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MinistryWatch’s Top 10 Stories for the Month of April

The following stories had the most page views at the MinistryWatch website during the month of April. 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 15 stories of 2021, click here.

10. Proverbs 31 Founder Lysa Terkeurst’s Husband Seeks Alimony in Divorce Proceedings

In January, author and founder of Proverbs 31 Ministries Lysa TerKeurst announced she’d filed for divorce from her husband, Art. The couple married in 1992 and have been separated since November 2020. North Carolina, where the TerKeursts live, requires that a couple be separated for a continuous year before instituting a divorce proceeding. In February, Art filed a response to the petition for divorce, asking for post-separation support, alimony, an equitable division of property, damages, and the rescission of a post-nuptial agreement which he says was unconscionable and based upon fraud. 

9. Willy Rice, SBC Presidential Candidate, Drops Out

A Florida pastor who was a leading candidate for president of the Southern Baptist Convention has withdrawn from the race after a crisis involving a former deacon at his church. “The last few days have been very difficult and I’ve found myself in an untenable position of watching people I love in a church I love done immeasurable harm simply because my name was being considered for this office,” the Rev. Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, posted on social media April 6. Rice was one of several candidates hoping to succeed current SBC President Ed Litton, an Alabama pastor who announced last month he would not seek a second term as president.

8. Two More Churches Split from Hillsong in Wake of Scandals

Two more leaders of Hillsong Church U.S. campuses have announced they’re taking their campuses in a different direction in the wake of founder Brian Houston being ousted by the church’s board for breaching its code of conduct. The Australian church has lost nine of its 16 American church campuses in the past two weeks, The New York Times reported. Houston resigned March 23 after the Hillsong board released a statement saying they believed he had sent inappropriate text messages to a staff member and spent time in a woman’s hotel room. The board accepted the resignation.

7. More Allegations Surface Against Televangelist Perry Stone

(Note: This article was published in December 2021) Allegations of sexual misconduct began surfacing against televangelist Perry Stone in 2020. His Cleveland, Tennessee-based ministry, Voice of Evangelism, announced in July that he had taken a leave of absence after admitting he had acted inappropriately with female employees. “I confess at times I’ve been inappropriate in all this weariness of just non-stop ministry,” Stone said in the message. “I let my guard down and I’ve asked, of course, God to forgive me for that.” But a few months later, Stone was back in the pulpit. Now, new accusations have been made public, and – according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press – the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been questioning people in connection with Stone’s behavior.

6. Hillsong Music Pulls out of Casting Crowns Tour

Hillsong Worship, the music arm of Hillsong Church, has withdrawn from a tour with Christian music group Casting Crowns in the wake of scandals at the Australia-based church. “With the generous and gracious support of our friends and partners Casting Crowns and Premier Productions, Hillsong Worship has asked to be withdrawn from the upcoming Casting Crowns/Hillsong Worship tour with We The Kingdom,” the group said in a Facebook post announcing the decision. Saying it was acting “with the full support and endorsement of our senior church leadership,” Hillsong Worship said the decision “is the one that puts the health and well-being of the people of our team first.”

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5. Josh and Leona Kimes, Who Accused Carl Lentz of Abuse, Resign from Hillsong Boston

Josh and Leona Kimes, co-pastors of Hillsong Boston, announced on April 18 that the two have “made the difficult decision to resign.” The announcement of their departure comes a week after the results of an investigation into Hillsong New York City, where the couple worked previously, were leaked to a Christian online news outlet. The Kimes’ departure is the most recent in a slew of upheavals at the global megachurch and multimedia empire, including the resignation of its global senior pastor Brian Houston after allegations of sexual misconduct. The couple, who helped launch Hillsong NYC under now-disgraced former pastor Carl Lentz before planting the Boston campus, were “ready for a fresh start,” Kimes said in an Instagram post featuring photos of the two with their young children.

4. Disgraced Founding Pastor Brian Houston Feuds Online with Hillsong about His Wife’s Future

The status of Bobbie Houston, the long-time co-pastor and co-founder of Hillsong, the troubled global megachurch based in Australia, is uncertain after the church’s board and her husband, the church’s former head pastor Brian Houston, traded feuding online messages last month. Brian Houston, who co-founded Hillsong with his wife in Australia in 1983, resigned from his position as global senior pastor on March 21, less than a week after the board released a statement revealing he had sent inappropriate text messages to a staff member and spent time in a woman’s hotel room. No formal announcement had been made regarding Bobbie Houston’s role with the church. On April 8, her husband posted a message on Instagram claiming his wife was being “made redundant” by Hillsong. The Instagram post included a screenshot of a text message exchange that appeared to be between Bobbie Houston and a church leader, discussing her employment.

3. Leaked Hillsong NYC Report Says Sexual Misconduct, Abuse Went Beyond Carl Lentz

The results of an investigation by an independent law firm into the culture of Hillsong NYC, the Manhattan site of the global megachurch, have been leaked to The Christian Post, a news outlet based in Washington D.C., and its reported contents paint a picture of a church leadership rife with abuse, sexual misconduct, and secrecy. Among the details reported by The Christian Post include several extramarital affairs by the New York church’s former pastor Carl Lentz, spiritual abuse of volunteers and staff, as well as “multiple incidents of consensual or non-consensual sexual interaction between church leaders and congregants, staff, volunteers, or non-churchgoers,” according to the Christian Post. The publication’s summary of the report also further details the relationship between Lentz and his former nanny, Leona Kimes, who alleged in May 2021 that Lentz had sexually abused her while she was on staff.

2. Million Dollar Homes become Status Symbols of Televangelists and Pastors

Donors, where is the money going? When a televangelist’s ministry or pastor’s church owns a private jet, you can almost be certain the leader lives in a mansion. That is one of the lessons Trinity Foundation has learned from investigating religious fraud and excess for more than 30 years. In April 2021 the Houston Chronicle’s Jay Root asked Trinity Foundation for assistance on an article series about church parsonages in Texas. Trinity Foundation compiled a list of megachurches and large media ministries in the state and then searched for parsonages and homes of pastors and ministry leaders. Meanwhile, the Houston Chronicle examined the state tax code and filed open records requests with county appraisal districts seeking lists of parsonages.

1. Ministries with an ‘F’ Transparency Grade 

MinistryWatch stands for transparency and accountability. That’s why we think it is important for Christian ministries to be as transparent as possible with donors and with the public. So MinistryWatch grades every ministry in its database based on transparency. Today, we release a list of the ministries who have received a failing or “F” grade—approximately 15 ministries. Our transparency grade evaluates the ease with which donors can see into the finances of a ministry.  The ministries on this list have failed to comply with the following three requirements: The completion and public availability of a Form 990, the completion and public release of an audited financial statement, and membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. 

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