MinistryWatch Podcast

Warren and Christina discuss “MinistryWatch Adjacent” issues this week. Here are some resources mentioned in today’s program: We got a lesson from Wall Street this week. Wall Street understands what many Christian leaders do not: character matters. Since NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s admitted extramarital affair this week, share prices of the company he leads fell 13 percent – wiping out a whopping $500 billion in value for the AI company. I was saddened to hear of the health challenges facing my friend Nancy Demoss Wohlgemuth. A statement from her ministry, Revive Our Hearts, read: “In September, a CT scan revealed a large mass in her abdomen.” A number of Christian ministries who have been critical of President Trump praised him for his desire to “do something on immigration.” He made the statement on CBS News’ 60 Minutes. He acknowledged his administration’s deportation policy during the first two years of his second term as “too tough” and voiced support for policies that would sustain security borders and the removal of criminals but allow “some kind of legal status” for other categories of immigrants who are currently vulnerable to detention and deportation. Joshua Arnold of The Washington Stand (a division of the Family Research Council) wrote a fascinating analysis of evangelical voting behavior last week. His conclusions are insightful and nuanced – and they defy easy summary. I recommend reading the entire article, which you can find in today’s show notes. WORLD Magazine is reporting that “India’s ruling party is working to push through legislation that would add restrictions for nonprofits that receive foreign funding. Certain Christian and human rights organizations say they likely will not be able to operate under the new rules, which could allow the government to seize the groups’ assets.” To read Olelekan Raji’s excellent article, click here. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

Christians are often told to love their neighbors, turn the other cheek, and avoid unnecessary conflict. But what happens when love requires confrontation? When silence becomes complicity? And when speaking the truth means risking relationships, reputations, or even our standing in the Christian community? Those are among the challenging questions Bill Newton explores in his new book, Confrontation: The Missing Element in Christlike Love. Newton argues that we have sometimes confused Christian love with niceness, and that our reluctance to confront wrongdoing can actually enable the very behavior we should be challenging. Genuine love, he contends, isn’t always comfortable or conciliatory. Sometimes it requires courage, candor, and a willingness to speak difficult truths. But confrontation can also be mishandled. How do we distinguish righteous confrontation from anger, self-righteousness, or the desire to win an argument? How do we challenge others without abandoning humility, grace, and compassion? Bill Newton is a pastor, author, and former businessman whose life has taken him through some rather unusual experiences. He flew more than 250 combat missions in Vietnam, earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, worked on Wall Street, and spent years buying and selling businesses before entering pastoral ministry. In this conversation, I talk with Bill Newton about why confrontation has become such a missing ingredient in Christian relationships, churches, and leadership—and what it might look like to recover a more courageous, biblically grounded understanding of Christlike love.

On today’s program, a $46 million ponzi scheme defrauded hundreds of investors, many of them targeted through church relationships. We’ll have details. And, ministries are using apps and film to reach deaf people who often struggle with isolation. A new animation project is slated to become the world’s first sign language animation of the Gospel of Luke. We’ll take a look. Plus, a look at the 50 largest Christian ministries, representing $16.5 billion in revenue.  But first, a former New York megachurch pastor is going to prison for sexually abusing two children. John Camardo was executive pastor of The Chapel, a multisite church in the Buffalo area. He pleaded guilty in July, and a judge just sentenced him to eight years in prison.  The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get editorial, database, and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, Heidi Allums, Casey Sudduth, and Christina Darnell. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Jessica Etturalde, Kim Roberts, Bob Smietana, Tony Mator, Kadence McKinnon, Kathryn Post, and Makella Knowles. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s EXTRA episode, Warren and Christina discuss a report that Compassion International failed to act when they had evidence of 25,000 “suspected grooming cases.” They also tackle gambling and prediction markets. Also, new data from the Anglican Church in North America(ACNA) released this past week shows a 2.55 percent jump in churchwide Average Sunday Attendance in 2025, an increase of 2,509 from 96,009 in 2024 to 98,514 in the most recent reporting year. These new data mean that the ACNA continues to buck denominational trends and show growth, though they also mean that the growth has flattened a bit from the heady days early in the young denomination’s history. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

A quick look at the news will let you know that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are on fire. International observers say that in the past five years we have seen at least 10, and possibly as many as 15 wars or significant armed conflicts in the region. They include wars in Gaza, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. These conflicts have left at least 200,000 people dead. But these wars are not the whole story. I was in London last week at a conference of church leaders from the region hosted by Strategic Resource Group (SRG), which provides research, strategy and funding for scores of evangelism and discipleship projects in the area. I learned of another spark that is catching fire in the MENA region: The spark of revival. To read more on this topic, click here. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, Life Surge is close to reaching a settlement in a wage lawsuit. A former salesperson for the ministry says the company wrongfully classified him as an independent contractor to avoid paying overtime. We’ll have details. Plus, a host of Christian influencers are rallying behind popular blogger and podcaster Samuel Sey after he was detained by ICE. Supporters are blaming a clerical error, but DHS says Sey will likely be deported. We’ll take a look. And, multi-site churches are becoming a staple of American life.  But first, one of the largest United Methodist churches in the country has voted to leave the denomination. Highland Park United Methodist in Dallas held the vote on Sunday and Monday. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get editorial, database, and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, Heidi Allums, Casey Sudduth, and Christina Darnell. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Yonat Shimron, Kim Roberts, Bob Smietana, Jessica Eturralde, Adelle Banks, and Makella Knowles. You’ve been listening to the MinistryWatch podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

