Discernment

On the G3 Scandal…

Michelle Lesley

This article will be continuously updated as
more information becomes available.

Readers, yes, I am aware of, and familiar with – on a variety of levels – the situation regarding G3 Ministries leadership / Prays Mill Baptist Church elders anonymously accusing Pastor Tom Buck of plagiarism in his sermons, which became public Monday, August 17.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about and have never heard of G3 Ministries or Pastor Tom Buck, you may be excused and go about your life blessedly happy and unbothered by what follows. I am primarily writing this a) for those who have attended G3 events, have used G3’s resources or are familiar with Tom, and b) because I have participated in G3 events, linked to their resources, and recommended them to you, and because Tom is a personal friend and dear brother in Christ whom I’ve mentioned here and linked to from time to time.

The Scandal

The scandal itself is quite detailed and involved. This is a very brief, very general synopsis of the situation (adapted from an upcoming episode of A Word Fitly Spoken):

On August 17, a scandal broke involving G3 Ministries and its founding church, Prays Mill Baptist Church (PMBC) of Douglasville, Georgia. In March 2026, members of G3 leadership including, it was later revealed, the four elders of PMBC, Scott Aniol, Matt Sikes, Jon Norton, and Dylan Joyner, anonymously and underhandedly sent (and/or had knowledge of the sending of) largely baseless and exaggerated accusations of sermon plagiarism to the leadership of Pastor Tom Buck’s church, First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas.

Tom’s church fully investigated the accusations, and they and Tom resolved the situation in a biblical way. But the outcome wasn’t satisfactory for these anonymous (at the time) accusers. When the situation wasn’t handled to their liking, they sent the accusations to former G3 conference speakers and other individuals and ministries outside of First Baptist, Lindale, urging them to look into the matter and make it public, all with the goal of ruining Tom’s ministry.

After these actions were exposed, three of the four elders were required by the deacons of PMBC to resign, and one (Dylan Joyner) voluntarily resigned. The elders wrote a letter of repentance from G3 Ministries to Tom and his church and publicized it on social media. There is credible circumstantial evidence that this letter was not genuine repentance.

G3 has now shut down the operation of its church network (where you can search for a G3-endorsed church), deleted its YouTube channel, and deactivated all of its social media accounts and the G3 website, which included the information and registration page for the G3 National Conference, scheduled for May of 2027. There has been no apology or statement from G3 Ministries or the current leadership of Prays Mill Baptist Church to the public or G3’s thousands of followers and supporters.

Questions and Details
Pertaining to the Scandal Itself

If you have questions or you’d like further details related to the scandal itself, I commend the following resources to you (and I would recommend that you read or watch them in the order in which they’re listed):

Exclusive: G3 Promised “Cooperative, Not Competitive.” The Anonymous Targeting Continued at Protestia

Haman’s Gallows by Phil Johnson

About that anonymous accusation against Tom Buck by Tom Ascol

Tom Buck Accused of Serial Plagiarism by Gabe Hughes (analysis of specific plagiarism allegations)

Four ‘Pray’s Mill Baptist Church’ Pastors Resign Over G3 Plagiarism Dossier Scandal at Protestia

G3 Announces They Are Shutting Down G3 Church Network ‘Effective Immediately,’ Apologizes For Sending Anonymous Plagiarism Dossier at Protestia

Walking Off the Plank in Their Own Eyes: The Dossier Comes for Aniol, Sikes, and Joyner at Protestia

Questions Pertaining to
the Fallout of the Scandal
and the Shut Down of G3 Ministries

Because neither G3 nor the current leadership of PMBC have issued any sort of statement communicating with G3’s followers and participants, many things are unclear in the wake of the scandal.

Below are some questions I’ve been asked and information I have been provided by my followers, along with some educated guesses on my part. I am not in contact with anyone at G3 or PMBC and have no “behind the scenes” knowledge of what is actually going on.

(For anyone from G3 who might be reading this and is tempted to take me or any of your other followers to task for guessing, speculating, and surmising, don’t. If you want people to know what’s actually going on, do what you should have already done and issue a public statement explaining these things. You have no one to blame for the speculation but yourselves and the way you’ve poorly and unbiblically handled this situation.)

The National Conference

It has not been made clear whether or not the National Conference has been canceled or will still take place in May 2027. Indeed, though the G3 website has been shut down, the conference site is (as of the morning of August 28) still active.

It is also unclear as to whether and how those who had already registered for the conference will receive or may request a refund. (There is a “contact” button at the event page. My suggestion would be to attempt to contact G3 about a refund that way.)

I would imagine there are questions among their followers as to why speakers like Todd Friel, Martha Peace, and others are still listed on the event page. I can’t answer that question. I would just remind you that this entire situation with G3 has happened very fast and very chaotically. I imagine that at least some of the speakers have withdrawn and, in all the chaos of dealing with larger issues, no one has gotten around to updating the event page yet. Remember, the speakers don’t have any control over the conference event page.

I would encourage you to be patient over the next week or two and then, if the event page is still up and a speaker you’re wondering about is still listed, you contact that speaker directly with your questions about his or her involvement.

