EDITOR’S NOTE: From time to time we will publish letters and emails we get from readers, sometimes with a response, sometimes without comment. If you would like to share your thoughts about any of our stories or podcasts, please email us: info@ministrywatch.com
Voddie Baucham and homeschooling
Thank you for your comments about Voddie Baucham. I have read many tributes to this prince of God. I was interested to read the reasons he gave for homeschooling. They mirror the reasons which led me to that same decision in 1984, when our oldest of seven children reached school age.
After reading another recently departed saint’s book — “Dare to Discipline” by James Dobson — while a student at Cedarville College (now University), I was determined that I lead my family following Bible principles, and began daily spiritual “family time” in the home with our children, reading Bible stories beginning Day One after birth. Guiding the education of our children during “school years” seemed natural if I took my leadership obligation seriously.
Thankfully, all of my sons lead their families in regular spiritual disciplines, and all but the one who is head of school for a large Christian school in Colorado do their educating at home.
May God use the testimony of this good man to inspire more men in the church to follow their biblical mandate!
Blessings,
Don Davis
‘MinistryWatch breaks my heart’
Maybe that headline isn’t quite right. It’s not MinistryWatch. It’s the news I read there.
How are we to discern the wolves among the faithful shepherds? Sometimes I despair that they seem to be so thick on the ground all around us and I can’t pick them out from the crowd.
MinistryWatch performs a vital service in that arena, but my heart breaks for all those faithful brethren (and [sistren]) in Christ who are being led down the primrose path by them daily.
Love in Jesus’ Name,
Brian Hupp
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Samaritan’s Purse and the BGEA resigning from the ECFA
Thank you for including this piece on MinistryWatch. I read Mr. Graham’s letter as well. I believe Mr. Graham has unfortunately placed himself into the political sphere in an unfortunately partisan position far from the main reason for Samaritan’s Purse or the BGEA.
I do see how his point of view has some merit in terms of confusion of what are the appropriate “moral standards” of a leader of Christian organizations.
Mr. Graham has, in my opinion, supported the power of the government in forcing a number of controversial moral positions — not unlike his left-wing opponents. Perhaps that is his reason for resigning — rather than helping the ECFA come up with policies that would strengthen our Christian ministries.
James Redka
More on ECFA and BGEA: NDAs enable cover-up of misconduct
Thanks for the article by Kim Roberts on the BGEA leaving the ECFA. I read Franklin Graham’s letter about the ECFA, claiming the ECFA had overstepped its expertise in its Leader Care standard.
Had the ECFA adopted a public position on NDAs (non-disclosure agreements), they might have gotten a similar reaction. However, the use of NDAs enables the cover-up of every kind of misconduct, be it financial, sexual, bullying, etc.
Attorney Neil Mullin, who represented Gretchen Carlson in her sexual harassment lawsuit against Fox News, said: “If you want to eradicate discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct, you should let the light of day shine.”
My own take is that the ECFA came into existence to restore trust at a time when major ministries had fallen into scandal. MinistryWatch does an important service through its donor confidence ratings.
It is notable that the Leader Care standard at ECFA does not include transparency. If you look at Robert Morris and Gateway, it could be that Gateway was fulfilling each aspect of the standard, but was covering up his child sexual abuse.
In his letter, Graham talks about one common denominator in all the major scandals: “However, there is a common denominator in all these cases that the new Leader Care standard does not address and certainly cannot prevent — lying.”
I would certainly agree with Graham here, but would certainly add (and have indicated this in several op-eds we — NDAFreeCampus — have submitted) that there is one common denominator in just about every major scandal in or out of the church. That common denominator is the NDA, which the ECFA has chosen not to address.
Thanks, Warren and Kim, for being voices for truth and accountability in the body of Christ.
Bob Leland
NDAFreeCampus