Ep. 472: Gateway Church, Doug Wilson’s Christ Church, Fuller Seminary

On today’s program, Gateway Church has named a new senior pastor. The appointment comes a year after child sexual abuse accusations surfaced against founding pastor Robert Morris. We’ll have details. And, the Department of Justice is suing a city in Idaho for discriminating against Christ the Redeemer Church—a church plant of Doug Wilson’s Christ Church. The church has been seeking a permit to meet in an old bank building—a request the city has denied. We’ll take a look. Plus, Gereld Duane Rollins—who sued SBC legend Paul Pressler for sexual abuse—has died. His lawsuit sparked a Southern Baptist abuse reckoning. But first, Fuller Seminary reaffirms its stance on biblical sexuality. The board of Fuller, a leading evangelical seminary voted to affirm its long-standing stance on biblical marriage and human sexuality during its May meeting. But an email to supporters May 22 caused confusion. The email defined the biblical and historical understanding of biblical sexuality as “a union between a man and a woman and sexual intimacy within the context of that union.” But in the same email, the seminary’s president also acknowledged that some “faithful” Christian denominations “have come to affirm other covenantal forms of relationship,” an unusual stance for an evangelical seminary. 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 Bob Smietana, Kim Roberts, and Laura Erlanson. A special thanks to Baptist Press 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, Gateway Church has named a new senior pastor. The appointment comes a year after child sexual abuse accusations surfaced against founding pastor Robert Morris. We’ll have details. And, the Department of Justice is suing a city in Idaho for discriminating against Christ the Redeemer Church—a church plant of Doug Wilson’s Christ Church. The church has been seeking a permit to meet in an old bank building—a request the city has denied. We’ll take a look. Plus, Gereld Duane Rollins—who sued SBC legend Paul Pressler for sexual abuse—has died. His lawsuit sparked a Southern Baptist abuse reckoning. Natasha: But first, Fuller Seminary reaffirms its stance on biblical sexuality. Warren: The board of Fuller, a leading evangelical seminary voted to affirm its long-standing stance on biblical marriage and human sexuality during its May meeting. In an email to supporters May 22, Fuller caused confusion. The email defined the biblical and historical understanding of biblical sexuality as “a union between a man and a woman and sexual intimacy within the context of that union.” But in the same email, the seminary’s president also acknowledged that some “faithful” Christian denominations “have come to affirm other covenantal forms of relationship,” an unusual stance for an evangelical seminary. Natasha: The acknowledgment that denominations can disagree on the issue and remain faithful led to an online firestorm about whether married gay students who belong to so-called “affirming” denominations might be allowed at the school. Or what will happen to faculty who affirm same-sex marriage. Warren: When asked how the comments about affirming Christians might affect the seminary’s ban on LBGTQ relationships for students, a spokesperson confirmed there was no official change to policy. “The board has made no changes to Fuller’s Community Standards, which all students commit to adhere to upon enrollment, and which states Fuller’s belief that ‘sexual union must be reserved for marriage, which is the covenant union between one man and one woman,” the school’s media contact wrote in an email to RNS. The school’s current community standards – which apply to students, faculty and staff — also state that “sexual abstinence is required for the unmarried.” “The seminary believes premarital, extramarital, and homosexual forms of explicit sexual conduct to be inconsistent with the teaching of Scripture,” according to the community standards. In the email update, Goatley wrote that he would be “working with the Board of Trustees, the administration, and the faculty to develop guidelines to continue living out our commitments.” Natasha: Next, Gateway Church Names a New Senior Pastor. Warren: The appointment comes after the resignation of founding pastor Robert Morris, who resigned last summer after Cindy Clemishire came forward with allegations that he had sexually abused her in the late 1980s when she was 12 years old. Morris has since been indicted by a grand jury in Oklahoma. Morris and Gateway are also currently engaged in a legal battle over retirement benefits. Natasha: So who will take the lead? Warren: The congregation was informed on Sunday, May 25 that the new pastors are Daniel and Tammie Floyd. They founded Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia, 20 years ago, and it has grown to include five campuses across the state. The Floyds said they plan to be at Gateway this coming weekend — May 31 and June 1. Daniel Floyd has a doctorate in ministry from Southeastern University and two master’s degrees from Liberty Theological Seminary. His wife, Tammie, has a bachelor’s in education from Liberty University. Natasha: Next, news from the Vineyard denomination. Warren: Vineyard USA has threatened that it will disassociate with the Duluth Vineyard congregation if certain matters between the two are not resolved by August 15. In a letter dated April 23, Super Regional Leader of Vineyard USA John Elmer expressed his concern with a “breakdown of trust and communication” between the national group and the local congregation. Natasha: What happened? Warren: The letter cites an inquiry into leadership behavior that is being conducted by Duluth Vineyard. According to an update on the Duluth Vineyard website, an independent investigation of interim pastor John Kliewer was conducted after the national group raised concerns that his actions were “unilateral, authoritarian, controlling, unreasonable, intimidating, and seething/burning with anger.” The church said Kliewer took a leave of absence during the investigation in order to “ensure transparency.” The investigation cleared Kliewer of the misconduct allegations, but did acknowledge that he might benefit from “thoughtful discussions and coaching.” Kliewer plans to take an extended leave because of the toll this fight has had on him. Natasha: In February, Kliewer publicly criticized Vineyard USA for its handling of accusations against former Duluth Vineyard leaders Michael and Brenda Gatlin, who resigned in 2023 amidst accusations that they had known about the alleged sexual abuse and leadership misconduct by their son, a former pastoral assistant at the church, but chose not to act. Warren: In November 2024, the Gatlins’ son, Jackson, entered into a plea agreement for the charges under which he will serve 13 years in prison, the Duluth News Tribune reported. Kliewer created a list of 20 actions he believes Vineyard USA must take to address abuse, including public and private apologies, establishing clear consequences for covering up abuse, and structural reforms to the Vineyard USA governance. Natasha: A January 27 letter by Duluth Vineyard in Ann Arbor, Mich., declared the church board “unanimously voted to immediately suspend all financial support to Vineyard USA through the 3% contribution required by the trademark agreement.” Warren: The letter goes on to demand the resignation of the Vineyard USA national director, disbanding of the current board of directors, and implementation of GRACE and Guidepost recommendations. The Duluth church voted to support those same demands in February. Natasha: Warren, let’s take a quick break. When we return, recent Trump administration proposals could have a chilling effect on private foundations and charitable organizations. MinistryWatch reached out to several private foundations and donor-advised funds that support Christian causes to see if they plan to increase their giving to make up for lost federal funding. 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: In 2023, foundation giving totaled over $103.5 billion, according to the National Philanthropic Trust, making them critical to the charitable work happening in the United States and around the world. Several recent Trump administration and Congressional policies and proposals could have a chilling effect on private foundations and charitable organizations. The House budget reconciliation bill—dubbed the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill”—that passed in the House last week and now moves to the Senate includes a proposed tax increase on the investment income earned by private foundations. Natasha: According to the bill, the tax rate would range from 1.39% for foundations with assets below $50 million to 10% for foundations with $5 billion or more in assets. Warren: Section 110011 of the bill would also put new limits on the charitable contributions of high-income taxpayers and corporations, thus disincentivizing charitable giving. ...