Christine Caine – Page 2 – Michelle Lesley

Think back to your childhood. Remember the story, The Emperor’s New Clothes?

Once upon a time, there lived an emperor. One day two swindlers came to his palace and told him they could weave cloth for his royal robes that was magical: to those who were foolish or unfit for their jobs, it would appear invisible. Only the wise and worthy would be able to see this fine fabric. The emperor hastily agreed to pay the “weavers” an exorbitant amount of money to make him such an amazing garment, thinking he would use it to weed out anyone unfit for royal service.

The weavers set about pretending to weave. From time to time, the emperor sent various folk to check on the progress the weavers were making, and – though in reality, none of them could see the non-existent fabric – all reported back that the garments were coming along nicely and the cloth was beautiful. But strangely enough, when the emperor himself looked in on the weavers, they held up the magnificent fabric, and he could not see it. Not wanting word to leak out that he was unfit to serve as emperor, he pretended to examine the cloth and complimented the weavers lavishly on their fine work.

Finally, the weavers informed the emperor that the garments were finished. They had the emperor strip down to his skivvies and pretended to help him on with his fine new “garments”. Word had spread among the emperor’s subjects about the magical properties of the fabric, and as the royal procession made its way through town, all shouted out praise for the emperor’s fine new clothes.

All. Except for one little boy.

“But he hasn’t got anything on!” the boy shouted.

It took the innocent honesty of a simple child to shock the emperor’s subjects back to their senses. The truth spread like wildfire, and the crowd began to cry out: “The emperor is naked!” “The emperor has no clothes on!” “He’s not wearing anything!”

But did the emperor admit to his foolishness, return to the palace, and get dressed? No. Sadly the story ends this way:

“The Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, ‘This procession has got to go on.’ So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn’t there at all.”¹

And so the “emperor” of leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention and those who carry its train march proudly on, despite the cries of simple peasants and innocent little children crying at the top of our lungs, “The emperor is naked!” “There are issues that need to be addressed, here!” “Listen to us!”

You’ll note that the story doesn’t say that the emperor was a cruel man, that he overtaxed the people, oppressed them into slavery, was a warmonger, or was in any other way an evil leader. In fact, one could argue that he had good intentions of making sure the people who served at various posts in his empire were of the finest caliber.

And while there are many issues that need to be addressed in my denomination, I think this could generally be said of the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention as well. Call me a Pollyanna, but I have no reason to believe our denominational leadership – as a whole – is evil or has anything less than the best of intentions for the SBC.

There are many good and praiseworthy things going on in SBC life. We have hundreds of doctrinally sound pastors faithfully preaching the gospel week in and week out. Discernment and biblical literacy among Southern Baptist church members is slowly but steadily growing. The SBC takes a public, biblical stand on abortion and homosexuality while many other denominations do not. Our organizational structure for funding and sending out missionaries, while sometimes flawed in its execution, is without peer. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is one of the finest relief organizations in the world. And there’s so much more. Find a godly Kingdom effort going on somewhere, and you’ll probably find a Southern Baptist involved in it. By the grace of God, while we’re far from perfect, we’re getting a lot of things right.

But even benevolent emperors get things wrong sometimes, and, Southern Baptist leadership, your drawers are flapping in the breeze on this one²:

Sin. The public sin our leaders commit that we excuse and the public sin our leaders commit that we discipline, and the fact that there’s a discrepancy between the two.

Recently, Frank Page, president and chief executive officer of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (one of the top positions of SBC leadership at the national level) resigned his position due to “a morally inappropriate relationship in the recent past,” which, we are left with little choice but to assume means “adultery”. (As an aside, Christians, when confessing sin, let’s knock off the the terminological hem-hawing and call a spade a spade. “I had a six month extra-marital romantic and sexual relationship with a married woman in my church,” or whatever. You don’t have to give all the gory details or name names, but, for crying out loud, if you’re going to confess, confess- don’t finesse.)

It was right and biblical for Dr. Page to publicly confess and express sorrow over his sin as well as to resign (it would also have been right and biblical for the SBC to remove him had he refused to resign, which, undoubtedly would have happened). He sinned against God, his family, the woman and her family, his church, his co-workers, and the entire denomination. He publicly embarrassed the Southern Baptist Convention and gave unbelievers fodder for scoffing when the report of his sin made the national news. This was a case of a well known Southern Baptist leader whose public, observable sin was handled biblically by SBC leadership. I am thankful for this witness to Christians and to the world that sin is not to be swept under the rug, but that sinners are to repent, be disciplined, and then be restored to fellowship (although, in cases like this, not leadership).

But we don’t handle all cases of public sin that way. Some public sin we reward by making the sinner into a wealthy, lauded celebrity.

“Impossible!” you say?

Check the shelves at LifeWay. Select twenty average SBC churches with women’s ministries and see whose books, DVDs, and simulcasts are being used again and again. Peruse the speakers at popular SBC conferences.

You’ll find names like Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Lysa TerKeurst, Christine Caine, Ann Voskamp, Sarah Young, Andy Stanley, Steven Furtick, Rick Warren, and T.D. Jakes, just to name a few.

Have they committed adultery? Voiced approval of of homosexuality? Committed theft, abused their spouses, or promoted pornography? No. But those aren’t the only types of sins the Bible prohibits.

Every single one of them teaches false doctrine, from Sarah Young’s blasphemous “channeling” of Jesus, to T.D. Jakes’ denial of the Trinity, to Christine Caine’s Word of Faith heresy, to Lysa TerKeurst’s teaching of contemplative prayer.

All of these women who do speaking engagements unashamedly and unrepentantly preach to co-ed audiences. All of these men allow women to preach to co-ed audiences from their pulpits.

