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Rick Warren (born January 28, 1954) is the founding and senior pastor of Saddleback Church. Rick Warren is also the author of many Christian books, including The Purpose Driven Life, and a major (and occasionally controversial) figure amongst the Southern Baptists in the United States.

Rick Warren attended Ukiah High School. He graduated in 1972 and thereafter obtained a bachelor of arts degree from California Baptist University in Riverside, his Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1979) in Fort Worth, and his Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Rick Warren also holds several honorary doctorates. Rick Warren has lectured in the cities of Oxford, Cambridge, and at the University of Judaism (for Synagogue 3000), and the Evangelical Theological Society, among numerous seminaries and universities.

Rick Warren has been invited to speak at national and international forums including The United Nations, The World Economic Forum in Davos, The African Union, The Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, TED, and TIME’s Global Health Summit. Rick Warren is also a signer of a statement concerning the global warming initiative.

Rick Warren was named one of America’s Top 25 Leaders in the October 31, 2005 issue of U.S. News and World Report. Rick Warren was elected by TIME magazine as one of 15 World Leaders Who Mattered Most in 2004 and one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World (2005). Newsweek magazine called Rick Warren one of “15 People Who Make America Great”, an award given to people who, through bravery or generosity, genius or passion, devote themselves to helping others.

Editorial Reviews extracted from Amazon.com (Rick Warren)

The spiritual premise in The Purpose-Driven Life is that there are no accidents—God planned everything and everyone. Therefore, every human has a divine purpose, according to God’s master plan.

Like a twist on John F. Kennedy’s famous inaugural address, this book could be summed up like this: “So my fellow Christians, ask not what God can do for your life plan, ask what your life can do for God’s plan.” Those who are looking for advice on finding one’s calling through career choice, creative expression, or any form of self-discovery should go elsewhere.

This is not about self-exploration; it is about purposeful devotion to a Christian God. The book is set up to be a 40-day immersion plan, recognizing that the Bible favors the number 40 as a “spiritually significant time,” according to author Rick Warren, the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, touted as one of the nation largest congregations.

Warren’s hope is that readers will “interact” with the 40 chapters, reading them one day at a time, with extensive underlining and writing in the margins. As an inspirational manifesto for creating a more worshipful, church-driven life, this book delivers. Every page is laden with references to scripture or dogma.

But it does not do much to address the challenges of modern Christian living, with its competing material, professional, and financial distractions. Nonetheless, this is probably an excellent resource for devout Christians who crave a jumpstart back to worshipfulness.