MinistryWatch Podcast

On today’s MinistryWatch podcast we remember Marshall Allen, an investigative journalist who was a friend and supporter of MinistryWatch. To read a transcript of this podcast, click here. You’ll also find there links mentioned in today’s episode. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God blss you.

On today’s program, the U-S Department of Justice has indicted a former professor and interim provost of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for obstructing justice in a sexual misconduct case. We’ll have details. Also, the Boy Scouts of America changes their name in hopes of boosting its dwindling numbers—but instead, a different scouting ministry is being flooded with requests for more information. We’ll take a look at Trail Life USA later in the program. And, World Vision is ordered to pay $120-thousand in a discrimination case. But first, Forerunner Church—the official church of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City—held its last Sunday worship service last week. FINAL THOUGHTS: 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, Bob Smietana, Tony Mator, Stephen Clark, Theresa, Jessica Eturralde, Clemente Lisi, Marci Seither, Kathryn Post, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell. A special thanks to Religion UnPlugged for contributing material for this week’s program. Until next time, may God bless you.

Exploring the controversy around David French and the PCA, lessons learned from the cancellation of the panel, analyzing ideological shifts, and French's departure to a Baptist Church. Reflecting on the PCA's decision and the need for soul searching in light of the controversy.

On today’s program, a North Carolina Sheriff’s office has called in the FBI to help investigate the death of pastor’s wife, Mica Miller. We’ll have details. And, Haitian workers are concerned Christian donors could be hurting the very people they’re trying to help…and ask donors to redirect their money away from orphanages. We’ll take a look. Also, Gospel for Asia founder K-P Yohannan dies following a tragic accident. But first, another church is being told by its city to close its temporary homeless shelter, accusing them of zoning violations. Another city is trying to close a church-hosted shelter by accusing it of a zoning violation. 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, Kathryn Post, Bob Smietana, Shannon Cuthrell, Fiona Andrè, Jessica Eturralde, Stephen Clark, Bethany Starin, and Brittany Smith. A special thanks to A-G News for contributing material for this week’s program. Until next time, may God bless you.

Author and journalist Katelyn Beaty discusses the negative impact of fame and celebrity culture on the evangelical church, highlighting how profits and personal empires can distort the message of faith. She explores the intertwining of fame and the evangelical movement, emphasizing the need for accountability and transparency in Christian ministries. Beaty also delves into the challenges of navigating the Christian book publishing industry and promotes the value of ordinary faithfulness over the pursuit of glamour within American religious circles.

On today’s program, an investigation into the death of a South Carolina pastor’s wife, 30-year-old Mica Miller, has captured the attention of people across the nation, raising questions about mental health and abuse. We’ll look at the latest findings. A Pennsylvania pastor faces a gunman in the middle of his Sunday sermon. We’ll have details. A new Southern Baptist report details where member churches stand with attendance, baptisms, and sexual abuse reforms. We’ll take a look. But first, a lawsuit against Christian author and radio host Eric Metaxas is moving forward despite concerns about free speech.  I wanted to remind everyone that it’s a new month, May, and we have a new book we’d like to share with our donors. Katelyn Beaty’s book “Celebrities For Jesus” is a fantastic book about the trend in evangelicalism toward the idolization of celebrity pastors and leaders. It has a lot of insight about many of the issues we cover regularly here at MinistryWatch, and I think if you like MinistryWatch, you are going to find this book valuable. We’ll send it to you absolutely free, as our thank you, for a gift of any size to MinistryWatch this month. Just go to MinistryWatch.com and hit the donate button at the top of the page. Until next time, may God bless you.

Aaron Renn discusses the changing perception of Christianity, dividing history into positive, neutral, and negative worlds. He shares insights on challenges faced by American evangelicals, analyzes political scandals across generations, and explores evangelical responses to a negative world. The discussion also covers opportunities for Christians to help in addressing societal challenges and highlights Renn's book 'Life in the Negative World.'

Bestselling author Wayne Grudem retires after 50 years of teaching. Topics include United Methodist Church's decision on LGBTQ clergy, challenges for churches disaffiliating, Crossroads Church's $21 million expansion, legal troubles for a pastor helping the homeless, church official's misconduct, and trends in Christian ministries.

Nancy French was not a household name in American politics -- because she mostly operated behind the scenes. But she was well known in the highest levels of Republican circles. She was the ghost writer for politicians and conservative celebrities, with five books she wrote making it to the New York Times Bestseller List. But she found the Republican Party to be going down a path she could not travel, and eventually her political clients abandoned her. She continued to write, however, and she did some major investigate work on the sexual and spiritual abuse at Kanakuk, America’s largest Christian camp. She has a new book now under her own name. It’s called Ghosted: An American Story. It’s a fascinating look at her early life of poverty and the long road to success – and some of the challenges she has had along the way. FINAL WORDS: That brings to a close my conversation with Nancy French. Her new book is Ghosted: An American Story. MinistryWatch did its own investigation of Kanakuk, and you can find our stories by going to MinistryWatch.com and hitting the “Investigations” tab at the top of the page. Just a quick note for regular listeners: We had one of our best weeks ever on the podcast, with nearly 4,000 podcast downloads in a single week, and nearly 15,000 for the month of April. If you are a regular listener, thanks for your support. If you have never rated us or left a comment on your podcast app, I’d like to encourage you to do so. Your ratings are an encouragement to me personally, and they make difference to the algorithms that help others discover us. It’s a small, non-financial way you can be a big help to the podcast. Thanks. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and editorial support from Stephen duBarry, Christina Darnell, Kim Roberts, and Rod Pitzer. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, Arkansas pastor Steven Smith steps down after fallout from mishandling abuse allegations against a former children’s minister. We’ll have details. Also, controversial megachurch pastors Mark Driscoll and John Lindell seemed to reconcile on stage at the Stronger Men’s Conference last week…but since then, tensions between the two leaders have only intensified. We’ll take a look. And, how a small U-S evangelical seminary is defying the odds. While many theological schools are shrinking, this one’s enrollment numbers keep growing. But we begin today with news of two resignations from leaders of Orange, a ministry known for hosting one of the world’s most prominent family ministry conferences which is actually being held this week in Atlanta. Orange released an official statement stating that its founder and current chief creative officer Reggie Joiner has resigned along with CEO Kristen Ivy. I was in Lexington, Kentucky, last week, for the Evangelical Press Association annual meeting, and I’m pleased to report that my weekly column, “Editor’s Notebook,” brought home a third place prize in their annual Awards of Excellence contest. I also had the privilege of presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award – posthumously – to Joel Belz, the founder of WORLD Magazine and a friend and mentor to me. I also want to remind everyone that this is the last week to get an important new book that we are offering to everyone who donates to MinistryWatch in April. It’s called “How I Lost $1,500,000 in Missions” by John Addink. If you are a donor to foreign missions projects, a ministry leader of a missions organization, or perhaps a pastor who supports missionaries, you should read this book. We’ll send it to you absolutely free, as our thank you, for a gift of any size to MinistryWatch this month. 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.  We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Daniel Ritchie, Jessica Eturralde, Clayton Sidenbender, Shannon Cuthrell, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell. A special thank you to Religion UnPlugged for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.