MinistryWatch Podcast

On today’s program, an Ohio ministry dedicated to addiction recovery is being used for alleged misuse of funds. The Ohio Attorney General says Lamb’s House hasn’t served any charitable purpose since at least 2017. We’ll have details. Plus, with a growing number of children being diagnosed with autism, churches are developing strategies to make their families more comfortable—and their spaces more accommodating. We’ll take a look. And, when donors give their money to special programs, they usually expect all their money to be used accordingly. But how much is actually used for overhead costs? But first, Samaritan’s Purse is set to play a larger role in Gaza aid distribution as the embattled Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is being phased out. The Rev. Franklin Graham confirmed Oct. 25 that Samaritan’s Purse, the international humanitarian relief organization he heads, is ramping up its role in delivering aid to Gaza. 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 Yonat Shimron, Isaac Wood, Stacey Horton, Tony Mator, Kim Roberts, Jessica Eturralde, Makella Knowles, and Christina Darnell. A special thanks to The NonProfit Times for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

There’s been a lot of talk about revival lately. On today’s EXTRA episode, Warren Smith asks some important questions: What’s going on in America today? What do the facts say? Also, what are the signs of true revival, and are we seeing those signs in American life. Here are some links I mentioned in today’s program: Ryan Burge seems particularly skeptical of a Gen Z revival. In July, he wrote that there was “zero convincing evidence” that Gen Z was returning to religion. He said that 38% of Gen Zers never attend church, compared to 31% of Millennials when they were that age. Jonathan Edwards wrote about revival: A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (1746) and The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God (1741).

On today’s program, Federal officials have declined to file charges against Olivet University. The Christian school in California has faced accusations of human labor trafficking and visa fraud—accusations the school denies. We’ll have details. Plus, both news and scandal from the Anglican church. After the Church of England appointed Sarah Mullaly as its next bishop of Canterbury, another network of Anglican leaders have announced they are cutting ties with Canterbury and laying claim to the Anglican Communion. Just days later the archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, Steve Wood, faces accusations of misconduct. And, church experts have predicted that 100 thousand churches might close in coming years—we get an update on that number, and ask what it means for churches moving forward. But first, a Christian campus group wins in court after a Texas law tried to ban ‘expressive activities’ at night. 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, Stacey Horton, Jessica Eturralde, Fredrick Nzwili, Isaac Wood, Bob Smietana, Makella Knowles, and Christina Darnell. Until next time, may God bless you.

Peter Greer, the CEO of Hope International, started noticing a disturbing trend among his fellow ministry leaders. Too few of them finished their lives and careers well. He observed many of the succumb to moral failure, oversee organizations with substantial financial or governance issues, or have other major problems. He started asking…why? And is it possible to prevent this tendency toward personal and organizational drift. Many of you probably know his book Mission Drift, which looks at this problem from an organizational perspective. His latest book hits close to home for many of us. It looks at personal drift. But his book How Leaders Lose Their Way, co-written with Jill Heisey, is not just a diagnosis. It also prescribes a cure. In fact, the subtitle of the book And How To Make Sure It Doesn’t Happen To You may be the main reason I wanted to have Peter on the podcast. I can tell you that I personally found this book nourishing, and I would love to see every ministry in the country buy a copy of this book for their CEOs and board members. Peter Greer is likely no stranger to MinistryWatch listeners and readers. In addition to serving as president and CEO of Hope International, a global, Christ-centered development organization operating in 20 countries, his books on leadership have made him one of my “go to” guys when I want to understand best practices at both the personal and organizational levels. By the way, I hope you’ll stick around till the end of the program. I’ll share with you how you can get your own copy of this book. His new book How Leaders Lose Their Way: And How To Make Sure It Doesn’t Happen to You is our donor premium for the month of October. That means that if you make a donation of any size during October, we’ll send you this book as our thank you gift. To make a donation to MinistryWatch, just go to MinistryWatch.com and hit the donate button at the top of the page. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. I’m your host Warren Smith. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, musician Sean Feucht and pastor Rob McCoy are joining forces for The Courageous Christianity Tour in honor of the late Charlie Kirk. Feucht has been accused in recent months of major moral, ethical, and financial failures. We’ll take a look. Plus, Contemporary Christian Music legend Amy Grant and her family have settled a case over her great-grandfather’s Nashville church. We’ll have details. And, MinistryWatch each month tracks revenue for some of the largest Christian ministries in the country. A record 10-months of flat revenue could signal rough waters ahead for the economy. But first, Daniel Akin announced this week his plans to retire from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary after leading the SBC school for 22 years. 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 Yonat Shimron, Kim Roberts, Kathryn Post, Jessica Eturralde, Makella Knowles, Christina Darnell—and you, Warren. Until next time, may God bless you.

