Or maybe I answered your question already? Check out my article The Mailbag: Top 10 FAQs to see if your question has been answered and to get some helpful resources.
I am wondering what your thoughts are on remarriage post divorce?
Great question, but let me tweak it just a little bit. “My thoughts” on remarriage after divorce are irrelevant. As Christians, what we want to know is what the Bible has to say about it. Unfortunately, every situation is different, so I can’t give you a simple answer that would apply to every single situation out there. But here are a few general biblical principles:
God makes clear throughout Scripture that He doesn’t like divorce and that He intends marriage to be for life.
There are two biblical grounds for divorce: adultery and abandonment. It is not a sin for a Christian to initiate a divorce when his/her spouse is guilty of one of these. Remarriage after a divorce for one of these two reasons is biblically permissible and is not a sin for the Christian.
But even in cases where there are biblical grounds for divorce, God does not require it. Scripture is saturated with the teachings of repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation, even after heinous sin, and if reconciliation is in any way possible after a spouse’s sin, that is the route that should be pursued, with copious amounts of pastoral counseling.
If you are a Christian who has been divorced (either before or after salvation) and you’re thinking about remarriage, my best counsel would be this: If you’re not already joined to a doctrinally sound church, find one and join it immediately, then set up an appointment with your pastor so he can shepherd you through applying Scripture to your particular situation. (If, for some reason, you can’t go to a doctrinally sound pastor for counsel, check out the Biblical Counseling Resources tab in the blue menu bar at the top of this page.)
I have been thinking about cessationism and spiritual gifts for single women in the church—especially those who have been converted later in life with no prospects of marriage or child rearing in their future. What are they to do, and how does the Reformed church help these women find and nurture their spiritual gifts for the service of the church?
I’m so glad you asked. Every Christian is given at least one spiritual gift by God to use for serving the church. (I’m a little confused as to what marriage and parenting have to do with that. God gives spiritual gifts to every Christian, regardless of his or her station in life, and spiritual gifts are primarily for serving the church, not the family.)
There are a variety of spiritual gifts, but because the sign gifts have fulfilled their function and ceased, miracle working, healing, extra-biblical revelation (prophecy), and the ability to spontaneously speak a foreign language (“tongues”) are not among the gifts God bestows today.
“The Reformed Church,” as you’ve termed it, isn’t really a monolithic entity. There are all kinds of Reformed churches. You would have to ask each individual local church how they help their members find and nurture their spiritual gifts.
Personally, I do not recommend so-called spiritual gifts tests. However, I have developed a resource that I think will help Christians who are trying to find a place of service in the church as well as discover their spiritual gifting (and for churches who are trying to help their members with that). It’s called The Servanthood Survey.
I am one of the leads of a prayer group that also does a Bible study. We are doing chapter by chapter in the Old Testament. Most of the ladies are name it and claim it and speaking prophecy, casting out demons, health and prosperity expectations, one speaks in tongues, etc. I have disagreed with this which has upset the women for the sake of unity. I have stayed to try to give the opportunity to share Biblical Gospel, but it wears me out after each session. I let the pastor know. He’s planning changes to the group and I’ve let him know I’m not going to lead the group anymore. I feel like I’m letting God down. I also need to think of my spiritual well being. This is a Wesleyan church BTW. I plan on using your Bible studies. Your thoughts will be appreciated.
Having been in a few situations like this, I can certainly understand how spiritually, and therefore emotionally and physically draining this kind of thing is. This is true spiritual warfare.
I’m not quite clear as to whether or not you’re a member of this church, but if you are, you shouldn’t be. Any church, Wesleyan or not, that condones, encourages, or fails to teach biblically about “name it and claim it and speaking prophecy, casting out demons, health and prosperity expectations, [speaking in] tongues, etc.” is not a doctrinally sound church, and it’s no place for genuinely regenerated Christians. You can’t have “unity” with false doctrine and, very likely, false converts.
You’re not letting God down. On the contrary, you need to run, not walk, out of that den of demonic activity as fast as you can and find a doctrinally sound church to join.
It’s admirable that you’ve tried your best to teach these women biblically, but you cannot continue to be a member of this church. And even God the Father, Jesus, and their admonitions in Scripture don’t teach us to keep pursuing indefinitely people who have rejected biblical truth:
Think about Old Testament Israel. God pursued them, disciplined them, sent them prophets, performed miracles – the whole works – and He bore with them in their idolatry and disobedience for hundreds of years. But not forever. He eventually sent them into exile.
