Allan Bouquin · @disciple78
4th Aug 2021 from TweetCaster
Voddie Baucham's Publisher Stands By Him Following Charges of Plagiarism // Popular Speaker Wade Morris Dies After COVID Diagnosis. Plus More Stories.
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Dear MinistryWatch Friends:
Popular pastor Voddie Baucham has been accused of plagiarizing some of the material in his latest book, the bestseller "Fault Lines." Baucham's publisher is, however, standing by the book and the author. Read more here:
https://ministrywatch.com/voddie-bauchams-publisher-defends-fault-lines-against-plagiarism-claims
Wade Morris, a popular Baptist youth speaker, has died after being hospitalized for COVID, though the cause of death has not yet been released. Morris was a staple at youth camps and revival services throughout the country, and tributes have been pouring in on social media and from Christian leaders. Read more here:
https://ministrywatch.com/wade-morris-popular-baptist-youth-speaker-dies-after-covid-19-hospitalization
The MinistryWatch Extra podcast features my conversation with Brian Kluth on money, sex, and power in Christian environments. Brian says the antidotes to these three are generosity, purity, and humility. Brian offers some great insights, and I commend this conversation to you.
https://ministrywatch.com/podcast-episodes
Also, on the "regular" MinistryWatch podcast: On today’s program, a clever scam that took in hundreds of thousands of dollars from dozens of ministries. We have updates on stories related to Hobby Lobby and the Anglican Church of North America. And a federal court deals religious liberty a blow, but the fight is not over. We begin today with a development in the ongoing saga of controversial pastor Mark Driscoll. You can hear the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast apps, or you can simply click here.
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From The "In Case You Missed It" File
Before we dive into the ICYMI File, I want to remind you that "Faith-Based Fraud" is now available in paperback, e-book, and audio formats. You can purchase the book in the format of your choice here.
Now, on to the ICYMI File:
A growing number of ministries are using social media, web searches, and other digital tools as a core evangelism strategy. Global Media Outreach, one of the largest ministries in this space, claims millions of conversions per year. We examine the claims to see what's true, and what's vaporware.
https://ministrywatch.com/more-ministries-use-social-media-and-web-for-digital-evangelism
A generous Christian with substantial financial wealth once told me, "If you want to ruin a ministry, give it a lot of money." I've learned over the years that he's right. That's why some high-capacity givers turn to consultants to help them develop giving plans that accomplish strategic goals -- without ruining ministries in the process. Read about one of these groups, Financial Planning Ministry, here:
https://ministrywatch.com/covid-brought-boom-year-for-ministry-that-helps-people-leave-money-to-ministries
Vince and Jo Vitale have resigned from leadership positions at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. Read more here:
https://ministrywatch.com/zacharias-institute-leaders-vince-and-joanna-vitale-announce-plans-to-resign
It's a new month, and we have our list of the Top 10 stories for July up on the site. Thanks for making July our best month ever for website traffic, with more than 200-thousand page views. See the top stories here:
https://ministrywatch.com/top-10-stories-for-the-month-of-july
Our Ministry Spotlight feature this week highlights the work of Southern Evangelical Seminary, a seminary that specializes in Christian apologetics. Read more here:
https://ministrywatch.com/ministry-spotlight-southern-evangelical-seminary
A federal judge has ordered the Museum of the Bible to forfeit a rare artifact, a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh. It's the latest in the ongoing attempts by the Museum of the Bible to deal with problems of ownership and authenticity issues. Read more here:
https://ministrywatch.com/judge-orders-forfeiture-of-ancient-tablet-from-museum-of-the-bible
More victims are speaking out in the sexual abuse case involving the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA). The victims say ACNA leaders knew of the abuse and failed to take steps to protect victims and prevent future abuse. Read more here:
https://ministrywatch.com/alleged-victims-say-acna-church-leaders-failed-to-acknowledge-their-abuse-allegations
The modern homeschooling movement began in the 1970s, when evangelical Christians, concerned about the increased secularization of public schools, started taking more ownership of their children's education. The movement has grown steadily since then, but the recent COVID pandemic seems to have give the movement a booster shot. Read details of a new study here:
https://ministrywatch.com/sparked-by-pandemic-fallout-homeschooling-surges-across-us
Mark Driscoll led Seattle's Mars Hill Church through a meteoric rise and cataclysmic collapse. He now pastors a church in the Phoenix area, but 39 former elders of Mars Hill Church released a statement this week saying Driscoll never went through a legitimate restoration process following the "pattern of sinful behavior" that led to Mars Hill's collapse. Read more here:
https://ministrywatch.com/former-seattle-megachurch-pastor-called-out-for-continued-pattern-of-sinful-actions
If you want to take a deeper dive into the Driscoll situation, listen to my recent interview on "Issues Etc." You can listen here:
https://issuesetc.org/2021/07/29/2101-mark-driscoll-faces-a-call-to-resign-warren-smith-7-29-21
Prophetic preachers with little or no theological training and questionable -- if not downright heretical -- doctrine have developed large on-line followings in recent years. We take a look at some of the most best known.
