MinistryWatch Podcast

On today’s abbreviated MinistryWatch EXTRA episode, I’m going to give you an update on what’s going on here at MinistryWatch. Regular listeners know that late last year I started dropping in these monthly updates, and it appears that many of you find them interesting and helpful, as they’ve become some of our most listened to episodes. Today I’ll give you an update on what we’re doing, and let you know what we have planned over the next few months. The first things I want you to know is that February was a record month of us on the website.  I’ll explain why. The second thing I want you to know is that I have some travel coming up over the next few months, and I hope to use this travel as an opportunity to see some of you.  I’ll be in Chicago, Orlando, Colorado Springs, and Los Angeles between now and June, and I hope to see some of you face-to-face. The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.   We get database, technical, and editorial support from Stephen DuBarry, Christina Darnell, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, Kim Roberts, and Anne Stych. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, Super Bowl winning NFL coach Tony Dungy has backed out of a conference hosted by Prosperity Gospel Preacher Andrew Wommack.  CBS anchor James Brown has, too. We explain why later in the program. Allen Stanford, who amassed billions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme that used unwitting Christian financial planners to sell his investment products, is now serving what will likely amount to a life sentence in jail. More than a decade after his sentencing, some of his victims may get some of their money back. Prosperity Gospel preachers and others made more than 300 flights on private aircraft during the month of February alone.  We’ll have the latest in our “Pastors and Planes” project. And a lot more…. FINAL THOUGHTS I want our listeners to know that if they give to MinistryWatch during the month of March, they’ll receive a copy of my book “Faith Based Fraud: Learning From the Great Religious Scandals of our Time.” We’ve offered this book in the past, but it’s been more than a year since the last time we offered it, and we have literally tens of thousands of new people on our email list, so we’re making it available again.  It’s our thank you gift for a donation of any size to MinistryWatch this month.  Just go to the MinistryWatch website and hit the donate button at the top of the page. The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.  We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Jessica Eturralde, Kim Roberts, Anne Stych, Steve Rabey, Kathryn Post, Christina Darnell, Rod Pitzer—and you, Warren. Special thanks to The NonProfit Times for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, we have news from ACSI – the Association of Christian Schools International. They’re growing and changing, and not all of those changes are for the better. I’ll explain later in the program. We also have the latest news from Asbury University, where a revival started that is now sweeping the country. And we take a look at The John Ankerberg Show.  The popular apologetics teacher is under fire for his use of private jets and lavish travel. We begin today with the latest from the United Methodist Church. Bishop Scott Jones isn’t the first United Methodist bishop to join the Global Methodist Church since the theologically conservative denomination launched in May, but his exit from the UMC has arguably caused the greatest stir.   FINAL THOUGHTS:  I want our listeners to know that if they give to MinistryWatch during the month of March, they’ll receive a copy of my book “Faith Based Fraud: Learning From the Great Religious Scandals of our Time.” We’ve offered this book in the past, but it’s been more than a year since the last time we offered it, and we have literally tens of thousands of new people on our email list, so we’re making it available again. It’s our thank you gift for a donation of any size to MinistryWatch this month.  Just go to the MinistryWatch website and hit the donate button at the top of the page. The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.  We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Ryan Gabrielson, J. David McSwane, Jessica Eturralde, Dale Chamberlain, Kim Roberts, Phil Cooke, Fiona Morgan, Bob Smietana, Steve Rabey, Emily McFarlan Miller, Christina Darnell, Rod Pitzer—and you, Warren. Special thanks to churchleaders.com and ProPublica for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

An important part of what we do here at MinistryWatch – especially with these “Extra” episodes -- is to bring to you thought leaders who have important things to say both to donors and to ministry leaders. That’s why I’m pleased to have back on the program Phil Cooke. Phil wrote a provocative article for his webite, PhilCooke.com.  It’s called “Can Christian Critics Just Give The Asbury Revival, The Chosen, and He Gets Us A Rest? Phil graciously consented to let us reprint that article on the MinistryWatch website.  You can find it here. And to be on the program today to talk about the article and some of the ideas it raises. Phil Cooke is a working producer in Hollywood who 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. FINAL NOTES: In today’s program I mentioned my article about Lonnie Frisbee. You can find the article here. Also, before we go, I’d like to remind you that MinistryWatch is donor supported.  We take no money from ministries.  All of our content is free.  No paywall.  That means we couldn’t do what we do without faithful donors.  You guys are the real heroes of this enterprise.  So if you’d like to join that heroic group by pitching in to make sure that MinistryWatch remains a viable endeavor, you can go to MinistryWatch.com and hit the “donate” button at the top of the page. The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.   We get database, technical, and editorial support from Stephen DuBarry, Christina Darnell, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, the revival at Asbury University in Kentucky is entering a new phase, but it is also spreading to other locations. We also have updates on the Southern Baptist Convention’s struggles with one of its former presidents, Johnny Hunt. And in MinistryWatch’s quarterly survey of ministry executives, we’re seeing a shift.  Leaders are becoming slightly less concerned about finding qualified staff, and more concerned about finding donors.  We’ll have details later in the program. We begin today with a story that Saddleback Church, founded by Pastor Rick Warren, has been kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention for ordaining women. Here are a few links I promised to include in the Show Notes: Warren’s interview with Rick Warren The most recent article about our quarterly ministry leaders survey.  (It links to past stories about this survey.) “When A Church Is Not A Church,” which outlines MinistryWatch’s concerns about ministries identifying themselves as churches. Final Thoughts: A reminder that this is the last week you can give to MinistryWatch and receive a copy of the book “Handling Allegations in a Ministry” by Theresa Lynn Sidebotham.  