Here at MinistryWatch, we often report on organizations in crisis. One of the things that continues to interest me about these situations is the way Christian organizations respond to these crises. Some of them do a good job of staying in front of the crisis, or at least attempting to do so. But others are either caught by surprise, don’t know what to do, or do the wrong thing. They seem to have forgotten the lessons of the Watergate scandal that happened more than 50 years ago. One of the key lessons from that era has become almost a cliché in the world of journalism and public relations. And that lesson is this: “It ain’t the crime, it’s the cover-up that will get you.” A case study in how to handle a PR crisis showed up a few months ago when the CEO of the technology company Astronomer was caught at a Coldplay concert with a woman who was not his wife. A “fan cam” video went viral, and the result was that CEO getting fired from his job. The incident ignited a national conversation about morality among leaders, as well as the appropriate way for an organization to handle such a crisis. Phil Cooke wrote about that. Phil has been on the program before, and he’s become one of my “go to guys” when it comes to ministry leadership issues, especially when they concern media and communications. Phil Cooke is a working producer who spent many years in Hollywood. He also has a Ph. D. in theology.  He’s the author of a half-dozen books on media and marketing and has been a contributor to Fast Company, Forbes, and The Huffington Post.  He is also a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as well as the Producer’s Guild of America. Here are some links I promised in today’s program: For past episodes I’ve done with Phil, click here. To see Phil’s website, click here. To read Phil’s article on the Astonomer CEO, click here. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

In October of 1948, Billy Graham and his ministry team — Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea and Grady Wilson — held evangelistic meetings in Modesto, Calif. These men gathered in their spare time to write what Barrows came to call the “Modesto Manifesto.” That document outlined the standards they would follow regarding “financial integrity, sexual morality, publicity, and partnership with the local church.” However, the organizations led by Billy Graham’s son Franklin recently withdrew from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) because they did not want the ECFA to act as “moral police” for the evangelical world. In today’s Extra episode, Warren Smith explains why this is a bad idea. To read a transcript of today’s episode, click here. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association was a founding member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Its sister ministry, Samaritan’s Purse, joined soon after. Now, both ministries have voluntarily resigned due to a newly added leadership requirement. We’ll have details. And, pro-life ministries continue to adjust to a post-Roe world. MinistryWatch senior reporter Kim Roberts took a deep dive into where the pro-life movement stands now. Plus, the Church of England names its first female Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally. The appointment was ratified by King Charles III last week. But first, Tony Evans will not be returning to lead his Dallas megachurch after completing a year-long restoration process due to an undisclosed sin.  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 Adelle Banks, Kim Roberts, Isaac Wood, Greg Teffertiller, Daniel Ritchie, Tony Mator, Danika Kirka, Brian Melley, Yonat Shimron, Barry Bowen, Makella Knowles, and Christina Darnell. A special thanks to The Trinity Foundation for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

Canon Press, the publishing arm of Pastor Douglas Wilson’s ministry, made an unsolicited and unsuccessful offer to buy Christianity Today (CT) for $10 million. CT responded by saying the magazine “is not for sale and has never been for sale.” That has gotten Warren Smith thinking about the dissident right and the role of journalism. Here is a link I mentioned in today’s program: Warren’s review of the 2024 book “Shepherds for Sale.”

Regular listeners to this podcast, or regular readers of MinistryWatch, know that we have spent a lot of time covering Christian education. The reasons for our coverage are many. Christian colleges are among the largest Christian institutions in the country, taking in billions of dollars each year. Secondly, what happens in Christian colleges and seminaries often directly affects the church. So even if you don’t have kids in college now, or ever, your life and your church will be impacted by what is going on at Christian and secular colleges in this country. Thirdly, higher education – including Christian higher education – is in the midst of a tremendous transition. Demographics, technology, and a national conversation happening now about the value of a college education are all causing Christian colleges to face challenges they have never faced before. That’s one reason I wanted to talk with Dr. Ed Stetzer. Ed Stetzer is the Dean of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and Scholar in Residence & Teaching Pastor at Mariners Church. He has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches; trained pastors and church planters on six continents; earned two master’s degrees and two doctorates; and he has written hundreds of articles and a dozen books. More to the point for our conversation today, he helps lead one of the few institutions of Christian higher education that is growing.  I wanted to ask him why, and how, that was happening. Thanks for tuning in today to my conversation with Ed Stetzer. In addition to all the things I mentioned about Ed at the top of the program, he is also Regional Director for Lausanne North America, is the Editor-in-Chief of Outreach Magazine, and regularly writes for news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.