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After more than 40 years leading Saddleback Church, Rick Warren has announced his retirement.\n\u201cThis is not the end of my ministry,\u201d Warren told his congregants on Sunday. \u201cIt\u2019s not even the beginning of the end. \u2026 We\u2019re going to take one step at a time in the timing of God. \u2026 God has already blessed me more than I could ever possibly imagine. I don\u2019t deserve any of it, and so this next transition in my life is something I am anticipating with zero regrets, zero fears, zero worries.\u201d\nThe Southern California-based megachurch has begun looking for Warren\u2019s successor.Warren\u2019s ministry has had national and international significance. He is the author of the best-selling The Purpose Driven Life. He championed evangelicals fighting AIDS overseas. After his son died of suicide in 2013, he and his wife Kay began a mental health ministry.\nOverall, Warren\u2019s ministry has not been as polemical as many of his fellow Southern Baptist church leaders. But he faced controversy after praying at Obama\u2019s 2008 inauguration after he campaigned against same sex marriage that same election cycle. Several months ago, he apologized for Saddleback\u2019s children\u2019s Sunday school curriculum video which used Asian culture stereotypes to teach kids about the Bible. Last month, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Al Mohler criticized Saddleback after it ordained three women as pastors.\nGerardo Mart\xed is professor of sociology at Davidson College and the author of numerous well regarded books, including The Deconstructed Church, American Blindspot, and The Glass Church.\nMart\xed joined global media manager Morgan Lee and news editor Daniel Silliman to discuss Southern California evangelicalism, how Warren reached the suburbs by looking at amusement parks, and what informed his political strategy during Trump\u2019s presidency.\nWhat is Quick to Listen? Read more\nRate Quick to Listen on Apple Podcasts\nFollow the podcast on Twitter\nFollow our hosts on Twitter: Morgan Lee and Daniel Silliman\nFollow our guest on Twitter: Gerardo Mart\xed\nMusic by Sweeps\nQuick to Listen is produced by Morgan Lee and Matt Linder\nThe transcript is edited by Bunmi Ishola\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices