Ep. 462: Dr. Michael Brown, Wycliffe Bible Translators, TD Jakes, and More
On today’s program, a team of elders is recommending Dr. Michael Brown return to public ministry in spite of a recent report concluding that he engaged in sexual misconduct. We’ll have details.
And, the Presbyterian Church USA—historically, very involved in evangelistic efforts—is now closing its missions agency. Theologians say they are not surprised given the denomination’s leftward drift.
Plus, more than a year after Wycliffe Bible Translators listed its sprawling Orlando headquarters for sale, its status remains unclear with the property still marked “under contract.” MinistryWatch reporter Shannon Cuthrell takes a closer look.
But first, megachurch Pastor TD Jakes has announced plans to step aside as head of The Potter’s House. T.D. Jakes, the well-known pastor of Dallas megachurch The Potter’s House, plans to step aside later this year and appoint his daughter and son-in-law as the church’s leaders, Christianity Today reported.
The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Mark Wingfield, Tyler Hummel, Shannon Cuthrell, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell.
A special thanks to Baptist News Global for contributing material for this week’s podcast.
Until next time, may God bless you.
MANUSCRIPT:
FIRST SEGMENT
Warren:
Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you this week from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Natasha:
And I’m Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado, and we’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast.
Warren:
On today’s program, a team of elders is recommending Dr. Michael Brown return to public ministry in spite of a recent report concluding that he engaged in sexual misconduct. We’ll have details.
And, the Presbyterian Church USA—historically, very involved in evangelistic efforts—is now closing its missions agency. Theologians say they are not surprised given the denomination’s leftward drift.
Plus, more than a year after Wycliffe Bible Translators listed its sprawling Orlando headquarters for sale, its status remains unclear with the property still marked “under contract.” MinistryWatch reporter Shannon Cuthrell takes a closer look.
Natasha:
But first, megachurch Pastor TD Jakes has announced plans to step aside as head of The Potter’s House.
Warren:
T.D. Jakes, the well-known pastor of Dallas megachurch The Potter’s House, plans to step aside later this year and appoint his daughter and son-in-law as the church’s leaders, Christianity Today reported.
Jakes, age 67, told the Potter’s House congregation the news on Sunday, April 27, saying, “I cannot afford, especially after November, to risk something happening to me and that you be sheep without a shepherd.”
Natasha:
Last month, Jakes revealed in an interview on NBC’s Today Show that he suffered a massive heart attack in November.
Warren:
Sarah Jakes Roberts and husband Toure’ Roberts are expected to take over as senior pastors in July when the church celebrates its anniversary, but plans for the current assistant pastors to take the lead have been in the works for a few years, Jakes said. He will remain as chairman of the church’s board.
The Roberts couple currently lead One: A Potter’s House Church in Los Angeles. Toure’ Roberts founded One in 2004. Sarah Jakes Roberts is the founder of Women Evolve, a conference for women to be held in Atlanta later this summer.
Natasha:
Our next story also pertains to pastoral succession – but this one isn’t as positive
Warren:
Pastoral succession, megachurch wealth and family dynasties combine in a lawsuit filed against Second Baptist Church of Houston and its leaders April 15.
The Southern Baptist congregation is the 17th largest church in America, according to Outreach magazine, with average weekly attendance of 19,735 in 2024. After 46 years as senior pastor, Ed Young stepped down last May and named one of his sons, Ben Young, his successor. Another son, also named Ed Young, leads a Dallas-area megachurch called Fellowship Church, which is the 13th largest church in America.
Natasha:
But all is not well in Houston, nearly one year after Ed Young the elder took a sudden retirement at age 87 — and orchestrated naming his son as successor.
Warren:
Now there are allegations of deceptive practices, an illegal church business meeting and a family’s attempt to enrich itself by control of the church’s $1 billion in assets.
Natasha:
What do you mean?
Warren:
The elder Young is Southern Baptist Convention royalty and a legend among American pastors. He not only was elected president of the SBC twice during the “conservative resurgence,” but he grew the church from about 500 people in 1976 to tens of thousands today.
With that growth, and with the extremely long tenure of a senior pastor, came governance issues that boiled over at the time of a pastoral transition. While the vast majority of Southern Baptist churches operate with congregational governance and call pastors through a lengthy search committee process and an all-church vote, none of that happened last year at Second Baptist.
Natasha:
Now, a group of members has formed a nonprofit corporation called Jeremiah Counsel “to promote, protect and restore integrity, accountable governance and donor protection for churches in Texas.” Specifically Second Baptist.
Warren:
Jeremiah Counsel filed suit against Ben Young, Ed Young, Associate Pastor Lee Maxcy and North Texas attorney Dennis Brewer, who served as chief financial officer of Fellowship Church in North Texas.