Leadership Page at PMBC Still Lists Resigned Elders

As of the morning of August 28, the “Our Leaders” page of the PMBC website still lists all four elders who resigned as “Our Pastors”.

As I mentioned in the previous section, the situation with G3 has happened very fast and very chaotically, and I’m guessing that, in all the hullabaloo, someone simply hasn’t gotten the chance to update the website yet. It’s also possible that one of the elders who resigned was the webmaster and has the password, and the current PMBC leader who’s been tasked with updating the website has not yet been able to obtain the necessary information from that resigned elder to gain access to the website.

Again, I would urge patience. PMBC is understandably reeling after the blow they’ve been dealt, and in addition to the spiritual and emotional pain they’re trying to work their way through, they have to deal with the practical and mechanical aspects of employment termination paperwork for these four elders, updating the website, etc.

I would encourage you not to bother them right now, or in the near future, with questions about when the website will be updated. We know all four of the elders have resigned. That’s sufficient. They’ll get to the website when they get to it.

Living Heritage Homeschool Curriculum

A number of homeschoolers have contacted me with questions about the Living Heritage homeschool curriculum, created by Becky Aniol, wife of Scott Aniol, G3 president and now former PMBC elder.

As you might know, there was considerable overlap between G3 and Living Heritage (LH) in practice, even if not on paper. G3 promoted LH, Becky was frequently a breakout speaker on homeschooling at G3 events, I’ve been told there was some degree of overlap between LH’s digital platforms and G3’s digital platforms, etc. Due to all of this overlap, the LH community understandably wants to know if LH is also shutting down, and, if not, how the delivery of their materials will be affected by the technology overlap.

I’ve never used or even looked at the LH curriculum, so my knowledge of it and the LH digital platforms are limited to what I’ve been told by my followers in the LH community.

I have been told that neither the admins of the LH Facebook group, nor the admins of the Mighty Network app/portal have openly made any sort of statement or given any sort of explanation to their communities regarding if, or how, the overlap (technological or otherwise) between G3 and LH will affect the LH community and the access to LH curricula and materials.

I’ve been told that even questions unrelated to the scandal itself, such as how LH’s digital platforms might be affected by the shut down of the G3 website, have been removed from the Facebook group by admins (though admins did answer privately), and that admins have ignored similar questions about LH’s continued operation in the Mighty Network app.

As one LH user who contacted me pointed out, these are paying customers – some who have spent hundreds of dollars on LH curricula and materials – and, thus far, no one at LH has had the common courtesy (or even the financial motivation to keep them as customers, it would seem) to tell them what’s going on and alleviate their concerns.

Apparently, some LH users have been told privately by admins that, because the G3+ app and G3 Press are being taken over by another, as yet unnamed, person or ministry (more on this below), the delivery of LH curricula and materials will continue seamlessly.

The more common question I’ve been asked is, considering everything that’s happened, should we continue to support Scott Aniol and the vestige of G3 LH represents by continuing to use LH?

As much as I am inclined to simply tell you no, I can’t do that. Because, though heavily connected to G3, LH is a separate entity, this is an issue of Christian liberty and conscience. You must work through the decision-making process wisely, biblically, and prayerfully to arrive at the most godly decision possible for your individual family.

Here is the answer I’ve sent to followers asking if they should continue to use LH:

Hi _____,

It’s a tough spot they’ve put you in, isn’t it? Their [the elders’] sin forces you to make a difficult and confusing decision. I would take that into consideration.

I would also take into consideration…

  • that they’ve not addressed this with their homeschooling community. And they should.
  • You and others had questions, and the admins hid or ignored them. Is this a Christian way to handle things, or is complete transparency, openness, and a posture of repentance the Christian way to handle things?
  • Make sure you read the latter part of [the article linked above] Exclusive: G3 Promised “Cooperative, Not Competitive.” The Anonymous Targeting Continued dealing with the theology of PMBC. Scott was heavily involved in shaping that theology. Becky is married to Scott, and is or was a member of PMBC. She has absorbed, and will continue to absorb that theology. Their theology will come out in any content they have created, or may decide to create for LH in the future.
  • Scott just lost his job, and he and Becky may be relying on LH as a source of income.
  • Will your conscience allow you to continue to support them financially?
  • There are plenty of other good curricula available out there that don’t carry this kind of baggage with them.

I would take all of these things into prayerful consideration, discuss them at length with your husband, and possibly get some counsel from your pastor or a trusted, older “Titus 2” woman or couple at your church. Then, leave the decision up to your husband and submit to his leadership.

I’m sorry the ripple effects of this grievous sin have reached your shore.❤️

Another Ministry Acquiring
the G3+ App and G3 Press

The only information I have about another ministry acquiring G3 Press is:

  • Per what some have been told when inquiring about the Living Heritage homeschool curriculum (see above), the same (as yet unnamed) ministry is acquiring both the G3+ app and G3 Press, the publishing arm of G3.
  • Dave Jenkins and Darrell Harrison have publicly stated that they have requested that G3 return to them the rights to their works published through G3 Press. My guess is that other authors published through G3 Press have done the same.
  • I surmise (see below) that books and materials heretofore published by G3 Press will remain available through the G3+ app.

