MinistryWatch Podcast

On today’s program, Baylor University voluntarily rescinded their acceptance of an LGBTQ research grant after receiving pushback. The school’s president says their stance on biblical sexuality has not changed. We’ll have details. And, is a membership with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability worth the cost? We talked with current and former members. Also, the adoption of A-I in chu...

In this week’s “Extra” episode, Warren discusses the history of McLean Bible Church and the tenure of David Platt. Does he deserve the criticism he has received? Warren’s answer: Platt is not perfect, but the “conflict entrepreneurs” at his church have produced more heat than light. A few links mentioned in today’s program: Stories about McLean Bible Church or David Platt. In the past week, the ch...

The mission of MinistryWatch is to help Christian donors become more faithful stewards of the resources God has entrusted to them. With a mission like that, it’s easy to see why Dana and Bill Wichterman’s new book got my attention. The book is Stewards Not Owners: The Joy of Aligning Your Money With Your Faith . Over the years, I’ve read a lot of books about this topic, from Randy Alcorn’s Money,...

Here at MinistryWatch, we have become all too familiar with the allure and the dangers of celebrity preachers. One of the things you will here me say often is that we humans are not meant to be celebrities. We’re not wired for it. Celebrityhood is a condition that wars against the health of our soul. And yet…we Americans, and American evangelicals in particular, have an addiction to celebrities. T...

On today’s program, Brady Boyd resigns from New Life Church. Boyd was on staff at Gateway during Robert Morris’ tenure, and Elders now believe he misled the congregation about his knowledge of Morris’s alleged abuse. We’ll have details. Also, a court ruled that a lawsuit filed against Dave Ramsey can move forward. A former employee who was fired for being pregnant while unmarried is suing Ramsey f...

Sometimes, in the midst of the nuance, complexity, and confusion of everyday life, it’s good to return to first principles. That’s exactly what Glenn Packiam has done with his new book What Is A Christian, Anyway? The title of this book poses a simple and obvious question that the modern (post-modern? Post-postmodern?) church sometimes forgets. Packiam reminds us that this question is an old one,...

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....

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...

  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 ap...

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 par...

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 i...

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 lo...

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 ex...

In 1985, Neil Postman published Amusing Ourselves to Death . That means this year is the 40 th 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 lo...

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 mee...

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...

On today’s program, Liberty University reached a settlement with disgraced former President Jerry Falwell Jr. last year, but the terms of that settlement were only disclosed this week. We’ll have details. And, Bob Jones University names a new president just a month after its current leader announced he is stepping back. Many alumni aren’t happy with the choice. We’ll explain why. Plus, beloved Bib...

On today’s program, Warren Smith talks with Michael Reneau of The Dispatch about his new column “Dispatch Faith.” They also unpack the mission of The Dispatch, his role there, the state of American journalism, and a whole lot more. Before joining The Dispatch, Michael Reneau was the editor of WORLD Magazine. He also served as editor of the award-winning paper The Greenville Sun, based in Greenvill...

If you are a conservative, Bible-believing Christian, there’s a lot to like about the Rev. Calvin Robinson. Raised in England, he stood up to the liberalism of the Church of England and, as a result, that church would not ordain him. He is a powerful communicator who puts his gifts in service of pro-life causes, the sanctity of marriage, and other important issues. Then there’s the “other” Calvin...

On today’s program, Calvin Robinson was dismissed by the Anglican Catholic Church earlier this year after making a nazi-like salute at a pro-life summit. This week, another denomination has restored him to service…but not without pushback. We’ll have details. The Episcopal Church is ending its partnership with the U.S. after refusing to settle refugees from South Africa. We’ll take a look. Plus, l...

I went on a road trip this week from my home in Charlotte, N.C., through Nashville to Branson, Mo., where I spoke at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Press Association. From there I drove home through Terre Haute and Indianapolis, Ind., and Beckley, W.Va. In 72 hours, I put in more than 1800 miles. It wasn’t all windshield time. I stopped for meetings all along the way, and I learned that rea...

You don’t see a lot of mergers in the Christian ministry space, but one recent merger caught our eye here at MinistryWatch. That merger was between CareNet and ICU Mobile. We thought it would be good to have Roland Warren back on the program to explain why and how this merger occurred. Regular listeners to the program will remember that we had Roland on the show last year to discuss his book The A...

On today’s program, Milestone Church in North Texas announced this week it is expanding its campuses by absorbing Cross Timbers Church in nearby Argyle. Cross Timbers has faced a series of challenges in the past year, including the forced resignation of its senior pastor. We’ll have details. Plus, prominent evangelical leaders petition President Trump to allow Afghan refugees to remain in the U.S....

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on April 30, 2025, about whether Oklahoma can operate the nation’s  first   faith-based   charter school . If the Supreme Court decides their way, St. Isidore of Seville would be a virtual, K-12 school run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. We should note that a lot of conservatives are with St. Is...

On today’s program, a team of elders is recommending Dr. Michael Brown return to public ministry in spite of a recent report concluding that he engaged in sexual misconduct. We’ll have details. And, the Presbyterian Church USA—historically, very involved in evangelistic efforts—is now closing its missions agency. Theologians say they are not surprised given the denomination’s leftward drift. Plus,...