November 06, 2025

132| Rick Warren on Renewing the Church and Finishing the Task

1 hour 50 minutes

In this very special (and longest-ever!) episode of the Rebuilt Parish Podcast, Melissa Wilkinson and Tom Corcoran sit down with legendary pastor and author Rick Warren — founder of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church.

Rick reflects on how he mentored Fr. Michael White and Tom during the earliest days of the Rebuilt movement and shares wisdom from a lifetime of global ministry. Together, they discuss the five phases of renewal every church must go through, the future of evangelization leading to the 2000th anniversary of the Church in 2033, and how Catholics and Christians of every denomination can unite to “finish the task” of the Great Commission.

This conversation is packed with encouragement, laughter, and timeless principles for parish renewal and disciple-making in every context.

Key Takeaways:

The Rebuilt Connection: How Rick Warren’s mentorship helped inspire the Rebuilt model of renewal and mission at Church of the Nativity.

Five Renewals for Every Church: Personal, Relational, Missional, Structural, and Cultural renewal — and why they always begin in the heart of the leader.

The Power of Unity: Why collaboration among Catholics, Evangelicals, Orthodox, and Pentecostals is essential to the future of evangelization.

Finishing the Task: Rick’s new global initiative to fulfill the Great Commission by Pentecost 2033 — the 2000th birthday of the Church.

Jesus’ Model for Ministry: Preaching, teaching, healing, praying, and building — the five actions every parish can emulate to transform its community.

The Role of Pain in Evangelization: How God uses our struggles, not our successes, to connect with others and bring them to faith.

Finishing the Task — Rick Warren’s global initiative for the Great Commission

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Chapters:

00:00 – Welcome and introduction: The Rebuilt–Saddleback connection

03:00 – How Rick met Fr. Michael and Tom and why he believed in Rebuilt’s vision

08:00 – Rick’s early experiences with the Catholic Church and stories from the Vatican

11:00 – The five renewals that spark parish transformation

19:00 – Why structure must change as your parish grows

23:00 – God’s plan for renewal and why the Church will always endure

33:00 – The movement toward unity and the 2000th birthday of the Church

38:00 – “Finishing the Task” and the Great Commission Allies initiative

47:00 – What it means to follow the model of Jesus in ministry

55:00 – How the early Church grew without buildings or technology

1:12:00 – Evangelization through pain: witnessing from our struggles

1:22:00 – Reaching every people group before 2033

1:40:00 – “Come and See” to “Come and Die”: discipleship and mission

1:45:00 – Passing it on: the Rebuilt movement as part of a four-generation legacy

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Rick Warren, Rebuilt Parish, Church Renewal, Great Commission, Finishing the Task, Parish Growth, Purpose Driven Church, Evangelization, Parish Leadership, Discipleship, Unity, 2033 Church Anniversary

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