Ep. 447: SBC Financial Challenges, Oklahoma Bible-Buying Plan Halted,

On today’s program, the Southern Baptist Convention says the Department of Justice has wrapped up its investigation into the denomination’s handling of sexual abuse cases by its pastors and leaders. We’ll take a look. Also, evangelical ministry leaders hold a vigil to protest the Trump Administration’s defunding of foreign aid. Plus, one ministry whose funding was canceled…then reinstated…but its operations remain in limbo. We’ll have details. But first, Oklahoma’s state superintendent of public instruction is asking Americans to donate money to send Bibles into public school classrooms, though the Oklahoma Supreme Court has temporarily blocked his efforts. 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 are Mark A. Kellner, Laura Erlanson, Kim Roberts, Jack Jenkins, Erik Tryggestad, Jessica Eturralde, Bob Smietana, Adelle M. Banks, Ed Stych, and Brittany Smith. A special thanks to Baptist Press and The Christian Chronicle 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 this week from Charlotte, North Carolina. 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, the Southern Baptist Convention says the Department of Justice has wrapped up its investigation into the denomination’s handling of sexual abuse cases by its pastors and leaders. We’ll take a look. Also, evangelical ministry leaders hold a vigil to protest the Trump Administration’s defunding of foreign aid. Plus, one ministry whose funding was canceled…then reinstated…but its operations remain in limbo. We’ll have details. Natasha: But first, Oklahoma’s state superintendent of public instruction is asking Americans to donate money to send Bibles into public school classrooms, though the Oklahoma Supreme Court has temporarily blocked his efforts. Warren: Oklahoma’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is asking Americans to donate money to send leather-bound Bibles into Sooner State public school classrooms, now that the state legislature nixed a funding request. Walters told MinistryWatch in a telephone interview he has created the BiblesforOklahoma.com website, where $59.99 “God Bless The USA” Bibles can be purchased for schools. Natasha: The controversial volume pairs the King James Version of the Bible with the texts of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Pledge of Allegiance. It also reproduces handwritten lyrics to Greenwood’s song “God Bless the USA.” Warren: Walters’s fundraising move launched less than 24 hours after Oklahoma’s Senate Appropriations Committee failed to recommend his budgetary request for $3 million to purchase Bibles for classrooms — and an additional $5 million to pay for potential litigation over the move. State Sen. Nancy Boren (D-Norman) told MinistryWatch she objects not only to the dollar amount requested but also to combining the Scriptures and America’s founding documents in a single volume. Natasha: Others have offered alternative options, but Walters didn’t seem interested Warren: The state senator, a Church of Christ member and an Abilene Christian University graduate, also said Gov. Kevin Stritt reminded people there’s a free smartphone app — YouBible — that’s created in Oklahoma. Boren also said other people were willing to donate “like, the real Bible, not the ‘Trump Bible,’ for free, and [Walters] didn’t want that.” The Oklahoma Supreme Court also as problems with Walter’s plan. The conservative court has temporarily blocked Walter’s attempt at fundraising, at least for now. Natasha: Next, an update on the SBC. Warren: U.S. Department of Justice informed Southern Baptist Convention attorneys (Wednesday, March 12) that its investigation into the SBC and its entities is closed. No sexual abuse-related charges were filed. The DOJ launched its investigation in August 2022, a few months after the release of the Guidepost Report, which was based on an investigation by outside group Guidepost Solutions into the EC’s handling of sexual abuse claims. The only charge brought by the DOJ in its two-and-a-half-year inquiry was against former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary professor and interim provost Matt Queen, who pleaded guilty to making a false statement to investigators. Queen was sentenced last week to one year supervised release and a $2,000 fine. Natasha: Continuing with the SBC, our next story looks at the financial strain they’ve experienced due to lawsuits. Warren: In mid-February, Southern Baptist Convention leaders received grim news. The denomination’s Executive Committee was essentially broke. Over the past four years, the committee has spent more than $13 million on legal fees and other costs related to a historic sexual abuse investigation by Guidepost Solutions, draining its reserves and leaving it unable to pay its bills for the following year. Among those bills were $3 million in additional legal fees for the upcoming year, with more likely to come. Natasha: What are they going to do? Warren: To deal with the financial crisis, the Executive Committee has put its Nashville headquarters up for sale, cut staff, and applied for a $3 million loan. The committee is also seeking a $3 million “priority allocation” for legal fees from the denomination’s $190 million Cooperative Program budget, which is usually used for missions and ministries. The SBC budget, including the legal allocation, must be approved during the denomination’s annual meeting in June. It’s unclear what will happen if the request fails. Natasha: Warren, let’s take a quick break. When we return, as donor advised funds grow, so does the market for philanthropic advising. 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: Al Mueller had years of experience helping very wealthy people invest their money on Wall Street, but he felt a pull to help families give their money away to life-changing causes. So in 2002, he founded Excellence in Giving, a faith-based firm to provide concierge-level philanthropic advising services to high-capacity donors. “Our goal is to upgrade a generous giver to a discerning steward,” Mueller told MinistryWatch about the services provided by Excellence in Giving. He says the firm’s work can give confidence to donors that their gifts are being used well. Natasha: Philanthropic advising is a growing field with advisors handling large sums of charitable contributions. A 2024 survey of 258 U.S.-based philanthropic advisors revealed that each of them facilitated an average of $50 million in charitable giving. Warren: Michael Moody, professor of philanthropic studies at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, has seen the advising industry balloon over the last 20 years. Nearly 2,000 members of LinkedIn identify themselves as “philanthropy advisors,” according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Much of this growth is driven by the large sums of money in philanthropic donor-advised funds, which have reached $250 billion, and private foundations with assets of about $1.5 trillion. Natasha: Instead of developing their own staff of subject matter experts to figure out how and where to give money, donors can outsource that work to an advising group and save some overhead and administrative costs. Warren: Mueller said Excellence in Giving starts by helping donors develop their mission statements, examining their giving history, and working with them as a matchmaker to find the best nonprofits in an area of interest to receive their donations. Excellence in Giving serves between 30 and 50 families who give over $100 million each year. It develops an annual service agreement with clients based on how much time advisors will be working on clients’ needs. It also carefully screens ministries based on 175 data points before giving them a “seal of transparency.” The form asks for many measurements about the health and growth of a charity that won’t be found on an IRS Form 990, Mueller said. Mueller wants Excellence in Giving to continue helping deliver confidence to ministry donors: “Obedience to God’s calling for their resources plus confidence in the ministry they are giving to will bring joy.” Natasha: Next, a number of evangelical organizations participate in a vigil against foreign aid cuts, Warren: Evangelical Christian groups are calling on Congress to reinstate foreign aid programs shuttered by President Donald Trump’s administration, arguing the government’s actions will hurt millions of people around the world. Christians assembled at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church on Tuesday morning (March 11) for a “Prayer Vigil for Foreign Aid.” The Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of the group Bread for the World, denounced the “broad, un-targeted cuts” recently implemented at the U.S. Agency for International Development as an assault on vulnerable populations all over the globe. Natasha: The unusual vigil, featuring an array of evangelical organizations such as World Relief and the Accord Network publicly criticizing the federal government, came a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on social media that the government will cancel 83% of programs at USAID