Ep. 486: Baylor University, The Church and AI, and How To Help Texas Flood Victims

On today’s program, Baylor University voluntarily rescinded their acceptance of an LGBTQ research grant after receiving pushback. The school’s president says their stance on biblical sexuality has not changed. We’ll have details. And, is a membership with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability worth the cost? We talked with current and former members. Also, the adoption of A-I in church operations is now mainstream…but pastors aren’t ready to use it for everything. Plus, a guide to giving to ministries helping with relief efforts in central Texas after floods devastated the area. First, a former member is suing John MacArthur’s megachurch for how it handled church discipline. 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, Tony Mator, Jim Vertigo, John Seewer, Jessica Eturralde, and Christina Darnell. Until next time, may God bless you.   MANUSCRIPT:    FIRST SEGMENT Warren:                                                        Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you 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 Warren: On today’s program, Baylor University voluntarily rescinded their acceptance of an LGBTQ research grant after receiving pushback. The school’s president says their stance on biblical sexuality has not changed. We’ll have details. And, is a membership with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability worth the cost? We talked with current and former members. Also, the adoption of A-I in church operations is now mainstream…but pastors aren’t ready to use it for everything. Plus, a guide to giving to ministries helping with relief efforts in central Texas after floods devastated the area. Natasha: But first, a former member is suing John MacArthur’s megachurch for how it handled church discipline. Warren: In a complaint filed Thursday (July 3) in Los Angeles County Superior Court, lawyers for Lorraine Zielinski said she went to leaders at the megachurch in LA’s Sun Valley neighborhood, where MacArthur is the longtime pastor, seeking counseling for her troubled marriage and was told her conversations would be kept confidential. According to the complaint, she told counselors she was afraid for her safety and the safety of her daughter, alleging that her then-husband was physically abusive. Her lawyers said church leaders pressured Zielinski to drop her request for a legal separation. When Zielinski tried to resign as a church member, pastors put her under church discipline for failing to follow their counsel, according to the complaint. They also allegedly told her to either come to a meeting with church pastors or details of her counseling would be made public to the congregation. Natasha: What happened? Warren: According to the complaint. “When Plaintiff did not attend the meeting, GCC made good on its threat and shared information gained through confidential communications relating to her marriage with GCC membership,” “GCC also misrepresented parts of these communications, painting Plaintiff as a bad actor in the marriage and the party at fault for the marital dispute. GCC also omitted Plaintiff’s husband’s desire to remarry and dissolve the marriage.” Natasha: Church members were also allegedly asked to pressure Zielenski to submit to church leaders and to reconcile with her husband, according to the complaint. Warren: Lawyers for Zielenski said the church violated her right to privacy and her right to free association, disclosed private facts, painted her in a false light, breached confidentiality and intentionally inflicted emotional distress. Grace Community Church did not reply to a request for comment; nor did lawyers for Zielenski. The lawsuit will likely face legal challenges on First Amendment grounds. Natasha: Next, news from Baylor University. Warren: Baylor University has reversed course and “voluntarily” agreed to rescind acceptance of a grant by the progressive Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation to fund research examining the “disenfranchisement and exclusion” of individuals from churches who identify as LGBT. In a statement on July 9, Baylor President Linda Livingstone announced that faculty with the Baylor School of Social work “voluntarily offered to rescind their acceptance of this grant.” The university’s primary concerns were not with the research itself, Livingstone said, but with the activities following the research —work that “extended into advocacy for perspectives on human sexuality that are inconsistent with Baylor’s institutional policies, including our Statement on Human Sexuality.” Natasha: The Statement on Human Sexuality, last updated in 2009, affirms the biblical understanding of human sexuality and recognizes that homosexuality is a deviation from the norm understood by Christian churches across the ages. Warren: She added that the university is committed to “providing a loving and caring community for all — including our LGBTQIA+ students.” Baylor University is the third largest Christian university in the country by total revenue. In the MinistryWatch 1000 database, it has a C transparency grade, only one out of five stars for financial efficiency, and donor confidence score of 36 out of 100, meaning donors should withhold giving. Natasha: Next, the latest from Gateway Church Warren: The Dallas-area Gateway megachurch is reducing the number of services at its campuses each weekend. According to a Gateway spokesperson, it will be cutting Saturday services at all of its campuses, except its flagship Southlake campus. This comes as part of the continued fallout after allegations sexual abuse surfaced against its founding pastor Robert Morris. Cindy Clemishire says Morris began abusing her in the 1980s when she was just 12 years old. He is currently facing a related indictment in Oklahoma. Gateway lists nine Texas campuses on its website and one in Wyoming. Natasha: In June, MinistryWatch reported that Gateway was planning to lay off some church staff because of financial challenges due to reduced tithing income. Warren: In spite of budget challenges, Gateway has named a new executive pastor — Nic Lesmeister — who has been on staff since 2020 and led the church’s Gateway Center for Israel and outreach ministries. Natasha: In related news, two more leaders at New Life Church in Colorado Springs have been asked to resign. Warren: Lance Coles, the executive pastor of adult discipleship, and Brian Newberg, chief financial officer, both were part of the search committee that hired Brady Boyd to lead the church in 2007. Boyd resigned his position in June after it became clear he misled the congregation regarding his knowledge of Morris’s alleged abuse of Clemishire when he was on staff at Gateway. According to the church, no other pastors who currently work at New Life knew about the situation involving Morris, outside of Coles and Newberg. Natasha: Next, A federal court is accusing a Charlotte realtor of scamming his own friends and church out of at least $1.7 million. Warren: Brian Shane Haigler of Mint Hill accepted a plea deal after being charged in late June with wire fraud. Federal court filings reviewed by WCNC allege Haigler conducted multiple schemes between February 2019 and December 2021, including one involving a federal Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). Natasha: This fraud might have been prevented if it had followed a simple rule regarding financial accountability. Warren: That’s right. Haigler was the sole signatory on the church’s bank account. That’s always a bad idea. As the sole signatory on the bank accounts of his church, whose identity was not revealed in the filings, Haigler obtained a $311,000 EIDL in the church’s name without the knowledge of church leaders, then kept the money. He received the loan from the Small Business Administration in April 2021, about a year after President Trump expanded the EIDL program as part of the CARES Act to assist small businesses and nonprofits financially harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Natasha: Haigler allegedly confessed his scheme to the pastor in March 2022, leading to one federal charge of wire fraud. But according to court filings, that was not his only crime. Warren: Prosecutors said Haigler embezzled the church out of an additional $389,000 between July 2019 and December 2021. Around that same period, he also scammed friends, acquaintances and fellow church members out of more than $1 million through a Ponzi-style scheme, claiming to invest their money in real estate purchases and property improvements. Unable to make good on the “flat 10% return” he promised, Haigler dipped into investors’ funds, as well as money embezzled from the church, to pay the earliest investors. Eventually, the payments dried up and investors began asking questions. Neither the identities of the alleged victims nor the details of the plea agreement have yet been made public. Natasha: Warren, let’s take a quick break. When we return, a Christian girls camp is grieving after 27 campers and counselors died due to devastating floods over the July 4th weekend. In all, over 100 people lost their lives throughout Central Texas because of the floods. 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,...