The Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of
Saddleback Church and author of the best-selling book The Purpose
Driven Life, is begging parishioners for $900,000 before January
1.
In a letter posted at the church's
website, Warren says, “THIS IS AN URGENT LETTER unlike any I've
written in 30 years. Please read all of it and get back to me in the
next 48 hours.”
He goes on to ask parishioners to fill
a $900,000 financial gap in the next two days.
“On the last weekend of 2009, our
total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive –
leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year, unless you help make up
the difference today and tomorrow.”
Warren says expenses are up because
church members are out of work.
The Orange county megachurch pastor
continues to make news with his views on homosexuality. In recent
weeks, he made headlines for first refusing to take a public stance
on a proposed anti-gay bill currently being debated in Uganda, saying
“it is not my personal calling as a pastor in America to comment or
interfere in the political process of other nations.” One version
of the bill prescribes execution for gay men and lesbian if they are
HIV-positive or have a history of participating in gay sex.
Warren, however, reversed course just
days later in a video statement to Ugandan church leaders where he
said “it is my role to speak out on moral issues,” and called the
bill “unjust, extreme and un-Christian toward homosexuals.”
“Because I didn't rush to make a
public statement some erroneously concluded that I supported this
terrible bill, and some even claimed I was a sponsor of the bill,”
he said. “You in Uganda know that this is untrue.”
“I oppose the criminalization of
homosexuality,” he added.