MinistryWatch Podcast Warren Smith and Natasha Smith

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.

 

On today’s EXTRA Episode, Warren Smith identifies four lessons we can learn from the controversy surrounding David French and the Presbyterian Church in America.

To read more about this controversy:

https://ministrywatch.com/editors-notebook-the-pca-david-french-debacle/

https://ministrywatch.com/pca-cancels-anti-polarization-panel-with-david-french-for-being-too-polarizing/

The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh.

Until next week, may God bless you.

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.

Katelyn Beaty believes that some Christian leaders use their fame and influence in positive ways. But too often, she says, fame and celebrity are cultivated for their own sake, or for the sake of profits and the building of personal empires. We see this phenomenon most conspicuously with the prosperity Gospel preachers. But, increasingly, these practices of the Prosperity Gospel have crept into mainstream evangelical ministries.

That’s why Katelyn Beaty believes we should explore the evangelical church’s relationship to celebrity. She explores how fame has reshaped the American church, explains why and how celebrity is woven into the fabric of the evangelical movement, and identifies how fame has misshapen the church.

Katelyn Beaty is an editor at Baker Books, and has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. She previously served as print managing editor at Christianity Today.  Her new book is Celebrities For Jesus:  How Personas, Platforms, and Profits are Hurting The Church.

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.