On Thursday, August 27, subscribers to the G3+ app were sent this email:

Many thanks to one of my followers, who is a G3+ subscriber, for providing the above screenshot.

There’s been much speculation as to which ministry will be acquiring the G3+ app and G3 Press. Again, I have no insider information on this from G3 or any “Ministry X” which might be acquiring it. Your guess is as good as mine. All I can say is that I would be very concerned if any or all of the four elders suddenly turned themselves into a “ministry,” or used an existing ministry they already owned to acquire these two platforms. These men are disqualified and do not need to be running any sort of ministry right now.

David Morrill, author of two of the Protestia articles linked above, shared some additional concerns here (or read the screenshots below):

Will “Ministry X” purchase the app and publishing platform, completely gut them, rebrand everything, and use these platforms for its own purposes and publications? I don’t think so because of what LH users have been told and what the email above says.

LH users have been told that the acquisition of these two platforms will not change LH’s connection to them, meaning LH users will still be able to access the same LH or G3 materials through the app that they previously accessed through G3+ or the G3 website. This means that at least some LH and/or G3 books and materials will remain at the app and in publication after the acquisition.

Additionally, the wording in the email could reasonably give us pause. The softer and more ambiguous “winding down” rather than the clearer and more final sounding “ending,” “closing,” or “shutting down”. The equally ambiguous “this work continues”. What or whose work will continue? The continuing writing, speaking, and creating work of one or more of the four elders? G3’s work? The new work of the acquiring ministry? Christian ministry in general?

I don’t have the answers to these questions. We will have to wait and see.

If you’re an author with G3 Press, you may want to consider doing what Darrell and Dave did and request the rights to your publications back. I don’t know all the ins and outs and legalities of whether or not this is a good idea for any particular individual, I’m just saying it’s worth considering.

If you subscribe to the G3+ app, and you’re unsure whether or not to cancel your subscription, I think the wisest course of action would be to wait a week or two to find out if the transition has been made, who is acquiring the app, and what, if any, involvement any of the four elders will continue to have with the app. Then make your decision once you’re informed.

Where do WE go from here?

At the time I’m posting this, because no statement has been issued by G3 or the current leadership of PMBC, it is unknown what, if any, plans anyone who’s still in some sort of leadership at G3 has for the future of the ministry. But with the public outcry against their ungodly actions and the aforementioned extent to which they have already shut down, it is unlikely there is any sort of future for G3. From all appearances, they would not be able to survive this tragic implosion even if they wanted to.

Nor should they.

From all appearances, G3 would not be able to survive this tragic implosion even if they wanted to. Nor should they.

As Phil Johnson said at the end of his article (above), “…frankly, it is time for G3 to dissolve and go away.” Permanently. Nobody from the outside needs to come in, take the helm of G3 Ministries, and try to raise and repair the Titanic. G3 does not need to lie fallow for a few years, then rebrand and make an embarrassing attempt at a comeback. G3 is dead, and no one ought to try to resurrect it.

G3 is dead, and no one ought to try to resurrect it.

It was just a little over a year ago that the very similar Josh Buice (then president of G3 and pastor of PMBC) scandal broke. Accusations, allegations, and criticism leveled from far away, under the shadows of anonymity, against faithful, doctrinally sound pastors and theologians… It’s as if today’s third grader copied the answers on his math test from a kid who flunked last year. The PMBC elders took a page out of Josh Buice’s book in the worst way possible. What would possess any Christian to do such a thing, and how in the world did Josh or the PMBC “gang of four” ever think they would go undiscovered forever? We may never know the true reasons in either of these cases.

It’s as if today’s third grader copied the answers on his math test from a kid who flunked last year. The PMBC elders took a page out of Josh Buice’s book in the worst way possible.

It’s been a tough couple of years in the Reformed camp…

Alistair Begg betrayed Christ, His Word, and us on the issue of “transsexual” “marriage”.

Steve Lawson committed adultery.

The Josh Buice scandal.

We lost John MacArthur and Voddie Baucham.

And now… this. It’s a lot to process.

Obviously, I’m saddened and appalled by the despicable and ungodly acts committed by G3’s leadership/PMBC’s elders, and disappointed that I can no longer recommend G3 as helpful resource to you.

I’m righteously angry that these cowardly men disrupted the peace and unity of a good church and attempted to sabotage the stellar ministry and reputation of a faithful and discerning shepherd, a courageous Christian statesman, and my beloved brother in Christ, Tom.

I’m incredulous that God gave these four men the perfect example of how not to handle disagreements with others – gift wrapped with a bow on top, and placed right in their very hands only a year prior – and for inexplicable and unfathomable reasons and motives, they went right ahead and did almost the exact same thing anyway.

I’m frustrated, exasperated, and offended that G3 has so rudely jilted all of us who loved, recommended, and supported them with our time, energy, influence, and, collectively, hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years, without so much as a “Dear John” letter. We’ve been ghosted, y’all.

