Saddleback Church

Dear Saddleback Family,

We have so many things to be grateful for this spring as Decade of Destiny progresses:

• All ten of our Saddleback campuses are growing!
• Thousands of small groups are learning to be more effective parents.
• We’re getting healthier (losing 4,000 pounds a day!) through The Daniel Plan!
• Saddleback San Clemente is about to get a new building.
• Saddleback Rancho Capistrano is renovating its building
• We’re preparing plans to renovate our Lake Forest campus.
• We’re almost ready to open our Retreat Center.
• Over 500 people have come to Christ through the Saddleback Church Food Pantry, one of our Decade of Destiny initiatives.

THIS WEEKEND
Doug Fields is speaking on Raising Amazing Kids, Part 4, while visit our Huntington Beach and Orange campuses. Come join me for this great teaching!

MEMORIAL DAY SPRING CLEANING PARTY!
We are so close to opening our Retreat Center for small groups and Leadership Academy located on our Rancho Capistrano campus... but we need to make some finishing touches to beautify the campus.  So join me and all our church family for a...

Memorial Day BBQ & Workday Party
Monday, May 30th
At Our Rancho Capistrano Campus

• Wear OLD work clothes!

• Show up to check in at 7:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. and be assigned to a fun work team.

• You will be given a free BBQ meal ticket when you check-in to serve.

• Our clean-up teams will work from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (shift 1) and from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (shift 2) – Raking, dusting, cleaning, washing windows, moving trash, repairing etc.  There will be work to do for all ages!

• Everyone who served will then gather on the field at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 pm. I will be cooking hamburgers for all the volunteers at the 5:30 p.m. BBQ.  

• Only those who checked in to help out will get a ticket for the BBQ.

KEEP PRAYING FOR JESSE REES!

Pastor Erik Rees’ 12 year old daughter, Jesse, has an inoperable brain tumor. While receiving radiation, this courageous little girl has inspired other children dealing with cancer by starting a movement called Joy Jars. These jars of goodies are given to other children fighting cancer and who are too ill to go home and must remain in hospital. Jesse’s story has been featured on CBS, Fox News and in the OC Register.

I’ll see you this weekend and again on Memorial Day!

Hi Everybody!

Welcome to this post-Easter edition of News & Views.

I want to give you an update on Easter and where we’re headed in the next few weeks. It’s an exciting time at Saddleback Church - spring is a great time to be part of our church family.

Watch the video below to hear more.

Daniel Plan
Our church is losing an average of 4,000 pounds a day on the Daniel Plan! It’s not too late to join in. Visit the Daniel Plan website to register and join us.

Desiring God Conference
This Friday night and Saturday morning at Saddleback, we have the privilege of hosting the great bible teacher John Piper for the Desiring God Conference. I want to encourage you to come and be a part of this seminar. Register today!

New Parenting Series – Invite Your Friends!
We’re starting a new series next week that I’m calling “Raising Amazing Kids – What Smart Parents Know and Do.” I’ve provided a pre-written email that you can use to invite your friends and family. We had 923 first-time visitors over the Easter weekend, and 523 of them gave their lives to Christ. So, I’m encouraging you to bring your friends to this new series.

I love you so much, and I’m so proud of you. I’ll see you this weekend.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Dear Saddleback Family,

Welcome to this special Easter edition of News and Views.

I've prepared the most important Easter message I've ever given in the history of Saddleback, titled The Greatest Rescue. My special guest will be Jose Henriques, one of the 33 Chilean miners that were trapped 2,000 feet below ground for nearly 70 days.

Watch the video below to hear more about this message and Jose's incredible story.

I want you to bring three things with you this Easter:

• Bring a friend-  At Christmas last year, of the 50,000 people that came to Saddleback, only 360 were first-time visitors. This Easter, don't come to Saddleback alone; bring a friend. Pastor Rick has provided a pre-written email that you can send to your friends and family.

• Bring your Easter offering – Your faithful giving has helped us revitalize, refurbish and remodel the Rancho Capistrano campus. We're now starting the renovation of Saddleback Lake Forest. So bring your offering as we continue the Decade of Destiny.

• Bring a bag of groceries - Last year when we went to Anaheim Stadium for our 30th anniversary, I asked everyone to bring a bag of groceries. We filled three semi-truck loads! We're now feeding several thousand families through our food pantry, so please bring a bag of groceries with you again this Easter.

The week after Easter, I'm starting a new series called Raising Amazing Kids – What Smart Parents Know and Do. If you're thinking about beginning a family, currently raising children, or even if you're childless, these principles will be very helpful.

