Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren Undergoes Emergency Surgery

LAKE FOREST, CA — Days after an emergency procedure for a perforated intestine, Saddleback Church's founder Pastor Rick Warren, 64, was improving according to a church spokesperson.

"Rick is getting better," David Chrzan, a Saddleback Church Spokesman said on Monday, according to the Orange County Register.

On Nov. 10, Warren told his parishioners of his condition, which came upon him suddenly, according to his emailed release. Warren was at home alone one week ago when he experienced an "attack of excruciating abdominal pain," he said. "Fortunately, my son, Josh, called at the same moment of my pain."

Josh Warren rushed over to drive his father to an Urgent Care facility where he received "shots of antibiotics and a painkiller." He was advised to obtain a CT scan the following day.

"As Josh and I were leaving, my body started shaking uncontrollably, so the Urgent Care doctor insisted that we immediately go to a hospital ER," Warren wrote.

The CT scans revealed that his intestines had indeed torn, releasing infection into his abdominal area.

"I quickly had emergency surgery and am now recovering," he said. Warren will require a second surgery in January.

According to his wife, Kay Warren, Pastor Rick's surgery "went better than expected."

It is not yet clear what services Warren will be preaching over the Christmas season, when more than 12 church services are planned at Saddleback campuses across Orange County.

The family thanked all for ongoing prayers.

"Things were quite serious for a day, but he is strong and tough and on the road to recovery," Kay Warren wrote on the Facebook page for Causeway Coast Vineyard Church.

Pastor of the Saddleback Church Rick Warren speaks during a hearing before the State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee May 6, 2015 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held the hearing on global health problems. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)