I’m frustrated, exasperated, and offended that G3 has so rudely jilted all of us who loved, recommended, and supported them, without so much as a “Dear John” letter. We’ve been ghosted, y’all.

Where do we go from here as followers of and participants in G3’s ministry events and resources?

Don’t support G3. In any way. Do not give them one more word of support, one more second of your time, one more cent of your money.

  • If you’ve already registered for the 2027 national conference, cancel your reservations.
  • Don’t order any more G3 books or materials.
  • If it turns out that one or more of the elders are “Ministry X” that is acquiring G3+, cancel your subscription.
  • Because Scott Aniol plays a major part, practically and theologically, in Living Heritage, you may wish to consider whether or not to continue using the LH curriculum.

And whatever you do, don’t feel sorry for or defend these seemingly unrepentant men. Supporting G3, or the elders responsible for this sin, in any way, is doing them a disservice. People who do not feel the pain of the consequences of sin do not repent. Paradoxically, if you want to help these men, stop supporting G3.

People who do not feel the pain of the consequences of sin do not repent. Paradoxically, if you want to help them, stop supporting G3.

Pray. Pray that the Lord would sustain and help Tom, his family, and his church to heal from this ordeal, and to come out on the other side stronger for it. Pray that if the four elders are not genuinely repentant, that God would make them so, and that they would bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Pray for their wives, children, and families who most likely didn’t know about any of this and didn’t ask for any of this. Pray for the staff members at G3 who were not involved in this scandal. They’ve almost certainly just lost their jobs with zero notice. Pray for the deacons and members of PMBC. Can you imagine your church suddenly and immediately losing your pastor and all of your elders to a sinful situation like this? Who’s going to lead the church? Who’s going to preach? What is going on? Why were we blindsided with all of this? Who can we trust now? Pray for yourself, that the Lord would help you think and respond biblically to this situation.

Don’t lose your sense of trust. Don’t allow this scandal to be a reason or an excuse for sinfully building a wall around yourself and deciding that no one in Christian leadership – including your pastor and church leadership – can be trusted. To believe that lie is to believe the same Devil that influenced the PMBC elders to sin.

Your ultimate trust should be in Christ. No human being should receive the trust God has given you that is reserved for Him alone. But there are trustworthy – not perfect – but blameless, upright, and trustworthy people in Christian ministry and leadership in the local church and in greater evangelicalism.

You can’t live your life refusing to trust anyone. God didn’t design us to function that way.

Don’t abandon the local church. In the same way that you can’t allow this scandal to convince you not to trust people, you can’t use it as a reason or an excuse to abandon the local church altogether. That is sinful, and, furthermore, it indicates that you aren’t genuinely saved.

(Sadly, in this day and age, you will probably have to leave a particular local church at some point due to its embrace of false teachers, unrepentant sin by the leadership, or some other legitimate biblical issue. Leaving a church for biblical reasons – after doing your best to work things out – and finding a new, doctrinally sound church is not the same thing as abandoning the idea of church altogether.)

Give your heart and your loyalty primarily to your local church. God’s plan for the teaching and preaching of the Word, for fellowship, for doing the “one anothers,” for serving, giving, counseling, discipleship, and your sanctification, is the local church, not parachurch ministries (incuding mine). Don’t pour your heart out promiscuously to any and every parachurch ministry that comes along, or even to one favorite ministry. Pour your heart, your love, your service, dedication, and loyalty into the church you’re a member of, and keep your focus there. That’s God’s plan and design for Christians.

Pour your heart, your love, your service, dedication, and loyalty into the church you’re a member of, and keep your focus there. That’s God’s plan and design for Christians.

Learn. David’s adultery. Noah’s drunkenness. Solomon’s idolatry. Judas’ betrayal. And G3’s scandal. One of the reasons God pulls back the curtain – in the Bible and today – and allows us to see people blowing their lives up with sin is to warn us of the consequences we’ll reap from our own sin, and so that we might learn not to repeat the sins of others. Take the free advice God gave the PMBC elders. They spurned it. You learn it. Or you just might be the next example God allows others to learn from.

Your sin will find you out. You might sin and get away with it or keep it a secret, but it’s unlikely. Most of us aren’t criminal masterminds when it comes to covering our tracks. You want to avoid the fallout these elders are experiencing? Don’t sin. And if you do sin, stop it immediately and repent. Forget about the earthly consequences with human beings – God knows what you did. And that should scare the living daylights out of you.

Repent rightly. As you’ve read in some of the articles above, the elders did not repent right. You must rightly understand and meditate on what Scripture says about your particular sin. Realize that your sin nailed Christ to the cross. He took the punishment you deserved for it. Stand broken, undone, and without excuse before God, confess everything without reservation, and ask Him to cleanse you. Then ask Him to give you the wisdom, courage, and love for Him and the people you’ve sinned against to thoroughly and rightly repent to them, ask their forgiveness, and make restitution, if possible. Do everything in your power to make things right with them.

As for me, I’m going to join you in doing all of the above. I’ll also be removing all G3 links from the blog. I’ve already removed the G3 Church Network from my list of church search engines at my church finder resource – the Searching for a new church? tab (in the blue menu bar at the top of this page).

