Rick Warren’s Son Lost in “Wave of Despair”
The son of Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and invocation speaker at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, killed himself Friday, reports Alan Duke of CNN. Warren wrote in an email to his Saddleback staff, “No words can express the anguished grief we feel right now. Our youngest son, Mathew, age 27, and a lifelong member of Saddleback, died today.” He continued, “You watched Mathew grow up knew he was an incredibly kind, gentle, and compassionate man … But only those closest knew that he struggled from birth with mental illness, dark holes of depression, and even suicidal thoughts.”