All of them who join in ministry with others have yoked or affiliated themselves with false teachers. Beth Moore and Joyce Meyer. Priscilla Shirer and T.D. Jakes. Steven Furtick and Joyce Meyer and T.D. Jakes. Rick Warren and the Pope.

Scripture plainly prohibits the teaching of false doctrine. It’s a major theme of the New Testament, for goodness sake. The Bible tells us that women are not to preach to men or exercise authority over them in the gathered body of Believers. And God’s Word makes very clear that we are to have nothing to do with false teachers, especially not partnering with them in “ministry”.

In the wake of Frank Page’s resignation, I asked this poll question on Twitter…

followed by this one…

Why are Southern Baptists leaders so quick to – rightly and biblically – oust Frank Page for, as far as we know, one isolated sin which he publicly confessed to and repented of, and yet overlook three major – and much more publicly observable and harmful to Southern Baptists – ongoing sins from pastors and teachers who have been rebuked and refuse to repent? Why, instead of disciplining them for their sin, do those in leadership give them fat book deals, invite them to speak at all the cool conferences, fawn over them on social media, and make them into celebrities?

How many sins will it take to disqualify and discipline these people? Four? Eleven? Ninety-six? Is there any amount of sin these pastors and teachers, and those like them, can commit that will cause those in SBC leadership to pull their materials off the shelves of LifeWay, deny them a seat at the table, and urge them to repent and step down from their positions?

I’ve been a Southern Baptist from the day I was born. I’ve been taught since the cradle roll that if God’s Word says not to do something and you do it anyway, that’s a sin. If God’s Word says to do something and you don’t do it, that’s a sin. And that sin is sin in the eyes of God.

Well is it, or isn’t it, Emperor?

If sin is sin in God’s eyes, why aren’t you treating Beth Moore’s sin like Frank Page’s sin? Why are you rewarding her for her sin and disciplining him for his?

The Bible says in James 3:1:

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

Those who teach and lead bear more responsibility to teach sound doctrine and walk worthy because they are teaching and leading us by example.

Why are all the aforementioned pastors and teachers better examples to us in their rebellion and unrepentant sin than Frank Page was in his repentance of sin?

Why?

Southern Baptist peasants and little children see right through your foolishness on parade on this issue and we want answers. Biblical answers.

Don’t just stand there shivering, suspecting we are right, but thinking, “This procession has got to go on,” and walking more proudly than ever. Go back to the palace. Repent. Clothe yourselves with humility and obedience to Scripture, and come back and lead us rightly. Biblically.

Because the Emperor of Southern Baptist leadership has been naked for far too long.

¹H.C. Andersen Centret (The Hans Christian Andersen Centre). The Emperor’s New Clothes. Accessed April 5, 2018.

²I am well aware that this is not the only problem in the SBC that needs to be addressed. It would be impossible to address every issue in one article, so this time I’ve chosen to focus on this one particular issue.

Celebrity Pastors, Discernment

Stricter Judgment, Even for MY Favorite Teacher

September 29, 2017September 20, 2022 Michelle Lesley

It’s a funny thing that it’s so easy for us to see the far away faults and foibles of others, but the ones in our own hearts – the sins and hypocrisy we know most intimately – are constantly in our spiritual blind spot. Jesus understood this all too well and admonished us to make sure our own hands are clean before taking the tweezers to the mote in a sister’s eye.

Often, it’s not that we’re ignoring the plank that’s obscuring our vision, we’re just not even aware that it’s there. When I evaluate my own heart to confess my sins to the Lord, the ones that weigh heaviest on my spirit are not those that I know I’ve committed and need to repent of, it’s the ones I’m sure are lurking somewhere… but I can’t quite put my finger on them.

One of the subtle hypocrisies theologically orthodox, blameless and upright, discerning Christians can have trouble seeing in ourselves is our failure to hold our favorite pastors and teachers to the same biblical standards we apply to other pastors and teachers.

We correctly criticize Steven Furtick and Beth Moore for palling around with the likes of Joyce Meyer and T.D. Jakes, but when Lauren Chandler speaks at IF:Gathering several years in a row, co-hosts a summer Bible study with Beth Moore, and publicly declares her desire to meet Christine Caine, suddenly, it’s “touch not mine anointed” just because she’s married to our darling Matt¹?

What if John MacArthur decided it would be a good idea to invite Joel Osteen to speak at ShepCon next year?

Or it came to light that Elisabeth Elliot preached to men?

Or you found out Paul Washer was a drunkard?

Would you make excuses for them? Sweep this stuff under the rug and continue to listen to their sermons and read their books without batting an eye?

Pastors and teachers don’t get a pass on sin just because they’re Reformed, or discerning, or have a virtually unblemished record of doctrinal soundness, or because they’re “one of the good guys.”
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Pastors and teachers don’t get a pass on sin just because they’re Reformed, or discerning, or have a virtually unblemished record of doctrinal soundness, or because they’re “one of the good guys.” If they’re called to account, and they repent and strive toward holiness, hallelujah! That’s what God requires of all Christians – that we walk before Him blamelessly and bear fruit in keeping with repentance. But if they unrepentantly persist in sin despite biblical correction, there’s a problem there- with their own hearts, and with ours, if we knowingly turn a blind eye to their willful disobedience just because they’re our favorites.

God makes it clear throughout His Word that pastors, teachers, and others in positions of spiritual leadership bear a grave responsibility to set a godly example for those who look to them for teaching and guidance. And, in certain ways, God requires a higher standard for those in spiritual leadership than He requires of Christians He has not called to lead.

