This is an accepted version of this page Richard Duane Warren (born January 28, 1954) is an American evangelical Christian pastor and author.

In November 1973, he and a friend skipped classes and drove 350 miles to hear W. A. Criswell preach at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco.

"[9] During his time at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Warren worked at the Texas Ranch for Christ, a ministry facility of Billie Hanks Jr., where he began writing books.

He co-wrote two books, The Victory Scripture Memory Series and Twelve Dynamic Bible Study Methods for Laity, with Hanks and Wayne Watts.

[10] In January 1980, Warren began a Bible study group with seven people and his wife at their Saddleback Valley condo in Orange County, California.

[11] In April 1980, Warren held Saddleback Church's first public service on Easter Sunday at the Laguna Hills High School Theater with 200 people in attendance.

[17] In August 2008, Warren drew greater national attention by hosting the Civil Forum on the Presidency, featuring senators John McCain and Barack Obama at Saddleback Church.

[18][19] The forum marked McCain and Obama's first joint appearance as the presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees and was broadcast live on national television.

[20] Obama defended his choice of Warren, saying that although he disagreed with the minister's positions on abortion and same-sex marriage, there should be room for dialogue on such difficult social issues.

[23] In January 2009, Warren and the Reader's Digest Association partnered in the launch of the Purpose Driven Connection, a quarterly publication sold as part of a bundle of multimedia products.

Warren gained experience teaching the material through his participation in the Institute for Evangelism and Church Growth, affiliated with Fuller Theological Seminary.

[41] In 2006, The Purpose Driven Life sold more than 30 million copies, making Warren a New York Times bestselling author.

In 2006, after the success of his book The Purpose Driven Life, he claimed to have made the decision to "reverse the tithe", donating 90% of his income to three foundations and no longer receive a salary from the church.

[48] In a conversation with atheist author Sam Harris in Newsweek magazine, Warren spoke out against evolution and in favor of creationism.

He also said, when questioned on whether religion is beneficial to society, that brutal dictators such as Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, and Pol Pot were all atheists.

"[50] On Hardball with Chris Matthews, after repeated questioning over why Michael Schiavo would want his wife's feeding tube removed, Warren responded, "I have no idea.

[59] When Chelsea Clinton asked him about his views on same-sex marriage in December 2012, he said he recognized that it might become legal throughout the United States but added that, based on his belief in the Bible, he did not "approve" of it nor believe it was "right."

She wrote, "Warren acknowledges that splits occur in congregations that adopt his ideas, though he says he opposes efforts to expel church members.