The plaintiffs charge these defendants — labeled “The Young Group” — conspired to steal church assets and take away the congregation’s right to choose its own pastor. They accuse the elder Ed Young of enacting a series of changes beginning in 2023 “to secure the ascendance of his son, Ben Young … as senior pastor to Second Baptist’s 94,000 congregants.”
Natasha:
And that’s not all…
Warren:
They accuse their former longtime pastor of collaborating with Ben Young, Lee Maxcy and Dennis Brewer Jr. “to orchestrate undisclosed and unvetted amendments to the bylaws at Second Baptist.”
Natasha:
Next, the latest concerning Michael Brown.
Warren:
A group of Christian leaders comprising an “elder accountability team” recommended that Line of Fire’s Dr. Michael Brown be released to resume his public ministry from which he has refrained since November.
The team also expressed concerns about the Firefly investigation report into accusations against Brown that “concluded that Brown’s actions toward the two females were inappropriate and unacceptable for his leadership position within the ministry.”
Natasha:
Brown was accused of sexual misconduct by crossing physical boundaries with a 21-year-old woman, Sarah Monk, who was working as a secretary at Brown’s FIRE School of Ministry, based in Concord, North Carolina.
While admitting to a close relationship with his accuser, Brown claimed the relationship was “totally non-sexual in every way.”
Warren:
The elder accountability team took issue with Firefly’s use of the term “sexually abusive misconduct,” the lack of opportunity for Brown to provide rebuttal to some testimony, the failure of Firefly to include testimony by Nancy Brown, wife of Michael Brown, and the claim that Brown was intentionally grooming Sarah Monk, one of his victims.
According to the team, Firefly expanded the “historically narrow understanding of the term” sexual abuse when it evaluated Brown’s conduct. In evaluating this expansion, the elder team argued that it could bring “confusion in what constitutes true sexual abuse and has the very real danger of diluting it.”
Instead, the elder team would choose the term “moral indiscretions” and “leadership misconduct.”
Warren:
The elder team also recommended that Brown or Line of Fire agree to pay for reasonable counseling expenses for Monk and that Brown invite Monk and the husband of the married woman to an in-person meeting for dialogue that might aid in healing.
The elder accountability team condemned as unbiblical those who “relitigated with accusations, judgment, and sentencing by a jury on social media” and caused “irreparable damage to Dr. Brown’s credibility and ministry.”
The team went on to say they do not believe Brown committed a sin “grievous enough” for which he should be disqualified from ministry.
Natasha:
Let’s look at one more story before we take a break – what do you have?
Warren:
Nearly four years after indictments were issued against Randy and Michelle Free for theft of property from Cedar Cross Country Church in Alvarado, Texas, both of the Frees have been sentenced.
On March 17, Michelle Free entered a plea agreement for 10 years of probation with 320 hours of community service, according to Johnson County District Attorney Timothy Good.
Her probation is a deferred adjudication and as long as she abides by the terms, Free will not have a felony conviction on her record. However, if she fails to abide by the terms or commits a new offense during the probationary period, Free could be sentenced to between five and 99 years in prison.
Natasha:
Good told MinistryWatch that Free had admitted to one felony charge of misapplication of fiduciary property valued at more than $300,000. In doing so, she admitted she had a duty to the church that she misused.
Warren:
According to a civil lawsuit related to the crimes, Randy Free began taking control of the church’s assets by making himself the president and registered agent for the Cedar Cross Country Church. The Frees then set up a separate non-profit corporation, Team Heritage International, in order to move the church’s assets and sell the church property, the petition claimed.
The plaintiffs asserted that on July 2, 2021, the Frees sold the church property for somewhere between $1 million and $1.5 million to MYR Real Estate Holdings and used about $500,000 of the proceeds to purchase a house for themselves in nearby Godley.
Natasha:
Randy Free was convicted of four first-degree felonies and sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison and 10 years of probation, to be served concurrently in December 2023.
Warren:
The civil case seeking the recovery of church funds was resolved in May 2023 after the receiver was able to acquire and deposit over $1.2 million of the church’s funds with the court. The funds have now been returned to the church.
Randy and Michelle Free divorced in 2024.
Cedar Cross Country Church did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Natasha:
Warren, let’s take a quick break. When we return, the Presbyterian Church USA closes its missions agency, ending all of its mission co-worker roles.
I’m Natasha Cowden, along with my co-host Warren Smith, and we’ll have that story and much more, after this short break.
BREAK
SECOND SEGMENT
Natasha:
Welcome back. I’m Natasha Cowden, along with my co-host Warren Smith, and you’re listening to the MinistryWatch podcast.
Next, the story we promised before the break.
Warren:
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has shuttered its World Missions agency and ended all of its mission co-worker roles.
First announced in January as part of a restructuring that included $5 million in cuts, mission co-workers were told to expect either a different offer of employment or a severance package.