…No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the Lord’s food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things, but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them…
Leviticus 21

…And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses…
Leviticus 10:1-11

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.
Titus 2:7-8

not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
1 Peter 5:3

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
Philippians 3:17

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1

But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Luke 12:45-48

you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.
Romans 2:21-23

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

As the passages above allude to, sound doctrine, while crucial, is not God’s only requirement for pastors and teachers. They are also required to rebuke those who contradict sound doctrine (not befriend them or join them on the conference dais). And Paul outlines the numerous behavioral requirements for pastors, elders, and deacons not once but twice, even going so far as to say that deacons must “prove themselves blameless” and that “an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach.” Right theology does not excuse wrong behavior.

Right theology does not excuse wrong behavior.
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Why, then, when God’s standards for those who lead are so high, are we quick to sweep aside unrepentant wrongdoing by the teachers we hold most dear, sometimes even holding them to lower standards than we would hold ourselves? “I would never preach to men, but I’ll give Teacher X a pass on it.” “There’s no way I’d partner with a false teacher, but it’s not a big deal that Preacher Y does it.”

The Jesus who says “be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” who says that even one sin is one sin too many, is not a God who is OK with His people glossing over disobedience. God wants sin dealt with, repented of, and forsaken, especially in those who lead, because receiving correction and repenting of sin sets a rare and phenomenal biblical example for Christians to follow.

The Jesus who says “be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” who says that even one sin is one sin too many, is not a God who is OK with His people glossing over disobedience.
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Do we go off the deep end and reject a trustworthy teacher the first time she does something a little iffy? Of course not. But should we step back, keep a closer, more objective eye on her and her trajectory as time goes by to see if she corrects her course? Yes. Should we stop following her if she continues to dive deeper and deeper into sin with no signs of turning around? Even if she’s always been doctrinally sound? Even if she’s complementarian? Even if she attends a church with a good theological reputation? Even if we’ve enjoyed all of her books thus far? Definitely.

Let’s shed some light on those blind spots our favorite teachers occupy and let our highest loyalty be to Christ, His Word, and His standards for leadership.

¹Sadly (click link on Lauren Chandler’s name), since the original publication of this article, Matt Chandler should no longer be “our darling Matt,” either.

Discernment, False Teachers, Mailbag

The Mailbag: Do you recommend these teachers/authors? Volume 3

May 1, 2017February 22, 2025 Michelle Lesley

If you are considering commenting or sending me an e-mail objecting to the fact that I warn against false teachers, please click here and read this article first. Your objection is most likely answered here. I won’t be publishing comments or answering emails that are answered by this article.

Volume 1 Volume 2

I get lots of questions about particular authors, pastors, and Bible teachers, and whether or not I recommend them. Some of the best known can be found above at my Popular False Teachers tab. Below are some others I’ve been asked about recently, so I’ve done a quick check (this is brief research, not exhaustive) on each of them.

Generally speaking, in order for me to recommend a teacher, speaker, or author, he or she has to meet three criteria:

a) A female teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly preach to or teach men in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12. A male teacher or pastor cannot allow women to carry out this violation of Scripture in his ministry. The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be living in any other sin (for example, cohabiting with her boyfriend or living as a homosexual).

b) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be partnering with or frequently appearing with false teachers. This is a violation of Scripture.

c) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be teaching false doctrine.

I am not very familiar with the women and ministries listed below and have not had much of an opportunity to examine their writings or hear them speak, so most of the “quick checking” I did involved items a and b (although in order to partner with false teachers (b) it is reasonable to assume their doctrine is acceptable to the false teacher and that they are not teaching anything that would conflict with the false teacher’s doctrine).

Just to be clear, “not recommended” is a spectrum. On one end of this spectrum are people like Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth and Kay Arthur. These are people I would not label as false teachers because their doctrine is generally sound, but because of some red flags I’m seeing with them, you won’t find me proactively endorsing them or suggesting them as a good resource, either. There are better people you could be listening to. On the other end of the spectrum are people like Joyce Meyer and Rachel Held Evans- complete heretics whose teachings, if believed, might lead you to an eternity in Hell. Most of the teachers I review fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum (leaning toward the latter).

Jill Briscoe- Not recommended. “Jill has written more than 40 books, traveled on every continent teaching and encouraging, served on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief, and now acts as Executive Editor of a magazine for women called Just Between Us. Jill can be heard regularly on the worldwide media ministry called Telling the Truth.”

When I began my research of Jill a few months ago, there was a “live chat” feature on her web site, Telling the Truth, and I had a lengthy exchange with a kind and polite representative of the ministry named Elizabeth who answered several questions for me. A couple of brief excerpts from our chat:

Jill is on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief, and she is an executive editor of the women’s ministry “Just Between Us,” – so her doctrine would most likely line up with much of the doctrine of those organizations.

Christianity Today is such an “anything goes” theological train wreck that it’s often derisively dubbed Christianity Astray. I’m not saying Jill agrees with every article they publish, but, word to the wise, don’t ever tell people you’re trying to convince you’re doctrinally sound that your doctrine lines up with Christianity Today. Here’s the closest thing I could find to a statement of faith for World Relief. There is zero mention of the gospel or evangelism, but can you count how many times the word (social) “justice” is used? Just Between Us has a brief, if generic, statement of faith. What’s there (which is not much) is doctrinally sound, but a quick look at JBU’s Facebook page tells another story. Neither Lisa Harper nor Proverbs 31/Lysa TerKeurst are doctrinally sound, and we also learn that Jill will be a featured speaker at IF:Gathering’s IF:Lead conference.

