Rick Warren is the conservative evangelical minister who somehow has become a trusted friend to both Republicans and Democrats. Obama came to his Saddleback Church during the campaign, and then Warren spoke at his inauguration.
But the bad economy is taking its toll on his empire, and yesterday he sent out an emergency fundraising appeal to the church’s members.
So, we can conservatively estimate that the church takes in more than $1,000,00 per weekend? Or did he expect a Christmas ‘bunp?’
I would approach this report and purported quotation from a letter with a lot of caution. There is nothing on his website, and I didn’t find anything elsewhere on the internet that didn’t have rumor salesman Joe Weisenthal’s fingerprints on it, except for this brief from Associated Press:
[blockquote] LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) — Evangelical pastor and author Rick Warren says his church needs to raise nearly $1 million to keep out of the red. Warren says in a fundraising letter to parishioners that “the bottom dropped out” when year-end donations dropped dramatically. Warren delivered the invocation at the inauguration of President Barack Obama and is the author of numerous books, including the best-selling “The Purpose Driven Life.”
[/blockquote] Extrapolating his actual income stream from the smidgeon of information provided by Wiesenthal is tenuous at best.
Donations hit a peak for many charities at the end of the year, when donors use their last chance to get credit for an income-tax deduction for the previous year.
Just about every time there is a post on this site regarding financial difficulties of Episcopal churches, everyone jumps in talking about how TEC is getting its due. Please remember the above post when the next one about TEC gets posted.
Here is a link to Rick Warren’s blog, where the letter appears:
http://www.saddleback.com/blogs/newsandviews/index.html
Comparisons between Saddleback’s shortfall and TEC chronic shrinkage in numbers and money are not appropriate–apples and oranges.
Thanks for the link, Brien. I neglected to use Google’s blog-search option.
Rick claims that the financial shortfall was a calendar-related glitch, partly related to the recession but not related to any chronic problem. Of course, the GLBT blogs have certainly jumped on it.
Also not mentioned — apparently, there are no offerings collected at their Christmas Eve services. Always an interesting discussion at congregations i’ve been part of in leadership . . . should there or shouldn’t there be an offering for that service?
One church’s budget short-fall does not equate to the systmatic failure of leadership, purpose, and commitment that is obvious around 100 TEC dioceses. After all, TEC is closing and losing 10s of thousands of members…not Saddleback.
An update. The letter brought in $2.4 million dollars, allowing Saddleback to start the year with a surplus.
Baptist preachers aren’t ashamed to ask for money, and it usually works. Rick Warren ought to do stewardship campaign workshops for Episcopalians.
See:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581778,00.html
RE: “Just about every time there is a post on this site regarding financial difficulties of Episcopal churches, everyone jumps in talking about how TEC is getting its due. Please remember the above post when the next one about TEC gets posted.”
Right — because obviously the systemic decline in TEC — which escalated so very strangely shortly after 2003 — is entirely related merely to a one-time end-of-year shortfall in money.
RE: “Of course, the GLBT blogs have certainly jumped on it.”
I enjoy knowing, though, that they hate him that much. He’s clearly doing something right.
But . . . tragically for them . . . “The letter brought in $2.4 million dollars, allowing Saddleback to start the year with a surplus.”
No joy in Mudville, it seems.