Jeff Walton, communications director for the Institute on Religion and Democracy, told MinistryWatch that Presbyterians have long been involved in foreign mission endeavors. They were very involved in evangelistic efforts in both Ghana and Sudan,
Natasha:
This closure is sad but not unexpected.
Warren:
Walton sees it as primarily a financial decision based on the contraction of the PCUSA, which has about 1.09 million members, down from 3 million in 1983, Walton said.
With the reduced membership, revenue has dropped and has required budget cuts.
Natasha:
Some are raising concern about this closure.
Warren:
The National Hispanic Latino Caucus of PCUSA wrote a letter expressing concern about the dismantling of the missions agency. “We fear that these decisions can inflict irreparable damage to the relationship of mutual respect and interdependence we’ve built over the years,” the letter said.
Another letter signed by 81 mission co-workers questioned the denominational decision to close the mission agency.
The PCUSA mission agency, as recently as 2010, had 200 missionaries, but was down to about 60 when the cuts were made.
Now I should add, The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), an evangelical denomination formed after breaking away from mainline Presbyterianism in 1973, still has a missions agency—Mission to the World.
It has missions teams in Africa, Asia, Australia, North and South America, Europe, and the Caribbean.
According to a recent article in byFaith, the PCA grew by about 1.34% from 2023 to 2024 and has about 400,000 members.
Natasha:
Let’s now turn to Christian colleges.
Warren:
In the current market, the changing global economy prefers highly educated minds, with 72% of jobs expected to require a bachelor’s degree by 2031. Women greatly outperform men in earning college degrees, with 58.5% of all degrees going to women.
Natasha:
Unfortunately, higher education’s demand has created problems.
Warren:
It has created a student loan debt crisis, with students owing $1.78 trillion in the U.S. as of March 2025. And one recent study found more than half of college graduates are overeducated for the jobs they actually do.
As a result, anti-college sentiment has been slowly growing. Many employers and activists have pushed back against the necessity for higher education, notably tech companies like Google and Apple removing education standards for some jobs. Sadly, this isn’t the most serious issue facing higher ed.
Natasha:
What is the bigger issue?
Warren:
The problems are many, from conservative parents discouraging college degrees due to fears of indoctrination, to high tuition, low public trust in educational institutions, and pandemic-related issues, to declining birth rates resulting in fewer children being born in the coming generations who can be educated.
Natasha:
And this also affects Christian colleges.
Warren:
The year 2026 is important because it marks 18 years since the 2008 financial crash, with the first generation of young people born since it began graduating from high school. While enrollment suffered immediately after the crash, the full long-term effects of the financial meltdown on fertility and public trust have yet to be felt.
Those effects will be felt on Christian and secular schools alike, with overall college closures expected to spike by 8.1% in the next five years. However, the cultural decline in Christianity poses greater risks to enrollment in Christian schools, with 45% of Gen Z identifying as religiously unaffiliated. This will place pressure on Christian schools and universities that specifically focus on Christian values in education.
Natasha:
Of course it isn’t all negative – some Christian colleges have grown in recent years, but overall – how can they be planning ahead?
Warren:
Regardless of severity, the demographic cliff will affect Christian schools and universities. Schools already are evaluating how they will go about recruiting in the coming decades, with a greater focus on adult students and changing demographics shifting the focus of who colleges should be seeking to stabilize their student bodies.
Natasha:
One of the schools which is affected by the cliff is St. Andrews University in NC
Warren:
St. Andrews University announced it would close its Laurinburg, N.C., campus on May 5, 2025 after the spring semester ends.
Dr. Tarun Malik, St. Andrews campus president and provost, said in a statement about the closing. “This outcome follows years of effort to preserve our presence in this community while delivering an affordable, high-quality education and meaningful student experience. Despite those efforts, we have reached a point where financial sustainability is no longer attainable.”
The president sought to assure students it would support them in finding teach-out opportunities at other universities, such as Brevard College, Appalachian State University, and High Point University.
It also plans to help employees secure new opportunities.
Natasha:
Warren, we’re going to take another break. When we return, our lightning round of ministry news of the week.
I’m Natasha Cowden, with my co-host Warren Smith. More in a moment.
BREAK
THIRD SEGMENT
Natasha:
Welcome back. I’m Natasha Cowden, with my co-host Warren Smith and you’re listening to the MinistryWatch Podcast.
Warren, we like to use this last segment as a sort of lightning round of shorter news briefs.
What’s up first?
Warren:
Back in February 2024, Wycliffe Bible Translators listed its 272-acre Orlando headquarters for sale. More than a year later, the status of the sale remains unclear, with the property still marked “under contract” on listings from LoopNet and First Capital Property Group, the brokerage representing the site.
