeration that PDL has impacted millions of lives and it continues to do so. These new chapters are things I've learned about the barriers to living a life of purpose sinceI wrote PDL. Will you please pray that God gives me clarity, wisdom, and energy as I write during this weekend and the next few days? THANKS! Here's the new cover:

 

 

This past week, 60 Saddleback members represented you as delegates to the International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC. They showed love to those attending, shared the good news of Jesus, manned our Saddleback booth, and taught other churches how to start an HIV&AIDS ministry. I was SO proud of them, and you should be too. Thank God for our loving church!

Dear Saddleback Family,

One type ofcrazymaker that can wreak havoc in your life is the spiritual crazymaker.
Spiritual crazymakers use God, the Bible, and religion as tools to get their own way and control others. Hiding behind spiritual sounding phrases, or even Bible verses, these crazymakers can be petty, mean, and very manipulative. But they claim to do all their craziness “in the name of God,” so if you challenge them, they make it seem like you’re opposing God, or are unspiritual. Spiritual crazymakers are particularly hard to deal with!

In his helpful book Toxic Faith, Dr. Steve Arterburn exposes the methods of spiritual crazymakers and explains how to counteract them. Of course, Steve is well known as the founder of New Life Ministries and host of a daily radio program by the same name. So I have invited Dr. Arterburn to teach Part 8 of “You Make Me Crazy” this weekend!

Now this is important:

I’m certain that you know people who have been burned by religion, hurt by unloving Christians, or damaged by a painful church experience. THIS IS THE WEEK FOR YOU TO INVITE THEM TO CHURCH! God could use your invitation to turn a friend’s life around and bring them back to faith!  Please bring them with you this weekend.

If you missed last week’s message “Escaping the People Pleaser Trap” watch it by clicking here.

Also, if haven’t taken Class 201: The Key Habits for Spiritual Growth, I urge you to take our summer edition class this week. Childcare is available!  Click here to learn more.

I love you, and thank God for you.

Dear Saddleback Family,

I hope you had a fun 4^th of July.

We’re now in full summer mode – which means we’ve got tons of fun summer events for all ages. We’ve designed these so you can naturally bring friends who don’t know Jesus yet. This summer let’s Reach One More for Jesus!

            HERE’S SOME NEWS FOR JULY:

1. My message for you this weekend is “FREEDOM FROM THE NEED TO PLEASE.”  Few attitudes will rob your happiness more, and cause you to miss God’s purpose for your life, than the need to try to please everyone and the fear of rejection. Proverbs 29:25 says “The fear of human opinion disables.” You CANNOT be what God wants you to be if you’re always worrying about what other people think! This message could revolutionize and liberate the rest of your life. By the way, this weekend is WORSHIP TOGETHER WEEKEND, which means all JUNIOR HIGH & HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS will worship with us in our adult services this weekend at all campuses. Bring them with you!

2. Because you asked . . . I’m extending our YOU MAKE ME CRAZY series through the last weekend of July. So many of you have tweeted or posted on Facebook how these messages on unhealthy relationships are helping you. So I’m adding three more messages!  If you have missed any of the six previous messages, click here to watch them. 

3.  Our new Service for Young Adults on Sunday evenings is a HUGE success!  (6 p.m. on the Lake Forest campus) Around 2,000 people in their 20’s and 30’s are attending and then hanging out at our after-service party each week on the patio. If you are in your 20’s or 30’s, come enjoy great music, great food, and a great party!  

4.  Our High Definition Video Screens & Cameras are finally being installed!! We’ve waited three years for these, and you are NOT going to believe the difference you’ll see! All our other campuses have much newer screens than Lake Forest’s 17-year-old analog screens. I’m just glad they lasted until the new ones arrived! This upgrade is part of Decade of Destiny fund which means it’s not a part of our general budget expenses. This means that, during the next two months, we all need to pitch in with some extra giving to pay for these. Enough said. Thank you for your maturity and generosity.

Bring a friend this weekend to hear how to be freed from the need to please everyone. 

