There are no two Christian Leaders I respect more than Rick and Kay Warren. Our collective hearts as fellow parents, friends, and Christian community broke for them following the death of their son Matthew earlier this year.
How they have handled this tragic event has been a testimony to the incredible grace and power of God working in human lives. We continue to pray for this dear family as they are still going through the grieving process.
On Tuesday evening, Rick and Kay participated in their first interview as they sat down with CNN’s Piers Morgan. I want to thank the Warrens for their transparency and the gentleness at which Morgan interviewed them.
Only Heaven will reveal how many hurting families are finding comfort, hope and healing through Rick and Kay’s lives. Though I don’t know the Warrens, I deeply love and respect this couple and pray God’s blessings on them.
The following are just 15 of the most powerful quotes from this interview. There are many additional quotes from this interview online but the best source is to go to Rick’s post on Pastors.com entitled The Most Important Interview I’ve Ever Done.
- “I’d rather have all my questions unanswered and walk with God than not walk with God and have all my questions answered.” – Rick
- “I’m terrible but I’m OK. In other words, we’re going to survive and someday we’ll thrive again. It’s the worst thing that could ever happen.” – Kay
- “I’ve cried every single day since Matthew died, but that’s actually a good thing. Grief is a good thing. It’s the way we get to the transitions of life.” – Rick
- “We’re not in control but we do have a greater hope and we do have a source of joy that isn’t based on our circumstances.” – Rick
- “Well if you look at the risk factors of what puts people at risk for suicide, Matthew had almost none of the risk factors…The main risk factor for him was mental illness and he had that.” – Kay
- “I was overwhelmed by the love of our people. Kay and I have given 33 years to this church. And I felt like they gave it all back at that moment.” – Rick
- “I never questioned my faith in God. I question God’s plan. There’s a big difference.” – Rick
- “God isn’t to blame for my son’s death. My son took his life. It was his choice and if I choose to go out and get drunk and get in a car and I was in an accident, killed somebody, I can’t blame God for that.” – Rick
- “There’s so many moments of terrible choices with mental illness.” – Kay
- “One of the hard things was forgiving the person who sold him the gun because I didn’t want to forgive him.” – Rick
- “I have to forgive not for his benefit but for mine.” – Rick
- “I don’t want to be tied to that person emotionally for the rest of my life.” – Kay
- “Mental illness creates such horrendous choices for families.” – Kay
- “We were sobbing. We were just sobbing. The day I feared might happen one since he had been born and the day I prayed would never happen, happened.” – Rick
- “One thing that needs to change legally is to give families more power to dealing with people who are mentally ill in their family.” – Rick
Once again, there is not a Christian couple I respect more. Please continue to pray for the Warrens.