We'll see you this week.  God bless you.

February 5, 2011

Watch the video below as Pastor Rick gives us some important updates on what's going on at Saddleback right now, including:

1. The Daniel Plan: Over 8,600 people have signed up to be a part of the 52-week get healthy plan and over 8,200 have registered to be a part of the clinical trial. It's not too late to be a part of The Daniel Plan. Go on the Website, watch the original seminar, and create an online health profile. For those of you who have already created a profile, the update and track your progress feature will be available starting this Monday. There's updates posted on the Website each week and monthly Webinars with the doctors. Our next quarterly rally for The Daniel Plan will be on Saturday, March 19 with all three doctors, so mark your calendars!
   
   We are also doing more on our campus to get healthy. If you haven't seen the new Refinery health menu, you can check it out HERE. We've ordered our new exercise equipment and it will be available for you to use around our campus soon.


2. As you know, we've launched our new Saddleback campuses and all of them are thriving. I encourage you to go and visit at least one of them in San Clemente, Irvine, Corona, Huntington Beach, Rancho Capistrano, Orange, and two in Anaheim (one in Spanish and one in English). Last week, we launched our new online campus with Pastor Johnny Baker. So if you're travelling, overseas, in another state, etc. you can still be a part of our services.


3. As of February 4, Saddleback Church's Children's Ministry will no longer be referred to as All STARS but will now be called Saddleback Kids. Be on the lookout this weekend for new signs and room numbers hanging up on the Children's Building.


4. Radicalis: We are only two weeks away from our annual conference on living a radical Christian lifestyle. As a Saddleback member, I want you to be a part of this, so join us on February 22-25.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Dear Saddleback Family,

The first step in the new changes you’ve always wanted to make in your life begins tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.!

All change, no matter what change you want to make, requires energy. It’s the reason we don’t change the things we want to change! Too often, we simply don’t have the energy.

That’s why we’re beginning with your physical health as we start our 2011 Decade of Destiny journey to improve the 7 key areas of your life. And we’ve recruited the best experts to be your coaches!

World medical authorities Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Daniel Amen, and Dr. Mehmet Oz have joined together with our Saddleback Pastoral and Healthcare ministries to create The Daniel Plan – a 52-week healthy lifestyle program including:

1. The Daniel Plan Launch Seminar (tomorrow morning).

2. A six-week small group study with new curriculum (available at the seminar).

3.  A new Website (www.DanielPlan.com ) with weekly instructions from the doctors and a way to track your progress with a confidential online profile.

4. A monthly Webcast with Pastor Rick interviewing health experts to encourage you (the first one is coming on January 25).

5. Optional healthy choice menu, available in the Refinery beginning next weekend.

6. New outdoor fitness equipment that will be set up around the Lake Forest campus.

Don’t you want to feel better, be stronger, think sharper, and look better a year from today? It’s your choice!

This is the opportunity of a lifetime, for you, and for your unchurched neighbor that you bring with you. Nowhere else on the planet have these three experts ever been brought together as they have for this seminar.

Click here for the information, call a friend, and bring them tomorrow morning. It’s free!

- THIS SATURDAY! -

January 7, 2011

Dear Saddleback Family,

Happy New Year!

I can’t tell you how excited I am about the Decade of Destiny and what’s coming up at Saddleback. Next weekend, we’re launching the Daniel Plan, a 52-week plan to help you become physically healthier. Some of the details are below, but watch the video to find out more and make sure to forward this e-mail to all your friends!

Next Weekend

• We’re launching the Daniel Plan next Saturday, January 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Lake Forest campus with a kick-off event featuring Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Mark Hyman, and Dr. Mehmet Oz. These world-renowned doctors will lay out all the details of what to expect.  
• After the event, you’ll be able to set-up your own interactive online profile that will guide you through the plan week-after-week.
• Medical professionals and volunteers will be available to help you record some of your health numbers so you’ll know where you are starting from. The numbers will be recorded in private and you’ll be able to track your progress on Danielplan.com.
• We’ll also be distributing a six-week small group curriculum to help us all get on the road to better health together.

Invite your friends!

• This event is the perfect opportunity to get your unchurched friends and family members on our campus, so be thinking of who you can invite.

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend!

Saddleback Church
Purpose Driven Network
P.E.A.C.E. Coalition

January 1, 2011

Dear Saddleback Family,

Every sunrise… every Sunday…and every New Year… is a reminder from God that it is never too late for a fresh start!

No matter how messed up our past has been, we serve a God who “makes all things new.”

