Rick Warren Reveals He Has Been Battling Autoimmune Disease for the Past Two Years

Bestselling author and former megachurch pastor Rick Warren recently shared some health challenges he has faced in the current season of his life. Warren reveals that he has been battling an autoimmune disease for the past two years.
"I've been in a two-year battle with an autoimmune disease," Warren told host Ed Stetzer and co-host Daniel Yang on the Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast. "It's not life-threatening. It won't even last. It lasts between three to five years. But without getting into all the details, the bottom line is it leaves my muscles, all my major muscles in pain pretty much 24 hours a day."
"It leaves all my major muscles in pain, pretty much, 24 hours a day," he said. "It's debilitating. It's tough walking, working. But it hasn't changed the way that I think. The problem is sometimes I feel like I am this brain on fire, and I'm like in a wheelchair. I'm not in a wheelchair, but the bottom line is it's difficult to move around."
Despite his health struggles, Warren still has four goals his wants to achieve. First, he wants all people in the world to have access to the Bible in their "heart language," that is, their mother tongue. Second, he wants everyone in the world to have access to a church. Third, he wants every person to hear the gospel directly from another person, not simply through media. And finally, he wants everyone across the globe to be prayed for by name at least one time in the next 10 years.
Warren co-founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, in 1980 with his wife, Kay. In 2022, he stepped down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback. Warren continues his ministry through his Daily Hope Devotional and his podcast, Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, as well as through Finishing the Task, which "exists to convene and to catalyze the global body of Christ towards the goal of ensuring that everyone, everywhere has access to a Bible, Believer and Body of Christ."
Warren is the author of The Purpose Driven Life, one of the bestselling nonfiction books in publishing history. His latest book, his first in a decade, is Created to Dream: The 6 Phases God Uses to Grow Your Faith.
Tags : Rick Warren Autoimmune Disease Rick Warren health rick warren news
Hot Trends
-
CCM Artists Call for Reform Amid Allegations Against Michael Tait: “Secrecy Always Destroys”
-
Michael Tait Accused of Watching Woman Raped During Newsboys Tour
-
Newsboys Dropped From Label Amid Michael Tait Scandal
-
TobyMac Accused of Dabbling with Satanic Occult
-
Cory Asbury Speaks Out: "Everyone Knew" About Michael Tait Allegations
-
Michael Tait Faces Additional Allegations from 6 More Men, Including Two Minors
-
Bishop Thomas Tyrone Tribbett, Father of Gospel Artist Tye Tribbett, Passes Away
-
Kevin Max Explains Audio Adrenaline Departure in Open Letter (Read Here)
-
NEEDTOBREATHE’s Bear Rinehart Responds to Brother’s Allegations, Reveals Shared Childhood Trauma
-
Lysa TerKeurst’s 22-Yr-Old Daughter Breaks Silence About Her Dad’s Affair
-
Matt Hammitt is Leaving Sanctus Real
-
New Documentary “J. D. Greear Unmasked” Exposes Power Struggles Within the Southern Baptist Convention
-
Brandon Lake Sparks Conversation on “Christianese” in Worship: Calls for Greater Accessibility in Music
-
Here Are Lyrics to Passion's "The Lord Will Provide"
-
Jasmine Brady Speaks About Her New Album: "My Vision is that People Would Find Hope"
Most Popular
-
CCM Artists Call for Reform Amid Allegations Against Michael Tait: “Secrecy Always Destroys”
-
Michael Tait Accused of Watching Woman Raped During Newsboys Tour
-
Newsboys Dropped From Label Amid Michael Tait Scandal
-
TobyMac Accused of Dabbling with Satanic Occult
-
Cory Asbury Speaks Out: "Everyone Knew" About Michael Tait Allegations
-
Michael Tait Faces Additional Allegations from 6 More Men, Including Two Minors
-
Bishop Thomas Tyrone Tribbett, Father of Gospel Artist Tye Tribbett, Passes Away
-
Kevin Max Explains Audio Adrenaline Departure in Open Letter (Read Here)
-
NEEDTOBREATHE’s Bear Rinehart Responds to Brother’s Allegations, Reveals Shared Childhood Trauma
-
Lysa TerKeurst’s 22-Yr-Old Daughter Breaks Silence About Her Dad’s Affair
-
Matt Hammitt is Leaving Sanctus Real
-
New Documentary “J. D. Greear Unmasked” Exposes Power Struggles Within the Southern Baptist Convention
-
Brandon Lake Sparks Conversation on “Christianese” in Worship: Calls for Greater Accessibility in Music
-
Here Are Lyrics to Passion's "The Lord Will Provide"
-
Jasmine Brady Speaks About Her New Album: "My Vision is that People Would Find Hope"