华理克交棒四年：72岁的他仍主持每日灵修
（加州讯）写出全球畅销书《标杆人生》的马鞍峰教会（Saddleback Church）创会牧师华理克（Rick Warren），2022 年卸下主任牧师一职至今已满四年。现年 72 岁的他并未淡出公众视野：一边以创会牧师身份继续讲道、主持每日灵修节目，一边仍处在美南浸信会（SBC）“女性可不可以当牧师”争议的中心；健康方面，他 2023 年披露的自身免疫疾病至今没有新的恶化消息，公开活动不断。
华理克 1954 年 1 月 28 日出生于加州 San Jose。1980 年，他与妻子 Kay Warren 在橙县以一个家庭查经小组起步，创立马鞍峰教会，教会总部位于 Lake Forest，后成长为美国最大的教会之一，每周约有两万人参加聚会。
2002 年出版的《标杆人生》（The Purpose Driven Life）是他的代表作。据出版社 Zondervan 口径，该书全球销量逾 5000 万册，译本逾百种语言，长期位居史上最畅销非虚构精装书之列，也让“人生目的”成为全球华人教会熟悉的主题。
2021 年 6 月，华理克宣布退休计划并启动继任者寻找。2022 年 6 月 2 日，马鞍峰教会宣布由 Andy Wood 接任主任牧师；同年 8 月 28 日，华理克讲完作为主任牧师的最后一场讲道；2022 年 9 月 12 日，Andy Wood 正式就任。华理克转任创会牧师，并自 2022 年起担任全球宣教联盟“完成大使命”（Finishing the Task）执行主任，推动在 2033 年前让每个人都能获得母语圣经译本、每位信徒受训传福音、人人有教会可及的目标。
健康是外界最关心的近况。2023 年，华理克公开披露自己患有一种自身免疫疾病，形容病情“使人衰弱，但不危及生命”，预计会持续三到五年。截至 2026 年 9 月，公开报道没有他新的住院、手术或医疗急症消息，他本人也未再发布详细病情说明，具体健康状况保持私人。
他的每日灵修广播与播客《Pastor Rick's Daily Hope》持续日更，10 月 21 日当天仍有新节目上线；10 月中旬，讲道平台上仍有他《A Faith That…》系列的新讲道陆续发布。
妻子 Kay Warren 持续推动心理健康事工。两人的幼子 Matthew 长期受精神疾病困扰，2013 年自杀身亡，年仅 27 岁；此后夫妇二人成为教会界心理健康议题最知名的倡导者。Kay 于 2024 年创办 Hope for Brighter Tomorrows，为有心理疾病子女的父母提供支持，该机构至今仍定期举办线上祷告与支持活动。
让他近年频频登上宗教新闻版面的，是女性牧师之争。华理克自述，他在退休前三年重新研读圣经后，改变了坚持 43 年的立场，认为大使命（马太福音 28 章）、五旬节（使徒行传 2 章）与耶稣向抹大拉的马利亚显现等经文显示，女性同样被授权教导与带领。他在神学家 Russell Moore 的节目中详细说明了这一转变。2023 年 2 月，美南浸信会执委会裁定马鞍峰教会“非友好合作”；同年 6 月，年会以 88.46% 的票数维持除名。争议并未平息：2026 年 6 月，美南浸信会年会以 74.66% 通过一项修正案，拟把“牧师一职限于男性”明确写入联会宪章；按程序，该修正案还须在 2027 年年会再次表决确认才能生效，华理克的立场与这场表决仍被美国宗教媒体并提。
在公共议题上他也仍在发声。2026 年 9 月 18 日，包括华理克在内的 120 位基督教领袖联名致信特朗普政府，敦促不要扣留全球健康资金。据 Religion News Service 报道，信中涉及金额约 10 亿美元，包括妇幼健康、疟疾防治与营养项目；Christianity Today 的统计则显示，相关资金总额为 13.5 亿美元。联名信以照顾“最小、最弱、最失丧者”为由提出呼吁。
从每周站在两万人面前的超级教会牧师，到以创会牧师身份透过广播、播客与公开信持续发声，华理克卸任四年的公开行程仍在继续。2027 年美南浸信会年会对修正案的第二次表决，将是这场争议的下一个节点。
Rick Warren, Four Years After Stepping Down: At 72, He Still Hosts a Daily Devotional
(California) Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church and author of the global bestseller The Purpose Driven Life, stepped down as lead pastor in 2022; four years on, the 72-year-old has not faded from public view. He continues to preach as founding pastor and hosts a daily devotional program, remains at the center of the Southern Baptist Convention's (SBC) dispute over whether women may serve as pastors, and, on the health front, there has been no reported worsening of the autoimmune condition he disclosed in 2023.
