cover of TIME magazine - rick warren

sometimes I wish I had a subscription to TIME magazine, but then I remember that I would have no time to read it! But, I definitely read the cover article in this week's issue. You should read it too & you can by clicking here. 

I don't want to write long, because I want you to read the article. But I do want to say thanks to Rick Warren. He has done some amazing things. He's like the "elder statesman" of Christianity now. He's been a leader in the movement for a long time & has had some cool influence on me.

I remember sitting in a class like my sophomore year of college and a professor started bashing his book - The Purpose Driven Church... so of course, I did what I always did = READ IT IMMEDIATELY! I loved it. It freed me from the methodology I grew up in. Reading that book definitely marked a shift in my philosophy of ministry. I've since moved on from the purpose driven model, but I think those were very important days for all American churches. Then, while I was still in college, he wrote The Purpose Driven Life. And of course I read it right away along with every other American. Great stuff. I remember using it as a discipleship tool for teenagers at a Juvy prison during my senior year.

After college I was introduced to his PEACE plan and it blew me away! Every time I think about it I get all jacked up inside. I love it & I want to see it happen! Billy Graham called it "the greatest, most comprehensive vision for world missions I've ever heard or read about." (which is pretty impressive considering Graham's involvement with Lausanne, etc...) - After that quote from Billy, hopefully you can understand why it gets me all jacked up inside. It's basically the exact thing I want to spend my life doing. [In a nutshell - he's battling the 5 global giants = spiritual emptiness, selfish leadership, hunger, sickness, and illiteracy. PEACE is an acronym

 for the way to do it = Promote reconciliation, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, Educate the next generation.] It really is a fascinating, intriguing, and a make-you-want-to-jump-up-and-down plan that I could write & write about... But, I'll try to write more on PEACE in a blog in the future.

Then last October I heard Rick speak at Catalyst. pretty awesome. You can read A LOT of

 quotes from that talk (and others) here. he said some crazy cool stuff. But by hearing him speak I was reminded of his amazing heart. He so wants to be a help to us - the next generation of Christian leaders. He prayed over all 11k of us & it was a pretty special moment! 1 of those times peeps will probably remember for years.

So, basically, I love this guy. I think he's doing some awesome stuff. Way to go, Rick... keep it up!

I guess the TIME article was sparked by his upcoming meeting with the 2 presidential

 candidates on August 16th. I guess he's going to drill them for an hour with questions or something? Connected to those 5 global giants he wants to battle. He didn't ask for this though - I'm pretty sure the 2 presidential hopefuls came to him. He's not going wacko religious politician/pastor on us though. he said in the article, "I don't have much faith in government solutions, given the track record. It's why I am a pastor, not a politician." It will be interesting.

Alex Perry did the TIME interview and asked him about the PEACE plan's progress. Rick said, "This is going to take 50 years." He adds, "My confidence is not that I've got it all figured out. My confidence is, Jesus said, 'Do these five things,' and we've got the people out there."

Keep using your amazing influence for the greatest cause in the world, Rick... Jesus' mission.