Ep. 423: Chateauroux Fellowship, Olivet University, and Generosity Leads to Happiness

On today’s program, Chateauroux Fellowship claims to connect billionaires with Christian ministries…but we were not able to confirm with any ministries that they had received any of the funds. We’ll have details.  And, a small reformed denomination commissioned a report by Guidepost solutions to investigate handling of sexual abuse cases…then it reversed its decision. We’ll take a look at what happened. Plus, a new study finds that Christians are the most charitable…and the happiest. But first, California revokes Olivet University’s approval to operate—but the school says it plans to stay open anyway. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Jessica Eturralde, Scott Bauer, Tony Mator, Heather Hahn, Diana Chandler, Brittany Smith, Christina Darnell—and you, Warren. A special thanks to Baptist Press and United Methodist News for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.   MANUSCRIPT:   FIRST SEGMENT Warren: Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina, and wishing you a merry Christmas! 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, Chateauroux Fellowship claims to connect billionaires with Christian ministries…but we were not able to confirm with any ministries that they had received any of the funds. We’ll have details. And, a small reformed denomination commissioned a report by Guidepost solutions to investigate handling of sexual abuse cases…then it reversed its decision. We’ll take a look at what happened. Plus, a new study finds that Christians are the most charitable…and the happiest. Natasha: But first, California revokes Olivet University’s approval to operate—but the school says it plans to stay open anyway. Warren: The California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education has ordered that Olivet University’s approval to operate be revoked. The order also requires the school to pay $64,432 to cover the costs of the investigation and prosecution. Because of this action, Olivet must cease enrolling new students and must propose a planned “teach out” current students. Natasha: What’s the background to Olivet? Warren: Olivet, founded by controversial figure David Jang, was approved to operate by the state in 2005, but that approval expired in 2014 and has not been renewed. In March 2023, a complaint was filed against Olivet, seeking a revocation or suspension of its approval to operate. It included 14 reasons the state should revoke the approval, including failing to include a face-to-face instructional component, failing to provide all the courses included in the approval, failing to have necessary evaluations of faculty, and failing to demonstrate that Olivet has required financial resources. Last year, a group of former Olivet students sued Jang and the university, claiming they were part of an international labor trafficking scheme run by Jang and his disciples. According to reporting by Newsweek, Olivet University is also under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for money laundering, human trafficking, and visa fraud. By the way, every time we write about Olivet University, we get emails asking if this is the same as Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois. It is not. The two schools are not related in any way. Natasha: What’s our next story? Warren: If the plan of the Chateauroux Fellowship and its director Christian Thomas Lee comes to pass as promised, it would likely be the largest philanthropic initiative aimed at Christian ministries in American history. According to the group’s own website, the Fellowship has committed at least $5 billion in future bequests to dozens of Christian groups. But so far MinistryWatch has not been able to determine that any of the groups have received funds, though many of the hopeful recipients have spent thousands of dollars in travel and lodging to attend meetings and dinners with Lee. Natasha: So where is that money? Warren: “Bequests and “planned gifts” seem to be the key words here. None of the ministries contacted by MinistryWatch have so far received any funds. They have, rather, received notification that their organizations will get a bequest from an anonymous billionaire (or billionaires) at an unspecified future date, presumably upon the benefactor’s death. However, other than assurances from Christian Thomas Lee, the ministries do not appear to have received any legally binding documents confirming these bequests will occur. Natasha: On their website, they list Some of the Christian ministries that have received commitments — but no funds —  who are they? Warren: Grace To You, the ministry of John MacArthur. A letter from Executive Director Phil Johnson to Christian Lee said: “On behalf of Grace to You, John MacArthur, and our entire staff, I want to express our profound gratitude for the extraordinary generosity of the anonymous donor who arranged a legacy donation of $1.5 billion to our ministry.” The letter concludes, “I’d love to meet you someday if the opportunity ever arises.” Ashland University. The amount of the announced bequest was redacted from a letter from Ashland President Jon Parrish Peede to Lee. An earlier posting placed the amount of the bequest to Ashland at $1 billion. Natasha: That’s $2.5 billion with just these two organizations alone. Warren: That’s right, and there are dozens of organizations, mostly Christian schools, that are identified on the Chateauroux website. Most of them don’t have the amount of the bequest identified, but we have been able to identify that the total exceeds $5 billion. Again, MinistryWatch was not able to identify that any of these bequests, or any others announced on the Chateauroux website, had so far been fulfilled. This is a fascinating and convoluted story, involving some of the top Christian ministries in the nation. We don’t have time to go into the entire story here, but I do recommend that you check out the story on the MinistryWatch website, and we’ll be following up to see if any of these bequests come to pass as time goes by. Natasha: Next, news of a shooting at a private Christian school. Warren: A 15-year-old student opened fire at a private Christian school Monday morning in Wisconsin, killing two people in the final week before Christmas break. The female shooter also died. In a statement, the City of Madison said the shooter, identified as Natalie Rupnow, shot and killed a teacher and a student at Abundant Life Christian School, a K-12 school with about 390 students, before apparently turning the gun on herself. Rupnow was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital. Natasha: The City of Madison said one teacher and three students were taken to the hospital for care following the shooting. As of Tuesday morning, two have been released and two remain in stable condition. Natasha: Warren, let’s take a quick break. When we return, a Nazarene Pastor who says he is pro-LGBTQ resigns his eldership to avoid trial. 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. Warren: Facing potential discipline for a leaked pro-LGBTQ paper, Nazarene pastor Dr. Rick Power has quit the theologically conservative denomination. “I have resigned my credential as an Elder in the Church of the Nazarene,” Power announced in a Dec. 2 Facebook post. “Over a period of years, my thinking on human sexuality has changed to the point that I could no longer embrace the church’s position regarding LGBTQ+ members of the human family.” Power’s resignation comes months after he vacated the office of district superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene’s Hawaii-Pacific District at the request of local leadership. Natasha: Power maintains that his views on marriage and sexual identity never technically violated his ordination vows, since he did not openly preach LGBTQ-affirmation. Warren: Power emailed a paper to top Nazarene officials detailing his personal views on sexuality. Then the paper leaked to the public, and the church had to act. “Even after retirement,” Power wrote on Facebook, “formal accusations and charges were filed against me. These would have led to a trial and potential discipline. But I have no interest in putting myself, my family, or my friends in the church through the ordeal of a church trial.” Natasha: Next, A small denomination headquartered near Grand Rapids, Michigan, is facing criticism over what appears to be decades of abuse and cover-ups. Warren: The Protestant Reformed Church in America (PRCA) was founded in 1924 and consists of 33 churches and about 8,700 members. During the denominational meeting (synod) in 2023, the church leaders voted to hire Guidepost Solutions to investigate the alleged sexual abuse and cover-ups. The nearly year-long investigation cost the denomination $358,000. However, at the annual meeting in 2024, the leaders voted to adopt a position “declar[ing] that Synod 2023 erred by authorizing a secular organization to assist Christ’s church in an ecclesiastical work (investigating sin) that belongs exclusively to the church.” Natasha: Do they have a different plan to uncover the truth? Warren: While the synod did not mandate that a new organization be hired