If your church was listed at the G3 Church Network and would like to find a new place to list, I would be glad to consider it
for inclusion on my list of recommended churches.

If your church was listed at the G3 Church Network and would like to find a new place to list, I would be glad to consider it for inclusion on my list of recommended churches.

Removing all the G3 links from the last 10-12 years of blogging is a daunting prospect, but it will have to be done, if for no other reason than the fact that the G3 website has been shut down and the links will only take you to a “404 error” page. I will have to remove links gradually, as I come across them, so thank you in advance for your patience. If you’re reading one of my articles and come across a link to a G3 resource (or any other problematic link, for that matter), I’d be most grateful if you’d drop me a comment, DM, or email alerting me to it so I can remove or replace it.

If the Lord permits, Amy and I will also be addressing the G3 scandal – from a biblical perspective, as always – on at least two upcoming episodes of A Word Fitly Spoken in the near future.

I’m tired, y’all. I’m powerful tired.

And I know you are, too.

But the Lord is good.

Steal away with Him and meditate on His goodness. Lose yourself in the wonder of His Word. Commune with Him in sweet hours of prayer. Throw your head back and sing to Him with all your might in worship.

And get a good night’s sleep.

Because another battle’s coming tomorrow.

Press on.

Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14
Parenting

The 10 Commandments of Parenting- 3

Michelle Lesley

Originally published May 7, 2008

3.

Thou shalt have a Christ-centered marriage.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

There are so many little details to attend to when you’re planning a wedding. Will the guests throw rice or blow bubbles? Will the bouquets be wrapped with pink ribbon or white? Will the groomsmen wear bow ties or regular ties? For someone like me who has to see absolutely every option available to her before making a decision, it can be a daunting and time-consuming task. Such was the day I sat down to pick out napkins for my reception.

Before I undertook the planning of a wedding, I never would have guessed that it would take more than about 30 seconds to choose napkins. You just pick out some napkins that go along with the color scheme of the wedding, right? Au contraire. In my day, there were huge ring binders (yes, that’s binders, plural) chock full of hundreds of napkins in every imaginable color, size and texture. Once you nail down those preferences, you have to choose what you want embossed on the napkins. There, too, the choices are nearly endless.

So, I flipped through page after page of embossment designs, finding them either too corny, too plain, or otherwise unacceptable. Finally, I came to a very interesting one that I eventually chose. It quoted the second half of Ecclesiastes 4:12, “A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”.

I had never noticed this little verse before that day, but I thought about how beautifully the principle behind the passage could apply to a Christ-centered marriage. When a person is alone, she can quickly become overwhelmed. A spouse can help to bear the burdens of life, but the strength of a marriage of only two people pales in comparison to a marriage centered around a third Person- Christ.

The primary reason our marriages must center around Christ is that it brings Him glory. But there are certainly blessings to our homes that go along with honoring and obeying Christ in our marriages. Study after study has shown that children do best in a home where their parents are married to each other. They are physically and emotionally healthier, do better in school, are less likely to commit crimes, etc. But when you add in the component of spouses treating each other in a godly manner and striving to set a godly example for their children, the quality of the home environment rises even higher. Just as putting God first in our own personal lives makes us better parents, so, putting Christ first in our marriages glorifies God and benefits us and our children exponentially.

Mailbag

The Mailbag: Elder crusading for approval of unbiblical missions organization

Michelle Lesley

Originally published August 27, 2024

I want to handle a situation biblically. I am on my church’s mission committee. We have been asked to support [a parachurch missions organization, henceforth, “PMO”]. Several members of the committee have voiced concerns over the PMO’s position on CRT [Critical Race Theory] and LQBTQ issues. We have provided evidence in the form of video and internal PMO documents. We voted not to support this PMO, but after the meeting, the elder who oversees our committee emailed and said we can only voice issues if we have evidence from the PMO’s public website, and he has scheduled a meeting for us to listen to the PMO’s representatives share their ministry because he believes we are misrepresenting it. I do not want to attend this meeting. I am not even sure if I should continue serving on the committee. He only gave us 24 hours notice of the meeting. How should I respond?

(I have redacted the name of this particular PMO because the reader’s question is about how to handle this situation, not about the PMO itself, and because my answer could apply to any number of demonstrably false teachers or organizations. To name this well known organization would require me to provide and explain the voluminous evidence that this PMO does, indeed, vehemently endorse CRT (watch the video series linked above) and is becoming increasingly unbiblical in their position on perversion. I plan to deal with that in another article about this particular PMO at some point, but dealing with it here would make this article much too long and involved.)

I know that’s a difficult spot to be in, and, having been in similar situations myself, I certainly sympathize.

If you’re married, and your husband is a Christian, the first thing you should do (which you probably have done, I just like to begin at the beginning) is to thoroughly discuss this with your husband and find out what he wants you to do, and do that.

Hebrews 13:17a says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.” This elder is not doing his Titus 1:9, 3:10-11 duty to keep watch over the souls of his flock. He is harming them and calling some of them (the discerning committee members) liars. And he will have to give an account of all of that to God. You discerning committee members are actually God’s grace to him to protect him from this sin and subsequent judgment, and he apparently doesn’t realize or appreciate that.

