[1]EDITOR’S NOTE: Baptist Press has been notified of the cancelation of Rick Warren’s appearance on “The Exchange” webcast of Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research/LifeWay Christian Resources. The webcast, otherwise, continues its weekly airing today at 3 p.m. Eastern. LifeWay said Tuesday that “Warren was scheduled to talk about his son’s suicide earlier this month, however, the Saddleback Church pastor notified Stetzer early Tuesday morning that he is not ready to speak about his loss in such a public forum. Stetzer encouraged others to join him in continuing to pray for Warren and his family.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) — Pastor Rick Warren will join Ed Stetzer on his webshow, “The Exchange,” Tuesday afternoon to talk about his 27-year-old son’s suicide earlier this month.
Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, will host The Exchange live from the Exponential church planting conference in Orlando, Fla., where Warren had been scheduled to lead two Bible studies.
Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, Calif., agreed to an interview with Stetzer about what pastors need to know about grief in their congregations, how his son’s death has changed him and what church leaders can do to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of mental illness.
Matthew Warren died April 5 at his home in Mission Viejo, Calif. of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Warren has not granted an interview about the incident but has communicated with church members and followers through written statements and his Twitter account.
The Exchange is a free weekly webshow that airs every Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern.
[2]Also on this episode, Stetzer will discuss discipleship with best-selling author Francis Chan and Robert Coleman, one of the world’s leaders on the subject.
Chan and Coleman will be interviewed during the first hour of the program with Warren’s segment beginning around 4 p.m. Eastern.
This week’s episode will be hosted at Live.Exponential.Org [3].
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Jon D. Wilke is media relations manager for LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress [4]), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress [5]) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp [6]).