![]() Over the past 33 years we’ve been together through every kind of crisis. My Take: Let’s stop keeping mental illness a secret Warren, who founded Saddleback with his wife 33 years ago, gave the invocation at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration and penned “The Purpose-Driven Life,” a Christian self-help guide that became a mainstream best-seller. Friday.Īs a pioneer of the megachurch movement, Rick Warren looked to translate traditional evangelical messages to a wider audience. The autopsy completed Monday put the time of death at around 10 a.m. He was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Mission Viejo, California, late Friday afternoon, the Orange County Coroner said. “After a fun evening together with Kay and me, in a momentary wave of despair at his home, he took his life,” Pastor Warren wrote in an e-mail to his staff Saturday. Matthew, the youngest of Warren’s children, worked at the Saddleback Resources Warehouse, which distributes books and DVDs and was “an important part of the church but played a quiet role,” Krumm said. “So even before Rick knew what they would be facing at the end of the week, he was thinking this is what we need to hear. “It’s a message on what to do on the worst day of your life,” Holladay said in Saturday’s sermon. ![]() “Bad days make good ones better,” Warren’s invitation to Saturday’s service said on the church’s Facebook page Warren asked Holladay to take over when he became ill with pneumonia after a busy Easter weekend schedule, before his son’s sudden death, spokeswoman Anne Krumm said. Worship services continued as scheduled Saturday and Sunday with Warren’s brother-in-law Tom Holladay – an assistant pastor for the Orange County, California, congregation – filling in for Warren. My Take: How churches can respond to mental illness Just the pain, the excruciating pain, was just too much.” ![]() “And there were the days where he just didn’t want to be around people. “There are the days where he was just this bubbly, outgoing, effervescent, reaching out to people,” Constantz said. Despite the best health care available, this was an illness that was never fully controlled, and the emotional pain resulted in his decision to take his life.”įriend Mike Constantz told CNN he had a “playful spirit.” “Unfortunately, he also suffered from mental illness resulting in deep depression and suicidal thoughts. “Matthew was an incredibly kind, gentle and compassionate young man whose sweet spirit was encouragement and comfort to many,” a statement from the church said. Matthew Warren, 27, committed suicide “in a momentary wave of despair” at the end of a lifetime struggle “with mental illness, dark holes of depression and even suicidal thoughts,” the pastor wrote to the staff of his Southern California megachurch. Another pastor preached in Warren's place on Sunday.The weekend’s sermon at Saddleback Church was “Surviving Tough Times,” a theme Pastor Rick Warren planned before his youngest son killed himself with a gun Friday. He is also the author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, according to the church’s website. Rick Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980. In the letter to his church community, Warren said he and his wife "often marveled" at their son's "courage to keep moving in spite of relentless pain." Matthew Warren was the youngest of their three children, according to the AP. Unfortunately, he also suffered from mental illness resulting in deep depression and suicidal thoughts,” the church said in a statement. “Matthew was an incredibly kind, gentle and compassionate young man whose sweet spirit was encouragement and comfort to many. The pastor and his wife were enjoying a Friday evening with their son, but he returned home to end his life in "a momentary wave of despair," the pastor said in an email to church staff, according to The Associated Press. The youngest son of evangelical Pastor Rick Warren and his wife Kay committed suicide after a long battle with mental illness, Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., said in a statement Saturday.
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