Warren was born on January 28, 1954, in San Jose, California. In 1980, he and his wife, Kay Warren, started a home Bible study group in Orange County that grew into Saddleback Church, headquartered in Lake Forest and now one of the largest churches in the United States, with weekly attendance of about 20,000.
His best-known book, The Purpose Driven Life, was published in 2002. According to publisher Zondervan, it has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide, with translations in more than 100 languages, and has long ranked among the best-selling nonfiction hardcovers in history; its theme of life's purpose became familiar to Chinese churches around the world.
In June 2021, Warren announced his retirement plan and the search for a successor. On June 2, 2022, Saddleback announced that Andy Wood would succeed him; on August 28, 2022, Warren preached his final sermon as lead pastor; and on September 12, 2022, Wood formally took office. Warren became founding pastor and, since 2022, has also served as executive director of Finishing the Task, a global missions coalition working toward goals for 2033 that include a Bible translation in every person's heart language, training for every believer in evangelism, and a church within reach of everyone.
His health draws the most outside attention. In 2023, Warren publicly disclosed an autoimmune condition, describing it as "debilitating but not life-threatening" and expected to last three to five years. As of September 2026, there had been no reports of new hospitalizations, surgeries, or medical emergencies, and Warren has not released further details; his current health status remains private.
His daily devotional broadcast and podcast, Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, continues to release new episodes daily, including on October 21; in mid-October, sermon platforms were still posting new installments of his "A Faith That..." message series.
Kay Warren continues her mental-health ministry. The couple's youngest son, Matthew, died by suicide in 2013 at age 27 after a long struggle with mental illness; the Warrens have since become among the best-known advocates for mental-health awareness in the church. In 2024, Kay founded Hope for Brighter Tomorrows, which supports parents of children with mental illness and still holds regular online prayer and support calls.
What has kept Warren in religion headlines in recent years is the women-pastors dispute. Warren has said that after three years of re-studying Scripture before his retirement, he changed a position he had held for 43 years, concluding that passages including the Great Commission (Matthew 28), Pentecost (Acts 2), and Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene show that women are also authorized to teach and lead. He explained the shift in detail on theologian Russell Moore's program. In February 2023, the SBC Executive Committee ruled Saddleback "not in friendly cooperation"; in June 2023, SBC messengers voted 88.46% to uphold the church's removal. The dispute has not settled: in June 2026, the SBC annual meeting approved, with 74.66% in favor, an amendment that would write the office of pastor as limited to men into the convention's constitution; under SBC procedure, it must be approved again at the 2027 annual meeting to take effect, and Warren's stance continues to be cited alongside the vote in U.S. religion coverage.
He also continues to speak on public issues. On September 18, 2026, Warren was among 120 Christian leaders who signed a letter urging the Trump administration not to withhold global health funding. Religion News Service reported that the letter concerned roughly $1 billion, including maternal and child health, malaria prevention, and nutrition programs; Christianity Today put the total amount of funding involved at $1.35 billion. The letter appealed on behalf of "the last, the least, and the lost."
From preaching weekly to 20,000 people at a megachurch to speaking through broadcasts, a podcast, and public letters as founding pastor, Warren's public schedule has continued through the four years since he stepped down. The next milestone in the dispute will be the SBC's second vote on the amendment at its 2027 annual meeting.
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图片来源：马鞍峰教会 Lake Forest 总部园区（资料图，非华理克近照）。摄影：Manutdglory，公共领域，来源：Wikimedia Commons / Saddleback Church Lake Forest campus (file photo, not a recent portrait of Rick Warren). Photo by Manutdglory, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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