In fact, God commands us to not dwell on the past, but to look ahead in faith: “Forget about what's happened in the past! Don't keep going over old history. Be alert, and watch for the brand-new thing I am doing.  Can you see it?” Isaiah 43:18-19 (Mes)

NOW is the time to let go of your old fears… useless worries… obsolete attitudes… and self-defeating habits.  Don’t drag these into another year! God is giving you an opportunity for a new beginning.

This weekend is significant in that it has happened only 3 other times in Saddleback’s history: We begin, not just a new year, but a new decade … a decade that I am committed to help you make your finest and most fulfilling ten years of your life.

Don’t miss OUR NEW YEAR’S SERVICES!

1. ONE GREAT SERVICE TODAY (SAT): 5 PM!   Also Sunday: 9am, 11:15am, 5pm

 

2. I’M SPEAKING on “What You SEE is What You Get” (Num.13-14)
   God’s Word tells us that what you experience in your future is greatly influenced by whether you look at your circumstances with eyes of fear or eyes of faith.  The first step toward a New You for a New Decade is to align your outlook with God’s.

 

3. COMMUNION together to begin our Decade of Destiny. 


4. Show your Fresh Start by your NEW YEAR BAPTISM!
   I’d love to baptize you either TONIGHT after our service or after the 11:15 am service Sunday!  I will be baptizing.  Just show up!

Decade of Destiny

… is a comprehensive personal growth plan to make the next 10 years the best years of your life.

… will equip you to succeed  in 7 key areas: spiritual, physical, financial, relational, vocational, emotional, and mental.

… is based on God’s promises to you if you follow his instructions in faith.

… includes 12 major initiatives to bless your life

… begins in two weeks! 

December 17, 2010

Dear Saddleback Family,

My Christmas Prayer for You.

As your pastor, as we begin to Decade of Destiny:

• I’m praying you’ll be HEALTHIER, more FOCUSED, and more LIKE JESUS in 2011.
  “My dear friend, I pray that everything will go well with you and you will be in as good health physically as your soul is spiritually health.”   3 John 1:2

• I’m praying your FAITH will be stretched and grow through your DOD giving commitment, so you can watch God perform a miracle in your life.
  "What is impossible from a human perspective is possible with God." Luke 18:27
  "According to your faith will it be done to you." Matt.9:29

• I’m praying your friend will be in heaven one day because you invited them to a Christmas service.
  "I’m praying not only for these followers but also for those who will believe because of their testimony. John 17:20

My FAVORITE SERVICE of the Year!

The weekend before Christmas is always our most high-powered, inspiring worship service of the year.  You don’t want to miss the music!  It’s my favorite annual service.

PLUS, this weekend has added significance this year, as we all bring our Faith Giving Commitments this weekend.  At Thanksgiving, I asked you to pray about your faith-stretching commitment between Thanksgiving & Christmas.  Now is the time for all of us to DECIDE IN FAITH, how much each of us will trust God with our finances in 2011.

THIS WEEKEND AT OUR LAKE FOREST CAMPUS

• Full Choir, Orchestra, and special musical guests.
• I speak at all services.
• We commission our five new Saddleback campus pastors (Sat pm).
• All of us will bring our Faith Offering Commitments as our birthday gift to Jesus.
      (This is your last public opportunity to join in Decade of Destiny.)

HELP US NOT REPEAT LAST YEAR! PLAN AHEAD!

Do you remember what happened in many churches across America (including Saddleback) last year at Christmas?  Thousands came to our Christmas services all week but then stayed home and missed our regular weekend services. The super-low attendance the day after Christmas resulted in a low offering and created a deficit!

Gratefully, you responded enthusiastically to an email I sent asking you to mail-in your offering if you’d missed the weekend service. The deficit was made up in 48 hours because of the generosity of Saddleback people.

I don’t want to have to do THAT again!!

Especially because the timing of Christmas is even worse this year, with Christmas on Saturday! Many families will be out of town or recovering on Saturday and Sunday.

SO…. THIS WEEKEND, I’m asking you to bring TWO WEEKS of your offering (with your Faith Commitment Envelope) so we don’t repeat what happened last year, and I won’t have write you again!  Thanks SO much!  You are so faithful!

PREPARING TO ENJOY CHRISTMAS

• Mail me your Christmas card if you put a family picture in it. Kay and I use your pictures to pray for you during the year. 

Pastor Rick Warren

1 Saddleback Parkway

Lake Forest, CA 92630

• Email me your story of how God has led you or your family to decide what to give to your Decade of Destiny fund over the next 3 years.  I’ve been deeply moved by reading all the stories of God stretching our faith together!

