Ep. 381: Clint Pressley, Pastors and Politics,and Vineyard Anaheim

On today’s program, after a slew of controversies, Southern Baptists chose a low-key leader. We take a closer look at new SBC President Clint Pressley. And, Pastors and politics—legally, what are churches and other Christian nonprofits allowed to do when it comes to this year’s presidential campaign?

We also highlight the results are in from our summer survey of top ministry executives. They tell us their biggest challenges—and hopes for the future.

But first, a former youth volunteer for Vineyard Church in Anaheim, California, has been sentenced to more than 120 years in prison.

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 Jessica Eturralde, Daniel Ritchie, Kim Roberts, Tiffany Stanley, Yonat Shimron, Anna Piela, and Brittany Smith.

A special thanks to the National Association of Evangelicals for contributing material for this week’s podcast.

Until next time, may God bless you.

 

FIRST SEGMENT

Warren:

Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina.

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, after a slew of controversies, Southern Baptists chose a low-key leader. We take a closer look at new S-B-C President Clint Pressley.

And, Pastors and politics—legally, what are churches and other Christian nonprofits allowed to do when it comes to this year’s presidential campaign?

And, the results are in from our summer survey of top ministry executives. They tell us their biggest challenges—and hopes for the future.

Natasha

But first, a former youth volunteer for Vineyard Church in Anaheim, California, has been sentenced to more than 120 years in prison.

Warren:

Todd Christian Hartman, 41, has been sentenced to 125 years to life for collecting and creating child pornography materials and molesting four girls between the years 2009 and 2014.

In 2015, investigators found hundreds of child pornography images and videos in Hartman’s Newport Beach home. Federal agents arrested Hartman on child pornography charges, but the case collapsed after a judge ruled he was not informed of his Miranda rights at the time of his arrest.

Natasha:

What happened next?

Warren:

In 2016, Hartman contacted the father of two of his victims and admitted to repeatedly molesting one of them after meeting through his volunteer work at the Anaheim Vineyard Church children’s ministry, starting when the girl was 6 years old.

Hartman was also convicted of molesting the girl’s younger sister and molesting a 14-year-old girl and 12-year-old girl at a sleepover in 2009.

Natasha:

How did the church respond?

Warren:

MinistryWatch contacted the Dwelling Place to inquire about Vineyard’s handling of the employee’s concerns, including whether or not church leadership was informed. We have not yet heard back at the time of publication.

Natasha:

Let’s move to our next story

Warren:
A Colorado man has been sentenced to at least eight years in prison for sexually abusing a child, with the possibility of life behind bars.

Michael Paustian, age 53, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child from a position of trust for a victim under the age of 15. He also pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child. Both are class 3 felonies.

Natasha:

Was he connected to a ministry?

Warren:

Paustian was employed by Group Publishing as the company’s creative director. Group Publishing is widely known for publishing curriculum used by churches.

He’d began working at Group Publishing in 2005, and informed “company leaders in 2023 that he was being accused of incidents that allegedly happened in his home 18 years ago, not related to his work at Group.”

When Group Publishing leaders learned of “Paustian’s guilty plea, his employment was terminated.”

Natasha:

Our next story also includes a prison sentence.

Warren:

A woman from Texas—the mistress of Christian radio host William Neil Gallagher— has been sentenced to life in prison for her role in a Ponzi scheme.

Debra Mae Carter, 65, was found guilty of money laundering on July 8. Gallagher, the alleged mastermind behind the Ponzi scheme, received three life sentences, plus another 30-year sentence for scamming his radio listeners out of millions of dollars. Gallagher must serve all of those sentences concurrently.

Natasha:

How did the two work together on the scheme?

Warren:

The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office told USA Today that Gallagher’s role was to “bring in the money” while Carter was tasked with making sure the victim’s couldn’t recover any of it. Prosecutors said Carter was able to launder much of the money through fake charities, land, and rental property. It is estimated that at least 170 people were victims in the Ponzi scheme. The majority were retirees.

Natasha:

Next, news of Benny Hinn

Warren:

Benny and Suzanne Hinn have now filed for divorce for the second time since 2010.

