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Local journalists were bug-eyed. One reporter told me, "We have to reconcile ourselves. We need purpose and a future. Rick is coming at the right time, and it is genuine."

The next day, Rick Warren left Rwanda on the presidential jet to attend a meeting of African leaders in Senegal, then he went on to other meetings in Europe.

Back in Rwanda, Christians were sorting out their feelings and discovered their enthusiasm was mixed with worry. One well-educated Rwandan leader told me, "One reality that we have to face here is when a leader speaks, we follow even if we are not convinced." Public support for the PEACE plan may not translate well long term to the grassroots, he said.

Others are more skeptical still. As Wolfe put it, "It has taken centuries for Rwandans to descend into the hell in which they exist. Not even becoming a purpose-driven nation is likely to bring them to heaven anytime soon."

But Warren, in a reference to the genocide, told Rwandan pastors, "If the Devil gives you problems about your past, you remind him of his future." Anglican Bishop John Rucyahana, who has probably worked more closely with Americans than any other Rwandan Christian, says, "I praised the Lord having the PEACE plan come from Saddleback. You know God is doing something when people in different places get the same idea before they are connected. It's not just our idea. It's our vision."

Kay Warren, during a follow-up phone interview from her home in Orange County, said she had first come to Rwanda looking for the "monster" killers responsible for the genocide. But everyone looked average to her.

"Average people became monsters and let evil reign in their lives for a while. That means that I, too, could become a monster given the right circumstances." She says it's a lesson she could only have learned in Rwanda.

She also told me she's searched diligently for that life-changing 2002 magazine article, but has failed to find it. The pebble disappeared, but the ripples live on. Later this year and in 2006, Saddleback expects to send out other PEACE plan teams to Rwanda and elsewhere worldwide, as their prototype is further tested in the field.

Timothy C. Morgan is deputy managing editor of CT. Additional reporting by Tony Carnes, CT senior writer, in New York City.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Hunting the Big Gazelle | Why Rick Warren may succeed where others failed.

Earlier CT coverage of Rwanda includes:

Healing Genocide | Ten years after the slaughter, Rwandans begin to mend their torn nation with a justice that is both biblical and African. (March 31, 2004)

Sidebar
A Justice that Restores | A method for bringing victims and offenders together. (March 31, 2004)

Inside CT: Forgiveness 101 | Rwanda is becoming a lab for testing new models of Christian forgiveness. (March 31, 2004)

Influence of Roman Catholic Church in Acquittal of Rwandan Bishop Debated | Augustin Misago cleared of 1994 genocide charges. (July 20, 2000)

Earlier coverage of Rick Warren includes:

Cover story
A Regular Purpose-Driven Guy | Rick Warren's genius is in helping pastors see the obvious. (Nov. 8, 2002)

Forget Your Bliss | The success of The Purpose-Driven Life reveals a cultural opportunity. A Christianity Today editorial (March 9, 2004)

Saddleback's Social Capital | The author of Bowling Alone discovers Evangelicals can be trusted at the civic table. (March 2, 2004)

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October 2005, Vol. 49, No. 10