Rick Warren: 'We Have to Learn to Love the Church'

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Dec 10, 2015

Rick Warren: 'We Have to Learn to Love the Church'

Rick Warren has a message for all believers: “We have to learn to love the church,” said the Saddleback Church pastor.

"Too many Christians use the church, but don't love it. This is a hard message for many of us to hear," Warren said Wednesday on his Facebook page.

Warren went on to say that Christians must learn to love the church even if they have been hurt by it.

“We've been deeply hurt by members of the church, we've been disappointed, we can be discouraged. But the Church is the bride of Christ. It's the hope of the world, the vessel through which God works out his plan.”

"For some of us that means there's people we need to forgive, for others it means we need to get involved in service, and for others it means we need to change how we talk of the church. Jesus loves his church. If for no other reason than that — we must love the church also,” Warren continued.

The Christian Post reports that Warren has been involved in reaching out to those who haven’t heard the Gospel. 

In November, Warren announced that he is partnering with Christian author and speaker Francis Chan for the “H” Initiative for Daring Faith. During a conference this month, the Initiative sought to come up with ideas for how to reach the unreached and those who are unengaged with the Church.

Publication date: December 10, 2015



Rick Warren: 'We Have to Learn to Love the Church'