Screenshot: 9/22/17

Some additional insight into Jill’s theology can be found in this excerpt from her book, God’s Front Door. Jill “writes several short dialogues with the Father” (in a “Jesus Calling-ish” style) to help readers cope with life issues large and small. It is unclear whether or not she also directs the reader to Scripture for help in dealing with life’s problems, but that is where Christians should find guidance, not in someone’s fictionalized dialogues with God.

[Jill] does speak to audiences which include men, though it is under the authority of the leadership of those churches and groups, and also under the authority of her husband, Stuart.

Elizabeth also e-mailed me a copy of the “form letter” e-mail Stuart sends out when questioned about Jill preaching to men. It’s too long to reprint here, but basically his stance is that 1 Timothy 2:12 was a prohibition that applied only to the theologically ignorant women of Paul’s day and is no longer applicable. In addition to that error, the Bible nowhere says women may preach to men if they’re doing so “under their husband’s/a pastor’s/a church’s authority”.

Finally, Jill spoke at 2017’s IF:Gathering alongside false teachers Jennie Allen, Rebekah Lyons, Shauna Niequist, Bianca Olthoff (below), Lysa TerKeurst, and Ann Voskamp, among others.

Lauren Chandler- Not recommended. Lauren’s primary claim to fame is that she is married to Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church, author, and speaker. Lauren is an author, conference speaker, singer and songwriter, and sometimes leads worship at TVC. Because her speaking engagements are infrequent and she has only authored one book, information on her doctrine and teaching are sparse. I have no reason to believe her doctrine deviates significantly from Matt’s, which could be characterized as generally doctrinally sound Reformed Charismatic. I also have no reason to believe she preaches to men, as all of her speaking events I’ve been able to locate have either been women’s events or marriage conferences with her husband.

The reason I would not recommend you follow Lauren Chandler is her lack of discernment in partnering with and being influenced by false teachers. As worship leader at TVC, Lauren has selected music by Bethel and Israel Houghton (Joel Osteen’s former worship leader). She has guest blogged for Priscilla Shirer. Here, she publicly declares her desire to meet Christine Caine, which is something she will be able to cross off her bucket list later this week when she appears alongside her (as well as false teachers Ann Voskamp, Bianca Olthoff {below}, Jennie Allen, Rebekah Lyons, and female “pastor” Jeanne Stevens) at IF: Gathering 2018. In fact, Lauren has become an annual fixture at IF:Gathering (2013-2017).

In addition to appearing with Ann Voskamp at various IF: Gatherings, Lauren proudly appeared with her (as well as Rebekah Lyons and another female “pastor”) at this 2014 conference. Ann Voskamp wrote the foreword for Lauren’s book, an endorsement for Lauren’s book, and wrote about their friendship on her blog. In this interview, Lauren lists Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts as one of the three books that has “most profoundly shaped how you serve and lead others for the sake of the gospel”.

Beth Moore is another major influence on Lauren. Lauren participates in small group Beth Moore “Bible” studies. Last summer, LifeWay Women partnered Beth and Lauren in a joint summer Bible study event. In the video promo, Beth speaks about her personal friendship with Lauren (which is evident in their Twitter interactions) and Matt and the time their families have spent together. Beth wrote an endorsement for Lauren’s book. In this interview, when asked, “Who is a great female leader or writer that you look up to/read?” Lauren answered, “I truly love Beth Moore…”.

When false teachers have this much influence on someone’s teaching and ministry, she is not someone you should be following or receiving teaching from.

Rachel Hollis- Not recommended. Rachel is a self-made lifestyle blogger, podcaster, and author. Aside from calling herself a Christian and scattering references to “faith” and God through her writing like a few sprinkles on a poisonous cupcake, Rachel is, at best, extraordinarily biblically ignorant, and, at worst, not saved. Her “theology” is basically anything goes (any religion, any sin you want to participate in {except the ones she doesn’t like, like “judging”}, any dream you want to pursue, etc.), no gospel, entrepreneurial self-help. The best way to grasp her self-idolizing teaching is to read these excellent, doctrinally sound reviews of her best-selling “Christian” book (it’s marketed in the Christian genre and published by a Christian publisher) Girl, Wash Your Face by Rebekah, Alisa, Elizabeth, Summer (Part 1, 2, 3), and Challies, and listen to the Girl, Check Your Theology episode of Theology Gals. You can also check out reviews of Rachel’s second book, Girl, Stop Apologizing, by Theology Gals and Jen Oshman. These godly ladies (and gentleman) do a praiseworthy job of comparing Rachel’s ideas with Scripture and demonstrating the multiple ways Rachel’s books, and her ideology, are decidedly not biblical.

In addition to the multiple, egregious theological errors Rachel teaches…

Rachel and her husband host a weekend couple’s conference called Rise Together. You’ll notice I didn’t say “marriage conference”. That’s because it is open to “everyone in a romantic relationship” including unmarried couples and couples of “every orientation” (read: homosexual). Fortunately, the $1795 per couple price tag for tickets will deter many from attending.

Rachel and (feminist, pro-homosexuality) Jen Hatmaker are friends. Jen is the author of Rachel’s favorite book: “…this book really did fundamentally change the way I view the world around me and the way I choose to live my life.” Jen has appeared at Rachel’s Rise Conference, Rachel has appeared on Jen’s podcast (in which Jen promoted Rachel’s book), and they’ve connected on a number of other occasions and projects. After getting a feel for Rachel’s “theology”, I thought, “I’ll bet she’s a pretty big Oprah fan.” Yep, that too.

Unless you’re someone who’s a student of discernment and you need a lot of practice (like, a LOT) comparing unbiblical ideas to Scripture, I would recommend you stay far, far away from Rachel Hollis and her materials.

