MinistryWatch Podcast

On today’s program, we look at spiritual abuse. At what point is a difference in opinion, or a disagreement with the pastor, real abuse? It’s a question lots of churches, pastors, and church members are having to grapple with. Also, we look at an online ministry that started as a hobby, but is now generating more than 100-million page views a year from people wanting answers to tough spiritual questions. We begin today with news about a Tennessee megachurch that has defaulted on its building payments. The building that housed Venue Church is set to be auctioned off from the steps of the local courthouse Aug. 24, just six months after a video surfaced allegedly showing its head pastor kissing a woman who was not his wife. A notice of foreclosure that appeared in The Chattanooga Times Free Press said Venue Church has defaulted on payments on the more than $2 million the church owes on a property at 6401 Lee Highway in Chattanooga, its main campus. A reminder that if you make a donation to MinistryWatch during the month of August, you’ll receive a free one-year subscription to WORLD Magazine. We made this offer last year, and got a great response. But I know that we have a lot of people listening to the podcast today that weren’t with us a year ago – I know that because the podcast has nearly doubled in size in the past year. So if you’re new, this is a fantastic opportunity to pick up a subscription to WORLD and support our work at the same time. 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 Cathy Goddard, Stephen DuBarry, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Jesse T. Jackson, Alejandra Molina, Steve Rabey, Kim Roberts, Bob Smietana, Anne Stych, Christina Darnell and Warren Smith. Special thanks to Church Leaders for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

Here at MinistryWatch we bring you news about Christian ministries, as well as the latest in charity and philanthropy, all designed to help us become better stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us. Regular listeners to the program know that these “MinistryWatch Extra” episodes are a chance for us to “go deep” with some of our editorial partners. But a couple of weeks ago we started a three-part series in which I was the guest, and Dan Burrell was my interviewer. We play Part 3 of that interview today. Dan Burrell is a teaching pastor at Life Fellowship in suburban Charlotte, and he had me on his podcast called “Life Talks.” We recorded three 20-minute episodes discussing MinistryWatch, our work, why we do what we do, and some of our recent stories. The conversation turned out so well that I asked Dan if I could air them on the MinistryWatch podcast. Dan graciously gave us permission to do so. To find out more about MinistryWatch, go to MinistryWatch.com and hit “About Us” at the top of the page. We’ve recently added some new material there, including our latest financial statements, and our statement of faith. A couple of housekeeping items before we go: First, MinistryWatch is donor-supported. If you’d like to pitch 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. And if you give a gift of any size during the month of April, we’ll send you a copy of a book I co-wrote with Marvin Olasky called “Prodigal Press: Confronting The Anti-Christian Bias of the American News Media.” If even a few bucks is too much – I get it. I’ve been there, too. But there’s something easy and FREE you can do to help. And that’s to rate us on your podcast app. The more ratings we get, the easier it is for others to find us on the search engines. So it’s a great way for you to help out, and it only takes a few seconds. And, by the way, though I can’t respond via the podcast app, I do read all the comments, and they’re both encouraging and helpful. So...THANKS! The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Steve Gandy. We get database, technical, and editorial support from Cathy Goddard, Stephen DuBarry, Christina Darnell, and Casey Sudduth. I’d also like to acknowledge the producer of Dan Burrell’s program, Britt Nipper, who provided invaluable assistance with this three-part series. Thanks, Britt. Until next time, may God bless you.

Regular listeners to the program know that these “MinistryWatch Extra” episodes are a chance for us to “go deep” with some of our editorial partners. But today, I’m bringing you something a bit different, because the guest today is...well, it’s me. Here at MinistryWatch we bring you news about Christian ministries, as well as the latest in charity and philanthropy, all designed to help us become better stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us. My friend Dan Burrell, who is a teaching pastor at Life Fellowship in suburban Charlotte had me on his podcast called “Life Talks.” We recorded three 20-minute episodes discussing MinistryWatch, our work, why we do what we do, and some of our recent stories. The conversation turned out so well that I asked Dan if I could air them on the MinistryWatch podcast. Dan graciously gave us permission to do so. Today, we air the first episode. We’ll be airing the other two in the weeks ahead. A couple of housekeeping items: First, MinistryWatch is donor-supported. If you’d like to pitch 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. If even a few bucks are too much, I get it. I’ve been there, too. But there’s something easy and FREE you can do to help. And that’s to rate us on your podcast app. The more ratings we get, the easier it is for others to find us on the search engines. So it’s a great way for you to help out, and it only takes a few seconds. And, by the way, though I can’t respond via the podcast app, I do read all the comments, and they’re both encouraging and helpful. So...THANKS! The producers for today’s program are Rich Roszel and Steve Gandy. We get database, technical, and editorial support from Cathy Goddard, Stephen DuBarry, Christina Darnell, and Casey Sudduth. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, controversial pastor, Carl Lentz, is back in the pulpit two years after the scandal that forced him out of Hillsong. Popular Christian apologist John Ankerberg is facing accusations by a whistleblower that he took money that donors thought was going to pay for audio Bibles and used that money for other purposes. We begin today with the story that has horrified the entire nation this week. The story of a shooting at a Christian school in Nashville. A community is reeling after a shooter killed three children and three staff members at a small Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday. FINAL THOUGHTS: I want our listeners to know that TODAY is the last day they can 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.” It’s our thank you gift for a donation of any size to MinistryWatch in March. 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 Jesse Jackson, Roxanne Stone, Jessica Eturralde, Kim Roberts, Anne Stych, Christina Darnell, Eric Obernauer, Dale Chamberlain, Aaron Earls—and you, Warren. Special thanks to The NonProfit Times, ChurchLeaders.com, and Lifeway Research for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, we look at a network of ministries fighting chemical abortions. We also look at prosperity gospel preachers John and Lisa Bevere and their ministry Messenger International. We begin today with new leadership for a couple of the nation’s leading Christian publications. Russell Moore, the former Southern Baptist ethicist, was named editor in chief at Christianity Today. Lynn Vincent, a motorcycle-riding Navy veteran and New York Times best-selling author, was recently named executive editor at WORLD Magazine. Before we go: a reminder that if you make a donation to MinistryWatch during the month of August, you’ll receive a free one-year subscription to WORLD Magazine. We made this offer last year, and got a great response. But I know that we have a lot of people listening to the podcast today that weren’t with us a year ago – I know that because the podcast has nearly doubled in size in the past year. So if you’re new, this is a fantastic opportunity to pick up a subscription to WORLD and support our work at the same time. 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 Cathy Goddard, Stephen DuBarry, Emily Kern, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Jessica Lea, Riley Farrell, Steve Rabey, Kim Roberts, Bob Smietana, Anne Stych, and Warren Smith. Special thanks to Church Leaders and The NonProfit Times for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.