Saddleback Church (Rick Warren)
Major California evangelical megachurch founded by Rick Warren (1980). 'Purpose Driven Life' best-seller. 2023 SBC disfellowship over female associate-pastor ordination.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — major evangelical megachurch; mainstream low-control reference.
Profile facts
In context
Saddleback Church is one of the largest US evangelical megachurches. Rick Warren's 'The Purpose Driven Life' (2002) sold 50+ million copies. SBC disfellowshipped Saddleback in 2023 after Warren ordained women as pastors.
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- 1980Saddleback founded by Warren
- 2002'Purpose Driven Life' published
- 2023SBC disfellowships Saddleback
Sources
- Various Rick Warren publications search ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. The search ↗ link runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.