¹I am recommending only these individual resources from these sites

Chrystal Evans Hurst- Not recommended. “Chrystal is a gifted writer, speaker, and worship leader….the eldest child of Dr. Tony and Lois Evans…Chrystal has recently co-authored a book, Kingdom Woman: Embracing Your Purpose, Power, and Possibilities, with her dad.” Tony Evans (see above) is not someone a doctrinally sound woman would co-author a book with. Priscilla Shirer, Chrystal’s sister, wrote the foreword for Chrystal and Tony’s book as well as Chrystal’s first book, She’s Still There. It would seem that Chrystal approves of Priscilla’s and Tony’s unbiblical theology and they approve of hers (which, logically, would mean her theology either agrees with or doesn’t significantly contradict theirs).

Besides Priscilla, Chrystal has numerous ties to false teachers: Chrystal was a featured speaker at Lysa TerKeurst’s conference, She Speaks 2017, is a staff speaker for Lysa’s Proverbs 31 Ministries, and has written several devotions for the Proverbs 31 web site. Chrystal and Christine Caine were the featured speakers at Desperate for Jesus 2017 at Chrystal’s home church (Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, pastored by her father). Here and here, Chrystal recommends a Joyce Meyer book. Lisa Harper was a recent guest on Chrystal’s podcast. Chrystal was a featured guest on the Jesus Calling podcast. Chrystal has positively retweeted Jen Hatmaker (who is pro-homosexuality).

Brenda Leavenworth- Not recommended, however, not having evidence to the contrary, I do not believe Brenda is a false teacher. “Brenda is the Women’s Ministry Director at Reliance Church,” which is a Calvary Chapel church. She is the author of Far Above Rubies, a study of biblical womanhood from Proverbs 31 and supplementary series of workshops on cooking, hospitality, organization, etc., corresponding to each chapter of the study. Brenda also “teaches courses in Proverbs 31 and Women’s Ministry for the Calvary Chapel Bible College.”

I appreciate that Brenda seems to be very involved in her home church, prioritizing ministry there over outside ministry. Reliance Church’s statement of faith, as stated on their web site, seems to be doctrinally sound. I’m also intrigued by the concept of the Far Above Rubies study/workshops, and would be interested in reading/attending it myself.

I did not find any personal or speaking event connections between Brenda and any known false teachers, nor do I see any online evidence that she teaches men. Besides the fact that I haven’t had the opportunity to read or listen to her teaching, the two red flags holding me back from endorsing her are:

The current Calvary Chapel conflict. For years, Calvary Chapel has generally had a reputation for being a doctrinally sound mini-denomination. However, over the last few years, several of its member churches have cut ties with CC due to decisions by those in CC leadership to move toward less doctrinally sound teachings and practices than they have previously upheld. I have no idea whether or not Brenda is in agreement with any or all of these decisions made by CC leadership, but the fact remains that she teaches at the CC college and is an active member of a CC church. You can read more about the issues with Calvary Chapel here.

Vetting of resources. The women’s ministry resources page of Reliance Church’s website recommends resources by Francis Chan, Lysa TerKeurst, John Maxwell, and Hillsong. Sometimes people are unaware of the doctrinal problems with the resources and teachers they recommend, and this may be the case with Brenda, but teachers and leaders are held to a higher standard. It is not biblically appropriate for those in positions of leadership to recommend materials by people who teach or behave in ways contrary to Scripture, and I cannot recommend someone who does.

Leslie Ludy- Cautiously and tentatively recommended pending further information (please see remarks by “Leslie A” in the comments section). “Leslie Ludy is a bestselling author and speaker with a passion for helping women become set apart for Christ. She and her husband, Eric, are the authors of twenty-one books…Leslie is the director of Set Apart Girl and Set Apart Motherhood.” She also spearheads an annual women’s conference, writes and oversees Set Apart Girl magazine, and hosts a weekly podcast.

I’ve put a bit more time than usual into researching Leslie, because, while there have been a few vague questions raised about her here and there, I find her to be generally doctrinally sound, and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. As far as I can tell, Leslie ministers and speaks only to audiences of women. I have found no connections between her and any known false teachers. I have read several of Leslie’s articles (I especially appreciated this one), have listened to two or three dozen of her podcasts, and have read through the doctrinal statements on the various websites she and her husband, Eric, run. Though there are a few points of theology on which I do not necessarily agree with the Ludys, I have not, at this point, found anything I would classify as false doctrine or anything that would suggest I should warn women away from Leslie.

Bianca Olthoff- Not recommended. Bianca works as “Chief Storyteller” for the A21 Campaign, false teacher Christine Caine’s human trafficking organization. A perusal of her calendar page shows her speaking at Pray, Love, Lead at Saddleback (Rick Warren’s “church”), IF Gathering, Thrive (Lysa TerKeurst & Ann Voskamp), Bethel- Redding, Elevation (Steven Furtick), and numerous other conferences with false teachers and female “pastors,” at least one of which is being held at a “church” pastored by a woman. Bianca believes she receives extra-biblical revelation from God about people at her conferences needing healing. She also has several Sunday speaking engagements at churches, some of which, undoubtedly, will have her preaching to men. (This video indicates she is preaching the Sunday sermon, which means she’s preaching to men, and here she admits to teaching God’s word to men.)

Wellspring Group- Not enough online information for a recommendation or warning. Wellspring Group is a parachurch workshop ministry. According to their website, “We long to see lives, marriages, families and churches transformed so broadly and radically that it actually changes the leadership culture of the church, both here in North America and also around the world. We dream of… Overflowing Transformation.” I did not see anything overtly unbiblical on Wellspring’s web site, and many of their objectives and descriptions of their teachings sound biblical and gospel-centered. I did not discover any ties between Wellspring and known false teachers. However, I did note several red flag-raising buzzwords on the site which gave me pause.

