Last Wednesday began at 5 am when I had to roll out of bed and go to St. Louis for the Greater St. Louis Prayer Breakfast. It is heralded as the largest prayer breakfast in the United States. My joy was to meet Rick Warren and greet Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri and introduce them to each other. Warren was just as advertised, kind, gentle, and very real. As usual, Governor Blunt, who is a very committed Christian, was his kind self.
The prayer breakfast was a very spiritual experience, with Old Testament and New Testament readings and a prayer that surely made its way to the Throne of Grace. Pastor Warren, in his address to the business leaders of St. Louis, emphasized the powerful role of the church in the 21st century and shared that the church is the only organization in the world that has the volunteer man (and woman) power to change the world.
Following the breakfast (by the way, the food was not that good), a press conference was held in a room at the America's Center which is attached to the Edward Jones Dome, the home of the St. Louis Rams. I had the privilege of introducing Pastor Warren and Governor Blunt to the press. There was lots of talk of volunteerism in the four county area adjacent to St. Louis. That area is called the Westplex and a study has been done regarding the number of volunteer hours given to the not-for-profit organizations in St. Charles, Warren, Franklin, and Linccoln Counties. Both Warren and Blunt are vitally interested in the volunteer effort.
Paastor Warren then made his way to meeting the college bound seniors who attend school in the public schools of St. Louis. In this meeting, he emphasized that each person had a purpose and each one had to find his purpose in life. In addition, he gave a copy of his book to each student in attendance (800). It was heard that a few teachers felt Warren's message was too religious and he was informed of this during the question and answer period. It was interesting that he closed in prayer, not only for the students, but also for the teachers. With the problems in urban public schools, the teachers' complaint was an example of the knats and alligators.
For me, the final session with Pastor Warren was at the Bogey Club where lunch was served and he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus to the affluent leaders of St. Louis. At the conclusion of time at the Bogey Club, Warren gave the audience a chance to ask him any question they had. He was a man with a message and was genuine in his every endeavor.
P.S. Pastor Warren gave each person at the breakfast and the Bogey Club a copy of the "Purpose Driven Life."
2 comments:
Oh my word...I can't believe you had the opportunity to introduce Rick Warren and Governor Blunt to the press! How cool is that??? :) I think it's wonderful that you could be there! I also think it's great that Rick Warren passed out his book to so many people! What an awesome day! :) Stacey O
Wish I could've been there! What a cool experience!!! I think it is so great that he gave away so many copies of the book that has impacted so many lives.
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