Remember the story of Jesus and the rich young ruler? Did Jesus chase him down and keep trying to convince him once he rejected biblical teaching from Jesus Himself? No. He let him go. What about the father of the prodigal son? Dad lets that rebel leave. (You can probably think of many more examples.)
Matthew 7:6: Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Mark 6:11: And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave [this phrase assumes you will leave], shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.
So I’ve been going to this new small church I found, seemingly very sound and conservative. The first time I went, I wore flowy pants, not immodest at all in my opinion. And I noticed all the women wearing skirts or dresses, and so I felt out of place. And I also attended a father/daughter camping trip, and lo and behold, all the girls are wearing skirts to this camping trip.
I am not a dress wearing type of girl. I have usually worn jeans to church, I try to dress it up and look feminine and also wear makeup.
I don’t like feeling self-conscious, and I don’t want to look like I’m some sort of feminist by wearing pants. And I feel like I’m less of a Christian woman if I wear pants to church. But at this new church, I’m one of maybe a few other women who has worn pants. I also don’t want to just start wearing dresses and skirts to church JUST because I want to live up to this standard I feel the church is setting. I have talked to the leadership there and they said I’m fine wearing pants. I But I still feel like I’m out of place.How do you think I should be thinking about this?
Nobody likes to stick out like a sore thumb. I get it. Personally, I kinda like to blend into the wallpaper wherever I go, if possible.
And I think that’s the heart of your dilemma – you feel self-conscious and it makes you uncomfortable, and you want that uncomfortable feeling to go away. (Go back to your original email and count how many times you said “I feel” or referred to your feelings.)
This isn’t an issue of modesty, because you’re neither outlandishly (you said a few other women had worn pants) or provocatively dressed. This isn’t an issue of the other women or anyone else unbiblically judging you for wearing pants (at least you didn’t say that anywhere in your email). And though you describe the situation as, “this standard I feel the church is setting,” you said you had talked to the elders and they said you were fine wearing pants. So the church is not actually setting this standard, you just feel that it is because of your own self-consciousness.
This isn’t about other people, this is about you. What you’ve got here is a battle of the feelings. Feeling 1: I don’t want to feel self-conscious by wearing pants. Feeling 2: I dislike wearing dresses. Welp, as I see it you’ve got three options:
Wear pants and stop worrying about it. Focus on worship or whatever activity you’re at and stop focusing on yourself and how you’re dressed. (We’re not supposed to be focusing on ourselves anyway. That’s a form of pride and narcissism. You might want to explore that with the Lord in prayer. Go back to your original email and count how many times you used the words “I” and “me”.) After a while you’ll get used to it and that self-conscious feeling will fade. And besides that, maybe those other pants-wearing women will be emboldened to wear pants once they see you wearing them. You could start a trend!
Wear a dress and stop worrying about it. How do you know you’re not a dress-wearing kind of girl if you don’t give it a good faith effort? Try it for six months. It’s not going to kill you. It might grow on you. You never know.
Find another doctrinally sound church in the area where more women wear pants. This is an option, but, honestly, I would not recommend it. It sounds like you’ve found a good church and God is trying to do some sanctifying work in your heart and life. Don’t kick against or run away from what He’s trying to do, submit to it and grow to greater Christlikeness.
And one last thing- from the way you described everything, I’d be willing to bet that nobody at your church is fretting about you wearing pants as much as you are. I encourage you – hang in there, stop looking down at your pants, start looking up at the Lord, and walk with Him as He works this out.
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 or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.
“Lord, make me more like Jesus,” I prayed.
“Yes, Beloved. I will,” He smiled. He began to lay out the tools of His trade, A sculptor’s tools, for shaping His child.
“Oh no, Lord, not those,” I gently whined, As chisel and mallet He took in hand,
“Use instruments of a softer kind,
To help me walk as faith demands.”
“See, over here, the tools I’ve laid, To gladden my spirit and brighten my eye. Surely, the velvet cloth of blissful days,
Will change my heart into one like Christ’s.”
“And here,” I went on, “Another I’ve brought, A feathered brush of comfort and ease,
To keep at bay life’s dust and rot,
This will bring holiness, certainly.”
“At end, I’ve laid a pleasant salve, Of bountiful health and silver and gold, Take this, Lord; it’s yours to have,
To make me for the gospel bold.”
