Most people probably know Rick Warren best as founder of California's Christian megachurch, Saddleback, and as the pastor who gave the invocation at President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration.
He is also widely recognized for some of his controversial political opinions, particularly those that pertain to hot button issues like gay marriage and abortion rights.
There is, however, more to Warren than may initially meet the eye. Here are surprising facts about the man behind America's most-talked-about church experience:
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1. Although it might be difficult to believe given their outward image of the ideal marriage, Warren and his wife, Kay had quite a rocky start to their union. "Our first two years of marriage were the most difficult," says Rick Warren in an interview on marriage. "They were really tough. We would have divorced, except a) we were both committed to Jesus Christ, and b) we both agreed divorce is not an option."
2. Even with his financial success, Warren and his wife continue to live a modest and fiscally restrained lifestyle. "I drive a 12-year-old Ford, have lived in the same house for the last 22 years, bought my watch at Wal-Mart, and I don't own a boat or a jet,"
said Warren in a 2013 interview with Forbes.
3. Warren's latest endeavor is turning his faith-based approach to life into an obesity cure for Christians. Warren and his Saddleback staff have rolled out their diet lifestyle strategy that has been dubbed The Daniel Plan,
reports CNN.
4. Although many of his later comments and ideologies have been strongly debated in the limelight of the media, Warren has not always been a controversial figure in American culture.
5. Warren knew the individual names of each and every congregant until his congregation surpassed 3,000 members.
6. One of Warren's hobbies is collecting various varieties of hot sauce. He has collected more than 600 bottles through the years.
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7. One of Warren's primary mentors was Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral,
reports The Washington Post.
8. Warren was just 26-years-old when he founded Saddleback Church.
9. Warren believes the key to finding peace in the Middle East lies within Rwanda. "I believe the secret to Middle East peace is in Rwanda,"
Warren once said in an interview with The Christian Post. "World leaders should be studying Rwanda. This should be the model."
10. Warren is now a spokesperson and activist for those struggling with mental illness.
11. Warren is also an AIDS activist.
12. Warren grew up in a tiny town in Northern California.
13. Warren does not consider himself to be a fundamentalist nor does he feel that he is a member of the religious right.
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