MinistryWatch Podcast

On today’s program, sexual abuse victim Cindy Clemishire has filed a civil lawsuit against Gateway Church and its founding pastor Robert Morris. She claims church leaders knew she was 12 years old when Morris began abusing her, and defamed her when they tried to cover it up. We’ll have details. And cuts to federal funding are sending some nonprofits into a tailspin…some see the cuts as an attack. Others see opportunity. We spoke with ministry experts who weigh in. Plus, Trinity Broadcasting is set to open a $134-million senior living facility in Orlando, Florida. But first, the Burk Parsons has been suspended as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America after a church commission found him guilty on several charges. Burk Parsons, senior pastor of St. Andrew’s Chapel and chief editorial officer and teaching fellow for Ligonier Ministries, has been found guilty by a church judicial commission on three charges and indefinitely suspended from his role as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). 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, Jessica Eturralde, Adelle Banks, Clemente Lisi, and Brittany Smith. A special thanks to Religion UnPlugged 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 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, sexual abuse victim Cindy Clemishire has filed a civil lawsuit against Gateway Church and its founding pastor Robert Morris. She claims church leaders knew she was 12 years old when Morris began abusing her, and defamed her when they tried to cover it up. We’ll have details. And cuts to federal funding are sending some nonprofits into a tailspin…some see the cuts as an attack. Others see opportunity. We spoke with ministry experts who weigh in. Plus, Trinity Broadcasting is set to open a $134-million senior living facility in Orlando, Florida. Natasha: But first, the Burk Parsons has been suspended as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America after a church commission found him guilty on several charges. Warren: Burk Parsons, senior pastor of St. Andrew’s Chapel and chief editorial officer and teaching fellow for Ligonier Ministries, has been found guilty by a church judicial commission on three charges and indefinitely suspended from his role as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). At a public meeting on June 12, the judicial commission of the Central Florida Presbytery announced the decision. The defense told the commission it plans to appeal. Natasha: What was he convicted of? Warren: Specifically, Parsons was unanimously found guilty on three charges of “being harsh, ungentle, and unkind to those under his care or with whom he interacts”; “not being a humble servant leader but instead ‘lording it over others’ (i.e, autocratic) and being domineering, contentious, and quarrelsome/pugnacious in his leadership so that those in his care and in his ‘leadership orbit’ were intimidated, bullied, and/or afraid”; and “slandering and/or demeaning other servants and churches of our Lord.” He was found not guilty on two other charges, which were not specifically listed in the report. Natasha: According to the judicial commission’s report, Parsons’ trial was held between May 12 and 28 and included over 55 witnesses and 45 hours of proceedings. Warren: Parsons is indefinitely suspended from his duties as a teaching elder, including preaching, teaching, administering the sacraments, and participating in church courts.

Michael Tait. Robert Morris. Mark Driscoll. Ravi Zacharias. Are you tired of celebrity preachers? I am, and I think that’s why the story of John Dyer fascinates me. My guess is that you’ve never heard of him. But I have come to learn that he played a significant role in the spread of the Gospel in Colorado and throughout the Mountain West, and his life has some lessons for us today, especially in this age of celebrity. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