“Wish you to remain a stone?” I heard my Master say, “My tools are used to chip and hone What looks not like Christ away.”
“The mallet of trial, the chisel of need, The grind of suffering, These in love and grace I wield,
To conform you to the likeness of your King.”
“Your implements will come, in time, Velvet will dry the tears you weep, Feathers brush off toil’s grit and grime, Salve, your deepest pain will ease.”
“This will make me like my Lord?” I groaned in disbelief… “Do not spurn my tools, my child” my God said, lovingly,
“For Christ was a Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief,
And learned obedience through suffering.”
Thou shalt make a pro-active decision that thy household will be a godly one.
“Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;” Psalm 127:1
When you build a house, you don’t simply wish it into existence. You have to have plans drawn up, buy the right materials, find the right place to build, and actually get out there and start sawing and hammering.
The same is true of having a godly household. It doesn’t just happen by virtue of the fact that you and your spouse are Christians. You have to sit down together and make a definite decision, preferably before you even get married, that your home will be run in a godly way.
Where will we attend church? How often will we have family devotions? What is our understanding of what the Bible has to say about what is and is not acceptable behavior for us as spouses and for our children? How will we respond when one of us sins or when the children are disobedient? What will we do if one of us feels that God is presenting us with an opportunity for a new career or to move to a new location?
Naturally, you can’t foresee every scenario that might come up in the future, but if you lay a godly, biblical foundation from the start, you won’t have to re-invent the wheel every time a new situation arises. You will have developed a godly “policy and procedure” for facing life.
Or maybe I answered your question already? Check out my article The Mailbag: Top 10 FAQs to see if your question has been answered and to get some helpful resources.
Did any women write any part of the Bible?
Nope. No women authored any of the books of the Bible. The main reason for this is God’s established pattern of male headship and leadership. (Additionally, women were largely illiterate at that time in history.) Because of this, we have no reason to believe that any parts or passages of any books of the Bible were written by women.
We have passages like the song of Miriam, the song of Deborah and Barak, and the Magnificat, but these wouldn’t be considered “writing part of the Bible”. They were almost certainly spontaneous songs, which the male writers of those books recorded in Scripture.
If you are at work and others are constantly saying “OH MY G-D!” would you say something? It hurts my heart! It has become such a common thing, making God so disrespected.
I get it. I physically wince every time I hear it, myself.
Since this is your work environment rather than your church or a situation with family or friends, I would suggest getting some counsel from your pastor or a spiritually mature friend about how to handle this situation. It really depends on the dynamics of your workplace and your relationship with your boss and co-workers.
If you’re good friends with the people who are doing this, you may be able to take them aside and gently request that they try not to say this around you. If you have a more distant relationship with them, they’re probably not going to take too kindly to your request, and it could strain the already tenuous relationship you have with them, creating a work environment that’s even more uncomfortable for you.
Bear in mind that the most likely reason they’re saying this is because they’re lost. Lost people do lost people things. They’re not concerned about obeying Scripture, and they’ll be offended and resentful if you ask them to. If, after talking to your pastor about the situation, you feel it would be best not to speak up, perhaps you could use every occasion when they say this as a reminder to say a quick prayer for them and their salvation.
Since I have been following your ministry, I have been trying to be a Berean in what I hear, read, and watch. But the more discerning I become, the more alone I feel I am!! Friends that I have for years thought were solid in their faith, love The Message, Jesus Calling, The Chosen, go to Bible Studies by either false teachers or at the very least not recommended teachers, and dismiss me when I give them resources that speak the truth about these things!! What in the world???!!
My question is, could I be too far discerning? Should I be more open to hear what they have to say? Should I too be willing to read The Message or watch The Chosen? I am really feeling alone and like I’m missing something! What’s wrong with me Michelle?!!
Thank you for listening to me. I wonder if others have felt this way too.
Nothing is wrong with you, honey. Everything is right with you. You’re growing in maturity in Christ, in discernment, and in your knowledge of the Word. And one of the “growing pains” we go through as Christ sanctifies us is the realization that when Jesus said…
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Matthew 7:13-14
…He meant it. And He meant it far more than we realized the first time we read that passage. Few find the narrow gate. Some of the people we thought – due to our own lack of spiritual maturity – were Christians, suddenly aren’t. We just didn’t know it before.