This is a valuable resource for pastors, elders, deacons, ministry leaders, and active and involved church members and ministry donors.  It’s our thank you gift for a donation of any size to MinistryWatch this month.  Just go to the MinistryWatch website and hit the donate button at the top of the page. The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.  We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Steve Rabey, Jessica Eturralde, Bob Smietana, Dale Chamberlain, Adelle Banks, and Kim Roberts. Special thanks to churchleaders.com for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, we’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  We’ve got an update on what Christian ministries have been doing to relieve the suffering.  And the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have now claimed more than 45,000 lives.  We’ll have an update on relief efforts and how you can help. We begin today with a story that’s been Christian social media for the past week or more, and that’s the Asbury Revival. Here are some links I mentioned on today’s program: The MinistryWatch 1000 Database Explaining Our Five-Star Financial Efficiency Rating System Understanding Our Donor Confidence Score More Information On Disaster Relief Efforts in Turkey and Syria IN CLOSING:  I want our listeners to know that if they give to MinistryWatch during the month of February, we’ll send them a copy of the book “Handling Allegations in a Ministry” by Theresa Lynn Sidebotham.  This is a valuable resource for pastors, elders, deacons, ministry leaders, and active and involved church members and ministry donors.  It’s our thank you gift for a donation of any size to MinistryWatch this month.  Just go to the MinistryWatch website and hit the donate button at the top of the page. The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.  We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Steve Rabey, Jessica Eturralde, Kim Roberts, Bob Smietana, Dale Chamberlain, Yonat Shimron, Timothy Cockes, Christina Darnell, and Rod Pitzer. Special thanks to Baptist Press and churchleaders.com for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s MinistryWatch EXTRA episode, we’re going to take a look at ministries providing disaster relief following the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. On today’s program we’ll discuss general principles for giving, plus identify some specific ministries that receive high ratings from MinistryWatch. Here are some links I mentioned on today’s program: The MinistryWatch 1000 Database Explaining Our Five-Star Financial Efficiency Rating System Understanding Our Donor Confidence Score More Information On Disaster Relief Efforts in Turkey and Syria The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.   We get database, technical, and editorial support from Stephen DuBarry, Christina Darnell, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, disgraced former Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt has been restored to ministry.  Now two of the churches that restored him are being investigated.  We also have an exclusive investigation, done in conjunction with the Trinity Foundation, on pastors and their private jets. We begin today with news from The King’s College in New York City. Also on today’s program I mention that the Dallas-based Trinity Foundation has been tracking the use of private aircraft by ministries and churches.  Recently the Trinity Foundation started posting graphics on Twitter to track daily usage. You can find that Twitter account, @PastorPlanes, here. I want our listeners to know that if they give to MinistryWatch during the month of February, we’ll send them a copy of the book “Handling Allegations in a Ministry” by Theresa Lynn Sidebotham.  This is a valuable resource for pastors, elders, deacons, ministry leaders, and active and involved church members and ministry donors.  It’s our thank you gift for a donation of any size to MinistryWatch this month.  Just hit the donate button at the top of the page. The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.  We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Steve Rabey, Jessica Eturralde, Kim Roberts, Bob Smietana, Steve Rabey, Dale Chamberlain, Christina Darnell, Rod Pitzer—and you, Warren. Special thanks to churchleaders.com for contributing material for this week’s podcast.  We’d also like to thank Barry Bowen and The Trinity Foundation for working with us on the Pastors and Planes Project. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s MinistryWatch EXTRA episode, we’re featuring a recent interview I had with Theresa Lynn Sidebotham.  She’s an attorney and the author of a new book Handling Allegations In A Ministry:  Responses and Investigations. It’s not clear to me that we are seeing more incidents of sexual abuse in the church than in years past.  But I think it is fair to say that more stories are seeing the light of day.  The #MeToo Movement, which spawned the #ChurchToo movement, means that more survivors are telling their stories, and the way we handle these stories is vital for the health and healing of the survivors and for the church of Jesus Christ. Theresa Lynn Sidebotham is an attorney who focuses on misconduct response, ministry policy, and employment law.  She has helped Christian ministries, churches, and religious organizations of all kinds to protect their members and response to allegations of child abuse, harassment, abuse of power, and other misconduct. I had this conversation with her last week via zoom. We’d like to put a copy of Theresa’s book in your hands.  It’s our thank you gift to you for a gift of any size to MinistryWatch. Just hit the donate button at the top of the page. The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.   We get database, technical, and editorial support from Stephen DuBarry, Christina Darnell, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, we take a closer look at the “He Gets Us” media campaign.  We’ll also share with you some of the highlights of a couple of MinistryWatch investigations.  One of them was a close look at Glory of Zion, a Dallas based ministry.  We also take a deep dive into a Colorado ministry called Love the Least. We begin today with news from Knoxville, Tennessee.  In an unusual move, a judge said an alleged rape victim is going to have to use his legal name in his lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese there. A Few Closing Words…. If you give to MinistryWatch during the month of February, we’ll send them a copy of the book “Handling Allegations in a Ministry” by Theresa Lynn Sidebotham.  This is a valuable resource for pastors, elders, deacons, ministry leaders, and active and involved church members and ministry donors.  It’s our thank you gift for a donation of any size to MinistryWatch this month.  Just go to the MinistryWatch website and hit the donate button at the top of the page. The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh.  We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Jessica Eturralde, Kim Roberts, Shannon Cuthrell, Bob Smietana, Steve Rabey, Alejandra Molina, Christina Darnell, and Rod Pitzer. Until next time, may God bless you.