He’s got several credible, doctrinally sound committee members coming to him, warning him about a legitimate biblical issue, and he’s basically telling them they’re wrong in favor of letting the serpents come into the church and further deceive him and the other, less discerning, members of the committee.

The point of this is for the members of the committee to be swayed to support him and the PMO because this is what he wants. He wants to support the PMO. If they’re doing the things you and the other concerned committee members say they’re doing (and they are – there’s plenty of reputable evidence out there to prove it, including what you found), does he really think the representatives are going to admit to it when they visit? Of course not. They’re going to speak, softly, gently, and lovingly. They’re going to be personable and witty. They’re going to give all the right biblical answers. They’re going to say whatever they think this elder wants to hear so he’ll side with them and give them the church’s money.

Something Amy and I have discussed several times on the podcast is this dynamic of sensuality (in the classical sense of the word: “appealing to the senses” of sight, hearing, etc.). It’s exactly what Satan did in the Garden to convince Eve to eat the fruit (see the section on Genesis 3, here). He smooth talked her and appealed to her senses – her feelings – which she followed over her reason: that which she already knew with her brain that God had commanded. (Sensuality is why, for example, it’s easier to be objective about whether or not the lyrics of a worship song are biblical when you read the lyrics from a piece of paper rather than listening to the song. The music appeals to your sense of hearing and your emotions, which can override your rational, objective reasoning.)

That’s why – whether he realizes it or not – your elder is bringing these people in to meet with you in person. It’s a lot easier to appeal to people’s senses and feelings face to face and with your sincere tone of voice and sparkling personality than it is to sway them with facts on a piece of paper.

I really hate to say these things about your elder, but either he’s being underhanded, or he’s well intentioned, yet incredibly gullible and undiscerning. (In fact, he may be allowing his feelings of sentimentality for this PMO to sway him even though he can clearly see the evidence that their beliefs and practices contradict Scripture.)

Either way, assuming this is his general state instead of this being a one time slip up, both of these things are disqualifying (see the qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9). One of the requirements for elders in the Titus 1 passage is in verse 9:

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught,
so that he may be able to give instruction in
sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

He’s not “rebuking those who contradict” sound doctrine (the PMO), he’s being a corrupt gatekeeper and welcoming the wolves into his sheepfold. If he doesn’t repent, especially if this is a pattern for him, he has disqualified himself from eldership.

An additional issue is – what in the world is going on here with your church’s polity? Your committee voted not to fund this PMO and this elder singlehandedly overrules the committee? Why does the committee even exist? Is it just supposed to be a rubber stamp for whatever any particular elder wants? That’s not biblical.

Furthermore, why is he so locked in on this particular PMO? There are dozens of doctrinally sound missions organizations out there that your church could support and that your committee and your elder could probably unanimously agree on. Why does it have to be this PMO? (My guess: He worked for them in the past or has some sort of personal connection to them, ergo, the sentimentality, or there’s somebody he knows who works for this PMO that he wants to support using the church’s finances. This could be a conflict of interest.)

What I would do is to go to the meeting with my phone in hand, voice memo app open, and let it be known that you’re going to be recording the meeting so you can listen to it again later to make sure you haven’t misunderstood or missed anything. Do not try to hide the fact that you’re recording it. That makes you look sneaky and deceptive, plus, you have nothing to hide. You’re not doing anything wrong. This is just an electronic form of taking notes. Additionally, if you’re told, by the elder or the PMO representatives, that you can’t record the meeting, that speaks volumes about their motives.

After the meeting, the discerning members of the committee should go back to the elder and talk to him again. (You might want to really emphasize my point above that if the PMO were guilty of doing these things, they wouldn’t admit it.). If he digs his heels in and your church hierarchy has another elder or head pastor above him in the chain of command, make an appointment with him, take your whole group, and express your concerns to him. Go as far up the chain of command as you can until you get to the top or until somebody listens and deals with this elder.

If the elder is at the top of the chain of command, and supporting false teachers/doctrine is typical of the way he operates, and he doesn’t repent, you need to find out what your church’s protocol is for initiating church discipline with an elder and the discerning male members of the committee, your husband, and/or other appropriate men should initiate it. If there is no protocol and he can’t be removed and doesn’t repent, I’d go ahead and find a new church. But until you do (or if you decide to stay at this church despite this issue), explore your church’s options for designating your offerings so your money doesn’t go to support this PMO.

Readers, if you’re going through any sort of similar situation at your church, you may wish to explore my article The Mailbag: How should I approach my church leaders about a false teacher they’re introducing?

If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Parenting

The 10 Commandments of Parenting- 2

Michelle Lesley

Originally published May 2, 2008

2.

Thou shalt put God first in thine own life.