The listing includes a 167,782-square-foot office building and 120,000 square feet of ancillary facilities, including an RV park, activity center, clinic, lodging and warehouses. FCPG describes the campus as ideal for users looking to occupy existing space while leaving room to expand.
Natasha:
The property spans wetlands, mitigation areas, and pad-ready lots suited for future development.
Warren:
Despite its prime Florida location near Lake Nona and Sunbridge, there has been no public announcement of a buyer or finalized sale. MinistryWatch’s multiple inquiries to FCPG and Wycliffe for updates went unanswered. According to Wycliffe’s 2024 financial statement, the sale process initiated by its board remains ongoing, with no completion expected during fiscal year 2025, which ends in September.
The listing does not disclose an asking price. The Orange County Property Appraiser recorded a 2024 market value of $43.7 million for the main campus, and $5.6 million for multifamily buildings nearby.
Natasha:
What’s next?
Warren:
We’ve got our list of the 50 largest foreign missions organizations by total revenue from the MinistryWatch 1000 database.
The total revenue for all 50 organizations exceeds $1.1 billion. The largest organization is Pioneers with $88.8 million in revenue and the smallest is International Care Ministries with just over $8 million in revenue.
Natasha:
None of the five largest ministries on the list — Pioneers, Ethnos360, OneHope, Reliant Mission, and Frontiers — filed a Form 990 informational return with the Internal Revenue Service.
Warren:
MinistryWatch updated the revenue information for ministries who don’t file a Form 990 but are members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) with the financial information in their ECFA profile. Those ministries are denoted with an asterisk.
In addition to the name and revenue, you will also find MinistryWatch’s Financial Efficiency Rating (1 to 5, with 5 being the highest and 0 indicating they don’t file a Form 990), its Transparency Grade (A, C, D, or F), and its Donor Confidence Score (up to 100).
You can learn more about each ministry by clicking the ministry’s name. That will take you directly to the ministry’s profile in the MinistryWatch 1000 database.
Natasha:
And who is in our Ministry Spotlight for this week?
Warren:
Grace to You, the media ministry of John MacArthur, now has a Donor Confidence Score of 38—a “Withhold Giving” designation.
The organization no longer releases its Form 990s to the public and has changed its IRS status to “a church.” Grace to You (GTY) also provides just one audited financial statement on its website for years ending in 2022 and 2023.
Natasha:
According to limited financial data from GTY’s ECFA profile, the organization has seen a jump in both revenue and expenses over the last three years.
Warren:
In 2022, GTY had a revenue of $33.3 million. In 2024, its revenue was $39.8 million.
Additionally, its expenses jumped from $27 million to $50.6 million in that same time. It had a deficit of $10.7 million in 2024, along with $44.7 million in net assets.
In 2021, the last financial information MinistryWatch has for the ministry, MacArthur was collecting a salary of $246,686. But some reports have noted that between multiple ministries, his salary might be much higher.
MacArthur is also the pastor of Grace Community Church in California and chancellor of The Master’s University and Seminary.
In 2021, The Master’s University resigned from the ECFA.
The organization did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.
Natasha:
What did Christina Darnell highlight in Ministries Making a Difference?
Warren:
Vacation Bible School is generally a popular church outreach to minister to elementary-age children, but Bridge Community Church in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, is focused on kids a little older—in grades 7-12—by hosting its annual summer LEAP program. LEAP is a week-long set of skills-based workshops that equip students in areas like auto mechanics, computer science, cooking, music, sewing, and improv. The program was created in partnership with the local Boys & Girls Club, provides breakfast and lunch, and sets time aside in the afternoon for relational skills workshops. Since it was launched in 2021, volunteers have worked with over 400 students.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein awarded $3 million each to NC Baptists on Mission and Habitat for Humanity of North Carolina for their assistance in ongoing rebuild efforts after Hurricane Helene ripped through the mountains in Western North Carolina last fall. NC Baptists on Mission is using the money to purchase building materials as they undergo home construction projects over the next four to six years. Habitat for Humanity International has 1 star and a “C” transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 44.
Grace Point Church in Croatia serves in a Ukrainian refugee camp nearby, and earlier this month hosted an Easter celebration for families that included crafts, games, Bible lessons, and an egg hunt. Thanks to partnerships between Ukrainian and Croatian pastors, the event was hosted in Ukrainian, Croatian, and English. Grace Point is also supporting its Ukrainian neighbors through language classes, field trips, and children’s programs.
Natasha:
Warren, any final thoughts before we go?
Warren:
Warren Ad-Lib MAY Recurring Donor Appeal.
Natasha:
The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Mark Wingfield, Tyler Hummel, Shannon Cuthrell, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell.
A special thanks to Baptist News Global for contributing material for this week’s podcast.
I’m Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado.
Warren:
And I’m Warren Smith, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Natasha:
You’ve been listening to the MinistryWatch podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.
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