The evangelical church is a mess. If you believe the surveys, more than forty million Americans have “de-churched” in the past 25 years. That is why it is a good thing Brad Edwards reminds us why the Body of Christ still matters. Trevin Wax, whose opinion I value in such matters, has called The Reason for Church “one of the most important books of the year.” I agree. It is a clear-eyed apologetic for the church, and it is also a love letter to the church, especially the local church, where the real “churching” takes place. All of this is why I’m pleased to have Brad Edwards on the program today. Brad is a church planter and pastor of The Table Church in Lafayette, Colorado, where he lives with his wife Hannah and their two sons. He is a regular contributor to Mere Orthodoxy and The Gospel Coalition, two of my favorite publications. Brad spoke to me via zoom from his home in Colorado. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Thanks to Amy Morris at Harper Collins for helping me arrange this interview. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, Christian music artist Michael Tait admits to living a “double life” after accusations surfaced that he had sexually groomed and assaulted multiple young men over the course of a decade. We’ll take a look. And, Southern Baptist abuse survivor died last week after a brief illness, sending shock waves through the community of abuse reform advocates. Before her death, she took part in a deposition, publicly revealing details of her abuse by an SBC leader. We’ll have details. Plus, pro-Israel evangelical Johnnie Moore is named chair of a Gaza aid group. But first, the trustees of Truett McConnell University have called for an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against a former professor—and placed its president on leave under suspicions that he had helped cover it up. Truett McConnell University President Emir Caner has been placed on administrative leave following a special called meeting of TMU trustees Friday (June 6). The school, affiliated with Georgia Baptists, has been embroiled in controversy following allegations of sexual abuse against a former professor. 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 Laura Erlanson, Kathryn Post, Tony Mator, Kim Roberts, Bob Smietana, Yonat Shimron, Shannon Cuthrell, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell. A special thanks to 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 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, Christian music artist Michael Tait admits to living a “double life” after accusations surfaced that he had sexually groomed and assaulted multiple young men over the course of a decade. We’ll take a look. And, Southern Baptist abuse survivor died last week after a brief illness, sending shock waves through the community of abuse reform advocates. Before her death, she took part in a deposition, publicly revealing details of her abuse by an SBC leader. We’ll have details. Plus, pro-Israel evangelical Johnnie Moore is named chair of a Gaza aid group. Natasha: But first, the trustees of Truett McConnell University have called for an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against a former professor—and placed its president on leave under suspicions that he had helped cover it up. Warren: Truett McConnell University President Emir Caner has been placed on administrative leave following a special called meeting of TMU trustees Friday (June 6). The school, affiliated with Georgia Baptists, has been embroiled in controversy following allegations of sexual abuse against a former professor. Natasha: The school also launched a third-party investigation. Warren: The school hired Richard Hyde with Phoenix Research, and it has installed John Yarbrough, TMU’s director of alumni and public policy, as acting president. Natasha: TMU alumna Hayle Swinson went forward last week with allegations that former TMU professor Bradley Reynolds groomed her and sexually abused her while she was a student athlete. Warren: Reynolds was employed at the school until February 2024 after Swinson went to police. Reynolds allegedly sent hundreds of emails and text messages to Swinson over a long period of time, some of them sexually explicit. It is unclear whether school administrators knew about Reynolds’ behavior before 2024. Natasha: Next, breaking news from the Christian Music world. Warren: Days after an investigation revealed allegations of sexual assault against Christian musician Michael Tait,

A couple of months ago I attended the True Charity conference in Huntsville, Alabama. One of the speakers there was my guest today, Megan Rose, the founder and CEO of a Florida-based ministry called Better Together. Megan got my attention almost right away because of her personal story. I’m not going to give it away here except to say that you have to trust me on this. You want to keep listening if for no other reason than to hear that. But the robust policy and practical content of her message also arrested me. My wife and I have been foster parents here in the state of North Carolina, and Megan said out loud what we had learned, and that is that the foster care system in this country is broken, and it is broken in ways that merely having more Christian foster parents won’t fix. Megan articulated that reality in ways that made sense to me. That’s why I’m excited to have her on the program today. She had this conversation with me via zoom from her home in Naples, Florida. You can learn more about Better together by clicking here. Jeff McIntosh produced today’s program. Heidi Allums provided graphic and technical support. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, ministry leader Sean Feucht is being accused of moral, ethical, and financial failure by former leaders of his various nonprofits. The accusers issued a formal statement this week detailing their accusations and are calling for an independent investigation. And, with the construction of a new school campus, Pastor Doug Wilson’s empire continues to grow in Idaho. We’ll take a look. Plus, Tim Dalrymple is leaving his role at Christianity Today to take the helm of the John Templeton Foundation. But first, Robert Morris is pushing back on Gateway Church’s claims that they didn’t know the details of his sexual abuse of Cindy Clemishire. 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, Yonat Shimron, Jack Jenkins, Tracy Simmons, Bob Smietana, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell. Until next time, may God bless you.   MANUSCRIPT:    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, ministry leader Sean Feucht is being accused of moral, ethical, and financial failure by former leaders of his various nonprofits. The accusers issued a formal statement this week detailing their accusations and are calling for an independent investigation. And, with the construction of a new school campus, Pastor Doug Wilson’s empire continues to grow in Idaho. We’ll take a look. Plus, Tim Dalrymple is leaving his role at Christianity Today to take the helm of the John Templeton Foundation. Natasha: But first, Robert Morris is pushing back on Gateway Church’s claims that they didn’t know the details of his sexual abuse of Cindy Clemishire. Warren: According to court documents filed by Morris in Tarrant County, Morris asserted that Gateway elders “knew the facts pertaining to Pastor Morris’s admittedly highly inappropriate relationship with [Clemishire] as early as 2005 and most certainly by August of 2007.” The court documents are part of his effort to seek Christian arbitration in settling the dispute over his retirement benefits. Natasha: One of the issues of contention between Gateway and Morris has been whether they knew Clemishire was just 12 years old when Morris began abusing her. Warren: Morris pointed to a demand letter written by Clemishire’s attorney, now Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, in 2007 that referred to the sexual assaults beginning when Clemishire was just 12 years old. He said the board of elders received a copy of the letter at the time it was written. Drummond secured an indictment against Morris in Oklahoma for five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. Natasha: So why is Morris bringing all of this up now? Warren: In his court filings, Morris said he was bringing this documentation of Gateway’s knowledge to light due to the church’s “repeatedly and misleadingly accusing Pastor Morris of lacking transparency” and “public blame shifting.” In his most recent court filing, Morris says he still stands ready to mediate and sent such an offer on May 19, stating, “Morris will agree to mediate the case in Tarrant County provided that such mediation take place with all due haste.” He asked the court to order the parties to mediation and to grant his request to compel the parties to arbitration before the Institute for Christian Conciliation. Natasha: Next, a musician and ministry leader has been accused by former employees. Warren: Five former leaders of groups associated with Sean Feucht have issued a formal statement bringing to light what they call “longstanding and serious moral, ethical, financial,

