by | Aug 21, 2023 | Uncategorized
‘The John Ankerberg Show’ kept 80 percent of money raised for audio Bibles.
A television ministry with the most-watched Christian apologetics program has been ejected from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) for insufficient oversight and dishonest fundraising.
The Ankerberg Theological Research Institute, which produces The John Ankerberg Show, failed to meet three ECFA standards, according to an ECFA investigation. The apologetics ministry reportedly did not have an independent board, did not have adequate internal controls, and did not truthfully represent the intended use of the funds it raised.
“In securing charitable gifts, all representations of fact … must be current, complete, and accurate,” the ECFA standards say.
According to MinistryWatch, The John Ankerberg Show raised about $20 million for audio Bibles but kept 80 percent. John and Darlene Ankerberg said the money went to producing and distributing the TV program, which cost about $2 million in 2022, according to tax records. No mention of this was made during the on-air fundraising appeals.
The Ankerbergs insist they were not dishonest, though.
“Being 100 percent donor-supported, we invest 80 percent into our ministry,” CEO Darlene Ankerberg told CT. “We have made it clear to all donors that their support is for our overall mission. We believe donors support our mission of spreading the Word of God.”
A former director of donor relations reported the apologetics ministry to the ECFA and MinistryWatch. Andrew Jaeger, who worked for the Ankerberg organization from 2019 to 2022, said he found that donors had no idea how their money was being used and that a “full disclosure” of the TV ministry’s financials would “most certainly be met with disapproval, …
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by | Aug 21, 2023 | Uncategorized
A Bible professor’s advice for staying close to Christ on campus.
Higher education has a hard road ahead. Christian colleges, in particular, are in crisis over lower enrollments, the financial constraints that come with fewer students, and larger ideological conflicts that reflect our increasingly fractured society. Data indicates that young people are the demographic most likely to leave organized religion behind.
Arguably now more than ever, college is a coming-of-age time when many young adults figure out who they are and what they believe.
For Christian students, going to college means figuring out how to “keep faith” and deepen it. This retention depends in part on learning how to flourish in mind, heart, body, and soul; how to love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself; and how to do college right, not by avoiding mistakes (which isn’t possible) but by making wise decisions early to avoid the more common and ruinous obstacles.
Drawing on my experience as a theology professor at a Christian university, here are the habits and choices I’ve seen work well, along with a few to resist.
1. Go to church—but not online.
The first and most important thing to do is find a local church, place membership there, and attend worship every Sunday you’re in town. Try the college ministry, go on the retreats, join a Bible study. These are non-negotiables for being a believer in college. If you’re at a Christian school, you might be tempted to let campus activities be a substitute for church. Don’t—they’re not. Nothing can replace the people of God, the word of God, the Lord’s Supper, or worship in the Spirit with fellow disciples.
If you’re not at a Christian school, you might feel tempted to sleep …
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by | Aug 21, 2023 | Uncategorized
More than half of MLB teams offer an annual post-game program with worship and testimony from Christian players.
At 8:15 p.m. on a recent Saturday, Texas Rangers catcher Mitch Garver swung and missed at an 86-mph slider from San Diego Padres closer Josh Hader.
Garver’s strikeout secured a 4-0 victory for the home team in front of 42,677 fans at Petco Park. Three minutes later, an electric guitarist and keyboardist from The Rock Church—an evangelical megachurch in San Diego—stirred on the Gallagher Square stage behind center field.
The church’s pastor, Miles McPherson, sported a pinstriped Padres jersey as he grabbed a microphone.
“What’s up? What’s up? Y’all ready to worship the Lord?” said McPherson, a 1980s-era San Diego Chargers football player who developed a cocaine habit before dedicating his life to Jesus Christ during his NFL days.
About 3,000 men, women and children—almost all clad in Padres hats and attire—bought special tickets for the team’s annual Faith and Family Night.
On a 74-degree evening, in the shadow of statues honoring Padres greats Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman, attendees listened to praise music, heard testimonials from Padres and Rangers players and lifted their hands toward heaven in prayer.
“It’s very nice to be able to celebrate our faith in public without criticism,” said one of the fans, Nicole Soto, who is not related to Padres star Juan Soto.
Roughly 19 hours later—and 125 miles to the north—a similar scene played out at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Except that the Dodgers lost their Sunday afternoon home game, 9-0, to the Cincinnati Reds before a disappointed crowd of 45,936.
Still, thousands of fans stuck around for a special postgame program on Christian Faith and Family Day, highlighted by a performance …
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by | Aug 18, 2023 | Uncategorized
A Republican lawmaker called a Christian tweet “bigoted.” Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar came to religious liberty’s defense.
It started with a post on X (formerly Twitter)—an expression of Christianity with the brevity the site’s format demands: “There’s no hope for any of us outside of having faith in Jesus Christ alone.” The poster in question was Lizzie Marbach, whose X bio describes her as a Republican political activist who lives in Ohio.
Marbach’s post easily could have gone unnoticed outside her own following. But then a member of Congress decided to share it—and not just to share it but to dunk on it, hard, to an audience nearly ten times the size of Marbach’s own.
“This is one of the most bigoted tweets I have ever seen,” the congressman wrote. “Delete it, Lizzie. Religious freedom in the United States applies to every religion. You have gone too far.”
As angry replies accumulated under both posts, another, better-known member of Congress came to Marbach’s defense.
“No! Stating the core beliefs or principles of your faith isn’t bigoted,” the congresswoman tweeted, rebuking her colleague. It’s “religious freedom and no one should be scolded for that. It’s also wrong to speak about religious freedom while simultaneously harassing people who freely express their beliefs.”
If you’re already imagining these latter two characters, my guess is you’re imagining incorrectly—just as I probably would if I didn’t know the details here. The representative who dunked on Marbach is a fellow Ohio Republican, Rep. Max Miller. He’s a Marine veteran who served as a special assistant to former President Donald Trump—and he told 50,000 people that Marbach was a bigot for believing Jesus is the only hope of …
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by | Aug 18, 2023 | Uncategorized
Willie McLaurin is the third Executive Committee head in a row to step down amid controversy.
Willie McLaurin, the acting president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, resigned suddenly on Thursday after admitting he had falsified his résumé.
“While considering McLaurin as a candidate for Floyd’s permanent replacement, the SBC Executive Committee’s Presidential Search Team discovered disqualifying information during their process of vetting and due diligence,” said Philip Robertson, chairman of the SBC Executive Committee, in a statement. “McLaurin’s education credentials that he presented in his résumé are false.”
The statement quoted from McLaurin’s resignation letter, saying he admitted falsifying his résumé.
“In a recent résumé that I submitted, it included schools that I did not attend or complete the course of study,” McLaurin reportedly said in resigning.
According to Baptist Press, an official SBC publication, McLaurin claimed that he had degrees from North Carolina Central University, Duke University Divinity School, and Hood Theological Seminary on his résumé. When presidential search committee members attempted to confirm those degrees, they learned he did not hold those degrees.
McLaurin had been interim president and CEO of the Executive Committee since February 2022 and had worked for the Executive Committee since 2020. The committee oversees the business of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination between the SBC’s annual meetings.
McLaurin had been in the running for the permanent role as Executive Committee president after the committee rejected a different candidate. If he had been named to that post, McLaurin would have been the …
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