Earth’s loss is heaven’s gain. Bestselling pastor Rick Warren won the Christian Book of the Year Award Tuesday night for his weight-loss book, “The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life,” written with doctors Daniel Amen and Mark Hyman.
The Book of the Year award was presented, along with additional prizes in various categories, at the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association’s annual banquet in Nashville, Tennessee.
Warren, the founder of the Saddleback mega-church in Lake Forest, California, began writing “The Daniel Plan” after noticing that he and many of his congregants had grown too fat. While preaching one Sunday, he asked if anyone would like to join him in a biblically based effort to exercise, eat better and lose weight. More than 12,000 people immediately signed up. Legions more have since joined the cause through his interactive website, which offers an inspirational workout music CD, a DVD that demonstrates his “comprehensive fitness system based on God’s power, not just will power,” and “The Daniel Plan Cookbook.” (Daniel-branded moisture-wicking T-shirts are available, too.)
“The Daniel Plan” takes its title from the Bible story in which young Daniel refuses to defile himself with meat or wine from the Babylonian king’s table. Warren’s program involves working with a small group, exercising regularly, avoiding processed foods and eating a diet that emphasizes fruits and vegetables. But the “special sauce,” he says, is faith and friends.
Warren is no newcomer to the bestseller list, of course. His 2002 devotional book “The Purpose Driven Life” has sold tens of millions of copies around the world.
Ron Charles, The Washington Post
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