![]() ![]() Wood will step down at Echo Church at the end of June, as will his wife, Stacie, a teaching pastor at Echo. Photo © Andrew Jo via Echo ChurchĪccording to a transition plan announced by the church, Wood and his wife, Stacie, will be interviewed by Warren and his wife, Kay, during services at Saddleback June 19. Wood, in a statement to RNS, said that Echo “would be happy for any current or former staff members to share their working experience at Echo with Vanderbloemen as a part of their investigation, adding, “We want to do everything we can to help the truth about these allegations come to light.” “Pray for clarity of the truth and for wisdom.” “Please stop a moment and pray right now,” church leaders asked the congregation. “Finally, they tried to reach out to the former staff member and have yet to receive communication back,” the church said.Ĭhurch leaders said they sent the letter out because “we felt it was important that you hear the facts on this from us now, rather than in the news or on social media.” Echo had conducted its own interviews, as well, according to Saddleback’s letter. The search company was provided video footage, emails, text records and interviews that Echo gathered in its own review of Wood’s actions. “Our elders have now received a preliminary second report from The Vanderbloemen Search Group, clearing Pastor Wood from all allegations,” the church said in a letter to the congregation Sunday (June 12), which was also sent to Religion News Service. The church asked Vanderbloemen Search Group, which did the initial background check on Wood, to do a follow-up review. Wood, 40, is currently the lead pastor of Echo Church, a multi-site congregation based in San Jose, California.Īfter the public announcement, a former Echo Church staffer made comments about issues with Wood’s leadership on social media.Īccording to a statement issued by Saddleback Sunday night, Wood had told the church’s elders about the allegations made by the former staffer during his interview process and offered to show them videos of his meetings with the former staffer. Warren, who has more than 11 million social media followers, has written multiple books, including “The Purpose Driven Life.” In 2005, Time magazine named Warren one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.(RNS) - Leaders at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church say a preliminary investigation has cleared Andy Wood, Warren’s recently announced successor, of allegations made by a former staff member.Īfter announcing plans to retire in September, Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life” and one of the most influential voices in evangelical Christianity, named San Francisco pastor Andy Wood to follow him at Saddleback, a Southern California congregation Warren founded that draws 25,000 people to worship services. There are four international campuses, in Hong Kong, Germany, the Philippines and Argentina. With its main campus in Lake Forest, south of Los Angeles, Saddleback Church has grown to 14 locations in Southern California with an average weekly attendance of 30,000. #Pastor rick warren seriesWarren said then that he was offered a series of jobs with Christian organizations, seminaries and denominations, but never moved. “Kay and I made this crazy promise when we were 25 years old that we would give 40 years to one location, that we wouldn’t move and that we wouldn’t be tempted to go to another church,” Warren said before preaching his 40th Easter service in 2019. Warren declined to speak about his retirement plans on Monday. There is no timeline for the search, which will look at candidates both within and outside the church. He said he will then step back into a less “visible position as founding pastor.” Warren, 67, said he will continue to serve as lead pastor until a successor is in place. The well-known evangelical pastor and best-selling author told his congregation on Sunday that the search is not the end but the “beginning of the beginning,” The Orange County Register reported Monday. A search for his successor will be launched this week. ![]() Megachurch pastor Rick Warren has announced his retirement after 42 years of leading Saddleback Church in Southern California. ![]()
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