It looks like a a shakeup at the Saddleback Church as Pastor Rick Warren is pleading for the congregation to support the ministries that are in the red for $900,000.  Story is below.

Rick Warren - Pastor & Author of The Purpose Driven Life

Saddleback Church pastor, ‘The Purpose-Driven Life’ author Rick Warren, begs parishioners for $900K

BY CATEY HILL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, December 31st 2009, 2:54 PM

Evangelical pastor Rick Warren’s got a new purpose in life: to raise $900K by the first of the year for his struggling church.

Warren, the author of the best-selling book ‘The Purpose-Driven Life’ and pastor at Saddleback Church, needs the money to fill a giant hole in the church’s budget resulting from significantly lower donations, the Associated Press reported.

Warren wrote an urgent letter to his parishioners asking for the money.

“Dear Saddleback Family, THIS IS AN URGENT LETTER,” he wrote. “With 10 percent of our church family out of work due to the recession, our expenses in caring for our community in 2009 rose dramatically while our income stagnated.”

So what happened to send the mega-church “$900,000 in the red for the year”?  Christmas donations took a nosedive.

“On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive,” he wrote in the letter.

“It’s basically having to do more with less,” church spokesman A. Larry Ross told the Associated Press. “The seasonal Christmas offering was down significantly and, commensurately, the need for services the church is expected to provide is up,” Ross said.

Services that need funding include the church’s food pantry, homeless ministry, counseling and support groups.

Digidesign the maker of Pro Tools and DAW Recording Products Loves the Saddleback Ministry and Warren Since They Purchased Expensive the Digidesign Icon and Venue Consoles in 2008.  And recently weeks earlier,  another Venue Console in November 2009, to “rock” worship and is geared towards people who like things a little bit more louder and punchy.

Pro Tools Baby - Now the Music Industry Is Ours!

I can't wait for Lil' Wayne and Kanye West to Call me to do their shows!

Its amazing to see how through the Bush recession that is still ongoing how megachurches are spending money on big ticket items not understanding that when the economy and the employment suffers it causes the funds to drop significantly in numbers.