One of these buzzwords was “spiritual formation.” Some churches and ministries innocently, and ignorantly, use the term “spiritual formation” as a trendy new synonym for the word “discipleship,” and their “spiritual formation” classes are just as doctrinally sound as if they called them “discipleship” classes. If this is the way in which Wellspring is using the term, that’s not a problem, other than the confusion it causes. The confusion comes in because of the unbiblical spiritual formation movement, which centers around mysticism, works righteousness, contemplative prayer, and other unbiblical doctrines and practices. If Wellspring incorporates these things into its workshops, I definitely do not recommend it.

If you have the opportunity to attend a Wellspring workshop, I would urge you to proceed with caution and – as with any other Christian event or teacher – be a good Berean and compare everything you hear to Scripture.

Update: After reading this article, one of my readers who has personal experience with Wellspring Group wrote in and shared her thoughts. If everything she says is accurate, I certainly would never recommend Wellspring Group. You can read her review of the program here.

I truly regret that I’m unable to give a wholehearted endorsement to all of these women and ministries. I’m sure they’re all perfectly nice people who, in their own hearts, have only the best of intentions, but Christian leaders and teachers have a grave responsibility to Christ and to their listeners to teach sound doctrine and walk in obedience to Scripture. Please understand that this is not a personal attack on any of these women or ministries, only answers to readers’ questions about whether or not I recommend them and their materials.

If you have a question about: a well known Christian author/leader, 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.

Discernment, False Teachers, Mailbag

The Mailbag: Do you recommend these teachers/authors? Volume 2

October 10, 2016February 22, 2025 Michelle Lesley

Volume 1 Volume 3

Generally speaking, in order for me to recommend a teacher, speaker, or author, he or she has to meet three criteria:

b) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be partnering with or frequently appearing with false teachers. This is a violation of Scripture.

c) The pastor or teacher cannot currently and unrepentantly be teaching false doctrine.

I am not very familiar with the women listed below and have not had much of an opportunity to examine their writings or hear them speak, so most of the “quick checking” I did involved items a and b (although in order to partner with false teachers (b) it is reasonable to assume their doctrine is acceptable to the false teacher and that they are not teaching anything that would conflict with the false teacher’s doctrine).

Rachel Held Evans– Not recommended. There are so many ways Rachel deviates from orthodox, biblical Christianity, It would be impossible to describe all of them, even briefly. Rachel denies the Bible’s inerrancy as well as its authority. She rejects the Bible’s teaching that a conscious knowledge of and faith in Christ is necessary for salvation (inclusivism). She supports homosexual “marriage” as well as the idea of calling practicing, unrepentant homosexuals Christians and including them in church membership. She mercilessly twists and misuses Scripture to the extent that it would be comical for its ridiculousness were it not so blasphemous. (Denny Burk has an excellent article that covers all of these issues in more detail.) Rachel believes in evolution. Rachel has, at best, mixed feelings about abortion, supporting the funding of Planned Parenthood and decrying “abstinence only” teaching in sex ed classes. Rachel is a staunch feminist, egalitarian, and promoter of “gender equality” in the church. Pick a biblical issue or doctrine. Rachel is almost certain to be on the unbiblical side of it.

Rachel Held Evans died May 4, 2019. I commend to you Gabriel Hughes’ and Elizabeth Prata’s articles responding to her death.

Heather Lindsey– Not recommended. The header of Heather’s website lists her as: Christian, Wife, Mother, etc., and “pastor.” Heather and her husband co-pastor a “church”, which is rebellion against Scripture.

Heather demonstrates extremely poor hermeneutics and lacks a basic understanding of Christ’s atonement in salvation. In this video , she not only teaches that you can lose your salvation by failing to forgive others, she also refers to examining Scripture in context as a way of “squirming out of” obedience to the Bible. In this article on how to study the Bible, Heather suggests praying in tongues, using music by some of her favorite artists, including Jesus Culture, Kari Jobe, and Hillsong, and using study materials such as the Joyce Meyer Everyday Living Bible, the Dakes Study Bible (embraced by Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn), The Power of Speaking God’s Word by Joyce Meyer, and Beth Moore materials. In the same article, she makes this odd statement in reference to Jesus being her “husband” (she misunderstands and takes several verses out of context to explain this relationship):

“When I was single, I would dress up, make reservations and take my bible & have a date night! I would go to the movies with Jesus! I would cook him dinner, brownies AND we’d watch a movie at home alone. We’d go grocery shopping together. At nighttime, I would talk to Him about what I should wear the next day (sometimes, we would disagree lol) I would ask Him how He wants me to wear my hair.”

She also talks about having “a relationship with God the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ,” demonstrating her lack of understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit.

Continuing in the same article, Heather indicates that she believes in and receives extra-biblical revelation and that she relies on her feelings rather than God’s word:

“I started to obey Christ..whenever He told me to do something. You hear God’s voice through your inner ear and some would call it your ‘gut’, conscience or ‘just something told you that you should have done that.’ I always CHECK my peace. If something comes up–I immediately tune into the Holy Spirit and I can tell if He is tugging my heart one way or another. I LISTEN to that peace. A great checker is if you’re in an unhealthy relationship & God is telling you to leave it–you won’t have any peace about the person.”

Heather’s blog is rife with recommendations for and references to Joyce Meyer and T.D. Jakes, she is an admirer of Sarah Jakes Roberts, and Heather and her husband Cornelius have preached at T.D. Jakes’ organization The Potter’s House. You can listen to a critique of one of her “sermons” here.

