Warren Smith

Charlotte

https://t.co/TqkjsUUjRQ; author of 10 books: Faith-Based Fraud, Restoring All Things, A Lover's Quarrel with the Evangelical Church, Prodigal Press, etc.

Articles

Ep. 457: Thoughts on Effective Compassion and The True Charity Network

1 week ago | ministrywatch.com | Warren Smith |NATASHA SMITH

Last week, nearly 300 ministry leaders who make up the True Charity Network gathered in Huntsville, Alabama. I was there. On this episode, I discuss what I saw and heard. To learn more about Watered Gardens and James Whitford, click here. Here are some of the checklists – called “Model Action Plans” — published by The True Charity Network. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe:
When a Church is Not a Church

1 week ago | ministrywatch.com | Warren Smith

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared in Christianity Today. It is reprinted with permission. Since 2020, more than 80 of the 1,000 largest Christian ministries in the US have asked the Internal Revenue Service to classify them as an “association of churches.” That means the ministries do not file a Form 990, a document that makes public information about revenue, expenses, and executive compensation.
When a Church Is Not a Church

1 week ago | christianitytoday.com | Warren Smith

More ministries call themselves churches or associations of churches to avoid disclosure requirements. Since 2020, more than 80 of the 1,000 largest Christian ministries in the US have asked the Internal Revenue Service to classify each of them as an "association of churches." That means the ministries do not file a Form 990, a document that publicizes information about revenue, expenses, and executive compensation.
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: True Charity Network Is Igniting A Charity Revolution

1 week ago | ministrywatch.com | Warren Smith

James Whitford has ignited a charity revolution, and the flames are spreading. That’s the conclusion I came to after spending a couple of days this week with Whitford and nearly 300 ministry leaders who make up the True Charity Network. They held their annual conference in Huntsville, Alabama, and it was the group’s largest to-date. We’ve told Whitford’s story before here at MinistryWatch.
MinistryWatch Index Was Unchanged In March

2 weeks ago | ministrywatch.com | Warren Smith

ANALYSIS–The MinistryWatch Index was unchanged during the month of March, at 152. The MinistryWatch Index is based on the revenue of 38 large Christian ministries, ministries that represent all of the 21 ministry segments tracked by MinistryWatch.
Ep. 453: Johnny Hunt and the SBC and Paula White’s Passover Controversy

2 weeks ago | ministrywatch.com | Warren Smith |NATASHA SMITH

On today’s program, a judge dismisses all but one of Johnny Hunt’s claims in his defamation case against the Southern Baptist Convention. The SBC has already spent more than $3 million in legal fees on the Hunt case. We’ll have details. Plus, Paula White is promising donors who give $1,000 to her ministry during Passover week seven “supernatural blessings” from God.
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: How To Distinguish Journalists from “Conflict Entrepreneurs”

1 month ago | ministrywatch.com | Warren Smith

In her excellent 2021 book High Conflict, Amanda Ripley coined (or at least popularized) the expression “conflict entrepreneur.” Conflict entrepreneurs, according to Ripley, are “people who exploit high conflict for their own ends.”Though Ripley’s book is not primarily about journalism, she notes that journalism has its fair share of conflict entrepreneurs. She says you can identify a conflict entrepreneur – in journalism and elsewhere – by certain behaviors, beliefs, and assumptions.
MinistryWatch Index Was Unchanged In February

1 month ago | ministrywatch.com | Warren Smith

ANALYSIS–The MinistryWatch Index was unchanged during the month of February, at 152. The MinistryWatch Index is based on the revenue of 38 large Christian ministries, ministries that represent all of the 21 ministry segments tracked by MinistryWatch. This month’s sideways move means that the MinistryWatch Index has been essentially unchanged after a significant drop in October due to the release of new financial information from four of ministries that saw declines in revenue from 2022 to 2023.
Ep. 448: A Success Story at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

1 month ago | ministrywatch.com | Warren Smith |NATASHA SMITH

It has been a rough couple of decades for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, but the school seems to have turned a corner and is headed in a new, positive direction. If the saga of SWBTS does indeed have a happy ending, or at least a thriving next chapter, a good bit of the credit can be attributed to one man: Dr. David Dockery. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. Until next time, may God bless you.
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Back From The Abyss

1 month ago | ministrywatch.com | Warren Smith

It has been a rough couple of decades for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Once upon a time, in those misty years of the 1990s, SWBTS, in Ft. Worth, Tex., was arguably the top seminary in the nation. Dr. Russell Dilday had turned it into a behemoth in about every way. It was the largest seminary in the nation, with 3,500 full-time equivalent students (and a total headcount of more than 5,000).