I love you. Happy summer!

Dear Saddleback Family, Welcome to News & Views for the last week of June, 2012! Watch this video to see what's going on at Saddleback this weekend.

• To watch one of the previous You Make Me Crazy messages, click here.

• To learn more about the You Make Me Crazy series, click here.

I'll see you this weekend!

Pastor Rick

Dear Saddleback Family,

Summer @ Saddleback is now official!  We’re going to have a great time.

Thanks for all your kind words about our current You Make Me Crazy series. Below is an Orange County Register interview I just did on marriage and dating in preparation for this weekend. You might forward it to others. 

DOUBLE HEADER MESSAGES THIS WEEKEND!

TWO helpful messages for you on relationships:

1.  “SETTING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES IN RELATIONSHIPS: How to Say NO without feeling guilty!”

Dr. John Townsend, author of the mega-million best-seller Boundaries, will speak on Saturday night and Sunday morning at all our campuses.

This is your chance to hear the world authority on this subject for free!

 

2.    “FINDING THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE: A biblical checklist for knowing who to marry!”

I will speak live on Sunday night at our new service for people under 35. The service takes place at 6:00 p.m. in the Lake Forest Worship Center. This message can spare you a lot of pain and could determine your future success in relationships. It’s one of the most important messages I can share with those of you who may marry someday so I’m inviting all single adults in Southern California! Please spread the word.

After this service we’ve planned great food on the patio, casual fellowship areas with fire pits, and live outdoor music under the warm summer Southern California sky!  So stick around. Maybe you’ll meet the future love of your life . . . without paying for a cruise! 

MARRIED COUPLES: You can watch online at www.saddleback.com/live as some of the insights will improve your marriage!

Rick Warren Helps Singles Find “Loves of Their Lives” Sunday

The Orange County Register recently interviewed me about marriage and dating in preparation for this weekend’s message. I talked with the Register about why I’m teaching this message, why I’m qualified to help you find the love of your life, and more. Click here to read the article and then share it with your friends.

SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND!

June 16, 2012 

 

Dear Saddleback Family,

 

Do You Know God's 7 Steps for Resolving Any Conflict?

One of the most important life skills that will affect your happiness in life is knowing how to resolve conflict . . . and it is clearly obvious from all around us that most people don't have the slightest idea how to do it!

 

Everywhere you look . . . in families, offices, governments, churches, businesses, and classrooms . . . people are paralyzed and stuck in relationships that they can't get out of, but can't get on with either

 

As your pastor, I care about you, your happiness, and your relationships. That's why, this summer, I'm teaching you all I've learned from the Bible about strengthening healthy relationships and changing unhealthy ones in my series called You Make Me Crazy.

  

This Father's Day weekend, you'll learn God's 7 Steps to Resolving Any Conflict. Bring your dad and every friend you know. It's one of those landmark messages that will alter your future.  If you missed either of the first two messages, "The 6 Things Wise People NEVER Do in Relationships" or "Who's Pushing Your Buttons," go to saddleback.com/crazymakers  to watch them. You can also take our Crazymakers Quiz.

 

"Pastor Rick, our marriage was self-destructing before our eyes, and we felt helpless to do anything

about it. But the first two messages of "You Make Me Crazy" SAVED IT! We are in love again!"

Mark & Leslie

  

SUNDAY NIGHT 6 P.M. SERVICE FOR THOSE OF YOU

UNDER 35!

Two weeks ago, we launched our new young adult service. Over 2,400 people showed up the first week and this past weekend I baptized 28 people! The coolest thing of all is that everyone hangs out together for fellowship outside – with fire pits, live music, and coffee.

 

Thanks for making this a success! See you this weekend at 6 pm in the Lake Forest Worship Center.

 

          "RESTORATION" SERVICE IN THE REFINERY

Our other new Sunday service at 6 p.m. is for when you are going through a tough time, experiencing a loss, dealing with grief, or need a quieter service for healing damaged emotions and want to receive hope and encouragement. Communion is served every week and we pray specifically for you.