The couple has apparently been living in separate homes in Florida, some 70 miles apart from one another.

It is unclear why Suzanne filed for divorce or how long that the couple have lived in separate homes.

Natasha:

You said this is the second time they’ve filed for divorce?

 Warren:

In February 2010, Suzanne served Benny with divorce papers leaving the televangelist “shocked and saddened.” Suzanne cited irreconcilable differences as to the reason for their divorce in 2010, according to the Christian Post.

Suzanne and Benny reconciled in 2012 and opted to remarry in 2013 at The Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida in front of 1,000 guests. The wedding was officiated by the late Jack Hayford.

This divorce was filed in Florida, a state allowing no-fault divorce, so the couple will likely see an equitable distribution of their assets.

Natasha:

Warren, let’s take a quick break. When we return, Southern Baptists voted in a low-key leader in June to cool things down. We’ll take a look at S-B-C president Clint Pressley.  

I’m Natasha Cowden, along with my co-host Warren Smith, and we’ll have that story and much more, after this short break.

 

BREAK

 

SECOND SEGMENT

Natasha:

Welcome back.  I’m Natasha Cowden, along with my co-host Warren Smith, and you’re listening to the MinistryWatch podcast.

Next, the story we promised before the break. New S-B-C President Clint Pressley does not have a national following or a big social media presence. His goal is to tone down the acrimony.

Warren:

Southern Baptists, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, has a faced a series of challenges in recent years: declining membership, a sexual abuse crisis, a crackdown on women pastors, an embrace of Trump and MAGA politics. Yet at its last meeting in June its members elected a traditional preacher who wears three-piece suits, a tie and monogrammed cuffs and mostly stays out of the limelight.

Pressley, 55, the newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, is a hard-working pastor of North Carolina’s fifth-largest Baptist church.

Natasha:

He is not trying to use the presidency, which he may serve for a maximum of two consecutive one-year terms, as a platform for influence.

Warren:

Pressley said of his new roll,“ my hope is to clear some of the fog of negativity and get us back on those two things we have: our confession and our mission,”

Al Mohler, the president of Southern Seminary and a prominent conservative voice in the SBC.  Said of Pressley, “He’s an incredibly encouraging person and incredibly authentic. The public Clint Pressley and the private Clint Pressley are exactly the same man.”

Our story goes into a lot more detail about Pressley, if you’d like to know more, you can find the full story on the ministrywatch website.

Natasha:

As we’re all keenly aware, we’re in an election year – so our next story asks how should pastors navigate political conversations from the pulpit?

Warren:

The vast majority of evangelical leaders (98 percent) say that pastors should not endorse politicians from the pulpit, according to the May/June 2024 Evangelical Leaders Survey.

Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) said, “The pulpit should be used in a prophetic manner, bringing the gospel to bear on today’s complex cultural issues, “Church leaders should inform, uplift and draw people into deeper discipleship that impacts how they engage in their communities, including how they vote. Endorsing a political candidate is rarely helpful and most often breeds division.”

Natasha:

And others leaders have raised concerns as well,

Warren:

Kimberly Reisman, executive director of World Methodist Evangelism, said, “Endorsing from the pulpit further polarizes our current culture. God can use leaders from all parties, and to equate God’s will with the will of any political party or person is exceedingly dangerous and a threat to the overall witness of Christians in the United States.”

Richard Stearns, president emeritus of World Vision U.S., added, “Politicizing the Church is divisive within the Body of Christ, harmful to the public witness of the Church and a distraction from the priorities of the kingdom —

Natasha:

Based on a 1954 law known as the Johnson Amendment, the IRS bans all 501(c)(3) nonprofits — including churches — from active involvement in political campaigns.

Warren:
However, the Johnson Amendment does not restrict pastors from offering biblical guidance on contemporary issues, and many evangelical leaders say pastors have a clear responsibility to do so.

Natasha:

So what is allowed when it comes to Churches and politics? That’s what our next story tackels.