  Watch a video of other testimonies

  See the list of the 4 buildings & 8 projects of Decade of Destiny

  Share your faith-stretching testimony email PastorRick@Saddleback.com

• Read the powerful article below from USA TODAY this week on the scientific benefits of generosity!  I’ve been told that that average of the Faith Commitments already turned in is close to $15,000 a family!   You are the most generous people in America!

• Come this weekend with your Faith Commitment, expecting to be blessed - big time!

I LOVE YOU!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Pastor Rick

 Unraveling the mystery of why we give, or don't

By Judy Keen, USA TODAY 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Generosity is often described as coming "from the heart." In fact, the origin of your generosity is deep inside your brain's circuitry.

With a $5 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, Notre Dame created the Science of Generosity Initiative in 2009, and research is now underway at universities across the nation.

Project director Christian Smith, a Notre Dame professor, hopes to unravel the physiological and behavioral mechanisms that cause some people to be generous… and others not. 

It is widely known that generosity improves mental health, so researcher hope to discover how people can become more generous.

Feeling the 'warm glow' Researcher James Andreoni points out that people who give generously experience an internal satisfaction that he calls "the warm glow." Others call it "helper's high" — a real physical sensation that increases feelings of self-worth, and causes people want to give again. 

Smith says some facts about generosity are known:

• Generosity is good for you: Generous people live longer. Senior citizens who volunteer live longer.
• People who have more money don't necessarily give more. The opposite is often true.
• People with religious faith give more than those without faith.
• People who plan their giving are always more generous than those who don't plan their giving.
  

A link to parenting?
Researchers are exploring how people's faith, spouses and even parents affect their generosity and whether giving is contagious. Omri Gillath at the University of Kansas is studying how people who were neglected or rejected by caregivers have a harder time learning to be generous, due to insecurities.

Stephanie Brown at State University of New York is using brain scans to analyze how generosity and caregiving relate. "If giving is proven to reduce stress, as it seems to do, that has profound implications for how we should structure our society."

Generosity and hormonal impact
Paul Zak at Claremont Graduate University is focusing on how generosity releases the feel-good hormone oxytocin, the same hormone people experience in sex, and is released after childbirth as people bond. Zak’s research team gave an oxytocin nasal spray to half his subjects and salt water to the rest, then had them play a game that required deciding whether or not to give money away. Oxytocin increased generosity by 80%.

Oxytocin activates the subgenual cortex of the brain which makes people feel good when they are doing something positive such as giving generously.  Non-generous people do not experience this.

“Increased happiness is a measurable benefit to people who give generously. It’s why we all want to be around generous people," said Zak.

Generosity and self-worth
Jessica Collett, a Notre Dame social psychologist adds “Generosity influences everything else I do. If I become a generous, giving person, that is how I self-identify. People who are generous are happier, healthier and do better in life. So there's something about learning how to get beyond one's self and being generous that is good for the giver," Smith says.

DEC. 3, 2010

Dear Saddleback Family,

I feel I’ve spent my lifetime being prepared by God to lead you into your future.

The lessons God has taught me over the past 30 years about spiritual growth - how people really grow, where they get stuck, and what it takes to finish well - are lessons I learned through much pain. But I know that pain was for your benefit, and I’m eager to start coaching you through your Decade of Destiny.

Those of you who’ve been long-term members know the values that shape my life and how I lead you. But many of you are fairly new to Saddleback, so I’d like to explain some of my core convictions that undergird the path I’m taking you on.

WHAT I BELIEVE ABOUT LEADERSHIP

I often tell you that I love you because I do. But let me explain how that impacts how I lead our church family.

1. Leading you is a RELATIONSHIP. It is not a position or title. If I did not trust and love you, I could not lead you. If you do not trust and love me you won’t follow my leading. Real leadership is based on love and trust, which is earned through a track record of serving and sacrificing that gives credibility.

Thank you for placing your trust in me as I’ve tried to do what I believe is God’s will and in your best interest.

2. Leading you is a STEWARDSHIP. True leaders know they own nothing - it all belongs to God - but they will be held responsible and accountable to Him for how well they managed it. Some leaders give the impression that they own everything - facilities... finances... and followers. But godly leadership has the exact opposite attitude! The greatest leader - Jesus - literally owned nothing. Saddleback is GOD’S church, not mine, and I’m simply a steward of whatever God wants to do through HIS church.

