The founders of Saddleback Church in California spoke of their son Matthew’s suicide in their first interview since the tragedy. ‘God isn’t to blame for my son’s death,’ the pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life told Morgan. ‘My son took his own life. It was his choice.’

Matthew Warren reportedly suffered from borderline personality disorder. The Warrens spoke of their grief over his death and their new campaign to help churches address mental illness. ‘There’s no shame when any other organ in your body fails,’ Rick Warren said, ‘so why do we feel shame if our brain is broken?’

Kay Warren told of how Matthew had begged her to help him end his life after surviving a suicide attempt through overdosing on pills. ‘I will do anything to help you live,’ she said to him, ‘but I will not help you take your life.’

Matthew had been prevented from buying a gun several times because of ‘red flags’ relating to his history of mental illness. Eventually, he obtained a gun illegally on the Internet. ‘We’re grateful that the law kept Matthew from getting the gun for as long as it did,’ Rick Warren told Morgan. Asked whether reporting his son’s gun to the authorities would have made a difference, he replied, ‘I don’t think it would have made any difference,’ saying: ‘If you are determined, you’re going to figure out a way to take your life.’