Rick Warren: A life of purpose
Rick Warren über ein Leben mit Sinn
Pastor Rick Warren is the author of The Purpose-Driven Life, which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. His has become an immensely influential voice seeking to apply the values of his faith to issues such as global poverty, HIV/AIDS and injustice. Full bio
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myself to be an author.
people have read this?
about a million copies a month."
spiritual emptiness
our heads down on the pillow and we go,
to life than this."
come home and watch TV,
to work, come home, watch TV, go to bed,
you're not living -- that's just existing.
there's this inner desire.
I believe that you're not an accident.
but I believe God did.
there's no doubt about that.
I think you matter to history;
of living, the success level of living,
"What on Earth am I here for?"
figure out my problems?"
who are very successful,
that I'm more than I really am?"
of meaning, of significance, of purpose.
Where am I going?"
that I really appreciate what he does,
a whole lot easier.
kooks in every area of life.
there are smart kooks, dumb kooks.
came up to me the other day,
Michael, you'll like this one --
"Oh, I don't see anything."
and started crying and left.
in the world for the last three years,
enormous amounts of money.
book in the world,
neither of which I wanted.
I was 25 years old.
one other family in 1980.
going to go on TV,
"evangelist, televangelist" --
of money and a lot of attention.
everybody's got a worldview.
their life on something.
you're betting what you're betting on.
their life on something.
that Jesus was who he said he was.
to do what it's doing now.
what's the purpose of this?
that the first sentence of the book is,
the best-selling book in history,
I guess it's not about me.
the "stewardship of affluence"
leadership is stewardship.
in sports, in art,
in protecting the environment.
it's not going to be mine after I die,
and then that's it.
the other day on a talk show,
me and he'd go,
on protecting the environment?"
"Well, do you believe
place for the next generation?
to take the environment seriously?"
I'm not talking about religion --
it is our responsibility
for the next generation?"
than any other species."
he was revealing his worldview.
of this environment than a duck is."
of times we act like ducks,
that's my worldview.
what your worldview is.
never really think it through.
This is why I believe what I believe."
enough faith to be an atheist.
everything else in your life,
everything in your life.
determines our behavior,
what we become in life.
on what to do with the money.
going to use it on ourselves."
Ford that I've driven.
going to use it on us.
from the church that I pastor.
all that the church had paid me
and I gave it back.
I didn't want anybody thinking
who does it for money.
I've never met one of them.
easier ways to make money.
they're like doctors.
to be here yesterday --
is in his last, probably, 48 hours
who's lived his life --
and he's dying with peace.
is not how you act in the good times.
is how you act at the funeral.
hundreds if not thousands of funerals,
problems of the world:
particularly HIV/AIDS --
and put the money into that.
what I call "reverse tithers."
and I got married 30 years ago,
of what you get back to charity,
we would raise our tithe one percent.
we went to 11 percent,
of materialism in my life.
get, get, get, get all you can,
and spoil the rest.
is actually looking good --
and having the goods.
those, and they're not necessarily happy.
in the world would be the happiest.
I know, is not true.
good, feeling good or having the goods,
doesn't come from status,
somebody who's got more than you.
that we find meaning,
I believe, by God.
we give away 90 percent and live on 10.
with all this attention?
all kinds of invitations.
month-long speaking tour
with this notoriety
I started reading the Bible.
called Psalm 72,
for more influence.
selfish, self-centered.
to make me famous."
of my name through every land,
I want you to give me influence."
egotistical request you could make,
the whole chapter.
"So that the king ..." --
at that time, at its apex in power --
for the widow and orphan,
the defenseless, care for the sick,
speak up for the foreigner,
all the marginalized in society.
of influence is to speak up
is not to build your ego.
the same thing as your self-worth.
different set of things.
of influence is to speak up
I thought of widows and orphans.
affluent areas of America --
of CEOs and scientists.
ever see a homeless person.
up the road in Santa Ana.
and whatever influence I've got
either of those.
in the Bible about Moses,
it really doesn't matter to me.
"The Ten Commandments,"
burning bush, and God talks to him,
"Moses, what's in your hand?"
questions you'll ever be asked:
It's a shepherd's staff."
he throws it down and it becomes a snake.
and I'm going, what is that all about?
I do know a couple of things.
a miracle to show off.
have to show up on cheese bread.
he's not going to show up on cheese bread.
what Michael does,
then I don't have to.
doesn't show up on sprinkler images.
than that to do whatever he wants to do.
just to show off.
if God ever asks you a question,
then that would mean
it's for your benefit, not his.
Now, follow me on this.
three things about Moses' life.
he was a shepherd.
his career, his job.
of not only his identity,
of his assets are tied up in sheep.
or American Express cards, or hedge funds.
and it's a symbol of his income.
it's a symbol of his influence.
from point A to point B with it,
One or the other.
you've got influence.
I'll make it come alive.
you could never imagine possible."
"Ten Commandments,"
in Egypt are done through this staff.
at the NBA All-Stars game.
NFL teams and all the other teams
based on the book.
"What's in your hand?
I said, "It's a basketball.
your identity, who you are:
off that little ball.
to be in the NBA for a few years,
for the rest of your life.
with what you've been given?"
I came up here today,
with what you've been given?
question about life.
purpose-driven is all about.
how you're wired to do certain things,
Spiritual gifts, Heart,
to be doing with your life,
"What am I wired to do?"
and then not have you do it?
you'll be an anthropologist.
an undersea explorer,
you make deals.
when you be you?
when my kids were little --
on the side of their bed,
rise and lower, rise and lower.
"This is not an accident."
watching them sleep.
that God only gets excited
"spiritual things,"
or doing something like that.
watching you be you.
and ability that I gave you."
your income --
a better place."
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rick Warren - Pastor, authorPastor Rick Warren is the author of The Purpose-Driven Life, which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. His has become an immensely influential voice seeking to apply the values of his faith to issues such as global poverty, HIV/AIDS and injustice.
Why you should listen
Pastor Rick Warren is one of the world's most influential Christians. His Saddleback Church, founded in 1980, boasts a congregation of 22,000, and his Purpose-Driven Life is one of the best-selling books of all time. Warren's mission is to attack what he calls the five "Global Goliaths" -- spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy and poor education.
He teaches that doing good is the only way humans create significance in our lives. He and his wife famously became "reverse tithers," donating 90 percent of their considerable fortune to philanthropic causes. Warren is particularly passionate about fighting AIDS, and in 2006, his church hosted the second annual Global Summit on AIDS and the Church, attended by US Senator Barack Obama, among others (controversial within the evangelical movement, because Obama is pro-choice).
In recent years, Warren has become a prominent steward of social justice, speaking out on poverty relief and encouraging spiritual leaders to play a role in guiding the planet toward sustainability. (He even attended the premiere of An Inconvenient Truth, after meeting Al Gore and producer Lawrence Bender at TED2006.)
Given his global focus and considerable platform, Warren has become a sought-after advisor to world leaders, speaking at the United Nations, the World Economic Forum and the Council on Foreign Relations. His involvement in the 2008 Presidential election sparked controversy and praise from both sides; during the campaign trail, he hosted candidates John McCain and Barack Obama at Saddleback Church for a forum on moral issues. It was the first time McCain and Obama appeared together publicly as presidential candidates. When Barack Obama was later elected to office, he asked Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration.
Rick Warren | Speaker | TED.com