ONE YEAR AGO: On Aug. 18, 2025, MinistryWatch reported that another Assemblies of God-affiliated youth leader, Thomas Pinkerton Jr., faced criminal charges for multiple sex crimes he allegedly committed between 2006 and 2010 while a youth leader at Central Christian Church in Baltimore. In June 2026, Pinkerton pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor. The church is also facing a lawsuit alleging it allowed Pinkerton access to minors. Read more here.
TWO YEARS AGO: On Aug. 12, 2024, MinistryWatch reported that the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) added two sections to its bylaws about safeguarding and reporting misconduct, according to an update to the ACNA website. Read more here. Complete reporting on the ACNA and Bishop Stewart Ruch trial can be found here.
THREE YEARS AGO: On Aug. 18, 2023, MinistryWatch reported that Willie McLaurin, the acting president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, resigned suddenly after admitting he had falsified his resume. Read more here.
FOUR YEARS AGO: On Aug. 12, 2022, MinistryWatch reported that Nathan Zacharias, son of the late disgraced apologist Ravi Zacharias, posted his first blog in seven months to explain that his silence did not mean he had changed his mind about his father’s character. “Many people have written in to ask if a quiet blog means something has changed,” Zacharias said in a post dated Aug. 4. “As was the case before, no, nothing has changed. We still believe in Dad’s innocence, we still believe the investigation was biased and unethical, and we believe RZIM’s leadership mishandled many things, as well.” Read more here.
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SIX YEARS AGO: On Aug. 14, 2020, MinistryWatch reported that Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church filed a lawsuit against California officials, saying the state-issued health restrictions aimed at minimizing the spread of COVID-19 “violate the California Constitution.” The complaint claimed California had applied the protections of the U.S. and state constitutions unequally: “When many went to the streets to engage in ‘political protests’ against ‘racism’ and ‘police brutality,’ these protestors refused to comply with the pandemic restrictions. Instead of enforcing the public health orders, public officials were all too eager to grant a de facto exception for these favored protestors.” MacArthur and his church ultimately prevailed in this lawsuit. Read more here.
12 YEARS AGO: On Aug. 25, 2014, MinistryWatch reported that Mark Driscoll, pastor of Seattle’s Mars Hill Church, relinquished leadership of the megachurch for at least six weeks while elders investigated charges against him. Driscoll ultimately resigned, and within a year Mars Hill Church, once one of the largest in the nation, shut down. Read more here.