MinistryWatch Podcast Warren Smith and Natasha Smith

On today’s EXTRA Episode, MinistryWatch President Warren Smith has some additional thoughts about the Mark Driscoll-John Lindell controversy.

The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Thanks to Casey Sudduth, Stephen duBarry, Kim Roberts, Rod Pitzer, and Christina Darnell for additional support.

Until next time, may God bless you.

FIRST SEGMENT



Warren



Hello everybody.  I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina.



Natasha 



I’m Natasha Cowden in Denver, Colorado. We’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast.



Warren



On today’s program, General Episcopal Theological Seminary thought it had found a solution to its financial woes—until 7 bishops intervened, saying they didn’t want to be in partnership with a conservative. We’ll have details.



Also, controversial pastor Mark Driscoll got booted off the stage at last weekend’s Stronger Men’s Conference after calling out the conference host for his choice of entertainment opening night.



And, Chuck Swindoll steps down as senior pastor of his church—but insists he’s not retiring. He’ll continue to preach the majority of the sermons. We’ll take a look.



Natasha



But first, Calvin University finds itself at the center of a lawsuit with its former president.



Warren



When Calvin University hired Wiebe Boer as its new president in May 2022, the school signed the former business executive to a lucrative five-year deal.



The hope was that Boer, a Calvin alum and son of missionaries, could turn the prominent evangelical school around after years of budget cuts and enrollment decline while easing tensions with the denomination that owns the school.



Natasha:



What happened?



Warren:



For a while, it seemed things were working. Enrollment went up, and in January, Boer announced an ambitious plan for Calvin’s future. Less than two months later, however, everything fell apart.



In mid-February, Boer resigned after the school’s board received complaints that he’d sent “unwelcome and inappropriate” messages to the employee of a vendor who worked on campus. When confronted by the board, Boer agreed to step down — leaving the campus in turmoil, with anger and confusion over how things went so wrong so fast.



Natasha



That anger has led to Boer being locked out of the school’s presidential residence and a lawsuit



Warren:



On Friday (April 12), Boer and his wife, Joanna, filed suit against the school in federal court, alleging that Calvin violated his employment agreement and defamed him — and that the school failed to pay him $400,000 in severance or to prove that he’d engaged in significant misconduct.



Under the terms of his employee agreement, Boer was considered an at-will employee and could leave the school or be fired at any time. However, unless the board ruled that Boer was guilty of “serious misconduct,” he would receive his $400,000 salary for a year after leaving.



Natasha:



Remind us what Boer is accused of?



Warren:



In the complaint, Boer’s attorney stated that he exchanged texts with an employee of a college vendor for several weeks in January but denied the texts were inappropriate. They also claim he was given little time to defend himself and agreed to resign rather than be fired — if he could get severance and help shape the messaging around his resignation.



Neither happened, according to the complaint. Instead, negotiations broke down, and Boer and his family were locked out of the presidential home — even though his kids were still in school in the Grand Rapids area.



The complaint asks for lost wages and bonuses, compensatory damages for mental anguish and emotional distress as well as punitive damages.



Natasha:



Next up – an Episcopal Seminary nearly found a solution to its financial woes but there’s a catch.



Warren:



General Episcopal Seminary in New York could be saved,

Ten years ago, Eric Metaxas was the belle of the evangelical ball. Indeed, his evangelical bona fides were nearly impeccable. Early in his career he wrote for Veggie Tales and worked for Chuck Colson. He wrote humorously but piercingly about Christian apologetics. His biography of Bonhoeffer was named the book of the year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. It sold more than a million copies and has been translated into 20 languages.

His keynote address to the National Prayer Breakfast in 2012 became a viral sensation. With great wit and rhetorical flourish, and with President Barack Obama sitting just a few feet away, he gave a passionate defense of the unborn. Eric Metaxas was becoming what many evangelicals claimed the movement needed: An intellectual Christian, someone who took the Bible and doctrine seriously, but who was also taken seriously in the secular public square.

Then, Donald Trump happened. After being initially skeptical of Trump, Eric Metaxas became a full-throated advocate on his then new Salem radio program, which was syndicated nationwide. He wrote two children’s books about Donald Trump. And, in an infamous incident caught on video, he punched an anti-Trump protester at a rally at the White House in August of 2020. Metaxas has gone on to use his radio program as a platform to have guests who promoted the notion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that the COVID vaccine is dangerous. His advocacy has also gotten him in legal trouble. Just last week a judge ruled that a defamation lawsuit against Metaxas and others can go forward.

All of this has caused a lot of Eric’s former friends and admirers to ask: “What happened to Eric Metaxas”? It’s a question Eric addresses in this conversation, a conversation that starts out talking about his 2022 book Letter To The American Church, which has recently been adapted to film and is showing, mostly in churches, around the country.

