MATTHEW Warren, youngest son of Pastor Rick Warren and his wife Kay, committed suicide Friday night – he was 27 years old. Matthew had been struggling with mental illness and depression throughout his life and had received the best health care available.
FoxNews reports: “Warren, the author of the multimillion-selling book The Purpose Driven Life, said in an email to church staff that he and his wife had enjoyed a fun Friday evening with their son before Matthew Warren returned home to take his life in ‘a momentary wave of despair.'”
Rick Warren’s church, Saddleback, located in Southern California, released in a statement today, “Matthew was an incredibly kind, gentle and compassionate young man whose sweet spirit was encouragement and comfort to many.”
“I’ll never forget how, many years ago,” added Pastor Warren in an email to his church family, “after another approach had failed to give relief, Matthew said, ‘Dad, I know I’m going to Heaven. Why can’t I just die and end this pain?'”
His son Matthew went on to live another decade, reaching out to help others.
The Saddleback Church is asking for prayers for the entire Warren family in this time.
Evangelist Greg Laurie, whose son, Christopher, was killed in a car accident at the age of 33 nearly five years ago, upon hearing the news, posted in his blog: “I too have had a son die, so I have a sense of the pain Rick and Kay are facing. But their circumstances are different and my heart goes out to them. At times like these, there really are no words, but there is the Word. There is no manual, but there is Emmanuel. God is with us. I know the Lord will be there for all of the Warren family and Saddleback Church as they grieve together. Looking forward to that day when God will ‘Restore all things.’ (Acts 3:21)”
Pastor Warren, 59, author of the Purpose Driven Life, which is the best-selling hardback non-fiction book in history and the second most-translated book in the world, after the Bible, has two other adult children, Amy and Josh, and five grandchildren.
