Can Saddleback Really Be Involved in a War?

It is hard to believe that a good church with good intentions can stumble into cooperating with those committing horrific acts. But accidentally cooperating with sinful systems happens to the best of believers everyday. With a small church, mistakes in missions work can have a relatively small impact. However, with a mega church like Saddleback the implications can be shocking and affect thousands, even millions of lives.

Here is a good example:

Saddleback’s PEACE brochure about Rwanda includes these images:

The PEACE Plan brochure explaining Saddleback Church's involvement in Rwanda. — The PEACE Plan brochure explaining Saddleback Church’s involvement in Rwanda.

_DSC0004 — The introductory graphic reads “‘We are preaching hope standing on the bones of the past.’ – Bishop John Ruchyahana”

_DSC0005 — Saddleback’s Pastor Rick Warren is pictured with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Kagame is widely praised in Western media and by Pastor Rick Warren, a closer look at Kagame’s ongoing actions to gain complete control of Rwandan society yields very disturbing results.

This is the text from the Wikipedia entry for Bishop John Raucyahana:

“Support for M23

The United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) issued a report on 15 November 2012, which implicated Rucyahana in fundraising for the M23 rebel group, operating in the DRC. ^[3] The final UN report stated:

RPF members have been recruiting sympathizers and raising funds for M23 from within Rwanda. Politicians, former Rwandan armed forces and CNDP officers told the Group that Rwigamba Balinda, a Rwandan senator and Rector of the Free University of Kigali, and John Rucyahana, a bishop (see S/2012/348/Add.1, para. 29), both RPF members, had overseen those activities in Rwanda and abroad.

Rucyahana denied these charges in a public letter. ^[4] In 2013, a United Nations report said that Rucyahana was forced to stop fundraising for M23 because he was part of the support network of Bosco Ntaganda inside Rwanda, which was dismantled. The report said:

A former Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) member, two former RDF officers and a politician loyal to Ntaganda, told the Group that Bishop John Rucyahana, a Ntaganda ally in Rwanda who recruited politicians and raised funds for M23, had to stop his collaboration. ^[5]“

This is what Rick Warren has to say about Bishop John Raucyahana in the forward to Raucyahana’s book – screen shot of Google Book’s The Bishop of Rwanda:

So why would Rick Warren say that Saddleback is helping Rwanda rebuild, while those he chooses to hold up as an example of the good that Saddleback is doing are supporting and arming Rwandan backed rebels known to use rape, torture, and child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Good question. Perhaps you can ask Rick Warren this question at :

PastorRick@saddleback.com