Wood will step down at Echo Church at the end of June, as will his wife, Stacie, a teaching pastor at Echo. Photo © Andrew Jo via Echo ChurchĪccording to a transition plan announced by the church, Wood and his wife, Stacie, will be interviewed by Warren and his wife, Kay, during services at Saddleback June 19. Wood, in a statement to RNS, said that Echo “would be happy for any current or former staff members to share their working experience at Echo with Vanderbloemen as a part of their investigation, adding, “We want to do everything we can to help the truth about these allegations come to light.” “Pray for clarity of the truth and for wisdom.” “Please stop a moment and pray right now,” church leaders asked the congregation. “Finally, they tried to reach out to the former staff member and have yet to receive communication back,” the church said.Ĭhurch leaders said they sent the letter out because “we felt it was important that you hear the facts on this from us now, rather than in the news or on social media.” Echo had conducted its own interviews, as well, according to Saddleback’s letter. The search company was provided video footage, emails, text records and interviews that Echo gathered in its own review of Wood’s actions. “Our elders have now received a preliminary second report from The Vanderbloemen Search Group, clearing Pastor Wood from all allegations,” the church said in a letter to the congregation Sunday (June 12), which was also sent to Religion News Service. The church asked Vanderbloemen Search Group, which did the initial background check on Wood, to do a follow-up review. Wood, 40, is currently the lead pastor of Echo Church, a multi-site congregation based in San Jose, California.Īfter the public announcement, a former Echo Church staffer made comments about issues with Wood’s leadership on social media.Īccording to a statement issued by Saddleback Sunday night, Wood had told the church’s elders about the allegations made by the former staffer during his interview process and offered to show them videos of his meetings with the former staffer. (RNS) - Leaders at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church say a preliminary investigation has cleared Andy Wood, Warren’s recently announced successor, of allegations made by a former staff member.Īfter announcing plans to retire in September, Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life” and one of the most influential voices in evangelical Christianity, named San Francisco pastor Andy Wood to follow him at Saddleback, a Southern California congregation Warren founded that draws 25,000 people to worship services.

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