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Stance about-face at issue. BY JULIA DUIN Evangelical leaders say they are bewildered and stunned by the Rev. Rick Warren's apparent turnaround on gay marriage after the famous California pastor said earlier this week that he was not a proponent of California's Proposition 8. Mr. Warren told CNN's Larry King on Monday that he "never once even gave an endorsement" of the proposition, which said marriage in the state could only involve one man and one woman. The measure won at the polls last November by a close margin, in effect negating an earlier California Supreme Court ruling allowing gay...

Short video ad on Fox home page: "Easter w/Rick Warren Sat 9pm & Sun 6am/1p ET A special service from Saddleback Church! as millions celebrate on holiest of days A Fox Special Presentation Easter w/Rick Warren A message of hope, peace, unity Easter w/Rick Warren Sat 9pm & Sun 6am/1p ET"

Warren waver on Prop 8 stuns leaders Stance about-face at issue By Julia Duin April 11, 2009 Evangelical leaders say they are bewildered and stunned by the Rev. Rick Warren's apparent turnaround on gay marriage after the famous California pastor said earlier this week that he was not a proponent of California's Proposition 8. Mr. Warren told CNN's Larry King on Monday that he "never once even gave an endorsement" of the proposition, which said marriage in the state could only involve one man and one woman. The measure won at the polls last November by a close margin, in...

A Washington, DC, pastor and outspoken opponent of same-sex "marriage" says California mega-church pastor Rick Warren has done "tremendous damage" by apologizing for his support last fall of California's marriage protection amendment. Rick Warren said Monday on CNN's Larry King Live that he has "never been and never will be" an "anti-gay marriage activist," and made a point to inform the program's host that he apologized to his homosexual friends for comments he made in October to his church in support of Proposition 8 in California. Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., with the High Impact Leadership Coalition says he was very...

America achieved its independence and freedom in the 18th century in large part because colonial pastors stood up for biblical principles, preached them, lived them and refused to back down from them – even in the face of death. The American War of Independence has been accurately called a "pulpit revolution" for this reason. It was inspired by great men of God who recognized evil and called it by its right name. What a difference two centuries, combined with affluence and the corporatization of the 501(c)3 church culture has made.

California mega-church pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren says he apologized to his homosexual friends for making comments in support of California's Proposition 8, and now claims he "never once even gave an endorsement" of the marriage amendment. Pastor Rick WarrenMonday night on CNN's Larry King Live, Pastor Rick Warren apologized for his support of Prop. 8, California's voter-approved marriage protection amendment, saying he has "never been and never will be" an "anti-gay or anti-gay marriage activist." "During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never...

In his first interview since Inauguration Day, Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren tells Larry King that is a misconception that he is an "Anti-Gay Marriage Activist". He adds that he never took a stance on California's Prop 8 Same-Sex Marriage debate and he doesn't concern himself with things like Iowa's recent Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage.

Saddleback Church's Warren calls on believers to make history Church expects to bring 3,000 new believers into its flock Saturday. LAKE FOREST – In what Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren calls historical, the church hopes to bring 3,000 new members into its flock on Saturday. "I'm not sleeping much. I'm too excited," the megachurch's pastor wrote in an e-mail to his congregation this week. "THIS SATURDAY, March 28, will be THE GREATEST DAY in Saddleback's history. OVER 2,000 people have already signed up to become members of our church family on a single day." Citing the Bible, Warren challenges prospective...

When Capistrano Valley Church saw its donations dwindling over the last year, the church's pastor Heather Clark took some drastic steps. First, she asked the landlord for a 20 percent rent reduction and got it. Secondly, the church's staff took a 10 percent pay cut. They switched from newsletters and paper bulletins to e-mail communication. The church, which recently changed its name to Center for Spiritual Living, is not alone in its battle for survival. Clark said the 425-strong church experienced a 20 percent decline in donations over the last year. That is more or less consistent with most Orange...

I don't often post vanities but since this is an eyewitness account I thought I'd go ahead. On my way to In-N-Out in Foothill Ranch a little while ago I noticed a HUGE police presence at Saddleback Church today. One or two squad cars at each entrance, more cars patrolling Portola Parkway and El Toro Road, a mobile command post, equestrian units, and a dozen or more motorcycle units. I'd say at least 20 to 30 police in all. Maybe more as I was not on the campus itself and there may have been others closer to the services. There...

