MinistryWatch’s Top 10 Stories for October

The following stories had the most page views at the MinistryWatch website during the month of October. We present them here in a “countdown” format, from 10 to 1. The first few sentences of each story are reproduced below. To read the entire story, click on the link. To read the Top 25 stories of 2024, click here.

10. What Would Billy Say?

Warren Cole Smith. OPINION–In October of 1948, Billy Graham and his ministry team — Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea and Grady Wilson — held evangelistic meetings in Modesto, Calif. These men gathered in their spare time to write what Barrows came to call the “Modesto Manifesto.” That document outlined the standards they would follow regarding “financial integrity, sexual morality, publicity, and partnership with the local church.” It is therefore no surprise that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) was one of the charter members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) when that organization began in 1978.

9. Tony Evans Will No Longer Lead Dallas Megachurch

By Adelle M. Banks. Dallas megachurch founder Tony Evans, who stepped back from leading his church due to an undisclosed “sin” he announced last year, apologized to his congregation and his family on Sunday (Oct. 5), after the elder board of his Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship announced the pastor had completed a “restoration process” and will not return to leadership of the church.

8. Editor’s Notebook: Canon Press Offer for Christianity Today Nothing More Than Publicity Stunt

Warren Cole Smith. OPINION–The conflict entrepreneurs are at it again. This time the skirmish is between dissident right activist Megan Basham and one of her favorite targets: Christianity Today magazine. If you have been going to work, raising a family, attending church, or doing other things that sane people do, and you’ve therefore missed this tempest in a teapot, here are some basic facts.

7. Rejecting Canterbury Decision, Conservative Bishops Claim Lead of Anglican Communion

By Fredrick Nzwili. Weeks after the appointment of the Rt. Rev. Sarah Mullally as the leader of the Anglican Communion, conservative Anglican prelates in Africa have rejected the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury and have proclaimed their own network of conservative churches the official voice of Anglicanism.

6. TX Worship Pastor Arrested for Child Sexual Abuse Material

By Daniel Ritchie. A prominent worship minister at an East Texas church has been arrested and charged with promotion of child pornography. Jon Paul Sheptock, 49, was arrested by Texas Department of Safety troopers following a search of his home. Sheptock had been under investigation since August by Montgomery County Constable’s Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Unit after they received a tip that Sheptock was in possession of and has produced child sexual abuse material.

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5. ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood Accused of Sexual Misconduct

By Kathryn Post. Archbishop Steve Wood, who heads the Anglican Church of North America, faces allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and plagiarism, according to an explosive report released by The Washington Post on Thursday (Oct. 23). The list of charges, signed by at least 10 individuals attesting to the allegations, is the latest in a string of crises to rock the small, conservative denomination.

4. IHOPKC Leader Mike Bickle ‘Permanently Disqualified’ From Church Office

By Kim Roberts. Mike Bickle, former leader of International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC), has “disqualified himself permanently from holding any such high and honorable office anywhere in the Body of Christ in his lifetime,” according to a Pastoral Recommendation Team (PRT) report, convened by Tikkun Ministries.

3. Rez Church Pastor Resigns, Legal Battle Between Church and School Continues

By Kim Roberts. Jonathan Wiggins, pastor of Rez.Church in Loveland, Colorado, resigned his position because of “moral failure and personal shortcomings,” according to a report in the Loveland Reporter-Herald. “Following recent accusations, we, the trustees, have accepted Pastor Jonathan’s resignation effective immediately,” Britton Cottrell, a board member at Rez.Church in Loveland, reportedly said during Sunday worship.

2. Amy Grant Settles Case Over Nashville Church Founded by Her Great Grandfather

By Kim Roberts. Six-time Grammy winner Amy Grant, who gained much of her notoriety through her Christian songs, has agreed to a legal settlement about a church founded by her great-grandfather in downtown Nashville, Tenn., according to the Wall Street Journal.

1. Charter Member Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Resigns From ECFA

By Kim Roberts. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Samaritan’s Purse, two of the largest Christian ministries in the country, have voluntarily resigned their membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

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