Rick Warren comes to Washington

by Dan Gilgoff
U.S. News & World Report

When the Rev. Rick Warren walked into a conference room perched above Washington's K Street last Friday to address a group of journalists, I was surprised to see him warmly embrace a New York Times reporter. Warren literally hugged the guy. I could just imagine the Weekly Standard headline: "Country's Top Evangelical Embraces Scourge of the Right."

Then Warren spied Sally Quinn, the Washington Post journalist and famed hostess, and hugged her, too. For a folksy Baptist preacher known for his extensive Hawaiian shirt collection, I thought, this guy sure knows his way around Washington's power circles.
Having never met Warren--I've interviewed him by phone--I approached him, introduced myself, and extended a hand. He wrapped me in his arms like I was his nephew.
Warren, whose Saddleback Church is the nation's largest congregation and whose Purpose Driven Life has sold more copies than any book in American history other than the Bible, mostly avoids the news media. In the months before and after his invocation at Barack Obama's January inauguration, he declined all press requests. And after doing a few sit-downs last Easter, Warren pulled out of a scheduled interview with George Stephanopoulos for ABC News's This Week and has stayed out of the national media spotlight since.

Read the complete story (Some news sites require registration)