Warren:

According to Pew Research, most Christians lean toward the Republican party, but both sides try to engage this large voting group.Candidates visit churches and speak to religious groups along their campaign trail in the hopes of winning voters to their side.

Before withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race, President Joe Biden addressed the congregation at Mt. Airy Church of God in Philadelphia.

Former President Donald Trump has spoken to many faith-based groups, including the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

Natasha:

Aside from the candidates themselves, groups have formed that work to rally Christians to vote a specific way.

Warren:

On the right, Turning Point USA Faith “is dedicated to empowering Christians to put their faith into action.” It is hosting Clear Truth conferences at several churches over the next few months  to share “cultural convictions in alignment with orthodox doctrine and historical Christianity.”

On the left, Black Church Political Action Committee is working “to engage 1,000,000 voters in swing states to participate in voter registration, voter education, and voter mobilization for the 2024 Election Cycle. By empowering faith leaders, community leaders, and connected family members and friends.”

Natasha:

All of this begs the question: what political activities can churches and other religious nonprofit groups engage in legally?

Warren:

According to the Internal Revenue Service, “Section 501(c)(3) organizations are precluded from, and suffer loss of exemption for, engaging in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.”

Examples of political activities that don’t violate the IRS regulations include holding non-partisan candidate forums, voter registration, and get-out-to-vote drives.

But voter education activities favoring one candidate would be a violation.

Natasha:

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a public interest law firm that often defends churches and charities on free speech grounds, has also published an election guide for pastors and churches.

Warren:

It notes that pastors can speak about political issues, but should not support or oppose candidates while acting in their official capacity as a church leader. They can, however, support or oppose a political candidate when speaking in a personal capacity.

It also warns churches they should not allow their facilities to be “used in partisan ways which could be perceived as supporting a particular candidate for elective public office.”

When it comes to inviting a candidate to speak at a church meeting or service, ADF advises that churches consider how it will maintain an equal opportunity for all political candidates.

Natasha:

Our next story, shares a necessary and helpful response of pro-life ministry post-Roe

Warren:

There has been a nationwide expansion of maternity homes in the two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“It’s been a significant increase,” said Valerie Harkins, director of the Maternity Housing Coalition, a nonprofit pro-life network of 195 maternity homes that has grown 23% since the court’s ruling.

Natasha:

There are now more than 450 maternity homes in the U.S., many of them are faith-based.

Warren:

As abortion restrictions increase, pro-life advocates want to open more of these transitional housing facilities, which often have long waitlists. It’s part of what they see as the next step in preventing abortions and providing long-term support for low-income pregnant women and mothers.

The reasons for the surge in interest in maternity homes are complex and go beyond narrowing abortion access. Harkins said unaffordable housing, paychecks cut by inflation and higher birthrates in some states have all contributed.

Natasha:

At a maternity home, Mothers receive housing and financial support during and after their pregnancies, sometimes for years after giving birth. And there are now maternity homes that specialize in keeping children out of the foster care system. While others have honed their expertise in addiction recovery.

Warren:

Across the country, maternity homes are sprouting up or expanding. In Nebraska, an old college campus is becoming maternity housing. In Arizona, a home has added to one property and opened another. In Georgia, lawmakers recently made it easier to open new maternity homes with fewer state regulations.

Natasha:

Warren, we’re going to take another break.  When we return, our lightning round of ministry news of the week.

I’m Natasha Cowden, with my co-host Warren Smith. More in a moment.

 

BREAK

 

THIRD SEGMENT

Natasha:

Welcome back.  I’m Natasha Cowden, with my co-host Warren Smith and you’re listening to the MinistryWatch Podcast.

Warren, we like to use this last segment as a sort of lightning round of shorter news briefs.

What’s up first?

Warren:

As part of its work serving donors and ministries, MinistryWatch conducts a quarterly survey of leaders of the largest 1,000 Christian ministries in the country. We began the survey in October 2022, and thanks to your help, we have gathered eight surveys of results and reported about the insights they have provided.

In July, we received responses from 89 ministry executives, 92% of whom are in the top role at the organization — CEO, president, or executive director. While we recognize the response size is somewhat limiting, we believe the trends we have seen are still noteworthy.