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5

Christians were designed by God to glorify Him, and the way we do that is for Christ to have preeminence in every aspect of our lives. It’s kind of like having your car in the proper alignment. When you’re a Christian and you’re striving after God’s heart for your life, even when problems arise, things tend to go much more smoothly and peacefully. God comes first, and everything falls in line behind that. If you’re a Christian walking in disobedience to God’s Word or trying to do things in your own strength instead of depending on Christ, there is going to be an undercurrent of feeling out of whack (because, let’s face it, things are out of whack), like you’re spinning your wheels. You’re likely to be more irritable, fearful, and confused.

From which of these spiritual places do you want to come when relating to and rearing your children? Which is more beneficial to you and to them? Which is more pleasing to God?

When you’re obeying God and staying in His Word and in prayer every day, He is working in you to make you more Christlike. More patient, more kind, more conformed to His image. He’s making you a better daughter to Him, a better wife to your husband, a better mother to your children, a better friend to those around you, a better employee to your boss.

It’s the Army’s slogan, but I think it fits Christianity so much better: “Be all that you can be.” And that can only be done in Christ, because without Him, we are nothing. Pursue Christ first- to glorify God, for your own good, and to better serve your family.

Bible Study

You Have What it Takes to Lead a BIBLE Study?

Michelle Lesley

Originally published February 1, 2019

I am so sick of women’s ministry/discipleship/”Bible” study that centers around narcissistic navel-gazing, I could vomit. My hurts, my feelings, my opinions, my self image.

Newsflash- You’re not the only person on the planet who’s ever been hurt or had problems.

And wallowing in the hurt and your emotions has never been the way to heal and feel better. Healing from the hurt comes from taking your focus off yourself and placing it on Christ: studying the actual Bible, obeying His commands, walking in holiness, praying, worshiping, serving others.

These canned “Bible” studies that masquerade as teaching the Bible – maybe even have the name of a book of the Bible in the title – yet all the “study” questions are about you, your preferences, and how you feel, are doing you no favors, ladies. They are keeping you enslaved to your hurts and self idolatry so you’ll continue to buy more and more of these books. Don’t be naive. Lifeway, CBD¹, and all the major “Christian” publishers know that there’s no money to be made in telling you to study your Bible. If you study your Bible you might actually grow in Christ, learn to glorify Him instead of your own opinions, heal from your hurts, and learn to handle your problems in a biblical way. And then all these divangelistas – whose main function in life seems to be exegeting stories from their own lives and telling you all about their pain- will be out of a job because you won’t need them, their books, their DVDs, their conferences, their simulcasts, or their merch, any more.

The Christian retail machine doesn’t make money when you follow what the Bible says to do: sit under good preaching and teaching at your own church, disciple women in your own church, be discipled by godly older women in your church, serve your church, attend your church like your life depends on it (because your spiritual life does), study your Bible every day, live in obedience to Christ. 

You’re being played and you’re being used by Big Christian Retail, ladies. Stop clinging to the pretty little gilded shackles they have locked around your wrists. Break free and experience the freedom in Christ that can only come from walking faithfully with Him in His Word.

I’m no prophet, nor a son of a prophet, but sometimes I think I might have a tiny inkling of how Jeremiah felt when he said:

If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
Jeremiah 20:9

When I see the way so many professing Christian pastors, leaders, and teachers in the public eye damage the spiritual lives of their followers by adulterating God’s Word, biblical anger wells up inside me. And sometimes, the pressure gets to be too much and it finds a way to escape, like it did the other day when I tweeted the remarks above.

I hate with a holy, biblical hatred what the Christian retail machine, overall, has done to Christians, particularly Christian women, by feeding them fluff and false doctrine.

Go back and read the robust theological thoughts and writings of some of the women who helped usher in the Reformation. And then go stick your head in the door of the average women’s “Bible” study at the church down the street and listen to the teaching and comments. We didn’t get to where we are today without somebody poisoning the water hole.

So it was with no small sense of irony that two days after I had let the fire loose on Twitter, I found myself clicking – with much trepidation – on an article from Lifeway Women that popped up in my feed: You Have What It Takes to Lead a Bible Study.

It was written by a darling young lady named Mickey who made several very good points and was charming and encouraging. I’m certain she wanted the article to be helpful and edifying, and I have no points of contention with her personally. This article was a work product. It expresses Lifeway’s position, not necessarily Mickey’s personal thoughts and opinions. (I wrote for a Lifeway publication once. Believe me, if what you’ve written doesn’t match what they’re trying to convey, they edit it until it does. Which, as a business, they certainly have a right to do.)

“What might Lifeway Women think qualifies someone to lead² a Bible study?” I wondered, as I waited for the page to load. “I have what it takes? What does it take in their eyes?”

The first point of the article was to address women’s feelings of inadequacy about leading a Bible study and reassure them. Feelings. Not what the Bible says about teaching God’s Word, or the qualifications for doing so, or even the other women’s need for the teaching of Scripture. Feelings. For Lifeway, the major obstacle to overcome for a woman who’s on the fence about teaching a Bible study is her feelings of inadequacy.

And how did Lifeway address those feelings of inadequacy and offer reassurance? Again, not with Scripture (indeed, no Scriptures are quoted or even referenced in the article), but by exegeting a personal anecdote from the author’s life. “I felt inadequate too, but then I gave it a try and I was successful. So if you’re feeling inadequate to lead, just give it a try. You’ll be successful, too.” It may be an oversimplification, but that’s the take away.

