Rick Warren (wikipedia)
The pastor of Orange County’s largest superchurch announced that his adult son had committed suicide, a church spokesman said today.
Matthew Warren, 27, was found dead Friday night, said Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, in a statement released by the church.
“Today, after a fun evening together with Kay and me, in a momentary wave of despair at his home, he took his life,” the pastor announced in a
letter to his staff.
Rick Warren is a major figure in the American evangelical movement, and has hosted discussions between Barack Obama and his two Republican challengers.
Evangelist Greg Laurie, an organizer of the Harvest Crusades, said he also “had a son die, so I have a sense of the pain Rick and Kay are facing.”
Matthew Warren was the youngest son in the Warren family.
“Only those closest knew that he struggled from birth with mental illness, dark holes of depression, and even suicidal thoughts,” the pastor
wrote in his statement, which was released by Laurie. “In spite of America’s best doctors, meds, counselors and prayers for healing, the torture of mental illness never subsided.”
No one was available at the Saddleback Church today, and no memorial was immediately scheduled.
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