A couple of years ago, Warren Cole Smith had a conversation with Charlie Peacock. Warren is away on a reporting trip, and Charlie has a new book out, a novel, called Once Concealed, Now Revealed. So we thought it would be the perfect time to have an “encore performance” of that interview. If you heard it the first time, it’s worth a repeat. If this is your first time, enjoy a conversation with one of Christian music’s most thoughtful artists. Here are the original show notes: Charlie Peacock is a Billboard chart-topping, six-time Grammy Award-winning music producer whose recordings now exceed 25 million album sales. Billboard named him one of the 500 most important producers in popular music history. He has held executive positions at EMI and SONY/ATV and he founded the Universal Music Group imprint re:think. He helped launch The Lone Bellow, Switchfoot, and The Civil Wars. And now, he has a new book, Roots & Rhythm: A Life in Music. These credentials make Charlie podcast-worthy in just about any format that is interested in the intersection of Christianity and pop culture. But one of the reasons I wanted to have Charlie on the program today is that he’s one of the most thoughtful guys I know when it comes to issues of fame and its pitfalls, vocation and work, and creativity. It was a special treat for me to get to spend this time with Charlie Peacock, and I hope you find it special, too. Charlie spoke to me from his studio in Nashville. He has a new book, Roots & Rhythm: A Life in Music. I highly recommend it. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

On today’s program, popular megachurch pastor Andy Stanley is stepping down from his role at North Point Community Church, which he’s led for 31 years. He said he’s stepping back from his job — but not from ministry. We’ll have details. And, Liberty University and Bethel University are among Christian colleges offering specialized programs for students with intellectual disabilities. We’ll take a look. Plus, an almost 200-year-old church burned to the ground last week — and investigators believe they’ve found what started the flame. But first, a pastor in Washington state is facing federal charges. Prosecutors say Cristian Popescu, who leads Passion for Christ church in Kirkland, ran a fraudulent investment scheme worth about $13 million. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get editorial, database, and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, Heidi Allums, Casey Sudduth, and Christina Darnell. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Bob Smietana, Lincoln Patience, Jessica Eturralde, Neva Piombino, Josh Noble, Sally Kestin, and Kadence McKinnon. A special thanks to The Asheville Watchdog for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.

Here are some resources mentioned in today’s podcast episode:   You can watch Roland Warren give his melancholy assessment of the current state of abortion in America here. The turmoil at Christianity Today continues. Now, the mess has made its way into the New York Times. Reporter Ruth Graham does not break any news here. Most of what she covers Warren wrote about two weeks ago here. Columnist and provocateur Rod Dreher is always interesting and often helpful. In his latest column he laments that people are reading less today than in the past. But the data are not clear on this point. According to Pew surveys, Americans are reading less literature for pleasure than they did 30 years ago, and some surveys show that frequent readers are reading fewer books. However, the percentage of adults who read at least one book in any format has been comparatively stable. Demographics, technology, and shifting attitudes about a college degree have created a crisis. That is why I was taken by a recent PBS report. The report focused on the cost of these college closures on the small towns they call home. As each school shutters, students, faculty, and the surrounding community struggle to find a way forward. Paul Solman reports on one such school, Hampshire College, and the effects of its demise. It is part of a PBS higher education series, Rethinking College, and produced in collaboration with the Hechinger Report. The first Narnia movie has a budget of $300 million, so the stakes are high. Test screenings went poorly, and Netflix executives are demanding re-shoots. On October 14, Netflix laid off roughly 1,000 employees, including film executive Doug Belgrad. Chief content officer Bela Bajaria’s departure was announced later that week, and film chief Dan Lin’s departure followed on October 19. Netflix has said it wants to improve its programming and execution. But industry trade Variety, on Oct. 20, published, “Why Netflix Fired Dan Lin (and the Truth About His Tension With Greta Gerwig Over ‘Narnia’).” It discusses tensions surrounding the film alongside broader questions about Netflix’s film strategy. If you are just discovering our podcast, welcome aboard. We now have more than 650 episodes for you to binge on. This week, we dropped a new interview with Carlos Campo, president of the Museum of the Bible. We recommend this conversation, which you can find here. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.

Museum of the Bible has faced its share of challenges since opening in Washington, D.C., in 2017. We have chronicled some of them here at MinistryWatch. But under the leadership of Carlos Campo, the institution is writing a new chapter. A veteran of Christian higher education, Campo became the museum’s president and CEO in June 2024. I interviewed him for the podcast then, and in that podcast we covered a lot of his biography and some of the challenges he would be facing in his new role. And…I’ve got to be honest…I thought those challenges may have been too daunting to overcome. I was wrong. A couple of weeks ago, when I took a look at the financial statements for the Museum of the Bible, I was surprised to see dramatic changes. I immediately emailed Carlos and asked if would come back on the podcast to talk about what has happened and how he got it done. I hope you’ll go back and listen to my original interview with Carlos Campo, but – until then – I’ll say here that he previously served nine years as president of Ashland University in Ohio, where he led a $100 million fundraising campaign, oversaw academic expansion, and strengthened the university’s educational programs. Before that, he served as president of Regent University in Virginia and as chief academic officer at the College of Southern Nevada. He holds a doctorate in English from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He also served on Museum of the Bible’s board for years before taking the helm. In this conversation, Campo discusses how he has approached the museum’s turnaround, the leadership decisions behind its progress, and the challenges of running a major cultural institution devoted to the Bible in an increasingly diverse and secular society. We talk about financial sustainability, public trust, organizational culture, and the museum’s mission to invite people of all backgrounds to engage with the Bible’s history, narrative, and influence. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.