GLOBAL PRAYER NETWORK: Freed Prison Inmate Became a Saddleback Church Pastor This Past Weekend

Kamis, 14 April 2016

Freed Prison Inmate Became a Saddleback Church Pastor This Past Weekend

Danny Duchene, a double-lifer, was released after 32 years in prison at the request of Pastor Rick Warren

By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST News Service

LAKE FOREST, CA (ANS – April 4, 2016) -- Danny Duchene was nearly 20 years into a double life sentence in California’s Sierra Prison when he first encountered Saddleback Church pastor, Rick Warren, through his bestselling book, The Purpose Driven Life.

The book not only changed Danny’s life, it resulted in a Saddleback-inspired “Purpose-Driven Church” started by inmates in the prison, and the adoption of Saddleback’s Celebrate Recovery program by the correctional institution as its official recovery program.

In the past 13 years, thousands of lives have been changed and prisons across America have followed Sierra’s example.

According to a news release, after 32 years in prison, Duchene was freed, partly in response to a letter sent by Pastor Rick Warren to the parole board asking that they do so in order to allow him to hire Duchene as a pastor at Saddleback Church.

During this past weekend, Danny Duchene was officially installed as Pastor of Saddleback Church’s Prison Ministry. He shared his 32-year spiritual journey behind bars as a part of Pastor Rick Warren’s message: “God Can Use Anybody.” The sermon is the second in a series of messages entitled, “The Miracle of Mercy.”

According to CBN News, Duchene said, “My life was out of control. I robbed and stole and hurt others because I chose to please myself. I was reckless and never worried about getting caught for my crimes, and I certainly didn't consider the consequences to others.

“I was only thinking of myself. All this came to a crisis when I was part of a crime in which two men were killed,” he went on to say.

Duchene was charged with a double life sentence at the age of 19. He stated that during that time in his life he hit “rock bottom” but that God in his mercy sent Christians to share the Gospel message.

“At first, this Good News seemed over my head. It seemed unbelievable and too good to be true that God loved me and that wanted to show me mercy all I had done to hurt others,” he shared. “From growing up, I honestly didn't know how to trust.

“The Bible says in James 2:13 that mercy triumphs over judgment, and my life is an example of that truth,” Duchene said. “I now know that God has brought me from the inside out to proclaim that God's mercy is the key to inner freedom.”

He added: “You cannot be what God wants you to be on your own. You need support, you need a small group. I'm sure my life would have been very different if I had the support of a godly small group as a teenager.”

Rick Warren said during the commissioning ceremony, “I trust him...and we are extremely grateful.”

The moving event was carried live at all of Saddleback’s 16 campuses throughout Southern California, Hong Kong, Berlin, Buenos Aires, and South Manila.

Note: Saddleback Church was founded by Pastor Rick and Kay Warren in 1980 in Lake Forest, CA. It is now the home nearly 40,000 members with a weekly attendance of 26,000 people at its 16 campuses. Pastor Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church and best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life which has sold over 32 million copies. He is also the founder of the Global PEACE Plan which Promotes reconciliation, Equips leaders, Assists the poor, Cares for the sick, and Educates the next generation in 196 countries.

For more information, please contact: Johnnie Moore, The KAIROS Company, Johnnie@theKcompany.co , 434-426-5310, www.thekcompany.co.

Photo captions: 1) Danny Duchene speaking during the service (Saddleback). 2) Danny with his wife, Kate. (Saddleback) 3) Pastor Rick Warren hugs Danny Duchene after he had spoken in the service. (Saddleback) 4) Dan Wooding with Rick Warren.

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 75, is an award-winning winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for more than 52 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS), and is the author of some 45 books. He also has two TV shows and a radio show, all based in Southern California.