Warren Hello, everyone. I’m Warren Smith and I’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast. On today’s episode, I’m pleased to have Kim Roberts on the program. If you are a regular reader of MinistryWatch, you know Kim’s name. She is MinistryWatch’s most prolific contributor, and – more to the point today – she is also the manager of MinistryWatch’s quarterly survey of Christian ministry executives. Kim, welcome to the program, and let’s begin with some basic mechanics about the survey. Kim We have more than 1000 ministries in our database, and we send our survey mostly to the CEOs of those organizations. How that we’ve been at this a while, we typically get more than 100 responses, which we feel like is enough to give us a flavor for what these ministry executives are thinking. We’ve been conducting this quarterly survey since October 2022, so nearly three years. Warren We ask a lot of the same questions quarter after quarter, so we can see if sentiment is changing on issues like the state of the economy and the financial health of their own organizations. But we also usually ask one or two new questions each quarter. One of the questions we’ve been asking for the past quarter or two has been about Donald Trump. We asked the ministry executives if they thought President Trump’s policies would have a positive or negative impact on their work. What did you learn? Kim About 27% of Christian ministry leaders told MinistryWatch they believe the Trump administration’s policies will have a negative impact on the organization they lead or the work they do. This is an increase from 19% who gave the same answer in our January survey. Warren OK, so that’s an 8 percent increase. Significant, but not huge. Kim Not huge, but you get a more complete picture when you look at the percentage of executives who are optimistic about Trump’s policies. In January, nearly 55% of respondents were optimistic that the new administration’s policies would have a positive impact. That has dropped to 38% in this month’s survey. That’s a 17 percent drop, which is much more significant. Warren One of the questions we ask every quarter is one about revenue. Any changes? Kim According to the survey respondents, revenue has not increased over the last 12 months as much as it had previously. Only about 16% saw an increase of at least 10% or more in revenue — down from about 21% of respondents in January. Warren About 21% saw their revenue remain flat in that same period. That result is similar to the survey results from July. Kim We also asked a related question about whether ministry leaders believe a recession is on the horizon for the U.S. economy. Leaders are not as optimistic about the state of the nation’s economy as they were in January, with 49% responding that they do not think the U.S. will enter a recession in the next year, down from 62% in January. A majority of leaders — 51% — believe the economy is already in a recession or will enter one in the next six months to a year. Warren Despite their predictions of a recession, ministry leaders are optimistic their revenue will grow over the next 12 months. Kim That’s right. A majority — 51.4% — believe their revenue will grow between 1% and 10% over the next year, and a healthy 19% believe it will grow by more than 10%. About 21% believe their revenue will remain flat. Warren OK, so ministry leaders are optimistic, but they still cite fundraising as the primary challenge they face in leading their ministry. As in January, about 50% of ministry executives cited fundraising as their biggest challenge. Kim When we first began the survey in October 2022, finding and keeping qualified staff was a persistently challenging situation faced by ministry leaders. While it remains a challenge cited by about 25% of respondents in this quarter’s survey, it is down from over 40% when the survey began. Warren A couple of questions that we’ve been asking for a while showed some...