OC FReepers, please join me and other conservatives on Wednesday evening for our regular grassroots town hall meeting of the Saddleback Valley Conservatives. Guest speaker is Capistrano Unified School Board member Anna Bryson. Come ready with your questions and feel free to bring all your conservative friends. WHEN: Wednesday, Jan 7th, 6:00-7:30PM WHERE: Rancho Santa Margarita Ford dealership, 30031 Santa Margarita Parkway, zip code 92688. Take Alicia Parkway east all the way to RSM, turn right on Santa Margarita Parkway and head down about a mile. RSM ford is on your left. Also I will be discussing various technology related...

Last August I wrote a column critical of Rick Warren's decision to host a presidential candidate forum at his Saddleback Church. My reasoning then was that America's crisis is moral ambiguity. I argued that Pastor Warren would only contribute to this ambiguity by hosting candidates with opposing views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality and presenting himself as a neutral moderator. Only Barack Obama would gain, I felt, being showcased as an acceptable candidate by one of the nation's best known evangelical pastors. If John McCain had wanted to clarify his social conservative credentials, he didn't need to go...

It will be up to President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team whether Pastor Rick Warren’s prayer at the inauguration is vetted in advance, a spokeswoman for Warren’s Saddleback Church tells CNSNews.com. The spokeswoman would not say whether Warren would object to having his prayer reviewed or edited in advance by Obama.

When Pastor Rick Warren’s “Global Peace Coalition” presented President Bush with the International Medal of Peace recently, one of the groups invited to attend the ceremony was the Islamic Society of North America—one of the unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas funding trial: ISNA ATTENDS SADDLEBACK CHURCH CIVIL FORUM ON GLOBAL HEALTH. This event took place after the convictions of the Holy Land Foundation defendants.

Gay civil rights groups -- the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force -- are calling on President-elect Barack Obama to yank his invitation to Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren to give the inaugural prayer on Jan. 20. They demand tolerance from others, but won't spare any for those with whom they disagree. Unless of course, that person is Obama, who, like Warren, opposes same-sex marriage. Then they get real ecumenical. Not to mention, very forgetful.

Now it has officially gone too far: Democrats, in their zeal to appear friendly to evangelical voters, have chosen celebrity preacher and best-selling author Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration. There was no doubt that Obama, like every president before him, would pick a Christian minister to perform this sacred duty. But Obama had thousands of clergy to choose from, and the choice of Warren is not only a slap in the face to progressive ministers toiling on the front lines of advocacy and service but a bow to the continuing influence of the religious right...

The backlash continues to roar in California as gay activists continue to silence opposition while waiting for the Calif. Supreme Court to weigh in on Prop 8. The Mormon Church and Chuck Norris are feeling the heat while Linda Harvey receives threats. A Houston lawyer "who brazenly identified himself," wrote, "You are very much being watched! All you jeebus-lovin-christers rights will slowly be taken away one by one the more you try to press your beliefs down our throats." An elderly woman is swarmed, her cross ripped out of her hand and stomped on while the news anchor, Kris Long,...

President Barack Obama has selected Rev. Rick Warren, the senior pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California to give the invocation at the Inauguration. The reaction to this choice filled every media source, both pro and con, on Thursday. It has been in the news cycle ever since. There is no question that Pastor Warren is a well known figure in the evangelical world. He is also well respected among Catholics, and even more so since his excellent handling of the Saddleback Civil Forum which hosted both major party candidates during the Primary Campaign for the U.S. Presidency...

LAKE FOREST, Calif. — Pastor Rick Warren is set to deliver the invocation for President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20, Saddleback Church officials confirmed Wednesday. Kristin Cole, a spokeswoman for Warren, said church officials were waiting on Obama's team to make the announcement. Just this past August, Obama and John McCain were guests at the two-hour Saddleback Church Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion where Warren questioned them about issues that ranged from abortion and same-sex marriage to the nature of good and evil.