3. The only way TO LEAD anyone is TO SERVE them. Jesus was crystal clear that leadership is about service, not “serve-us.” It’s not about me. It is about fulfilling God’s purposes in your life. My job is to see what God sees in you, then help you become that person - even when you can’t imagine it yourself.

4. Leadership is FUTURE-FOCUSED. Most people are too busy with the present to think ahead about the future - but that’s OK - as long as someone you trust is thinking ahead for you. It is a leader’s responsibility to think ahead when others can’t, so I’m always thinking and looking at your life from the long-term perspective to help you maximize your future.

5. Leadership is ALWAYS BY EXAMPLE. Leaders lead by doing it first. I am to show you with my own life, not simply tell you. If I don't lead by example I don't lead at all. For 30 years I’ve lived by the principle of Jesus: I will never ask you to do anything that I’m not already doing. I will never ask you to serve or sacrifice more than Kay and I do.

MY COMMITMENT TO YOU & TO OUR LORD.

Because I deeply believe in these 5 convictions, and because God commanded leaders in the Bible to announce their faith and financial commitments to the people (for example, David’s personal offering for the building of the Temple, 1 Chronicles 29:1-16) I’ve always shared our personal giving commitment in our 5 previous spiritual growth campaigns.

As I told you a few weekends ago, because of notoriety, I did not intend to share our family’s faith commitment for Decade of Destiny, knowing that everything I share with our church family is frequently misunderstood by those outside our church. But obedience to God must always take precedence over any fear of being misjudged, and the truth is - I simply can’t lead you in faith and sacrifice without being willing to set an example. So let me explain HOW, WHY, & WHAT Kay and I decided to give to Decade of Destiny, and also commit in faith to give over the next three years.

A MATTER OF RECORD

It is no secret that I take no salary from our church, nor accept honoraria for myself from speaking engagements. I support my family with 9% of the royalties from my books and our family gives away the other 91%. Specifically, last year, my personal income from my books was $87,000. But for 35 years we have been faithful savers not just tithers, and we follow God’s financial plan so we are debt-free, except for our mortgage, which is an investment.

What I am about to tell you is simply to demonstrate my commitment to your spiritual growth, our obedience to God in faith, and to let you know that I’m determined that no one else ever gives more to our church than my own family. It is not meant to create either pressure, guilt, or praise. Our theme is always “NOT equal gifts - but equal sacrifice!” For some people, just tithing is a huge sacrifice.

When Kay and I began praying about our Decade of Destiny financial commitment (one of 6 faith commitments) we decided in two phases. First we decided on our cash offering - which was the easier decision. We decided to collapse one of our charities, sell all the stock, and give $1.2 million to the cash offering. That’s how much we believe in your spiritual growth.

We then took another week to decide what our FAITH commitment would be in addition for the next 3 years. My first Faith Commitment, made as a teenager 40 years ago, was just $50. Our first 3 year Faith Commitment as newlyweds 35 years ago was to give $3000 over 3 years to the church we attended. Over the years, God has stretched our faith... and blessed us... then stretched us more... and blessed us more... then stretched us even more... and then blessed us even more! (You get the idea - “According to your faith it will be done to you.”)

So, after more prayer, and more family discussion we decided that in order for our commitment to require our greatest faith, it would have to be huge. Small amounts don’t require much faith from us anymore since we’ve seen God do so many miracles in our marriage. We finally prayerfully decided to commit in faith to give $1 million more a year for the next 3 years. Again, this is how deeply we believe in the vision of this church.

Are we scared by this? Absolutely not. You don’t get scared, you get excited, after you’ve seen God miraculously provide time and again.

YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED!

 I am actually writing this note in the Dallas Airport lounge waiting for a plane to speak to business leaders in Florida who are interested in the PEACE plan - phase 2. As our plane from California landed in Dallas, a couple in the row behind Steve and me got my attention. The man said “We live here in Texas, but we believe in the vision of Saddleback church, and when we recognized you, we wanted to give you this: It was a check made out to our church - from a total stranger - for $1000! How random is that! For me, it was God’s confirmation that what I’ve written above is simply obedience to God and that he wants to challenge you to grow in faith and generosity too.

If total strangers, who’ve never even attended our church, can see the value and impact of investing for eternity through Saddleback, how much more should we who get to enjoy the blessings be ready to give our all to HIM?

Please bring your Faith Commitment envelope with you this weekend or make your Faith Commitment online now. You don’t want to miss getting in on what God is going to do. Our 12 Decade of Destiny initiatives will change us... and will change history... for the glory of God!

Have I told you lately that I love you?