This is, of course, not to say that anyone who’s ever watched an episode of The Chosen is on the express train to Hell, or that thinking Jesus Calling is awesome right now necessarily means you’re a false convert.
Remember, every genuinely born again person is being sanctified by Christ. And just because you’re not at my level of discernment yet doesn’t mean you’re not saved. And just because I’m not at your level of patience yet doesn’t mean I’m not saved. None of us are at Christ’s level of any of those things, and we won’t be, this side of Glory. God is working on each of us, at His own pace, in the area(s) He sees fit, at this moment in time.
Rather than looking at the trees of someone’s life, it can be more helpful to zoom out and look at the forest. Is she on a general trajectory of growing more Christlike, more holy, more obedient, more understanding of the Word? Or, over a substantial period of time, is she on a general trajectory of increasing disobedience to Scripture, decreasing faithfulness to the church, a worldview that’s getting less and less biblical? It’s a more accurate barometer of someone’s overall spiritual state than whether she’s spent the last couple of weeks going gaga over The Message.
Could you be too discerning? No. That’s like asking if you could be too loving, too peaceful, too gifted at teaching, or too gifted at serving.
Should you be more open to hear what they have to say? No. That is, if by “open” you mean “Should I consider doing or believing things that conflict with Scripture?”. Of course not.
But being a good listener when your friend is going on and on about the new Beth Moore study she’s attending can help a lot, because it can help you to ask her good questions. Like, “Wow, I never heard that before! Where does Scripture say that?” or “Interesting! Could we look at that passage in context together?” And the same goes for reading that heretical book or watching that blasphemous movie or TV show. If you’re mature and discerning enough not to be swayed by it, you can use what you observe to start a good discussion and teach her what the Bible really says. So yes, being more open to listening and understanding is much more valuable than the knee jerk NOOOOOOOO!!! STOPPPPPP!!! reaction we discernment-world folks can be tempted to.
Have others felt this way too? Yep. You’re looking at one. Most people with even moderate discernment feel this way at least occasionally. And I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve received from women grieved over the fact that they’re “the only discerning person in my church!”.
It’s no fun. It can be lonely. You might even need to change churches. But you’re in good company with the rest of us discernment weirdos out here, and you’re always in good company with Jesus.
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 or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.
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 / Pray’s 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, Pray’s 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):
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, officially, whether or not the National Conference has been canceled or will still take place in May 2027 (though this seems unlikely). Both the G3 website and the conference site have been shut down.
It is also unclear as to how those who had already registered for the conference will receive or may request a refund.
I did receive a comment from one follower who said she had been sent an email from G3 saying that the conference has been canceled and that she would receive a refund. While I have no reason to doubt her, no one else has confirmed that such an email was sent out, nor have I been able to see or obtain a copy of this email.
Leadership Page at PMBC Still Lists Resigned Elders
As of September 1, the “Our Leaders” page of the PMBC website still lists all four elders who resigned as “Our Pastors”.
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.
The G3 Church Network
The G3 Church Network was the first sector of G3 to be shut down. Member churches were sent the following email:
The link went to a post on G3’s (now deleted) X page, presumably the post sharing the letter of repentance sent to Tom Buck and First Baptist Church, Lindale. This email is the only communication I’m aware of from G3 since the scandal that offers an apology to anyone besides Tom and FBCL.
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. And, as one LH homeschool mom told me:
“You mentioned in your post* that Scott might read and approve of any curriculum Becky writes, which I am sure is true, but he is far more involved than that. He oversees the Living Heritage Mighty Network group [communication app]. A number of his books are used in the curriculum. He and Becky co-host a podcast on homeschooling.
Additionally, Living Heritage was started as part of G3 by the leadership families of PMBC and G3. The team listed on the LH site consists of Becky Aniol and the wives of two other PMBC elders.
LH may be separate from G3/PMBC on paper, but in practice it is not. All three leadership teams consist of the same families.”
*I had previously mentioned this in an earlier edition of this article, but removed this statement when another LH homeschool mom informed me that LH is less a curriculum and more a list of books and reading plan. Because of this, I felt my statement was inaccurate and potentially confusing. I have only ever seen or heard of LH referred to as a “curriculum,” so I assumed that’s what it was.
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.
Eventually, Becky did make this information available to Mighty Network app users:
(Screenshot courtesy of a member of the LH Mighty Network app.)
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 the scandal 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.
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.
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.