Natasha:

And what are some of those tends?

Warren:

In this quarter’s survey, fundraising again took the top spot as the most significant challenge by seven points — 43% of leaders cited fundraising and 36% cited staffing.

Given that 43% of respondents cited fundraising and revenue as their top concern, one might expect they’ve been facing fundraising challenges.

And yet, over 30% of the ministry leaders answered that their ministry has experienced revenue growth of over 10% in the last 12 months. Only 18% said they’d seen that sizable growth in the April survey.

Natasha:

We also asked about non disclosure agreements, or NDAs.

Warren:

We began asking about the use of NDAs in April 2023. In that survey, 47% of ministries answered that they use NDAs, 49% said they didn’t use them, and 4% said they didn’t know.

In the most recent survey, 39% of respondents said they use NDAs, 54% said they don’t use them, and 7% said they didn’t know.

We then asked leaders to elaborate about the purposes for using NDAs. Over 70% responded that they are used for protection of proprietary information.

Natasha:

What’s next?

Warren:

Today, Christian publishing is an $820 million industry that is in serious flux as the American religious landscape — and the publishing industry writ large — experience massive disruptions. The trajectory of U.S. Christian publishing is complex and defined not only by interconnected trends in religiosity and culture, but by the economy, technology, fads and, of course, book readership (46% of Americans read no books in 2023 — double the 2022 figure).

Natasha:

What do these trends mean for smaller, denominational presses, and what challenges do they anticipate in the coming years?

Warren:

Shrinking churches means the market for Christian print resources diminishes, too.

Jeff Crosby, CEO of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, said in an interview that more than 50% of the publishing and sales of Christian books happens “under a single corporate entity.”

Natasha:

I assume he means Amazon.

Warren:

That’s right. This poses an obvious risk to the viability of the industry, as one distribution channel deeply impacts the finances of the industry.

But there’s more. The decline of Christian brick-and-mortar bookstores means it is harder to sell religious books, as secular chain bookstores give them a much smaller “footprint” on the floor.

Global affairs also affect book sales, he pointed out, citing “staggering” cost increases for publishers who manufacture in China or India.

Brian Flagler and Craig Gipson from Flagler Law Group, a legal firm that advises Christian publishers and other Christian entities on contracts and copyrights, also listed distribution and supply chain problems as major challenges for Christian publishing. They also noted the rise of artificial intelligence. At the 2024 annual meeting of ECPA in St. Louis, AI was one of the main themes.

There’s a whole lot more to this story that we can’t get into here, so, if you’re interested, make sure to read the full article at MinistryWatch.com

Natasha:

Who is in our Ministry Spotlight this week?

Warren: 

This month, Hope Media Group’s overall MinistryWatch rating fell from 2 stars to 1 star.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Hope Media Group owns radio station KSBJ, as well as the national network of WayFM stations, and the Spanish-language Christian network “Vida Unida.” The organization also hosts concerts through its Hope Events arm and created the God Listens Prayer App.

The media group, which has a 1-star fund acquisition rating, ranks 27 out of 28 in Ministry Watch’s Radio/TV Stations Sector. Its fundraising costs jumped from 6% to 20% between 2022 and 2023. The sector median cost is 5%.

Hope Media Group also ranks 26 out of 28 in overall efficiency for the Radio/TV Stations Sector. In 2023, the organization’s total expenses were $37.9 million and its revenue was $33.4 million.

Warren: ad-lib.

Natasha:

Warren, any final thoughts before we go?

Warren:

Shepherds for Sale — Dispatch

Webinar – How To Read A Form 990.

Natasha:

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 Jessica Eturralde, Daniel Ritchie, Kim Roberts, Tiffany Stanley, Yonat Shimron, Anna Piela, and Brittany Smith.

A special thanks to the National Association of Evangelicals for contributing material for this week’s podcast.

I’m Natasha Cowden, in Denver, Colorado.

Warren:

And I’m Warren Smith in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Natasha:

You’ve been listening to the MinistryWatch podcast.  Until next time, may God bless you.