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MinistryWatch’s Top 10 Stories for the Month of 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 2023, click here.

  1. Pastor Who Secretly Listed Church For Sale Walks Back Resignation

By Tony Mator. Less than two months ago, Pastor Rodney Finch told his Calvary Chapel Cary congregation in Apex, North Carolina, “The time for me to go is now.” Finch’s resignation came amid an uproar over the discovery he had listed the church property for sale without telling anyone—the latest in a long string of alleged scandals, lies, secrets and financial missteps. But on Sept. 22, Finch was back in the pulpit. And the pastors he’d tapped to replace him were gone, having announced their own resignations the previous Sunday.

  1. Chuck Swindoll Announces Retirement

By Daniel Ritchie. Pastor, author and radio personality Chuck Swindoll announced he will preach his final sermon as pastor in October. Swindoll has been pastoring at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, since 1998. The church posted a statement written by Swindoll on its website sharing his intent to retire from pastoral ministry.

  1. SBC to Sell Nashville Headquarters to Defray Abuse-Related Legal Costs

By Bob Smietana. An investigation into how leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have dealt with sexual abuse by clergy has cost more than $12 million over the past three years, causing the nation’s largest Protestant denomination to put its Nashville, Tennessee, headquarters up for sale, the SBC’s Executive Committee announced on Sept. 17.

  1. Once Burned, Twice Warned

By Warren Cole Smith. MorningStar Ministries, based in the Charlotte suburb of Ft. Mill, S.C., has long had an outsized influence on the charismatic/Pentecostal wing of evangelicalism. Rick Joyner founded the ministry in 1985, and he has long displayed the related gifts of grabbing attention and attracting controversy. Joyner is a mentor to many in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and Apostolic-Prophetic Movements. These movements have been associated with some of the best publicized and – some might say – notorious revivals of the past 30 years. Many of these revivals dissipated into scandal and acrimony. Fast forward to 2024, and we see another Joyner-led restoration process gone awry.

  1. 6-Year-Old Boy Dies From Injuries Inflicted by Babysitter His Mother Met at Church

By Kim Roberts. A 6-year-old boy succumbed to severe injuries after being beaten by a babysitter his mother met at Amazing Church in Lake Elsinore, California, KTLA reported. Ernest Lamar Love, a 41-year-old barber, was given charge of Chance Crawford’s care while Chance’s mother, Charlyn Saffore, worked the night shift at St. Joseph’s hospital.

  1. Michigan Pastor Fired, Criminally Charged for Hidden Bathroom Camera

By Tony Mator. Police have arrested and charged a former pastor of a Livingston County, Michigan, megachurch after he confessed to placing a hidden video recording device in a unisex bathroom for church staff and volunteers. Local News Channel 3 reports that Will Johnson, who served as worship director for the Brighton campus of the nondenominational multi-site 2|42 Community Church, was charged on Sept. 15 with surveilling an unclothed person, destroying evidence and using a computer to commit a crime.

  1. 50 Largest Christian Colleges and Universities in the US

By Warren Cole Smith. Below is a list of the 50 largest Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries in the MinistryWatch database. This list is compiled from the most recent data available from the Internal Revenue Service, which in all cases means we used 2023 data. This list should not be interpreted as a list of recommended ministries. They are ranked by total revenue, and not by effectiveness, financial efficiency, or any other measure. That said, the Financial Efficiency rating and the Transparency Grade of the ministries are listed.

  1. Alistair Begg Announces 2025 Retirement From Parkside Church Pulpit

By Tony Mator. Truth for Life radio Bible teacher Alistair Begg announced his retirement as senior pastor of Parkside Church to his congregation Sunday, Sept. 8, giving a projected end date of Sept. 14, 2025. The Scottish-born evangelical, well known for his radio broadcasts syndicated on over 1,800 networks across North America, explained the early announcement is intended “to make it clear [it] is not precipitous.” He also said the advance notice will help his “ambition to pass the baton safely into the hands of my successor” and will give the church “time to adjust to the prospect of and to prepare in a timely way for what this transition will mean.”

  1. Morningstar Ministries President/CEO Resigns

By Kim Roberts. Chris Reed, president and CEO of MorningStar Ministries in Fort Mill, S.C., tendered his resignation last week because he “didn’t want to be leading the ministry in a case against four victims who were abused as children by a volunteer.” But after his resignation, The Roys Report learned of alleged sexual misconduct by Reed in 2021 when he was preparing to become leader of MorningStar Ministries.

  1. Steven Lawson Removed From Ministry for ‘Inappropriate Relationship’

By Jessica Eturralde. Thursday evening, Trinity Bible Church in Dallas, Texas, announced its pastor, Steven J. Lawson, has been indefinitely removed from his position due to an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman. “The elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas regretfully announce that effective immediately, Steven J. Lawson has been removed indefinitely from all ministry activities at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas,” a statement on the church’s website reads.

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