Ep. 417: Texas Churches Help Ukranian Refugees, Gateway Church Developments, and Tony Campolo

On today’s program, a former member of Village Church of Bartlett in Illinois is suing the church for defamation after the pastor allegedly accused her of an affair. Another family who supported the victim was also excommunicated. We’ll have details. And, last year, Texas Christians provided Thanksgiving dinner to a group of Ukrainian refugees. This year, those same refugees thanked the Texas church with a festive feast of their own. We’ll take a look. Plus, Tony Campolo, sociologist and famed ‘Red Letter Christian,’ has died at 89. But first, donations to Gateway Church has taken a nosedive following scandals there, signaling tough decisions ahead. Gateway Church outside of Dallas is facing more issues after the church was shaken by allegations of sexual abuse by founding pastor Robert Morris. According to a video leaked on social media, elder Kenneth Fambro said the church’s offering receipts are down 35-40%. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Neva Rae Fox, Bobby Ross Jr., Bob Smietana, Tessa Sanchez, Christina Darnell—and you, Warren. A special thanks to The Living Christian, The Christian Chronicle, and Baptist Press for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.   MANUSCRIPT   FIRST SEGMENT Warren: Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you this week from West Palm Beach, Florida, Natasha: And I’m Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado. And we’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast. Warren: On today’s program, a former member of Village Church of Bartlett in Illinois is suing the church for defamation after the pastor allegedly accused her of an affair. Another family who supported the victim was also excommunicated. We’ll have details. And, last year, Texas Christians provided Thanksgiving dinner to a group of Ukrainian refugees. This year, those same refugees thanked the Texas church with a festive feast of their own. We’ll take a look. Plus, Tony Campolo, sociologist and famed ‘Red Letter Christian,’ has died at 89. Natasha: But first, donations to Gateway Church has taken a nosedive following scandals there, signaling tough decisions ahead. Warren: Gateway Church outside of Dallas is facing more issues after the church was shaken by allegations of sexual abuse by founding pastor Robert Morris. According to a video leaked on social media, elder Kenneth Fambro said the church’s tithe receipts are down 35-40%. In June, allegations of Morris’s sexual abuse of Cindy Clemishire, 54, in the 1980s starting when she was only 12 years old led to his resignation. Natasha: Since then, Gateway has faced other challenges and resignations. Warren: That’s right. The church canceled its annual Gateway Conference as the “congregation and staff are in the midst of navigating Robert Morris’ resignation and the emotions surrounding it.” In August, a lawsuit was filed in Tarrant County, Texas, alleging a member of the Gateway Church youth group sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl also attending the church youth group. Gateway recently settled another lawsuit that accused church leadership of covering up the alleged sexual abuse of a child by a member of the congregation in March 2018. And Executive Pastor Kemtal Glasgow was removed in August from his position for a “moral issue.” Natasha: There have also been questions about money, but Gateway is working hard to make positive changes Warren: In an effort to increase transparency and accountability, Gateway is conducting a comprehensive financial audit and is “making significant changes to its bylaws” so it can become a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Some of the changes include eliminating the office of “apostolic e...