Ep. 407: Cru and LGBTQ Issues, United Methodists, and Pastor Burnout

On today’s program, Cru will stop using its current LGBTQ training program for staff by the end of this year. The change comes after facing accusations that the long-time campus ministry is compromising on biblical sexuality. We’ll have details. Meanwhile, United Methodist churches in Liberia face protests and unrest as it deals with the fallout of the global denomination’s shift on LGBTQ issues. We’ll take a look. And, American pastors are burned out and exhausted—but experts say that can change. But first, a group of people affiliated with Morningstar church in South Carolina are calling for founder Rick Joyner’s resignation—and Joyner is not having it. A group of former MorningStar church members, students, and staff members have signed an open statement calling for MorningStar founder Rick Joyner to resign, among other accountability measures. Until next time, may God bless you.   MANUSCRIPT   FIRST SEGMENT Warren: Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you this week from Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, where I’m attending a conference on Bible translation. 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, Cru will stop using its current LGBTQ training program for staff by the end of this year. The change comes after facing accusations that the long-time campus ministry is compromising on biblical sexuality. We’ll have details. Meanwhile, United Methodist churches in Liberia face protests and unrest as it deals with the fallout of the global denomination’s shift on LGBTQ issues. We’ll take a look. And, American pastors are burned out and exhausted—but experts say that can change. Natasha: But first, a group of people affiliated with Morningstar church in South Carolina are calling for founder Rick Joyner’s resignation—and Joyner is not having it. Warren: A group of former MorningStar church members, students, and staff members have signed an open statement calling for MorningStar founder Rick Joyner to resign, among other accountability measures. The statement, published by MorningStar Accountability Now on September 23, follows the filing of three lawsuits by victims who alleged child sexual abuse by Erickson Lee during MorningStar programs. The lawsuits also seek to hold the ministry liable for not preventing the alleged abuse. Natasha: How has the founder responded? Warren: In an email on October 5 to Emily Elston, a leader of the MorningStar Accountability Now group, Joyner said, “I am the one God gave to raise up MorningStar, and I will not abandon my post except by His clearly revealed will.” The accountability statement has over 200 named signatories, some of whom are former teachers at the church’s Comenius School for Creative Leadership, as well as church attendees, Morningstar staff, and others affiliated with the Morningstar School of Ministry. Natasha: In addition to calling for Joyner’s resignation, the statement also calls for an independent audit of the MorningStar board, the credentials of its members, and its policies and procedures. Warren: MorningStar does not file an informational Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service where the board members’ names would be listed, nor does it have them easily accessible on its ministry website. The accountability statement also calls for an independent audit of the ministry’s child protection policies and for the audit results to be released publicly. The statement says MorningStar should implement mandatory training on sexual abuse against minors for all staff and volunteers who interact with children. Natasha: On September 24, MorningStar’s leadership released a statement saying they “stand with the victims” and are “fully committed to their healing and restoration.” Warren: The statement claims MorningStar is working with independent third-party investigators to examine its policies and practices. It does not name the investigators. The ministry also claims to operate with “strong safeguards, including mandated training and compliance with legal standards.” In response to criticism of its leadership, MorningStar said it is committed to accountability, integrity, and learning from past “challenges and failures,” but added that it will “resist unjust or unfounded accusations.” Again, no specific “unfounded accusations” were identified. Natasha: Next, Cru discontinues LGBTQ training program for staff. Warren: Battered by months of criticisms for controversial staff guidance on how to handle LGBTQ-identifying students, Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) will be removing its Compassionate and Faithful curriculum by the end of the year, according to reporting by WORLD. In a leaked recording of a Sept. 26 staff meeting, Keith Johnson, Cru’s director of theological education and development, said “Our plan going forward is to integrate our LGBT+ equipping into existing developmental venues. Going forward, we think it’s increasingly important for us to speak in our own theological voice.” Later, Johnson told WORLD that weaving sexuality training into Cru’s Institute of Biblical Studies for new staff and interns is the logical next step now that most current staff have already completed the training. Natasha: What was their curriculum like? Warren: Development of the Compassionate and Faithful curriculum began in 2021 in response to the skyrocketing number of college students identifying as LGBTQ. At one time, it reportedly included at least 13 videos by author and podcaster Preston Sprinkle. While Sprinkle affirms biblical marriage, he also advocates addressing LGBTQ individuals by their preferred pronouns and supports the “gay Christian” label for believers who struggle with same-sex attraction. Natasha: But critics were quick to respond. Warren: Ex-lesbian women’s studies professor Rosaria Butterfield and two former Cru employees, Uriah and Marissa Mundell, are among those who have spoken out. The Mundells lost their jobs after publicly criticizing the training program and its push for “pronoun hospitality.” Butterfield called out Cru by name as a moral compromiser during her convocation address to about 10,000 Liberty University students in November 2023. In the leaked audio, Johnson reiterated Cru’s commitment to the Gospel and biblical sexuality, but still did not explain the training changes and mixed messages that followed the public condemnation from Butterfield, or what the new lessons might look like. Natasha: Our next story involves Christian refugees. Warren: The U.S. resettled more Christians fleeing persecution in fiscal year 2024 than it has since 2016, Open Doors and World Relief said in a report unveiled Oct. 14 as insight for policymakers and voters weeks ahead of the U.S. presidential elections. The nonpartisan groups reported the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers the U.S. has accepted in recent decades, including Christians and others fleeing religious persecution, and explored how U.S. presidential platform policies will impact the ability of those persecuted for their faith to find refuge here after the November elections. Natasha: And what are their thoughts on that? Warren: World Relief President and CEO Myal Greene said, “President Trump has pledged to suspend the refugee admissions program, but we also hope that this report will be something that raises voices and attention to this issue, and will persuade him to change his mind if he’s elected.” Natasha: We have also seen that the Biden-Harris administration implemented very significant restrictions on the asylum program. Warren: That’s right. Both groups were clear in emphasizing that the report remained nonpartisan. Both administrations had done some things well, and both administrations had fallen short in significant ways, according to the report. Open Doors U.S. President Ryan Brown pointed out the increasing need for the U.S. to provide a safe haven for Christians fleeing persecution, as the organization’s annual World Watch List has noted a multiyear trend of increasingly violent persecution that forces Christians to flee their homelands. He encouraged voters not to confuse the issue of border security with asylum and refugee access. Natasha: Warren, let’s take a quick break. When we return, unrest breaks out in Liberian churches as they struggle to determine where they stand with a denomination they disagree with over gender and sexuality. 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, unrest breaks out in United Methodist churches in Liberia. Warren: The United Methodist Church in Liberia has been roiled in recent days over its position on marriage for same-sex couples after the global denomination, based in the United States, voted to strike a 40-year-old condemnation of homosexuality from its governing document. Clergy and lay members of the 150,000-member Liberian church have been calling for a special session of the annual conference to take a vote on the U.S. church’s decision, but Bishop Samuel Jerome Quire, the resident bishop of the Liberia Area, has refused, citing the importance of maintaining unity in the Liberian church. Natasha: Last week, Quire suspended a number of pastors and elders who have persistently asked for the special assembly. Warren: The tensions escalated Sunday (Oct.13), when protests broke out at the New Georgia United Methodist Church in Monrovia over the suspension of the Rev. Leo Mason,...