MinistryWatch’s Top 10 Stories for September

The following stories had the most page views at the MinistryWatch website during the month of September. 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. Eight Leaders of House of Prayer Christian Church in GA Indicted for Fraud

By Kim Roberts. Leaders of the House of Prayer Christian Church in Hinesville, Georgia, were indicted on federal charges of fraud and tax charges for defrauding banks through real estate schemes and funneling veterans’ benefits to its seminary.

9. Christian Author Christopher Yuan Recovering After Traumatic Injury

By Stacey Horton. Popular Christian author and speaker Christopher Yuan is recovering from surgery to treat injuries after a traumatic fall earlier this week. His family described the fall as “abnormal,” leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

8. Jimmy Kimmel, Religious Broadcasters, and You

By Warren Cole Smith. OPINION–I’m no fan of Jimmy Kimmel. I don’t watch late night television (except Austin City Limits on Saturday), and when I did – years ago – it wasn’t him. I think what Kimmel said about Charlie Kirk, his alleged assassin, and the political landscape in general was wrong-headed, verifiably false, and generally worthy of criticism. But if it turns out to be true that he was fired because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) put pressure on ABC to take him off the air, that should cause all honest, limited-government conservatives to pause.

7. Voddie Baucham Jr., Conservative Pastor and Seminary Leader, Dies at 56

By Bob Smietana. Voddie Baucham Jr., a conservative Black pastor, author and seminary leader, has died at 56. “We are saddened to inform friends that our dear brother, Voddie Baucham, Jr., has left the land of the dying and entered the land of the living,” the Founder’s Ministries announced Thursday (Sept. 25). Baucham had been leading the ministry’s new seminary in Florida.

6. ‘Apostle’ David E. Taylor Arrested for Forced Labor and Money Laundering

By Kim Roberts. David E. Taylor, the self-proclaimed apostle and leader of Kingdom of God Global Church and Joshua Media Ministries, has been arrested in a “nationwide takedown of their forced labor organization,” according to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.

5. TX Pastor Resigns After Confessing Sexual Sin

By Daniel Ritchie. The founding pastor of Hope Fellowship Church — which has campuses in Frisco, McKinney and Prosper, Texas — resigned from his pastoral position at the church after confessing to a moral failure. In a letter that was posted on the church’s website, church leaders said that their former lead pastor, John McKinzie, “confessed to sexual sin and moral failure in a meeting with church leadership” on Sunday. McKinzie resigned his role on Monday. He has served in full-time pastoral ministry for more than 30 years.

Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.

4. The Charlie Kirk We’ll Never Know

By Warren Cole Smith. When I reflect on Charlie Kirk’s life and legacy, I am most struck by how much it was a work-in-progress…Whatever the proximate instruments of Charlie’s transformation, it seems to me that the overarching cause was the Holy Spirit in action. He may have become a Christian as a child, but sometime around 2020, that faith became more alive, more real, to him.

3. St. Andrew’s Chapel Salaries Well Above Median Salary in Region

By Kim Roberts. Burk Parsons, lead pastor of St. Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida, and a teaching fellow with Ligonier Ministries, receives over $410,000 in annual compensation from the church, in addition to an undisclosed salary from Ligonier, according to a recent report filed with the Central Florida Presbytery.

2. NC Anti-Trafficking Group Accused of Exploiting Women

By Tony Mator. For a brief time, Ashley Vrabel was the poster girl for Cry Freedom Missions (CFM), a Goldsboro, N.C., anti-trafficking ministry. Arrested in 2018 for heroin possession and larceny, Vrabel found a second chance through CFM. By 2020, she was already on the ministry’s staff and publicly sharing her story of rehabilitation from drugs and prostitution. While Vrabel fundraised, revenues for CFM and its umbrella organization more than doubled from $750,892 in 2019 to $1,700,662 in 2020, according to the ministry’s 990 tax forms. But behind the scenes, former colleagues claim, all was not well.

1. Military Chaplains Attempt to Leave ACNA En Masse

By Warren Cole Smith. A conflict between a bishop and his boss has created chaos for Anglican military chaplains. On Sept. 21, Bishop Derek Jones, who had been in charge of military chaplains for the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), was inhibited from ministry for 60 days. An inhibition is a formal suspension from ministry activities, usually so an investigation can take place. The inhibition is the latest step in a drama that has been unfolding since July in the Special Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy (SJAFC).

TO OUR READERS: The mission of MinistryWatch is to help Christian donors become more faithful stewards of the resources God has entrusted to them. Do you know of a story that will help us fulfill our mission, or do you want to give us feedback about this or any other story? If so, please email us at [email protected].