Thanks for listening in on my conversation with Eric Metaxas. His latest book is Letter to the American Church.

The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database, technical, editorial, and other support from Casey Sudduth, Stephen duBarry, Christina Darnell, and Kim Roberts.

I hope you’ll join me and Natasha Cowden for our roundup of the stories we’ve been working on this week here at MinistryWatch.

Until then, may God bless you.

SHOW NOTES:

On today’s program, a proposed State Department rule could impact employment regulations for nonprofits…and some ministry leaders are voicing concern. We’ll take a look.

And, the North Carolina pastor who went viral for remarks he made from the pulpit about rape has apologized—but the controversy, which has sparked ongoing protests, caught the attention of lawmakers and inflamed the state’s debate over school vouchers. We’ll have details.

Also, Salem Media—one of the only Christian publicly traded companies—has reported a $46 million operating loss in its latest annual report. That story later in the program.

But first two Christian Colleges face legal challenges due to their names.

I was in Indianapolis this week meeting with donors and others there. If you came out to some of my meetings, thanks for hanging out with me. Special thanks to Bill Warren with FAME, a medical missions organization based in Indianapolis for showing me some Hoosier hospitality.

I also want to remind everyone that we’re offering an important new book this month to everyone who donates to MinistryWatch. 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 Cheryl Mann Bacon, Kim Roberts, Tony Mator, Aaron Earls, Christopher Mann, Shannon Cuthrell, Richard Levey, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell.

A special thanks to The Christian Chronicle, Lifeway Research, and The NonProfit Times for contributing material for this week’s podcast.

Until next time, may God bless you.

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT:

FIRST SEGMENT



Warren



Hello everybody.  I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina.



Natasha 



I’m Natasha Cowden in Denver, Colorado. We’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast.



Warren



On today’s program, a proposed State Department rule could impact employment regulations for nonprofits…and some ministry leaders are voicing concern. We’ll take a look.



And, the North Carolina pastor who went viral for remarks he made from the pulpit about rape has apologized—but the controversy, which has sparked ongoing protests, caught the attention of lawmakers and inflamed the state’s debate over school vouchers. We’ll have details.



Also, Salem Media—one of the only Christian publicly traded companies—has reported a $46 million operating loss in its latest annual report. That story later in the program.



Natasha



But first two Christian Colleges face legal challenges due to their names.



Warren:



 Lubbock Christian University in Texas and newly renamed Rochester Christian University in Michigan —Both schools are associated with Churches of Christ.



Lubbock Christian University found itself in court defending the use of its LCU moniker against Louisiana Christian University, which adopted that name only two and a half years ago after more than a century as Louisiana College.



 Natasha:



 So what’s happening between the schools?



Warren:





A January 2023 letter to the Louisiana school stated, “Lubbock Christian University will again request an amicable discussion between our institution[s] on this matter. But we are prepared to defend our right to our tra...

You’ve probably heard that you should achieve balance in your life. Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying that “No one ever said on their death-bed that they wish they had spent more time at the office.” Maybe you’ve read the popular Christian book “Half-Time” by Bob Buford, in which he said you should reach a place in your career in which you pivot from “success to significance.”

My guest today, David Bahnsen, doesn’t think much of this conventional wisdom. He says it’s not biblical, it won’t lead to joy in life, and it inadvertently perpetuates many of the problems of modern and post-modern life.

He’s written a new book about these ideas called “Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life.” We discuss this book on today’s program.

A quick note about David himself. He is the founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, a national private wealth management firm with offices in California, New York, and elsewhere around the country. His firm manages $5 billion in client assets.

He has also written other books, including “Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It.”

His new book is “Full Time: Work and the Meaning of Life.” And, as you just heard, it’s a book I heartily recommend.

The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database, technical, editorial, and other support from Casey Sudduth, Stephen duBarry, Christina Darnell, and Kim Roberts.

I hope you’ll join me and Natasha Cowden for our roundup of the stories we’ve been working on this week here at MinistryWatch.

Until then, may God bless you.

On today’s program, North Carolina Pastor Bruce Frank is joining the crowded Southern Baptist Convention presidential race. Frank was a former leader of the SBC’s abuse task force. We’ll have details. And, Bishop TD Jakes is mentioned in a lawsuit against music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs—though the lawsuit does not accuse the bishop of wrongdoing. We’ll take a look. Also, another Christian college is closing its doors.

But first, North Carolina’s Pursuit Church announced this week that it fired its lead pastor over sexual misconduct.

I want to remind everyone that we’re offering an important new book this month to everyone who donates to MinistryWatch. 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 producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and 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 Jessica Eturralde, Bob Smietana, Bethany Starin, Kim Roberts, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell.

Until next time, may God bless you.