Nancy (Leigh) DeMoss Wolgemuth– Not recommended. There are many good things about Nancy and her ministry, Revive Our Hearts. Nancy’s teaching is generally doctrinally sound, and I would not label her a false teacher. I’ve personally done one of Nancy’s studies and didn’t find any theological problems with it.

I commend Nancy for stating on her Revive Our Hearts web site that ROH supports the Danvers Statement on biblical manhood and womanhood. Unfortunately, Nancy also believes it is appropriate for women to speak to mixed groups as long as they’re doing so “under the headship of male spiritual authority” and the woman is not in “a position of ongoing responsibility for the spiritual direction of men” (Scripture doesn’t make either of these exceptions).

ROH recommends multiple studies by both Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer on their resource page and ROH has printed articles by Nancy and others positively referencing both Moore and Shirer (who was a featured speaker at ROH’s True Woman conference in 2012), as well as Lysa TerKeurst/Proverbs 31. There was also concern in 2012 over Nancy’s/ROH’s/True Woman’s use and endorsement of “circle maker” praying. Finally, ROH is an outreach of Life Action Ministries which subscribes to Keswick theology (source, source, source).

I truly regret that I’m unable to give a wholehearted endorsement to any of these women. I’m sure they’re all perfectly nice people who, in their own hearts, have only the best of intentions, but Christian leaders and teachers have a grave responsibility to Christ and to their listeners to teach sound doctrine and walk in obedience to Scripture. Please understand that this is not a personal attack on any of these women, only answers to readers’ questions about whether or not I recommend them and their materials.

If you have a question about: a well-known Christian author/leader, 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.

Discernment, False Teachers

Christine Caine: Have No Regard for the Offerings of Caine

March 4, 2016August 10, 2022 Michelle Lesley

This article is kept continuously updated as needed.

Christine Caine is “an Australian born, Greek blooded, lover of Jesus, a sought-after international speaker, author and activist. Known for her ability to effectively communicate a message of hope, Christine has a heart for reaching the lost, strengthening leadership, and championing the cause of justice.” Over the last several years, Christine has become a popular conference speaker, a prolific author, a podcaster, and a social media darling.

This is due, in no small part to Christine’s engaging personality. A native of Sydney, Australia, her charming accent, quick wit, and lovely smile immediately capture the attention, and her love and devotion to her husband and children are obvious and endearingly sincere. Unlike some of her over-made, over-coiffed, and overdressed peers, Christine radiates a natural, simple, unpretentious beauty that makes “middle aged” look good, and is a tacit encouragement to distinctly unglamourous women like me.

Admirably, Christine seems to have a true desire to impact the world beyond merely achieving fame and selling books, again, setting her apart from (and, in my opinion, above) many of her cohorts in evangelicalism. She and her husband have formed several different organizations for helping others both inside and outside the church world, such as Zoe Church (church planting in Europe) and Propel Women (success-building for women). But the helping organization Christine is best known for is The A21 Campaign, “an anti-human trafficking organization dedicated to abolishing injustice in the 21^st century.” Human trafficking is a horrific evil, and I deeply appreciate Christine’s desire to right this wrong.

I like Christine a lot, as a person. She says she loves Jesus. She has a passion for fighting injustice, and seems like a genuine, down to earth, nice woman who would make a great friend and would be fun to hang out with. And if that’s all it took for me to recommend her to you as a teacher of God’s Word, this article would end here with a ringing endorsement.

But, as James 3:1 tells us, those who teach will be judged with greater strictness. At a bare minimum they must be expected to teach what accords with sound doctrine and to tangibly demonstrate that they love Jesus by keeping his commandments. Unfortunately, Christine’s teachings and some of her actions do not meet even these basic biblical standards, and it is my sad duty to recommend that you not sit under her teaching for the following reasons:

“Pastoring” and Preaching to Men

Christine Caine habitually and unrepentantly rebels against Scripture by preaching to and teaching men. God is abundantly clear in His word that women are not to preach to, teach, or hold authority over men in the gathered body of Believers. And though this simple instruction should be sufficient for us, God also graciously explains to us why He has issued this prohibition- reasons which are still in effect today. Refusing to obey God’s word is sin. And in the same way you should not follow a male pastor or teacher who lives in intentional, unrepentant sin, you should not follow a female teacher who lives in intentional, unrepentant sin.

As I have mentioned previously, teaching men is a good, fast, and easy litmus test for ruling out most female false teachers, because, almost without exception, women who have no qualms about disobeying Scripture by teaching men also teach other false doctrine. If you walked into a church sanctuary and the male pastor who got up to preach was dressed in drag or was wearing a pro-abortion t-shirt or littered his “sermon” with profanity, you would know right away that this is someone who is in disobedience to Scripture and someone you should not listen to. It’s the same way with women who preach to men. It’s easily observable disobedience to Scripture that should quickly tell you this isn’t someone you should be listening to or following, and Christine Caine’s doctrine and practices in other areas bear this out.

Currently (2022), Christine is on staff as “Teaching Pastor” and “Women’s Leadership Pastor” at Mariners Church, a multi-site organization (which employs several women “pastors”) in southern California. View her “sermons” here.

If needed, you may view additional evidence of Christine preaching to men in the “Additional Resources” section at the end of this article.

False Doctrine

In addition to the false doctrine of women pastoring / preaching, Christine Caine subscribes to and teaches Word of Faith (prosperity gospel) heresy. She is a product of, has held leadership positions at, and is closely affiliated with Hillsong², which is, undeniably, a Word of Faith “church.” Christine is a contributor to the Hillsong blog page, the Hillsong web site maintains a bio page on her, and she is a regularly featured speaker at Hillsong’s Colour Conference for women and other Hillsong events.