In 1985, Neil Postman published Amusing Ourselves to Death. That means this year is the 40th birthday of this landmark book. And in that 40 years, Postman’s troubling prophesies have mostly come true. Screens have reshaped our minds, our relationships, and our culture. Ivan Mesa and Brett McCracken say that “social media and smartphones have brought an appetite for distraction, an epidemic of loneliness, and increased rates of mental health challenges. Their new book, Scrolling Ourselves to Death, is a collection of essays by them and many others who have studied not only Neil Postman’s book, but also the culture – examining both through a Christian worldview lens. Both Postman’s original book, and this new book celebrating Postman, have much to offer Christians today, and I’m delighted to have both Brett and Ivan on the podcast. Brett McCracken is a senior editor for The Gospel Coalition and the author of many excellent books, including one of my recent favorites, The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World. Ivan Mesa ha a PhD from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is the editorial director for The Gospel Coalition. He is the author of Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the Church. 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, Gateway Church has named a new senior pastor. The appointment comes a year after child sexual abuse accusations surfaced against founding pastor Robert Morris. We’ll have details. And, the Department of Justice is suing a city in Idaho for discriminating against Christ the Redeemer Church—a church plant of Doug Wilson’s Christ Church. The church has been seeking a permit to meet in an old bank building—a request the city has denied. We’ll take a look. Plus, Gereld Duane Rollins—who sued SBC legend Paul Pressler for sexual abuse—has died. His lawsuit sparked a Southern Baptist abuse reckoning. But first, Fuller Seminary reaffirms its stance on biblical sexuality. The board of Fuller, a leading evangelical seminary voted to affirm its long-standing stance on biblical marriage and human sexuality during its May meeting. But an email to supporters May 22 caused confusion. The email defined the biblical and historical understanding of biblical sexuality as “a union between a man and a woman and sexual intimacy within the context of that union.” But in the same email, the seminary’s president also acknowledged that some “faithful” Christian denominations “have come to affirm other covenantal forms of relationship,” an unusual stance for an evangelical seminary. 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 Bob Smietana, Kim Roberts, and Laura Erlanson. A special thanks to 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 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, Gateway Church has named a new senior pastor. The appointment comes a year after child sexual abuse accusations surfaced against founding pastor Robert Morris. We’ll have details. And, the Department of Justice is suing a city in Idaho for discriminating against Christ the Redeemer Church—a church plant of Doug Wilson’s Christ Church. The church has been seeking a permit to meet in an old bank building—a request the city has denied. We’ll take a look. Plus, Gereld Duane Rollins—who sued SBC legend Paul Pressler for sexual abuse—has died. His lawsuit sparked a Southern Baptist abuse reckoning. Natasha: But first, Fuller Seminary reaffirms its stance on biblical sexuality. Warren: The board of Fuller, a leading evangelical seminary voted to affirm its long-standing stance on biblical marriage and human sexuality during its May meeting. In an email to supporters May 22, Fuller caused confusion. The email defined the biblical and historical understanding of biblical sexuality as “a union between a man and a woman and sexual intimacy within the context of that union.” But in the same email, the seminary’s president also acknowledged that some “faithful” Christian denominations “have come to affirm other covenantal forms of relationship,” an unusual stance for an evangelical seminary. Natasha: The acknowledgment that denominations can disagree on the issue and remain faithful led to an online firestorm about whether married gay students who belong to so-called “affirming” denominations might be allowed at the school. Or what will happen to faculty who affirm same-sex marriage. Warren: When asked how the comments about affirming Christians might affect the seminary’s ban on LBGTQ relationships for students, a spokesperson confirmed there was no official change to policy. “The board has made no changes to Fuller’s Community Standards, which all students commit to adhere to upon enrollment, and which states Fuller’s belief that ‘sexual union m...

I was recently trying to remember the first time I met S.D. (Sam) Smith, the creator of the wildly popular Green Ember books. I think it was at a homeschool conference a decade ago, back when I was working at The Colson Center. I noticed that one of the booths in the exhibit hall was crowded with kids and their parents. It was Sam’s booth, and the kids were going just crazy in their enthusiasm for Sam’s “rabbits with swords,” the heroic and delightful characters who are the stars of the Green Ember books. Since then, Sam’s Green Ember books – plus other series that we’ll talk about today – have sold more than 1.5 million books. Sam’s brother Josiah is a key partner in the cottage industry that the Smiths have created, and his son – also named Josiah – is now a co-writer of the Jack Zulu books. I’m also pleased to say that Sam has become a good friend, so this conversation might get a little free-wheeling. We talk about writing the Green Ember and Jack Zulu books, a kickstarter campaign that has already raised more than $200,000 for a video game based on one of the characters in the Green Ember series, and why he has chosen to stay in West Virginia when conventional wisdom says he might have an easier time of it if he moved to Nashville, New York, or one of the other so-called “cultural centers” in the country. I think you’ll find Sam’s perspective both encouraging and challenging. We had this conversation via zoom. That brings to a close my conversation with S.D. (Sam) Smith. You can find out more about Sam and his work at www.sdsmith.com. By the way, since Sam and I spoke, his kickstarter campaign has significantly exceeded its $200,000 goal. Congratulations to Sam and his team on this milestone. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. I’m  your host Warren Smith. Until next time, may God bless you.