https://ministrywatch.com/prophets-political-words-bring-division-derision
The Bible says "true religion" is to look after widows and orphans. A ministry called Our Backyard Orphans is taking that biblical admonition seriously. Read about them here:
https://ministrywatch.com/our-backyard-orphans
Members of McLean Bible Church have filed a lawsuit over the results of a recent elder election. The lawsuit has received national attention because of the stature of the church, and because it concerns accusations about critical race theory and "wokeness" that are roiling evangelicalism now. Read more here:
https://ministrywatch.com/david-platts-dreams-for-mclean-bible-church-sour-as-members-file-lawsuit-over-elder-vote
The Bible translation organization Wycliffe Associates continues to make claims about its activities, but also continues not to respond to requests for information to confirm those claims. Read the latest here:
https://ministrywatch.com/wycliffe-associates-says-it-will-use-radio-to-reach-isolated-language-groups
We have the latest in the ongoing story of WPOZ, better known as "The Z" or Z Ministries, a family of radio stations in Orlando, Florida:
https://ministrywatch.com/few-changes-at-orlandos-z-ministries
Jason Meyer, the successor to John Piper at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minnesota, has resigned his position amid turmoil and an exodus of other staff members. The 4500-member church is one of the best-known in the country, and a flagship in Converge, formerly the Baptist General Conference. Read more here:
https://ministrywatch.com/resignations-turmoil-continue-at-pipers-bethlehem-baptist-church
MinistryWatch continues to devote reporting time and energy to the Bible translation industry, in part because of the size of the industry ($500-million per year), but also because of its history of opaque dealings with donors and the public. In our view, the industry simply needs more transparency. We have a new story today, about a partnership between The Seed Company and Spoken Word to bring oral Bible translations to those whose communications are primarily not written. Details here:
https://ministrywatch.com/details-few-in-spoken-worldwides-partnership-with-seed-company
Short-term missions trips have become a staple of American evangelical culture. But post-COVID, will they remain so? Are would the death of short-term mission trips be such a bad thing after all? We unpack the issues here:
https://ministrywatch.com/short-term-mission-trips-wont-return-to-normal-in-2021
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News About MinistryWatch, and "Evergreen" Resources
We have created a short, 3 1/2-minute video that explains what MinistryWatch is all about. I hope you'll take a look, and then like and share it with your friends. Here it is:
https://youtu.be/Gp2GxgY9pk8
MinistryWatch reports often on sexual abuse cases involving church leaders. We sometimes get asked...WHY? Why do we have to report on these sometimes horrible events? I attempt to answer that question here:
https://ministrywatch.com/why-ministrywatch-reports-on-sex-crimes
I want to let you know that my book Faith-Based Fraud is now out with Denver-based Wild Blue Press. To celebrate this publication, we've posted an excerpt from the introduction of the book, "The Case For Accountability and Transparency," on the MinistryWatch website. You can read that important statement, which helps explain why we do what we do at MinistryWatch, here:
https://ministrywatch.com/the-case-for-accountability-and-transparency
We have entered into a collaborative relationship with Dunham+Company to offer training courses for ministry and church leaders. They include on-line short courses on social media for non-profits, cryptocurrency, using Google Ads, and more. Use the code "MinistryWatch" at checkout and you'll get a 10 percent discount, and MinistryWatch will receive a portion of the proceeds. To learn more, click here:
https://ministrywatch.com/ministrywatch-courses-for-ministry-leaders
I want to remind you that we have added Statement of Faith" to the "About MinistryWatch" tab on the MinistryWatch website. If you'd like to see it, click here, and scroll down to the bottom of the page.
When we do investigative stories here at MinistryWatch, we often get emails from readers asking: Did you follow Matthew 18 before you wrote this story? Matthew 18 is a powerful prescription for dealing with conflict and wrongdoing in the church. We examine this passage -- how to apply it and how it can be misused -- here:
https://ministrywatch.com/matthew-18-and-the-christian-journalist
At MinistryWatch, we value transparency. That's why we think it is a bad idea for a ministry to claim to be a church just so it can get out of the requirement to release its Form 990. Read more about our position here:
https://ministrywatch.com/when-a-church-is-not-a-church
MinistryWatch has made enhancements to its Financial Efficiency Ratings that will make it easier for donors to make "apples-to-apples" comparisons of ministries. Read more about these changes and how they can help donors make better giving decisions here:
https://ministrywatch.com/ministrywatch-enhances-financial-efficiency-rating-formula
Lots of non-profits utilize "matching" or "challenge" gifts. What are they? What's the difference between them? Are they ethical? Are they effective? MinistryWatch answers these questions in an article we posted in December. To read more, click here:
https://ministrywatch.com/a-primer-on-challenge-gifts-and-matching-gifts
The Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention has issued new guidelines for ministries to protect children from harm. Read the details here:
https://ministrywatch.com/evangelical-council-for-abuse-prevention-develops-child-safety-standards-for-ministries
If you are a "list person" (as I am), you might want to know that we have all our lists under a single tab on the website. You can find past lists by clicking here:
https://ministrywatch.com/category/monthly-lists
A reminder that we have added salary information for nearly 3000 executives from more than 900 ministries to our database. We believe this information -- posted prominently on the ministry profiles in our database -- will provide one more tool for donors who want to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of ministries. You can read more about how to use this new tool here:
https://ministrywatch.com/ministrywatch-adds-compensation-data-to-ministry-profiles
Thanks for your interest in MinistryWatch.com
All best.
Warren Smith
President
MinistryWatch.com