Formerly a pastor on staff with Hillsong, Christine still appears to maintain some sort of partnership with this organization. In 2021, she preached at the former Hillsong Phoenix (Christine Caine : Heart for the House – 2021 Year of The Bible), and said in her introductory remarks (1:17), “I’ve been part of the team at Hillsong Church in Sidney [Australia], and now kind of around the world, for the last 27 years, and second only to my salvation…that was the greatest thing in my life…”

Part of Word of Faith heresy is the habitual mishandling and twisting of Scripture while teaching: taking verses out of context, attempting to make the Bible say things it does not say in order to fit the “theology” of the teacher, and reading oneself, one’s audience, or one’s own ideas into Scripture (eisegesis). You will find multiple examples of Christine Caine teaching this way in the “Additional Resources” section at the end of this article.

Partnering with False Teachers

Christine Caine regularly associates and partners in ministry with false teachers. The Bible clearly forbids this in a number of passages. She has preached at the aforementioned Hillsong on far too many occasions to enumerate, T.D. Jakes events events, Joel Osteen events, Bethel events, at Robert Morris‘ church, Rick Warren’s church, and Steven Furtick’s church (all to co-ed audiences) just to name a few. Paula White considers Christine a friend. Additionally, Christine has close relationships with Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer, frequently sharing the stage or partnering with both.

But perhaps Christine Caine’s best known and most worrisome bond is with false (Word of Faith) teacher Joyce Meyer. Christine considers Joyce her “spiritual mother”:

…and even went so far as to lay her hands on Joyce Meyer’s Bible, stating:

“Oh yes I did lay my own hands on Joyce Meyer’s Bible and teaching notes and prayed for an impartation of that teaching anointing and revelation. It was a privilege and honor to shadow her this past week. Far more is ‘caught’ than is ever ‘taught’ in life!”

Christine Caine on the January 21, 2022 episode of Joyce Meyer’s show, *Enjoying Everyday Life*: Confronting Your Past

40th Annual Love Life Women’s Conference 2022 | Joyce Meyer Ministries

Featuring Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Lisa Harper, Christine Caine, Chris Tomlin, Tauren Wells, Brandon Lake, Phil Wickham
Love Life 2022 Website

No one who immerses herself in the company of, and partnership with, so many false teachers, even considering one of the most egregious a spiritual mentor, can be trusted to teach the truth of Scripture and sound doctrine.

It’s true, Christine Caine is a lovely, charming woman with an admirable passion for helping people. But this does not excuse or make up for her disobedience to God’s word and teaching false doctrine. These are not minor “differences of opinion” that can be blithely swept under the rug. These are rebellions against the holy God of the universe.

I very much dislike having to warn women away from popular evangelical teachers, thus, it is my hope and prayer that Christine will repent of these sins, learn sound doctrine, and begin to teach it to the women in her audience who so desperately need it. Until such time, however, I regret that I must recommend that neither women nor churches receive teaching from Christine Caine or any of her ministries or materials, nor (in obedience to Scripture) participate in any way with The A21 Campaign or any of her other organizations. Do not have regard for Caine’s offerings.

Additional Resources:

Disclaimer: The specific links below are provided and endorsed as evidence pertaining to this article only. I do not endorse any of these sites in so far as any of them might deviate from Scripture or conflict with my beliefs as outlined in the “Welcome” or “Statement of Faith” tabs at the top of this page.

Preaching to Men

(See also “Partnering with False Teachers” below)

Events– The “Events” page at Christine’s website frequently lists her as preaching the “Sunday Service” or “Worship Service” at various “churches”.

Christine Caine Sermons on YouTube

We are well able | 5pm | Christine Caine | Sunday at Celebration Church | Feb 27th (Men visible in the audience from 0:09)

Christine Caine | Code Orange Revival | Elevation Church (Men visible in the audience from 0:00)

Christine Caine : Trust God in any difficulty– New Life Church, 9:30 a.m. worship service (Men visible in the audience from 0:00)

Partnering with False Teachers

(Also some examples of Christine preaching to men.)

Christine Caine | Code Orange Revival | Elevation Church (Steven Furtick)

Lakewood Church – Women’s Fall Extravaganza (2012) (Victoria Osteen)

Don’t Look Back | Christine Caine | Hillsong Church Netherlands July 17, 2022

Q&A with Beth Moore and Christine Caine– Living Proof Ministries with Beth Moore Facebook page

Meet Christine Caine at Priscilla Shirer’s Going Beyond Ministries

T.D. Jakes & Christine Caine: You Have a Purpose (Full Teaching) | Praise on TBN May 13, 2022

Christine Caine with Joyce Meyer– Christine Caine’s Instagram

Priscilla Shirer and Christine Caine on Human Trafficking

When Christine Caine met Joyce– Joyce Meyer Ministries YouTube

Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer, Christine Caine Q&A– Joyce Meyer’s Love Life 2016 Conference

False Doctrine

(Also several examples of Christine preaching to men and partnering with false teachers.)

Six Reasons Not to Follow Christine Caine by Elizabeth Prata

Review of Christine Caine’s sermon at Steven Furtick’s Code Orange Revival at Craig Brown’s Reformed Theology

Hillsong Church Leader Christine Caine Proudly Admits to New Age Practice of ‘Impartation’ at Now the End Begins

Top 10 Lessons I have Learned from Momma Joyce by Christine Caine

Articles on Christine Caine at Apprising Ministries

Reviews of Christine Caine sermons at Pirate Christian Radio

Articles on Christine Caine at Hillsong Church Watch

Christine Caine Said What? at When We Understand the Text

Looking at Christine Caine’s speech at Passion 2019 by Elizabeth Prata

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