If this methodology sounds familiar to you, maybe it’s because you’ve worked through one of Lifeway’s most popular women’s “Bible” studies. Generally speaking, this is the core of the majority of Lifeway’s women’s “Bible” study products: your feelings and the exegesis of personal stories from the author’s life to relate to and address those feelings.

The article went on to quote a recent Lifeway Women survey which asked women,

“What is the biggest obstacle keeping you from leading a Bible study?”

Know what the number one answer was? “I don’t feel like I know enough to lead.” (Again with the feelz.)

Is it any wonder, when, for decades now, evangelical women have been fed a steady diet of nothing but girlfriend stories that they feel inadequate to teach the Bible? Of course they feel inadequate! They don’t know their Bibles because the materials they’ve been getting from Lifeway all this time haven’t taught them the Bible. They likely know more about their favorite author than they do about Jesus. Most of them probably correctly feel inadequate because they don’t know enough to lead.

Feelings of inadequacy aren’t wrong simply because they make you feel bad. Sometimes your feelings of inadequacy are wrong because you’re neurotic or unrealistically anxious, and sometimes they’re right because you don’t have the skills to handle the task you’re attempting. We’ve all watched enough American Idol auditions to know that.

Our feelings need to be informed, molded, and submitted to the facts of God’s written Word. And what does God’s written Word have to say about whether or not you have what it takes to lead a Bible study?

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
James 3:1

Where Lifeway issues a blanket “anybody can do it” encouragement to the hundreds of women (whom Lifeway has never laid eyes on and has no idea whether or not they’re biblically qualified to teach God’s Word) reading this article – “…trust me, friend, you have what it takes, too” – the Bible says that teaching Scripture is a solemn, weighty ministry fraught with the burden of responsibility of imparting God’s Word correctly. And precisely because of that, “not many” should become teachers.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15

What does Lifeway think qualifies someone to lead a Bible study? “…a willing spirit, an open heart for new friendships, and thirst for more of God.” Is that what the Bible says about qualifying for the lofty responsibility of teaching God’s Word? No. The Bible says we need to work hard at studying, understanding, and rightly handling God’s Word so that we don’t end up twisting it or teaching something that conflicts with it. We need to be able to stand before God unashamed to say, “I worked hard, and studied long, and did my very best to teach your Word accurately.”

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.
2 Timothy 2:24-25a

Lifeway seems to think getting over your feelings of inadequacy means you have what it takes to lead a Bible study. The Bible says there’s a much higher standard. Are you even able to teach – to accurately explain what God’s Word says, in a way women can understand, and help them correctly apply it to their lives? Are you quarrelsome? Kind? Able to endure evil patiently? Do you know and can you handle Scripture well enough to correct someone who makes an unbiblical argument, and can you do it gently?

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Titus 2:3-5

Lifeway doesn’t address the character needed to teach the Bible. The Bible says you’re to be mature and behave reverently, you’re not to gossip or slander others, and you’re not be controlled by alcohol (or anything else, for that matter).

While one of Lifeway’s tips for leading a small group is to choose a study that fits the “interests, preferences, and characteristics” of the women in your group, the Bible doesn’t really care what they’re interested in or prefer to learn. It prescribes what they need to learn. Do you know “what is good” according to Scripture? You have to know that if you’re going to teach it. And you also have to know what the Bible says about wives loving and submitting to their husbands, loving their children, being self-controlled, kind, and pure, and working at home, if you’re going to teach those things.

 The Bible says you have to know your Bible to teach a women’s Bible study. You have to have certain skills, abilities, and character traits. Not just anybody can do it. Not just anybody should do it.

Do you have what it takes to lead a Bible study? If you want to know, don’t check with Lifeway. Check your Bible.

¹Christianbook.com – It used to be called Christian Book Distributors. Old habits die hard. :0)

Additional Resources:

Bible Studies

Basic Training: Bible Studies and Sermons

²McBible Study and the Famine of God’s Word
After I finished writing You Have What it Takes to Lead a BIBLE Study? I noticed that the Lifeway article exclusively used the phrase “lead a Bible study” rather than “teach a Bible study.” This is likely due to the fact that many Lifeway studies do not require the leader to teach so much as to play a DVD of a popular Lifeway author teaching. It is probably also intentional – to encourage women to lead without that pesky little need to be biblically qualified to teach. However, most people still rightly understand “leading a Bible study” to mean teaching the Bible, thus the survey response of “I don’t feel like I know enough to lead,” and Mickey’s own fear that “I don’t know enough about the Bible to lead…”. You don’t need to know much about the Bible to push a button on a DVD player. McBible Study and the Famine of God’s Word addresses this harmful practice and the need for the church to have trained teachers teaching the Bible.

4 Ways We’re Getting Women’s Discipleship Wrong, and How We Can Get it Right!

The Mailbag: “We need to stop relying on canned studies,” doesn’t mean, “We need to rely on doctrinally sound canned studies.”.